Trident issue - all of a sudden ALK is reading super high

[Manny Tavan]

After two years I'm getting a spike in my ALK reading on Trident. Hannah reads 8.8 

I primed the reagent and the sample. Still can't get a normal reading

[SuncrestReef]

I would first try flushing the sample line to ensure no debris is partially blocking it and limiting the volume of sample water collected.  Remove the small plastic union from the rear where the black sample line connects, then connect that union to the tip of a syringe full of RO/DI.  Use the syringe to flush the RO/DI through the black sample line to flush out any debris.  Be sure to capture that water into a cup so you can see if any debris was removed.  After reconnecting the sample line to the Trident, prime the sample line and then run a test.

If that doesn't solve the problem, double-check that the reagent lines are not pinched inside the Trident, and also remove the reagent cap from the bottle to check if the metal tube has disconnected from the reagent tubing.

Last resort, open a ticket with Neptune support.

[Manny Tavan]

figured it out...reagent bottle was empty lol

[SuncrestReef]

20 minutes ago, Manny Tavan said:

figured it out...reagent bottle was empty lol

Did you change out reagents at some point without running the Task to reset the counter?  When done following this procedure, the Trident will know when it's nearly empty and stop testing rather than producing skewed results.

[Manny Tavan]

Yes I reset it when it told me it ran out but still had a lot left. That was a week or two ago

[Manny Tavan]

[Higher Thinking]

41 minutes ago, Manny Tavan said:

Yes I reset it when it told me it ran out but still had a lot left. That was a week or two ago

Yeah that's lame that Trident tells you it needs replacing much earlier than it actually does. If anything they should have an option that allows you to push it a little further without doing a full reset. Line give yourself a 3 day alarm. 

Of course Neptune will spin some yarn about doing this in order to protect you from ever running out, but it seems like a cash grab to me. Same with having to do so many tests each day.

The company just needs to protect you from yourself. 😉

[SuncrestReef]

14 minutes ago, Higher Thinking said:

Yeah that's lame that Trident tells you it needs replacing much earlier than it actually does. If anything they should have an option that allows you to push it a little further without doing a full reset. Line give yourself a 3 day alarm. 

Of course Neptune will spin some yarn about doing this in order to protect you from ever running out, but it seems like a cash grab to me. Same with having to do so many tests each day.

The company just needs to protect you from yourself. 😉

I don't buy into the conspiracy theories about Neptune milking customers for huge profits on reagents.  Put yourself into the shoes of a manufacturer of technical equipment for sale into a market full of people with a wide range of technical skills, many of whom won't read directions, and an extremely wide array of aquarium environments.  The Trident's reagent consumption varies depending on your parameter levels, so some people will run through reagents at a faster rate than others.  If the tests aren't run frequently, the sample water and reagents left in the tubes will start to evaporate and leave behind salt residue or other solids, ruining the test precision.  To play it safe, they include extra reagent in each bottle to accommodate the more extreme parameter conditions, and require tests frequent enough to avoid evaporation.  That means that some (or many) people will end up with leftover reagent when the Trident reports it's time to replace them.  If they didn't, then the reagents would run out prematurely and people would complain about that being a defect.  Bottom line...you can't win.  People will complain at one end of the spectrum or the other.

I personally would never want to produce a hardware product for this industry because all you would get is complaints, no matter how hard you try to please everyone.

[Higher Thinking]

6 hours ago, SuncrestReef said:

I don't buy into the conspiracy theories about Neptune milking customers for huge profits on reagents.  Put yourself into the shoes of a manufacturer of technical equipment for sale into a market full of people with a wide range of technical skills, many of whom won't read directions, and an extremely wide array of aquarium environments.  The Trident's reagent consumption varies depending on your parameter levels, so some people will run through reagents at a faster rate than others.  If the tests aren't run frequently, the sample water and reagents left in the tubes will start to evaporate and leave behind salt residue or other solids, ruining the test precision.  To play it safe, they include extra reagent in each bottle to accommodate the more extreme parameter conditions, and require tests frequent enough to avoid evaporation.  That means that some (or many) people will end up with leftover reagent when the Trident reports it's time to replace them.  If they didn't, then the reagents would run out prematurely and people would complain about that being a defect.  Bottom line...you can't win.  People will complain at one end of the spectrum or the other.

I personally would never want to produce a hardware product for this industry because all you would get is complaints, no matter how hard you try to please everyone.

You definitely make some good points. I certainly don't want to continue beating this same old drum that's been exhausted before across the interwebs. All I would say is give consumers the option. They are far and away sophisticated enough to program that. They can make their recommendation and give warnings to the alternative. Apart from that, it's just manufacturers "protecting" consumers from themselves. My thoughts anyway. Worth as much as you paid for them. 😀