High Tide Aquatics

Neptune Trident without Apex / Apex EL

thesassyindian

Supporting Member
Research shows that the Trident only works with a host system like the Apex / Apex EL.

Is it possible to use the Trident by itself to monitor Ca/Mg/Alk?

If it outputs some sort of data, it’s a matter of building a screen that can interpret the data packets and displaying a value. Yes?

Not looking for closed loop parameter control. Just measure params.
 
The main selling point of the Trident over the other devices to automatically measure Alk is that it integrates with Apex. If you don’t have that constraint there are other great options and I would not think twice about trying to hack a Trident to work in a way it is designed specifically not to. Others can chime in about their favorite non-Trident Alk monitors.
 
I’m specifically looking for monitoring all three params. Not looking for closed loop dosing.

Trying to hack the Trident protocol is exactly what I’m planning on doing :p
Unless the trident is sending raw sensor values to the Apex and it’s the Apex which is doing the calculations. Which would be dumb! Haha
 
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Let me preface this with mechanical guy here.

I assume the Apex is the brain, so it tells the trident to begin the test. I think this because I have to interface with the Apex to get the Trident to test manually or change programming. There is also only one data/power cable to/from the Trident so you would likely need to somehow mimic the signal the Apex sends.

From where I sit, a used EL is the solution, but don't let me spoil your fun of taking things apart.
 
So the question is, why don't you want to have the Trident controlled by an Apex?
Good question! For reference, My tank is tiny - 13.5gal total volume (~11gal water volume).
The reasons are:
  1. The tank being so small, I don't have space to install the temperature and pH probes that come with the Apex
  2. I won't be using any of the automated dosing features that Apex offers
  3. No space to mount the Energy bay 832 that comes with the Apex
  4. Won't be using DOS or other multi-channel dosers
Therefore cannot justify the added cost of $559.95 for the Apex El.

Ideally, there should be a solution for being able to use the Trident standalone for Ca/Mg/Alk monitoring only.
Will blow the Alkatronics or Mastertronics out of the water given Neptune's reputation.
Neptune will gain a whole new customer base in the pico/nano tank community.
 
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Good question! For reference, My tank is tiny - 13.5gal total volume (~11gal water volume).
The reasons are:
  1. The tank being so small, I don't have space to install the temperature and pH probes that come with the Apex
  2. I won't be using any of the automated dosing features that Apex offers
  3. No space to mount the Energy bay 832 that comes with the Apex
  4. Won't be using DOS or other multi-channel dosers
Therefore cannot justify the added cost of $559.95 for the Apex El.

Ideally, there should be a solution for being able to use the Trident standalone for Ca/Mg/Alk monitoring only.
Will blow the Alkatronics or Mastertronics out of the water given Neptune's reputation.
Neptune will gain a whole new customer base in the pico/nano tank community.
In that case, get a used brain... or new brain only... that's all you need
 
You can purchase just the head unit, that will give you the benefits that the Apex offers such as notifications (eg, if your alk is too high/low etc). The temp probe is pretty small, should be easy to slip into the tank. Again, the benefits outweigh the inconvenience. On a small tank, I would argue that you need the monitoring way more than someone with a larger tank.
 
You can purchase just the head unit, that will give you the benefits that the Apex offers such as notifications (eg, if your alk is too high/low etc). The temp probe is pretty small, should be easy to slip into the tank. Again, the benefits outweigh the inconvenience. On a small tank, I would argue that you need the monitoring way more than someone with a larger tank.
In that case, get a used brain... or new brain only... that's all you need
Correct - I will try and get buy a used / broken Trident first and try to decode the protocol. If I am able to do that, I can DIY a base unit for under $20 and plus, it will be way more fun :)
 
I always thought the reasoning was because all the control of the actual unit was done at the controller level, a little more than "pH probe makes a voltage, so I can read it with anything" situation.
Of course I don't know if the Trident uses the same amount of reagent per test regardless of the result which would lead a bit towards thinking the Trident could be done as a stand alone, or if it's a color change that it reads so the trident's signal is "wrong color" and the head unit sends a command "put another drop and mix" repeat et.al.

Good luck with that though, interesting to know what's in the guts of such a thing.
 
oops. I’ve been MIA from reef forums due to a mini crash and an upcoming reboot.

I probably wouldn’t bother trying to run a trident without the apex. Is it possible? Maybe, but the solution would be so DIY & crazy it doesn’t even sound like it would be worth trying.

I’m actually going down from 3 tanks to 1 soon and if you’re patient I’ll have an apex and trident for sale (I have 2 full setups and obviously won’t need the extra one when I’m down to a single tank). Feel free to DM me.
 
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