Apex trident worth it?

[Notsolostfish]

My tank is 5 weeks old and im just wondering if apez trident is worth it as im adding corals in the future. I have full apex system. Whats the pros and cons about the unit. Should i get it? Money is not an issue for me

 

[areefer01]

My tank is 5 weeks old and im just wondering if apez trident is worth it as im adding corals in the future. I have full apex system. Whats the pros and cons about the unit. Should i get it? Money is not an issue for me

5 weeks? New tank? Old tank? Merging of tanks? Live rock? Dry rock? Cycle? Finished cycle?

Ignoring your display for a minute and just talking about the Trident. If you are in the Apex ecosystem and are planning on keeping a display long term then yes, it is worth it. Mixed reef through to SPS.

With regards to the need today I can't say since I don't know much about your display. I would say no, it isn't needed, if this is a new system. Manual tests help guide hobbyist to numbers and the visual look of the display. Alk can be tested in under a minute or two using Hanna's checker and it is reliable. Phosphate can also be done quickly, again Hanna's kit. Heck Alk, Nitrate, and Phosphate Hanna kits can all be done within the 7 minute test Hanna's kit does for Nitrate.

 

[Spare time]

My tank is 5 weeks old and im just wondering if apez trident is worth it as im adding corals in the future. I have full apex system. Whats the pros and cons about the unit. Should i get it? Money is not an issue for me

You need to get the basics down. Do things by hand for now, and then eventually consider it.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

You need to get the basics down. Do things by hand for now, and then eventually consider it.

+1 on this. Trident is not a magical bullet. It is a subscription model that will add to your total cost of ownership. Can you do some nice automation around your levels through dosing...yes...but if you are looking for frozen rope water parameters through using the Trident...you will be disappointed. You will have fluctations up and down, you will be required to constantly tweak your levels and rates. The best satisfcation you get from the trident is for graph junkies who want to see a pretty graph. Outside of that, pretty expensive toy that gives a lot of aggrevation.

 

[bakbay]

Worth every penny to me since 1) I hate testing every day / week using Salifert and Hanna kits 2) I’m too lazy to record and track trends 3) I’m a gear / monitoring junkie

Since I run both a CaRx and Kalk, it’s challenging to keep Alk stable so I dance around 8.5 to 9.5. Having a Trident helps detect drifts faster and Apex can kill off one of those feeds to avoid huge swings.

I will never go back to manual testing again - this is way better! Wish automated N & P testing is on the horizon soon… that would be awesome!

 

[dschuffert]

The Neptune Trident is a big time saver for me. I am using it for the Trident Controlled Dosing function and works great. I take my time when replacing reagents to ensure no lines are bent or crimped, calibrate it when I do a full reagent replacement, and haven't had any issues with it so far.

I have had an error or two over the last year that was caused by me pinching the intake tubing, but no failures with something going wrong with the unit itself.

I dose Aquaforest Component 1+2+3+ and use the trident to stop dosing when I reach the desired level for Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium. It does a good job of keeping those numbers stable. When the level goes below my setting the dosing table schedule then starts until it reaches the level again.

 

[Spare time]

+1 on this. Trident is not a magical bullet. It is a subscription model that will add to your total cost of ownership. Can you do some nice automation around your levels through dosing...yes...but if you are looking for frozen rope water parameters through using the Trident...you will be disappointed. You will have fluctations up and down, you will be required to constantly tweak your levels and rates. The best satisfcation you get from the trident is for graph junkies who want to see a pretty graph. Outside of that, pretty expensive toy that gives a lot of aggrevation.

OP is also very, very new to the hobby so I feel like skipping a sort of developmental reefing step might make things more difficult down the road.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

OP is also very, very new to the hobby so I feel like skipping a sort of developmental reefing step might make things more difficult down the road.

 

[killer2001]

I'm not sure I can handle the 20 new incoming threads regarding Neptune Trident. Please god no.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I'm not sure I can handle the 20 new incoming threads regarding Neptune Trident. Please god no.

Life is full of choices.

 

[Tamberav]

Automation is awesome but at the same time... it also somehow seems less impressive... as if you hired someone to take care of your tank instead of it being your own...

ofc we are not at that level of automation yet... but seems we are on our way. Nor does it really matter if we are impressive... well unless you are on Instagram maybe?

Once we get to the point where we can trust these devices to both test and dose to maintain levels and do auto water changes... there is certainly less we are left doing... I think people don't trust them to dose yet tho well most.

Anyways... that is not to say you should not get one if you want to. It is a time saver. At 5 weeks though there is no point yet really but you can add it any time you want. Be sure to understand how all these values interact with each other.

 

[shakacuz]

OP is also very, very new to the hobby so I feel like skipping a sort of developmental reefing step might make things more difficult down the road.

yeah he needs to really focus on reading and getting the basics down. plethora of information, but i don’t believe he uses the search function.

 

[bakbay]

OP is also very, very new to the hobby so I feel like skipping a sort of developmental reefing step might make things more difficult down the road.

True although I wished I had the latest tech to give me important stats while starting out. It can be daunting to test water chemistry and made things worse because you misread the instructions. I admit that I have done that on multiple occasions!

Since money is not a concern for the OP, the initial cost of the unit and monthly reagent cost shouldn’t be a problem. IMO — having (consistent) info is key to success. So why do this manually if it can be automated?

 

[Crustaceon]

This is one of those hobbies where you can't just throw money around and have success. It's not like putting together a gaming pc. It's like programming the operating system in order to be able to effectively use those components. For example, you can spend a few grand on lighting, but if you don't understand the fundamentals of how lighting, alkalinity and nutrients work together in regards to corals, you'll probably end up frying everything. As mentioned, I HIGHLY recommend getting the basics down and then decide if something like Trident is worth it for you. I've been in this hobby for over 15 years and for me, I wouldn't own one. I just don't need it.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

True although I wished I had the latest tech to give me important stats while starting out. It can be daunting to test water chemistry and made things worse because you misread the instructions. I admit that I have done that on multiple occasions!

Since money is not a concern for the OP, the initial cost of the unit and monthly reagent cost shouldn’t be a problem. IMO — having (consistent) info is key to success. So why do this manually if it can be automated?

I have two answers:

1. Some people get into this hobby for something to do. Proper tank husbandry and maintenance can fill up those times.
2. Having a machine do everything for you..you might as well get an aquarium screen saver.

 

[Tamberav]

Technically if money is no issue for someone, they can hire a professional to do everything That is a huge time saver!

I like the idea of automated testing but nothing has come out that I have felt worthy of buying at this moment. I mostly care about alk/po4/no3 anyways.

 

[Spare time]

True although I wished I had the latest tech to give me important stats while starting out. It can be daunting to test water chemistry and made things worse because you misread the instructions. I admit that I have done that on multiple occasions!

Since money is not a concern for the OP, the initial cost of the unit and monthly reagent cost shouldn’t be a problem. IMO — having (consistent) info is key to success. So why do this manually if it can be automated?

Automation = more points of failure. The OP needs to focus on just testing and keeping numbers at this point. Its sorta like buying a self driving car without having driven a car yourself.

 

[Spare time]

yeah he needs to really focus on reading and getting the basics down. plethora of information, but i don’t believe he uses the search function.

For some reason a lot of people don't use the search function

 

[bakbay]

I have two answers:

1. Some people get into this hobby for something to do. Proper tank husbandry and maintenance can fill up those times.
2. Having a machine do everything for you..you might as well get an aquarium screen saver.

I believe in automating repetitive tasks so I can focus on other high(er)-value tasks. In this case, I can spend more time tweaking optimal coral placement, fragging to creating more corals for my family & friends, seek better growth & coloration, adjust flow, etc. More importantly, I want to free up time to ENJOY looking at the ocean in my living room. It is a hobby, not work! My 2c

 

[Labridaedicted]

So, I will start by saying I love my trident. Now for the caveats and such.

The trident has served me well, however, I do not rely on it for any kind of automation or an accurate reading of the calcium, alk, and mag. I've found that it fairly regularly drifts from calibration and as such tends to read off. You may be asking, if it's inaccurate, why do you love it? Well, the answer is that it may not give 100% accurate numbers, BUT the relative numbers are generally accurate relative to other recent tests. The short version, it is fantastic for keeping tabs on rapid fluctuations which is what I'm actually concerned about and requires immediate attention. For exact numbers I use my Hanna checkers that I calibrate to lab samples and my every other month triton analysis.

TLDR: yes, but for monitoring purposes and not dosing automation.