Neptune Trident

[tom obrecht]

I’m in line (apparently veeery long) for a new Neptune Systems Trident. For those who have nabbed one already I’m curious how long or what method you used to score one of these? I’m on waiting lists, notify lists ect and have not heard anything. I know from contacting Neptune directly that they are producing these daily but am wondering How many a day go out to vendors? A few are offered on EBay but no way am I spending $1500-2000 on this item. Any ideas on availability?

[ca1ore]

I just got lucky. Put an in stock notice on BRS and happened to be at my computer when it pinged and I ordered it right away. Had I been even 5 minutes later I’d have whiffed.

[bshow24]

I preordered from a website that had the option and when they got their stock, happened to be lucky enough to get one.

Seems like you have to be right place right time for it right now. Hopefully they have more units going out soon.

[LQT]

Although I do plan on buying one in the future, I’d like to see how the annual maintenance “send your unit in” or DIY maintenance kit pricing and process plays out. In the meantime, I will be closely following and living vicariously through all you early adopters!

Then again, I too am on a bunch of email notification lists so maybe if I’m lucky with timing I’ll score one sooner rather than later...

[tom obrecht]

Any early usage feedback?

[tom obrecht]

Btw...I hate water test thus the reason I’m interested!

[bshow24]

Originally Posted by tom obrecht

Any early usage feedback?

I love it. I currently run it in automatic mode, meaning I get 4 alk, 2 calc, and 2 mag tests per day. This is the minimum required if run in automatic, but you could also run it manually and choose when it tests yourself. At this point, I want to see how my tank is naturally changing over time and if it's relatively consistent on a day to day basis.

There are obviously costs as you have to get new reagents every couple months, suggested maintenance every 2 years, but I think it's worth it if you can provide your tank stable parameters based on the information you receive. Imagine doing these 8 tests manually throughout the day - pain in the butt.

I'm also interested to see how this maintenance works, but I feel Neptune will do their best to make it as painless as possible.

[Ruu]

Where do you get the reagents from? I couldn’t find anyone selling them online (not that I looked too hard, since couldn’t find the unit)

[slief]

Originally Posted by Ruu

Where do you get the reagents from? I couldn’t find anyone selling them online (not that I looked too hard, since couldn’t find the unit)

Right now, direct through Neptune. That will likely change in the not so distant future but I think they are keep the reagent close to home to insure shelf life isn’t exceeded and the reagent is stored properly while in inventory.
https://shop.neptunesystems.com/collections/trident

[ca1ore]

Originally Posted by tom obrecht

Any early usage feedback?

Had mine up and running for almost a month - long enough to exhaust the first bottle of alk reagent (you get two). Initially trident was about 1.0 dkh lower than my Hanna. After calibration it was still 0.9 dkh lower. Using the remaining calibration solution in my Hanna in place of tank water, reading was 9.3 on something that should have read 8.4. So, I think trident is more accurate. Unit just runs mostly quietly in the background. Setup with the apex task was beyond trivial. We shall see about reliability over time, but I am pleased so far.

[ClownReef®]

I wonder when they will release more...

[ca1ore]

I believe they are releasing quantities weekly - just hasn't caught up with demand.

[tom obrecht]

I’m curious what number they are releasing daily/weekly? If an item is in a large demand such as this I would think the company would have priority to get these made up ASAP to help catch up. I check numerous times a day to every online retailer I can think of plus on every notify list and have not seen/heard a thing. I find it a bit disheartening that a respected company such as Neptune has taken some steps to beef up production? Perhaps they are working diligently but most companies would be working overtime plus to get things handled. Has anyone heard what is the expected “catch up date” with back orders?

[Marq]

Originally Posted by tom obrecht

I’m curious what number they are releasing daily/weekly? If an item is in a large demand such as this I would think the company would have priority to get these made up ASAP to help catch up. I check numerous times a day to every online retailer I can think of plus on every notify list and have not seen/heard a thing. I find it a bit disheartening that a respected company such as Neptune has taken some steps to beef up production? Perhaps they are working diligently but most companies would be working overtime plus to get things handled. Has anyone heard what is the expected “catch up date” with back orders?

I wonder if Neptune wants to see how the first couple of batches of the Tridents hold up out in the community first before fully opening up the gates on the supply. If they don’t hold up well, dealing with a lot of hiccups at one time could be overwhelming. Just a thought...

[bshow24]

Originally Posted by tom obrecht

I’m curious what number they are releasing daily/weekly? If an item is in a large demand such as this I would think the company would have priority to get these made up ASAP to help catch up. I check numerous times a day to every online retailer I can think of plus on every notify list and have not seen/heard a thing. I find it a bit disheartening that a respected company such as Neptune has taken some steps to beef up production? Perhaps they are working diligently but most companies would be working overtime plus to get things handled. Has anyone heard what is the expected “catch up date” with back orders?

Supply and demand. Everyone wants one...doesn't matter if it takes a month or a year to get them all out. Why would they rush development?

[scrapz]

Originally Posted by bshow24

Supply and demand. Everyone wants one...doesn't matter if it takes a month or a year to get them all out. Why would they rush development?

1. How is that rushing development if the product is out already? Is the product not ready for market?
2. Are you saying we are unknowingly being used as beta testers?

You think they are shipping "a few" units each week from their supplier then shipping "a few" to their distributors? From a financial standpoint, it makes 0 sense for them to import in small batches. They have these items in stock. They are simply slow releasing to generate DEMAND. I resell items for a living so this is nothing new to me and I understand generating hype

To me the only difference is they are hurting the hobby because some people are relying on this to keep their animals alive. Some people have more money than brains, sad to say but true. I have TONS of apex gear and this really left a terrible taste in my mouth.

[slief]

Originally Posted by scrapz

You think they are shipping "a few" units each week from their supplier then shipping "a few" to their distributors? From a financial standpoint, it makes 0 sense for them to import in small batches. They have these items in stock. They are simply slow releasing to generate DEMAND. I resell items for a living so this is nothing new to me and I understand generating hype

Do you actually believe that’s nonsense? Hopefully I’m just misunderstanding you since you say you resell things for a living in which case, I’d expect you to have knowledge of supply and demand. Especially when it comes to smaller manufacturers. The fact is the demand truly exceeds Neptunes ability to produce and package them quick enough. Neptune does NOT have these sitting on the shelf to generate demand. And to say they are releasing a “few” each week is just silly. They are releasing far more than a “few” each week. Their major resellers literally have hundreds of them backordered to the tune of several hundreds plus units. They just can’t get them out the door quick enough to satisfy the current demand (at least not while also keeping up with the demand for their other products) and that is a fact whether you choose to agree or not.

They aren’t a huge company when it comes to personal and it’s not like Trident is the only product they are producing and assembling let alone the cash flow involved in manufacturing, distributing and supporting a new product like this while waiting to get paid by vendors with net terms. The ability to produce enough is not only limited by the ability to manufacture enough in a timely manner but also the ability float the costs of the goods through the manufacturing and distribution process until the resellers pay their invoices. Point being is that not everything is black and white.

And for the record, it does them absolutely no good to sit on inventory and have customers complaining that they can’t get their hands on them just to create more demand all while customers get frustrated and revolt and choose competitive products and or get slammed on forums and groups because people can’t get their product. To insinuate it’s a conspiracy to generate demand is just plain silly. Especially when the demand has been there for 2 years now since the product was unveiled before it went to production.

And I’ve been in the manufacturing business for 30 years in the technology industry and have built reseller channels for decades. Not only do I have intimate experience with with running a manufacturing company and distributing technology equipment but I also have in depth experience with fulfillment specifically when it comes to supply and demand in not only the IT industry but also the aquarium industry to which I am also directly involved. I can assure you, the lack of inventory to satisfy everybody's needs has nothing to do with “creating demand” but rater a small companies ability to meet the overwhelming demand in a timeframe that satisfies everybody’s need for instant gratification. It’s no different then say Teslas ability to fulfill all their orders from dealers when they release a new model or Chevrolets ability to fulfill all the Corvette orders when a new model is released. People wait months for their vehicle to be delivered and car dealers add huge markups when the demand exceeds the supply.

And for the record, we’ve seen this same thing happen with many other well known companies in the aquarium industry when a new product is released that is in high demand and rest assured, all of these companies would much rather reap the instant financial rewards of fulfilling the backorders in a timely manner than having the fulfillment drug out over the course of months.

[bshow24]

Originally Posted by scrapz

1. How is that rushing development if the product is out already? Is the product not ready for market?
2. Are you saying we are unknowingly being used as beta testers?

You think they are shipping "a few" units each week from their supplier then shipping "a few" to their distributors? From a financial standpoint, it makes 0 sense for them to import in small batches. They have these items in stock. They are simply slow releasing to generate DEMAND. I resell items for a living so this is nothing new to me and I understand generating hype

To me the only difference is they are hurting the hobby because some people are relying on this to keep their animals alive. Some people have more money than brains, sad to say but true. I have TONS of apex gear and this really left a terrible taste in my mouth.

silef pretty much answered it but:

1) Rushing development of units if they don't have the ability to would cost them more money and more time. Which, as a small company, they don't have the means....that's the rush I'm referring to. In addition, they would also need the ability to service units if/when there are issues with one sent out. It's a smart business decision to not push their limits.

2) No, again, it's them not having the ability to release the amount of product necessary. This isn't apple releasing a new iphone. Small company, unique product, lots of different factors here.

I'd say the demand was already generated with them taking so long to develop the Trident. And if people are relying on a product they never had, that's a whole different story. Sure, I'm lucky enough to have the product, and yes, it has made my daily routine a whole lot easier, but it's not as if I would be doing what I did before if I didn't have the Trident yet.

[tom obrecht]

I’m guessing few others on the boards have still not received a Trident? I have not received a notification from any retailer (online or local) that they these in stock. I’m beginning to think this may be a long wait!

[tom obrecht]

Thanks to my great LFS service and staff I received a Trident today! Looking forward to getting daily test results soon!

[ClownReef®]

I received mine yesterday. It is preeeeetty amazing!

[tom obrecht]

I’m bringing this back to inquire about recent available for those still waiting to receive a unit. I was lucky enough to have a good friend give me his since he got on the wait list before me. That had to be months ago and although I am still waiting for a unit I signed up for to return the favor, I’m curious if anyone has heard production rates for these? After months of checking regularly, I have not once seen anyone have these in stock. Seems a bit odd that these units have never been available on any site even after months waiting.

[RobbyG]

Originally Posted by slief

---SNIP--


They aren’t a huge company when it comes to personal and it’s not like Trident is the only product they are producing and assembling let alone the cash flow involved in manufacturing, distributing and supporting a new product like this while waiting to get paid by vendors with net terms. The ability to produce enough is not only limited by the ability to manufacture enough in a timely manner but also the ability float the costs of the goods through the manufacturing and distribution process until the resellers pay their invoices. Point being is that not everything is black and white.



---SNIP---

While I agree with most of what you said I also have been designing electronic devices for about 30 years and I also know what is involved in launching a product like this.


Lets not kid ourselves, this thing is most likely totally made in China or most of the parts come from China and are just put together in America. I would seriously doubt that any of the companies that they are dealing with could not make thousands of these units if they are getting paid on time for each batch delivered. I have found that the Chinese are extremely adept when it comes to ramping up production.



As for what Neptune knew in advance, it is a safe bet that long before mass production started they knew that the orders would reach into the thousands.


I know of another very good reason why you can get delays like this with complicated products. That is because the company is not 100% sure of how well it will work when released into the wild. All the beta testing in the world will not 100% guarantee that there are no hardware issues and when dealing with a system with this many moving parts. It is much safer to release 500 units and wait out a few months to see if there are any issues with the design that need changing. The option of just saying to the manufacturer go ahead and make 250 units a week and ship would be extremely risky if 6 months later you had several thousand units in the hands of Aquarium owners and then had to do a recall.



I would think at this point if it was just a case of slow production they would have gotten it ramped up by now as the MindStream is now out and is a very tantalizing alternative option which Lol also has also has production delays, None the less it gives people an option that may or may not suit their needs better. The longer Neptune has people waiting is the more people that will probably flip to the MindStream. I am sure Neptune is acutely aware of this.



Sure if your interested in the Trident controlling your dosing pumps then the Trident is your only option. On the other hand I doubt that most people are going to feel comfortable with their dosing pumps output being controlled by an autonomous testing unit. We will certainly reach that point one day but I think a few years of a proven track record will be needed to get most serious reefers to go for that.