Waited for the trident, got the alkatronic

[Wrasse-cal]

I notice the same, high alk consumption during the photoperiod and little overnight. I have heavily stocked 120g SPS tank running a GEO618 calcium reactor. Wish I had a way to automatically adjust output throughout the day.

Overall I’m happy with the Alkatronic, it’s been running without issue for ~9 months. I’m heavily invested in Apex gear but I just didn’t have the patience to wait.

You can. I do.

I use virtual switches on my Apex to trigger different OSC commands for my CA reactor pump based on what my KH reading is and also based on time.

 

[road_runner]

Probably because you’d have to ship it back to freaking Lebanon.

Still early on the reefbot. Igs robotic and not sure what's the reliability on this yet.
That being said I do not think reefbot require a mandotaty yearly maintenance.
And before someone say trident do not mandate maintenance, let's see what's the warranty clause about not doing yearly maintenance..)

 

[road_runner]

You can. I do.

I use virtual switches on my Apex to trigger different OSC commands for my CA reactor pump based on what my KH reading is and also based on time.

Same here, I have my doser connected to an apex outlet. I turn on off the outlet based on the khg results. This also give me the balanced dosing...

 

[tgbaby]

You can. I do.

I use virtual switches on my Apex to trigger different OSC commands for my CA reactor pump based on what my KH reading is and also based on time.

That never occurred to me...do you have an example of the code you use?

 

[Reefcowboy]

I bought the alkatronic because I didn’t like the trident. I wouldn’t agree that it’s a better overall product. I would say the first 30 seconds it makes regular dosing pump noises after that it is a slight clicking.

I don’t agree monitoring all 3 is necessary on a daily. I have always gotten away with just monitoring alk consistently

Understood, in my humble opinion, the Alkatronic will have a very hard time to stay afloat from now on with so much competition in the Alk monitoring.

The system was one of the first out, and those that liked innovation and the product(it is well finished and designed) pulled the trigger. Due to its price, I dont think it sold as anticipated, and now with GHL, Neptune and others with more options, it will be a big challenge for the Alkatronic.

Yes, one will have to factor the controller, dosing pumps to price, but I dont think the Alkatronic was ever appealing to reefers that didnt want to spend on controllers in the first place. People that own it are more dedicated hobbyists that most likely already own a controller.

With Ca, Alk and Mg being tested now, I foresee PO4 and NO3 next.
Alkalinity testing alone will soon be old news and pricing will become a stronger factor.

 

[mitch91175]

Understood, in my humble opinion, the Alkatronic will have a very hard time to stay afloat from now on with so much competition in the Alk monitoring.

The system was one of the first out, and those that liked innovation and the product(it is well finished and designed) pulled the trigger. Due to its price, I dont think it sold as anticipated, and now with GHL, Neptune and others with more options, it will be a big challenge for the Alkatronic.

Yes, one will have to factor the controller, dosing pumps to price, but I dont think the Alkatronic was ever appealing to reefers that didnt want to spend on controllers in the first place. People that own it are more dedicated hobbyists that most likely already own a controller.

With Ca, Alk and Mg being tested now, I foresee PO4 and NO3 next.
Alkalinity testing alone will soon be old news and pricing will become a stronger factor.

A wise man indeed. Yes I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment, that the Alkatronic price point will have to drop to even be considered long-term by someone looking for something for their tank in this space. Right now the pricing should be around $400-$500 for the Alkatronic. I have one and love it, but in this competitive space (and only continuing to be more competitive) price point will be crucial.

This is going to be a interesting game of chess!!!

 

[Silver14SS]

Agreed that things may get tough for the Alkatronic. If it, the Trident, and GHL ion device were available at the same time, I probably would not have bought it. But they weren't

What a time to be in the hobby with so much innovation happening!

 

[mitch91175]

Agreed that things may get tough for the Alkatronic. If it, the Trident, and GHL ion device were available at the same time, I probably would not have bought it. But they weren't

What a time to be in the hobby with so much innovation happening!

I'll agree on that. Would have given more options to consider for sure, but still thoroughly have enjoyed the stability with my system while I have been using it for sure. I know I do not need to measure cal/mg nearly as much, but oh well. At least I'll likely not have to worry about measuring them really at all now (at least once I can get my hands on a Trident, lol).

I haven't really given the Dosetronic too much consideration even prior to the Trident's release. I run a CaRx on my display so not sold on the Dosetronic. I do like that it has 5 heads for sure and wish the Neptune DOS had more heads.

I do believe that if Focustronic had provided a program similar to the Neptune NSI, that they would have more traction, but they didn't (at least not that I am aware of here in the states) and now they will have to see how this all shakes out.

I can see Focustronic surviving out of the states for sure since Neptune Systems seems to ignore the EB832 concerns outside of the US though.

 

[road_runner]

Agreed that things may get tough for the Alkatronic. If it, the Trident, and GHL ion device were available at the same time, I probably would not have bought it. But they weren't

What a time to be in the hobby with so much innovation happening!

Kh guardian is 500$ now. It do test and dosing. I see it better value than trident and alktronic.
Once GHL ion is out it will be hard to justify buying any of these testers instead of going with a reagent free tester like the ion.
I believe that is one of the reason Neptune rushed their launch when they were clearly not ready yet.

 

[mitch91175]

Kh guardian is 600$ now. It do test and dosing. I see it better value than trident and alktronic.
Once GHL ion is out it will be hard to justify buying any of these testers instead of going with a reagent free tester like the ion.
I believe that is one of the reason Neptune rushed their launch when they were clearly not ready yet.

Will have to see how these Ion-based testers hold up. I have a Pinpoint NO3 tester that looks to be ion-based and I'll tell you that I'd never buy another one of those again or replace the probe for it. It doesn't even calibrate anymore. I have had it for a while so I am sure that has something to do with it as well. Even when I first purchased I had a feeling that I had bought something that wasn't going to last me over 2 years which it didn't.

I just do not like testing, period, and I work from home and see my tank everyday. When I do test I like digital readings and not having to guess what it is (such a PITA deciphering those colors sometimes).

 

[road_runner]

Will have to see how these Ion-based testers hold up. I have a Pinpoint NO3 tester that looks to be ion-based and I'll tell you that I'd never buy another one of those again or replace the probe for it. It doesn't even calibrate anymore. I have had it for a while so I am sure that has something to do with it as well. Even when I first purchased I had a feeling that I had bought something that wasn't going to last me over 2 years which it didn't.

I just do not like testing, period, and I work from home and see my tank everyday. When I do test I like digital readings and not having to guess what it is (such a PITA deciphering those colors sometimes).

Ha ha agreed. Same here.

 

[road_runner]

Will have to see how these Ion-based testers hold up. I have a Pinpoint NO3 tester that looks to be ion-based and I'll tell you that I'd never buy another one of those again or replace the probe for it. It doesn't even calibrate anymore. I have had it for a while so I am sure that has something to do with it as well. Even when I first purchased I had a feeling that I had bought something that wasn't going to last me over 2 years which it didn't.

I just do not like testing, period, and I work from home and see my tank everyday. When I do test I like digital readings and not having to guess what it is (such a PITA deciphering those colors sometimes).

I will say this. The best thing trident announcement did for me is to convince me i buy KHG.
The best thing the trident launch fiasco and Neptune way of looking at their customers did for me is convincing me that apex is no longer worth the investment especially in the future. So am switching to GHL.
Just got the ultimate package online. Should arrive by end of week....super excited

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I will say this. The beat thing trident announcement did for me is to convince me that I buy KHG.

Well let’s just put it this way, I have a KHG now and will be getting a trident to replace it in a few months.

 

[shred5]

I am waiting for the Abex Xepta.

 

[Christopher Presley]

Just to throw my hat into the ring, I’ve had a alkatronic since the first units of the second and improved batches went out. I currently test every 6 hours and casually test mag and calcium maybe once a month. I have my unit setup to my dos that’s pushing brs’s 2 part, so whenever I’m out of range it shuts the dos off and no longer doses it’s regular schedule until it’s back in range. My calcium and magnesium has never needed manually adjusted, not one time. Also I’ve only ever needed to recalibrate my probe once and even then I didn’t. I took a manual test with my Hanna, put the outcome numbers in to alkatronic and boom spot on results again without any additional cost.

 

[Christopher Presley]

double post

 

[MartinWaite]

The alkatronic seemed great right up until you mentioned issues with noise. That would probably be a dealbreaker in my house so I’m hoping the other options out there aren’t all as loud.

Don't believe all you hear the Alkatronic isn't that noisy, the noise stemmed from a dosing head which once slackened off by less than a quarter turn of a screw then it's hardly heard in a fish tank cabinet if you're listening for it. For me to spend money on trident well I'm not in the USA so I'd have to wait maybe another year no thank you I don't use an apex as I'm at home all the time and apex won't invest in the UK so why should we invest in them. It's an Alkatronic for me and if my illness gets worse then I'd invest in the Dosetronic to simplify my dosing but then I'd stop using brain power the reason or part of the reason I restarted the hobby.

 

[joeyamador]

Keep in mind, this is my personal opinion.

I was waiting on the trident for months. The entirety of the time I was thinking “what about the alkatronic?” After the poorly done Neptune’s trident release I immediately jumped on a alkatronic. The monthly operating price for the trident is high but what really turned me off is how they handled the release. In my opinion it was just poorly done.

Fast forward to yesterday I took the day off to sign for this beauty

Overall impression of the machine.. it is well made. For $900 it better be. Speaking of the price $900 is a steep price tag for just monitoring alkalinity. My train of thought is I’ve always just tested alkalinity. I tested calcium maybe once a month and magnesium even less. I keep my parameters stable with 10% weekly water changes, dosing kalkwasser on a timer, and with a calcium reactor. But what about the $900 alkatronic vs $600 trident... just with the the $300+ in reagent for the trident within the first year the trident running cost would be more than the alkatronic.

I’m not going to sugar coat the set up process was a pain in the butt. It wasn’t difficult. There was just a lot of steps to it and it took quite some time. My advice is to just read the instructions on the app, do not watch the coralvue video. The video skips steps that the app does not. I messed up on mixing the reagent so my initial test was off reading 10.56. The app allows you to use a reference value which immediately put the following tests spot on. Ive been verifying the alkatronic’s test with a salifert alkalinity test. For the first few days I’ll be testing every 2 hours to get a base line on how my alkalinity fluctuates with lights on vs light off.

By no means is the product quieter than my tank. The tank is on a wall in between my living room and kitchen. It’s definitely audible over the other equipment but the tv easily drowns out the alkatronic test.

Overall... i am happy with my purchase. I picked the focustronic alkatronic over the Neptune’s trident not because it is better. I picked the alkatronic because I want to be less invested in Neptune’s apex system. I’m personally disappointed with Neptune’s. They cost basically the same at the end of a year. I work out of town so an alkalinity monitor is a peace of mind I’ve always wanted

I have an alkatronics as well and I do like it but since I have started monitoring my cal and mag closer just to experiment I feel I have had better growth which is why I am getting the trident for my 150 gal. As I want to see the difference for myself... I currently have the khdirector by ghl for my 600 gallon and like it as well as it is quieter than my alkatronics unit. The only issue I find personally with my khdirector and alkatronics unit is complacency can kick in with me if I get busy with work or my kids which is why i want to try the trident.. perhaps it is just the convenience of knowing which is why I am even responding to this post. Lol

 

[leepink23]

Still early on the reefbot. Igs robotic and not sure what's the reliability on this yet.
That being said I do not think reefbot require a mandotaty yearly maintenance.
And before someone say trident do not mandate maintenance, let's see what's the warranty clause about not doing yearly maintenance..)

Its not yearly, it’s 18-24 months which is beyond the 1 year warranty.

 

[road_runner]

Its not yearly, it’s 18-24 months which is beyond the 1 year warranty.

Got it. Even worst than I expected look like.
Thanks for the info though.

I am not sure how can you get 2 years without changing the tubing in these peristaltic pumps that trident multiple off. My prediction is accuracy will degrade beyond a year but that's just predictions. It is yet to be seen.

I think ION based probs and giving customers the option to test rather than forcing it will make trident obsolete. So it's worth waiting bit more and see what GHL is supporting with their ION director.

 

[leepink23]

Got it. Even worst than I expected look like.
Thanks for the info though.

I am not sure how can you get 2 years without changing the tubing in these peristaltic pumps that trident had many. My prediction is accuracy will degrade beyond a year but that's just predictions. It is yet to be seen.

I think ION based probs and giving customers the option to test rather than forcing it will make trident obsolete. So it's worth waiting bit more and see what GHL is supporting with their ION director.

The ion director is definitely interesting!