Trident alk inaccurate?

[endlessrealm]

I have my Apex trident for a week now. And today i calibrated it. And it still off. My hanna showing my alk 7.1-7.4 stable. But my apex is showing me at 6.1. Im very frustrated with it. I thought after priming, and calibration it would get better. But its not. Any idea how to fix this?

 

[Waters]

I have my Apex trident for a week now. And today i calibrated it. And it still off. My hanna showing my alk 7.1-7.4 stable. But my apex is showing me at 6.1. Im very frustrated with it. I thought after priming, and calibration it would get better. But its not. Any idea how to fix this?

Hanna does read higher on ALK (not that high though). I would check to make sure the rod is sitting all the way down into the reagent bottle and you don't have any kinks in your lines. There is also a break in period if I remember before readings are accurate. ALK is the one out of the three that has always been spot on for me.

 

[endlessrealm]

Hanna does read higher on ALK (not that high though). I would check to make sure the rod is sitting all the way down into the reagent bottle and you don't have any kinks in your lines. There is also a break in period if I remember before readings are accurate. ALK is the one out of the three that has always been spot on for me.

So if hanna likes to read higher on alk. Are you saying that if hanna showing me 7.1 my alk is lower than 7? Now thats super messed up

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

This has been a re-occuring theme lately. I have had the same issue as well. I honestly think it is something with the latest manufacturing run as the number of people raising this issue has been pretty significant lately. It is so prevelant, Apex has a 3 page email saying to 'do the mental math and live with it'.

 

[homer1475]

So glad I didn't buy into the trident hype. Been seeing more and more of these posts lately.

I'll continue to measure my levels by hand like I have for the last 20 years.

 

[Waters]

So if hanna likes to read higher on alk. Are you saying that if hanna showing me 7.1 my alk is lower than 7? Now thats super messed up

Well, yes and no. Hanna does read like .5 higher than the trident....but who is to say which one is more accurate. I always go by the Trident reading because the ALK readings are very consistent. I dose based on those......the CA and Mg on the other hand both read high for me using the Trident so I turned off automatic dosing based on those numbers. The ALK is the only one I care about anyways.

 

[JCOLE]

I clearly think it's a firmware issue. My Trident is consistently 1.4dKh lower than what my Hanna/Salifert/Red Sea tests at. It used to be spot on after calibrating and now nothing will fix it. My Calcium and Magnesium is spot on with my other tests though. I keep seeing more and more posts about it being off around 1.3-1.4 dKh so I am starting to think it's a firmware issue. I didn't have any luck with tech support so I just live with it and do the math. I like to keep my system around 8dKh so as long as the Trident is around 6.5-6.7dKh then I know it will be around 8 when testing with my Hanna.

 

[endlessrealm]

I clearly think it's a firmware issue. My Trident is consistently 1.4dKh lower than what my Hanna/Salifert/Red Sea tests at. It used to be spot on after calibrating and now nothing will fix it. My Calcium and Magnesium is spot on with my other tests though. I keep seeing more and more posts about it being off around 1.3-1.4 dKh so I am starting to think it's a firmware issue. I didn't have any luck with tech support so I just live with it and do the math. I like to keep my system around 8dKh so as long as the Trident is around 6.5-6.7dKh then I know it will be around 8 when testing with my Hanna.

You would think if its a firmware issue everyone else would have that problem as well. My friend bought one at the same time as me. And his is 0.1 different from the hanna. This is driving me crazy. I knew trident had issues. But i didnt realize it would be off the start

 

[JCOLE]

You would think if its a firmware issue everyone else would have that problem as well. My friend bought one at the same time as me. And his is 0.1 different from the hanna. This is driving me crazy. I knew trident had issues. But i didnt realize it would be off the start

Could be. I don't know. I had a Trident when it first came out in 2019 and used to calibrate monthly using my tank water. Numbers stayed perfectly in line with my Hanna/Salifert kits for 3 years. My Trident failed after 3 years and I did the Trident exchange program and received a refurbished one beginning of this year. I have had this problem ever since with the new Trident. The Calcium and Magnesium are in line but the Alk is consistently 1.3-1.4 off.

 

[bobssecrtsn]

That’s sounds normal. My alk reads the same as yours.

 

[endlessrealm]

That’s sounds normal. My alk reads the same as yours.

I actually just tested the bottle with my hanna checker and its 9.5 and the bottle says 8.5. Omg this is absolutely insane to me and a circle of confusion.

 

[Thales]

Trying to compare testing kits will make you insane. They are not that accurate nor precise, and there are so many places human action/error comes into play.

 

[endlessrealm]

Trying to compare testing kits will make you insane. They are not that accurate nor precise, and there are so many places human action/error comes into play.

Yes but i need to see if my alk is actually 6. As i need to raise it. I dont want an alk of 6 under any circumstances.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I clearly think it's a firmware issue. My Trident is consistently 1.4dKh lower than what my Hanna/Salifert/Red Sea tests at. It used to be spot on after calibrating and now nothing will fix it. My Calcium and Magnesium is spot on with my other tests though. I keep seeing more and more posts about it being off around 1.3-1.4 dKh so I am starting to think it's a firmware issue. I didn't have any luck with tech support so I just live with it and do the math. I like to keep my system around 8dKh so as long as the Trident is around 6.5-6.7dKh then I know it will be around 8 when testing with my Hanna.

Mine has been lower by 1.5-2 dKh this week also. It’s usually just 0.5 dKh lower than Hanna and Red Sea pro. I’ll break it apart and clean the lines and see if that helps when it’s time to change the fluids again

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Yes but i need to see if my alk is actually 6. As i need to raise it. I dont want an alk of 6 under any circumstances.

What’s wrong with 6 dKh?

 

[AKL1950]

I use three different tests. Hanna, Salifert and Trident. Hanna and Salifert are always within 0.3 of each other and Trident, up until three days ago, was running 1.6 below them. Three days age I recalibrated Trident. I checked the water intake and found a tiny pineapple sponge in it. Fixed that and now trident is only about 0.6 low. I suspect there are more pineapple sponges in the water line.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I use three different tests. Hanna, Salifert and Trident. Hanna and Salifert are always within 0.3 of each other and Trident, up until three days ago, was running 1.6 below them. Three days age I recalibrated Trident. I checked the water intake and found a tiny pineapple sponge in it. Fixed that and now trident is only about 0.6 low. I suspect there are more pineapple sponges in the water line.

I actually just ordered some new sample lines. They’re $5 each

Trident Sample Line Tubing

Trident Sample Line Tubing Replacement 5', black sample line tubing for the Trident. 

shop.neptunesystems.com

 

[areefer01]

Trying to compare testing kits will make you insane. They are not that accurate nor precise, and there are so many places human action/error comes into play.

While it isn't nice to see fellow hobbyist frustrated a lot of these read like the Abbot and Costello - Who's on First skit...

 

[Thales]

Yes but i need to see if my alk is actually 6. As i need to raise it. I dont want an alk of 6 under any circumstances.

Get a simple titration test with one reagent that measures 1 dkh for each drop of reagent. Most reliable broad burnish test available.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

So starting yesterday my trident has stopped performing the automatic testing schedule. I’m not sure if I should be excited bc this will save a small fortune on reagents or….I should be worried that it’s not working properly