I feel it is important for manufacturers to stay connected to their customers, even those that are not happy about their products or their product direction. So, despite the tone, I will answer some, but not all of your questions. I am not dodging, its just for some of these questions they either are not relevant (of course in my opinion, but that is what forums are about, right?), or we are not going to give out that proprietary info, or we are not yet ready to disclose the information. So here is what I can tell you.
The Trident uses an LED system to detect the changes that happen during titration. LED are rated for many thousands of hours of service. This is not something that should be concerning factor for long-term ownership of the Trident.
We will provide a set of calibration standards with the Trident.
I would hope that you would be skeptical about our product as well as the products from others that have been demonstrated but not yet seen out in the reefkeeping world. That said, the prototypes for the alkalinity component of the Trident have been in place and testing on real reef aquariums (including Rich Ross - the king of skeptical reefkeeping) for more than a year with nearly zero maintenance (although one of the prototype components in Rich's system did have a minor issue once in that timeframe).
We are still perfecting the test schedules that make the most sense. That said, at this point, we are recommending at least once a day for Ca and Mg.
I do not need to sell you on the Trident at this time. It is too early for that. There will be plenty of time for us to provide more information and for you to do more research. That said, the Trident will require a new Apex, and you have said you absolutely will not upgrade, so there is not much point in trying to sell you if that is the case.
We do not yet know what the warranty will be.
I do not know how you are possibly getting to $1600. Furthermore, never did I say that there would not be a way for existing owners of the classic to purchase the 2016 Apex Base unit. I simply said that it is not available now, and it would likely not make the most financial sense if or when it were ever made available.
You asked what I would do as a customer - you should know that I was an Apex customer the first year they came out (2009) - long before I became an employee (2012). Wow - it has been that long... So, if I were a paying Control Freak right now, and knew I was going to get the Trident when it came out, and had owned my Classic for more than a year, and I had not yet made the plunge to get a new Apex, I would sell off my Apex Classic for whatever I can get for it, along with one of my EB8 (because I would/did have more than one), along with all the probes, and PM2 and would have bought the new Apex two weekends ago for $719. Net to me would be likely ~$350-$450 and for that I would have got the new Apex, a better Energy Bar, a completely new set of probes, and a new one-year warranty. Oh, and because I bought it with my Amex, I would get an extra year of warranty. You asked what I would do - well that is absolutely the most honest answer I could give and I am glad you asked.
