Do you think this contributed to your success?

[dwair]

So my tank is about to hit 6 months soon. I've been mainly doing LPS/Softies. I've got a purple stylo, digi, some montis and soon getting some tester acros cheap ones.

I've been saving money and pretty soon I can get the Apex + Trident combo. Not the doser right away (figure I can hand dose until I save enough for the doser).

I'm wanting to convert this tank to bare bottom and go full on SPS, eventually. I'm going to do the tester acros for a few months and maybe around the 1 year mark, go full blown sps.

I've never kept them before (I mean easy ones here and there, but never full blown SPS). I keep my levels decently stable without the Trident, but I've heard how much SPS can consume daily, so I figure I "need" the trident to keep things stable.

However it is alot of money for that equipment and I do want to upgrade my tank size. Waterbox 100.3 right now. Would like to go 120+

So I'm sitting here debating on whether the Apex + Trident is really worth it, or could I get away without it. I know SPS tanks have been kept for years prior to the trident, but this piece of equipment sounds like its game changing, making it so much easier to keep levels stable...

Thoughts?

 

[X-37B]

Its personel preference.
I run a 120 with mostly acros and sps.
I run a carx with no controller or ph probe.
My tank is very stable.
I have an apex and its still in the box it came in lol.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Are you asking about the Apex or the Apex plus the Trident?

I would go Apex and DOS first.

 

[dwair]

Are you asking about the Apex or the Apex plus the Trident?

I would go Apex and DOS first.

Apex + Trident. To be honest, I have trouble with the test kits we get, either hanna checkers or even salifert, though Salifert I've found to be the most consistent. Dosing is easy to me, I can hand dose, whereas making sure the levels are where they are actually at is more important to me.

If I could only get the Trident, I would. Alas you need the Apex to have the Trident. I dont' want an Alkatronic cause it only tests Alk, and I don't want Reefbot cause I've seen to many bad things right now. Trident kinda fits what I want.

 

[Ike]

It takes me about 10 seconds to test my alkalinity. The monitor is nice, but if you're going to about checking on your tank and testing regularly it's superfluous.

 

[Auquanut]

I still don't have a controller and have no plans to get one anytime soon. Usually do testing once a week. I'm sure the Apex/Trident combo is an awesome tool. Just not for me right now. I do autodose the big 3. With all of the hard corals in my tank, I dose an obscene amount daily.

 

[schuby]

I'd contend that being confident in testing water parameters (alkalinity, salinity, phosphate, nitrate, & calcium) yourself is far more critical than any automated testing appliance. Getting a Trident to completely replace any testing done by yourself doesn't sound like a path to short-term or long-term reef-tank success, especially for SPS.

 

[Vette67]

Its personel preference.
I run a 120 with mostly acros and sps.
I run a carx with no controller or ph probe.
My tank is very stable.
I have an apex and its still in the box it came in lol.

100% agree with this. Save the dosing and go straight for a calcium reactor. And don't look back. Costs more up front, but still cheaper than Apex and dosing additives for the rest of your life. I have an SPS dominant 180 that I run strictly with a non-controlled calcium reactor. Read @jda's paper on how to set up a calcium reactor.

Calcium Reactor Thoughts and Tuning

Some copied and pasted stuff from over the years. I will try and keep this document green and updated from time to time. If anybody has any suggestions, send me a PM on RC or r2r - jda on both. Feel free to send this link to anybody who might need it. Preface: This is for people who want to l...

docs.google.com

 

[C. Eymann]

Its personel preference.
I run a 120 with mostly acros and sps.
I run a carx with no controller or ph probe.
My tank is very stable.
I have an apex and its still in the box it came in lol.

+1 to all the above

 

[BAUCE]

Just worry about getting a consistent method of keeping alkalinity stable imo. I went old school and bought a kalk reactor to help out with ph. It set it up recently and Im shocked how well its doing keeping my alk stable. It hasnt moved from 7.0 since I set it up so far. I had swings from 6.7 - 7.4 weekly on just my doser.

 

[Paul B]

This thread is above my pay grade. I don't even know what a trident, apex, doser or Hanna checker is and my reef is just about 50 years old.
I think I am doing this all wrong.

 

[schuby]

For @Paul B :

Trident: three-pronged spear. Used to target feed some LPS coral.

Apex: top or pinnacle. The highest point of your reef tank or light fixture.

Hanna checker: parent or guardian of Hanna, the main character in the movie and tv-series "Hanna". The one responsible for the child that just dumped an entire container of fish pellets in your tank, after beating you up.

;Bookworm

 

[Viking_Reefing]

It’s nice to have but not even close to needed.
I don’t know the details of your setup but there are most likely other areas where that investment could pay more dividends.

 

[Softhammer]

You don’t need either thing. Total waste. As many above I use a Ca reactor with no monitor or controller and was given a jebao dosing pump, I think they’re normally 65 bucks and that fine tunes my levels. That’s only needed because I have 3 clams, 2 are super fast growing gigas and the king is a 10+ year old derasa that literally weighs 15 lbs so the dual chamber reactor doesn’t keep up.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Its personel preference.
I run a 120 with mostly acros and sps.
I run a carx with no controller or ph probe.
My tank is very stable.
I have an apex and its still in the box it came in lol.

Same here. I find they create more work and things to watch out for. But the trident could be useful for many people, just not needed.
I also agree with the above posts in that calcium reactors have always worked best on my tanks and easier with no probe as well.

 

[jda]

I won a trident and traded it. Basically free and I have no need for it... just another asz to wipe in a hobby with plenty of azzes already.

If you do decide on using such things, I strongly suggest that you get an intimate knowledge of how to do it yourself first. Dosers and "systems" will do more damage if you don't know what they are supposed to be dosing or systeming.

 

[Softhammer]

JDA couldn’t have said it better. There has been more carnage in the hobby from tech gone awry. Knowledge of the biology and chemistry is far more important that contraptions. Simple systems almost alway fare better.

 

[GabeM]

I have said this before but I was anti-controller for years. I ran a tank successfully at home without one. The only reason I have one now is that I moved my tank to the office and it helps to keep an eye on it when I am gone and when I had to work from home.

 

[atomic081]

The trident is one of the best purchases I've ever made. It took me about a half hour to test my whole tank manually. Because of this, I would test every few months. Now I check it daily because of the trident.

 

[Mirkus]

Have your answer yet? the apex and trident are clearly a luxury and hardly necessary for success. I personally would prioritize an apex way ahead of a trident. My trident has been pretty unreliable. My calc and mag readings are all over the place!