Trident calcium/mag depleted before alk

Tuffloud1 · Mar 30, 2020

What do I do when my calcium/mag are depleted before my second alk bottle is?

I have 30 percent alk left and calcium/mag are empty.

Does the 30 percent of the alk get scrapped?

Topreefer92 · Mar 30, 2020

The 30 percent would get scrapped based off of what neptune has chosen for the tasks to be able to change the reagent.

Tuffloud1 · Mar 30, 2020

Topreefer92 said:
The 30 percent would get scrapped based off of what neptune has chosen for the tasks to be able to change the reagent.

Dang, seems like a waste.

I guess it doesn’t matter considering you cannot purchase each type of reagent separately.

Daquan44 · Mar 30, 2020

I let the calcium and Mag run out and Alk kept testing until it was empty.

Charles4400 · Mar 30, 2020

Daquan44 said:
I let the calcium and Mag run out and Alk kept testing until it was empty.

That's a good idea! Ive been tossing it but like your idea better. Did the alk keep testing automatically or do you have to manually test after other reagents run dry?

Also does the trident keep trying to test the dry reagents or not even attempt it? Just worried about it sucking air bubbles from dry reagent tubes.

stephj03 · Mar 30, 2020

Do you run low alk? It's a titration test so low alk will use less reagent per test. They supply enough so that if you run high all (10-12) the bottle will still last for the number of tests you're suppose to get from it. Make sense

Daquan44 · Mar 30, 2020

The trident will continue to test Alk automatically even when the Calcium and Magnesium are out. It doesn’t try to test the empty reagents, so it will not suck air and run dry.

Tuffloud1 · Mar 30, 2020

stephj03 said:
Do you run low alk? It's a titration test so low alk will use less reagent per test. They supply enough so that if you run high all (10-12) the bottle will still last for the number of tests you're suppose to get from it. Make sense

I run my alk right around 8.0 in the Trident which equates to about 8.3 - 8.5 according to Salifert.

Tuffloud1 · Mar 30, 2020

Charles4400 said:
That's a good idea! Ive been tossing it but like your idea better. Did the alk keep testing automatically or do you have to manually test after other reagents run dry?

Also does the trident keep trying to test the dry reagents or not even attempt it? Just worried about it sucking air bubbles from dry reagent tubes.

Agreed, awesome idea.

The calcium and mag being less crucial and less likely to change quickly can wait a bit until alk is depleted.

User1 · Mar 30, 2020

Personally speaking I'd just toss it and replace the set. I do not like the idea of the other two reagents running or staying dry. If the same amount is left a second time then maybe run a few manual alk tests during the month to see if it lowers the amount.

Reagent bottles have extra in them by default. Not 30% mind you, but each reagent bottle does have more to allocate room for tasks and priming.

Tuffloud1 · Mar 30, 2020

saf1 said:
Personally speaking I'd just toss it and replace the set. I do not like the idea of the other two reagents running or staying dry. If the same amount is left a second time then maybe run a few manual alk tests during the month to see if it lowers the amount.

Reagent bottles have extra in them by default. Not 30% mind you, but each reagent bottle does have more to allocate room for tasks and priming.

Good point! Probably best to just re-load all 3 and toss the alk.

User1 · Mar 30, 2020

Tuffloud1 said:
Good point! Probably best to just re-load all 3 and toss the alk.

Also was just thinking that if you haven't, and because you said about 30%, shoot neptune an email and ask. They may also say replace all but at the same time give them a data point. If you have time - may be worth a try.

Have a great day!

Tuffloud1 · Mar 30, 2020

saf1 said:
Also was just thinking that if you haven't, and because you said about 30%, shoot neptune an email and ask. They may also say replace all but at the same time give them a data point. If you have time - may be worth a try.

Have a great day!

Good idea, I’ll shoot them an email letting them know.

ca1ore · Mar 30, 2020

There are a handful of threads already on this exact topic. Search is your friend …..

Trident Owners Have you Mixed your Reagents and tried it?

Maybe its the hoarder in me- I typically run a higher ALK 9ish and with my trident I have gone through about 4 refills so far. What I find though is that when my reagent says its time to replace then typically I have close to 1/3 of the reagent still left in the ALK bottle and a good amount in...

www.reef2reef.com

Tuffloud1 · Mar 30, 2020

ca1ore said:
There are a handful of threads already on this exact topic. Search is your friend …..

Trident Owners Have you Mixed your Reagents and tried it?

Maybe its the hoarder in me- I typically run a higher ALK 9ish and with my trident I have gone through about 4 refills so far. What I find though is that when my reagent says its time to replace then typically I have close to 1/3 of the reagent still left in the ALK bottle and a good amount in...

www.reef2reef.com

Yeah, I tried searching but couldn’t find anything.

The wording of the thread titles don’t always match the topic I’m looking for an answer on.

Thanks for pointing that out, I’ll try harder next time.

rkpetersen · Mar 30, 2020

It's easy to replace each component as it runs out. You don't have to replace them all together.
Just do it manually, not with the automated task.
Replace the reagent bottle, Prime that reagent line (I do it twice), and then Reset that reagent.
Your Trident will then continue testing normally until the next bottle gets down to a few percent.

ca1ore · Mar 30, 2020

Tuffloud1 said:
Thanks for pointing that out, I’ll try harder next time.

Sorry, not meant as a 'dig'; just that your experience is more the norm than the exception.

Billldg · Mar 30, 2020

rkpetersen said:
It's easy to replace each component as it runs out. You don't have to replace them all together.
Just do it manually, not with the automated task.
Replace the reagent bottle, Prime that reagent line (I do it twice), and then Reset that reagent.
Your Trident will then continue testing normally until the next bottle gets down to a few percent.

I never thought about doing it that way, good idea.

Tuffloud1 · Mar 30, 2020

rkpetersen said:
It's easy to replace each component as it runs out. You don't have to replace them all together.
Just do it manually, not with the automated task.
Replace the reagent bottle, Prime that reagent line (I do it twice), and then Reset that reagent.
Your Trident will then continue testing normally until the next bottle gets down to a few percent.

What about calibrating though?

You get 1 calibration bottle per 2 month kit.

Do you calibrate multiple times using the same 1 bottle of calibration fluid?

rkpetersen · Mar 31, 2020

Tuffloud1 said:
What about calibrating though?

You get 1 calibration bottle per 2 month kit.

Do you calibrate multiple times using the same 1 bottle of calibration fluid?

I only recalibrate when the readings after changing out the bottle are substantially different than the prior readings, and I suspect it's the reagent and not an actual change in the water chemistry.
This was commonly an issue during beta testing, but recently, I change out a bottle and the numbers are usually stable. I suspect this means their quality control for the reagents is better now than during beta testing.
I also recalibrate every now and then (every 3 months or so) just as a general good practice.
You can also buy additional recalibration fluid bottles directly from Neptune; I recommend keeping a few on hand.
I don't reuse calibration fluid once opened. Main reason being that there might not be enough for 2 full calibration runs.