Let's talk about the $$$ nitty gritty on this Triton method

[MartinWaite]

I'm running ATI very similar to Triton but cheaper it cost £30 for the 3 bottles which each make up to 10 litres a piece which works out at lasting me just short of 6 months and bi-monthly tests will cost me £170 per year. So that totals £230 per year and once I'm happy that I have the tank stable I will reduce the water tests to every 3 months which will reduce the cost even more to just under £180 and no water changes.
Set up costs was 3 10 litre barrels which I already had and a 2 litre jug which I pinched from the kitchen and a doser a cheap Jecod 4 head unit cost £55 and a end of line dosing container £45 and silicon air line for the doser and none return valves cost about £10 so total set up cost was £110. I'll save all my costs just on the time it would time to do the water changes for the year.
Would I recommend ATI to anyone yes I would.

 

[ZoWhat]

If all you want us to look at corals and do min maintenance, why not just pay for an aquarium membership to go look at stuff?

 

[MartinWaite]

If all you want us to look at corals and do min maintenance, why not just pay for an aquarium membership to go look at stuff?

The reason I don't want to do water changes is I'm disabled and I can't lift 10 litres of water never mind lifting more than that plus I struggle with standing ect as I'm wheelchair bound so the less work I have to do means the longer I can keep my little box of the ocean. Plus it gives me a meaning in life something to do that I enjoy.
As for going to the local aquarium and getting a membership I don't travel well and the nearest aquarium is an hours drive away.
But then I've always looked at things is there is more than 1 way to do everything some people do everything the old and hard way, I like to do things the quick and easy way as long as we all get our satisfaction from our hobby what difference does it make which way we do it I see it I have more time to sit back and enjoy my work even if its quick and easier.

 

[ADAM]

You could put a 3/4” or 1” drain through the wall and thru the crawlspace where the DOS could drain to the larger pipe and let gravity do the rest. Optional: outside the wall dig a hole and put a bucket drilled with holes and filled with rocks in the hole creating a dry well. Don’t let the water get to close to your AC/ HP the salt will eat it up (ask anyone near the beach about that!) This way the head pressure would be minimal on the DOS.

 

[ADAM]

Not sure how I quoted my own reply? Cant seem to fix when I edit either...

 

[dmunyon8]

One thing you might want to consider is using ATI Essentials for dosing. The additives are a lot cheaper (and always in stock) and the “ICP” testing is $10 cheaper too. I have a 60 Gallon tank with mostly LPS, a few SPS, and a few softies. I only dose 12 ml per day, I bought one package of additives that have lasted over 4 months!

The biggest complaint for Triton that I’ve heard is the fact that you can’t get your hands on it. I’ve heard of people completely switch there tank over to Triton then a few mo the later they run out of additives and can’t buy anymore...

 

[Breadman03]

Anyone know how DOS pumps do with 50' of hose on the outfeed side?

They should do fine. If I was doing such a run, I'd step up the tubing size just to be sure.

As for availability, it seems to be just a US issue.

 

[Mark Gray]

I will say this I have just started core 7 dosing, I bout the 78 dollar box that make 10 liters of solution each. I am pretty sure it will last me 6 months. The tank is new has 8 peices of SPS that seems to be likening the Triton it's growing not much color yet but it will come. So to me it's a time saver and a cost saver so far I will wait and see how it goes

 

[Lousybreed]

From your stocking list, you appear to have a very low demand tank on Calc/Alk.

Triton, starting dose is 10 ml / 100l. You've got roughly 1000l of water there. 100ml/day recommended starting dose, 1000 ml bottles @ $52 per set, you're going to go through a 1l set of Core7 every 10 days. 36 sets per year, $1900. You could save about 20% by going with the 10l packaging. Don't forget to include testing, at $50 a shot.

Of course, even if you wanted to go that route, BRS is out of stock of the Core7 products... again.

Or... a 4lb bag of Kalkwasser, which is more than capable of keeping up with your low demand tank, costs $27, would give you 77 gallons of saturated kalk... probably last you half a year. You'd probably need some Magnesium... too... and water changes, what, say 20% per month? That'd be about $200 worth of salt a year.

Triton isn't marketed as the cheapest solution

Or just buy a good Ca reactor and by year two you will be ahead.

 

[Breadman03]

Or just buy a good Ca reactor and by year two you will be ahead.

I went with Core7 because cash is a bit tight right now, but ended up replacing my regulator and feed pump to get the CARX running again due to the supply chain issues a few months later.