Apex trident worth it?

[Lps_lover12]

Is the trident worth the money? My tank is about 6 months old, stocked with lps and softies right now and looking into a trident. But before I buy it I want to see what everyone else’s opinion is on it first. Is it worth the $900? (In Canada) I’ve read some older threads from 2020 but can’t find any for 2022 so wondering what everyone’s long term success with it is. I also read that you need to follow their guidelines of 4 alk 2 ca and 2 mg of testing a day in order to keep the pumps primed and everything.
thanks in advance!

 

[vtecintegra]

Too expensive for me. If you go all in on Apex you can be close to $2k before you buy the first fish.

 

[Lps_lover12]

Too expensive for me. If you go all in on Apex you can be close to $2k before you buy the first fish.

I already have the apex el and the energy bar but I agree. Just not sure if it’s even worth it for mainly a lps tank. Everything I read on them is for heavily stocked sps tanks

 

[thewedge]

Personally, I would never run a tank of decent size without one again. I'm not good at testing multiple times a week. Trident helps keep my Ca and Alk very stable.

 

[Lps_lover12]

Personally, I would never run a tank of decent size without one again. I'm not good at testing multiple times a week. Trident helps keep my Ca and Alk very stable.

Tank is 105 gallons and I’m terrible at testing as well. How long have you had it? Any problems?

 

[Rovert]

Is it worth the $900? (In Canada)

Look for a used model, and have it shipped. There are often sellers here on R2R and elsewhere getting out of the hobby, it's a chance to snag one at a good price. I'm a new owner of both the Apex and Trident, and love the fact that I'm able to know where things are at any moment in time.

 

[PeterC99]

The more money you have invested in your reef, the better the value of investing in a Trident.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I resisted from the start of Trident and bit the bullet as I was getting varied readings and finding time to do testing. This unit makes life easy and other that reagent pricing which I think could be lower, no regrets

 

[Lps_lover12]

Look for a used model, and have it shipped. There are often sellers here on R2R and elsewhere getting out of the hobby, it's a chance to snag one at a good price. I'm a new owner of both the Apex and Trident, and love the fact that I'm able to know where things are at any moment in time.

Good idea, I’ll see if I can find one for a decent price. Thanks

 

[Lps_lover12]

The more money you have invested in your reef, the better the value of investing in a Trident.

Best way to explain it!

 

[Lps_lover12]

I resisted from the start of Trident and bit the bullet as I was getting varied readings and finding time to do testing. This unit makes life easy and other that reagent pricing which I think could be lower, no regrets

Are the readings accurate? That’s my worry is spending all this money and the readings not being accurate

 

[gbru316]

Are the readings accurate? That’s my worry is spending all this money and the readings not being accurate

they’re precise.

accuracy depends on the calibration.

 

[vtecintegra]

There is a much cheaper alternate to the reagents now.

 

[blaxsun]

Are the readings accurate? That’s my worry is spending all this money and the readings not being accurate

They're more accurate if you toss the reagent calibration fluid and instead calibrate the Trident using your off-the-shelf testing kits, ie: Hanna, Salifert, Nyos, Red Sea, etc.

 

[Jon's Reef]

They're more accurate if you toss the reagent calibration fluid and instead calibrate the Trident using your off-the-shelf testing kits, ie: Hanna, Salifert, Nyos, Red Sea, etc.

I agree with this. I have had one for 2+ years. Works great. When I change 2 month kits I use Hanna for Alk and Red Sea for Ca and Mg to test the tank. Then I use those numbers to calibrate with tank water.

One time I had a no sample error. Just took it apart and cleaned the tubing. Very easy to disassemble and clean.

The reagent cost is very reasonable. $200 per year to have Alk tested 4x per day and Ca/Mg 2x per day… that is a good price. Also no screwing around with making up solutions, just pop open a new one to change it. Very simple.

I also use the DOS for my 2 part so it adjusts automatically. That works really well too.

 

[Reefer Matt]

For lps and softies, probably not. When you get into sps, then a Trident will be worth it, unless you will test alkalinity two or three times a day manually. And that is false regarding testing quantity and priming. I test alk twice a day, and ca and mag once. Been doing it for over a year. Search for custom trident schedules to change it.

 

[Reefer Matt]

They're more accurate if you toss the reagent calibration fluid and instead calibrate the Trident using your off-the-shelf testing kits, ie: Hanna, Salifert, Nyos, Red Sea, etc.

That is not calibrating. That is setting the Trident to the other testers. In order to calibrate correctly, the calibration solution must be at the same level as the end of the sample tube when in normal operation. The tube must also be ran in the same configuration as normal. The back pressure on the tube makes a difference.

 

[thewedge]

Tank is 105 gallons and I’m terrible at testing as well. How long have you had it? Any problems?

Only problems I've had was when I calibrated too soon after changing reagents. The first reading was over 10.0. so I calibrated right away. Then all subsequent readings were well below actual. You really should wait 24 hrs before calibrating. The alk reads consistently .5 below my Hannah. But it's consistent. ICP confirms the Ca and Mg readings. Was surprised ICP didn't give an alk reading.

 

[Lps_lover12]

I agree with this. I have had one for 2+ years. Works great. When I change 2 month kits I use Hanna for Alk and Red Sea for Ca and Mg to test the tank. Then I use those numbers to calibrate with tank water.

One time I had a no sample error. Just took it apart and cleaned the tubing. Very easy to disassemble and clean.

The reagent cost is very reasonable. $200 per year to have Alk tested 4x per day and Ca/Mg 2x per day… that is a good price. Also no screwing around with making up solutions, just pop open a new one to change it. Very simple.

I also use the DOS for my 2 part so it adjusts automatically. That works really well too.

I have a DOS as well and that would be really nice to have auto dosing. My alk now is pretty high at around 10.4-11dkh and would like to lower it and get it under control. Thanks for the help!

 

[Lps_lover12]

They're more accurate if you toss the reagent calibration fluid and instead calibrate the Trident using your off-the-shelf testing kits, ie: Hanna, Salifert, Nyos, Red Sea, etc.

If I end up getting one I’ll do this to calibrate it, thank you