Apex Horror stories

Battlecorals · Sep 11, 2013

Ok so I got it on Monday.

Did some manual diving and Tuesday I was online and good to go.

I like it a lot! I know this is old news to most but being able to check on my tank with my phone is as cool as it gets

Running my calcium reactor ph. Heaters and fans only so far

I do like the fact that no one chimed in with any real horror stories. Makes me feel even better. Seems like even of there was a problem the remote monitoring makes it much easier to handle.

The set up and network setup was pretty simple and the comprehensive manual was very refreshing. Still have a lot to learn but I am very happy with it and see lots potential for other stuff

Thanks for the input guys.

specvjeff · Sep 14, 2013

The only thing I suggest is not using gmx for the sending email address. It's very unreliable. Sanjay's chiller failed while at MACNA and he didn't receive any notification that his tank was over the temp he set to alert him at. Came home to a severe tank crash.

Jeff Saurwein
SDMAS President
SDReefs Moderator
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Peanut · Sep 14, 2013

cdness said:
...
- Consider buying a second head unit for your APEX as well as a spare EB8.

Best advice.

I personally own 2 Apex systems and have a 3rd that is the spare. For a system your size it would make sense to spend the extra few hundred $

I originally did not have a spare, and then the temperature port on one starting acting funny every once in a while. I spoke with Paul at Neptune and he advised me that the "failures" would come more and more often as time went on. He told me he could fix it, but it needed to be sent in for repair. This posed a problem.... He offered to sell me a spare head unit, shipped it to me, I restored my program to it, and sent the failing one in for service. It was fixed and now I have a spare and feel that much better about a possible failure.

I couldn't agree more with everyone else who has said it already, its simply the best equipment purchase ever.

rako1 · Sep 14, 2013

I 'v had my apex 2 years and the only problem i had was when the power went out and the apex did not reboot and could not get it to start up. I called apex and they were right on it. they updated my software and helped me thru rebooting my unit. I was only down a couple hours so no real damage to corals. It was kinda my falt to that I did not have any alerts setup to my phone. all and all I love it.

Dtech07 · Sep 14, 2013

Not a horror story but some advice from help numerous reefer install every possible (so far) combo of the Apex. KNOW YOUR CODING! A lot of reefers purchase these and due incorrect coding or "IF" statements they toast their tanks.
When I purchased my Full Apex system with ALL the mods I set it up on a mock inviroment for one month and test and practiced my coding and asked question off the Apex Forum till I have a solid cause and effect understanding of the system to ensure that "Acted" and not "Reacted" when issue might arise.
Like you and many others I spent a good amount of time, resources, and MONEY on my system and felt that the Apex was a good product so I made sure I took the time to train myself to cut down on the "beginners" blues.
All in all play with the system test it out A LOT, set up the Internet and remote access before you ever put it your tank so you don't pull your hair out because its not working on your tank. But most of all LEARN YOUR CODING it gets easy once you can see it and understand it.
Hope this helps in a approach view.
DoD

reef life · Sep 14, 2013

Love mine so far. Nice to monitor tank while away from home.

Peanut · Sep 14, 2013

Dtech07 said:
Not a horror story but some advice from help numerous reefer install every possible (so far) combo of the Apex. KNOW YOUR CODING! A lot of reefers purchase these and due incorrect coding or "IF" statements they toast their tanks.
When I purchased my Full Apex system with ALL the mods I set it up on a mock inviroment for one month and test and practiced my coding and asked question off the Apex Forum till I have a solid cause and effect understanding of the system to ensure that "Acted" and not "Reacted" when issue might arise.
Like you and many others I spent a good amount of time, resources, and MONEY on my system and felt that the Apex was a good product so I made sure I took the time to train myself to cut down on the "beginners" blues.
All in all play with the system test it out A LOT, set up the Internet and remote access before you ever put it your tank so you don't pull your hair out because its not working on your tank. But most of all LEARN YOUR CODING it gets easy once you can see it and understand it.
Hope this helps in a approach view.
DoD

There should be a thread on here about apex programming if there isn't one already

Battlecorals · Sep 15, 2013

Just started scratching the surface on some real basic programming for one of my returns and a couple float switches.

I am going to have the return shut off if the water level drops to a certain level in the sump. For starters

If I told you my old method for doing this you would have a good quick chuckle

So far I really like the thing and am now already working on incorporating at lest half of my halide set up into it (7 of 14 fixtures).

I think I will pick up another base unit just as a backup though. That is a great idea. I have a lot of back up gear on hand. Makes good sense to have another one of these too.

Good stuff

Dtech07 · Sep 15, 2013

I have a duplicate of each component (Apex) also for the same reason. Plus Neptune has a pretty nice return/exchange process it just takes a week or so. That's why I purchased extra.
With a additional base unit I can save my current coding and if the base crash I can upload the saved file and have the new base up and going in 5min or less (I tested the process to make sure it'd work) you just have to make sure you back up the program when you add or modify your settings.
Keep us updated on your transition.

Peanut · Sep 15, 2013

Battlecorals said:
Just started scratching the surface on some real basic programming for one of my returns and a couple float switches.

I am going to have the return shut off if the water level drops to a certain level in the sump. For starters

If I told you my old method for doing this you would have a good quick chuckle

So far I really like the thing and am now already working on incorporating at lest half of my halide set up into it (7 of 14 fixtures).

I think I will pick up another base unit just as a backup though. That is a great idea. I have a lot of back up gear on hand. Makes good sense to have another one of these too.

Good stuff

you can get pretty fancy, its an amazing device.

I even have some sensors (super cheap on ebay) on my cabinet doors so the under cabinet lighting comes on when I open the doors and off when they are closed. Of all the fancy things it can do, this one really impresses lol

Ep3n3wp · Sep 15, 2013

Dowtish said:
I have been very pleased with my apex so far.(1 year) It has made me have peace of mind when I travel, and I love that I can get texts and emails when something goes out of whack like temp, ph, power outtage etc. The only complaint I had was setting everything up when I first got it. I thought I was somewhat capable until I tried and then began to feel stupid...LOL

I have plenty of IT friends that helped me set it up, but after MACNA this year this wont be an issue as they are going to "the cloud". Set up will be a breeze and the other new options look amazing as well. Check it out!

[video=youtube;Q955hJjekQE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q955hJjekQE[/video]

Wow.. Can't wait for the update... I hope they are looking for some guinea pigs to beta test!! And that auto feeder looks amazing!

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slapshot · Sep 15, 2013

When when??????? Trying to setup this email is killing me!!!!

specvjeff · Sep 17, 2013

Who is your ISP? Often they give you an email address. When I was using a Reef Keeper I used my road runner email address. Now I'm using a private email address given to me by a friends comapny with the apex. You might want to contact Neptune and see of they have any suggestions on email providers to use.

Jeff Saurwein
SDMAS President
SDReefs Moderator
Sent from my Galaxy s4 using Tapatalk

Dtech07 · Sep 17, 2013

specvjeff said:
Who is your ISP? Often they give you an email address. When I was using a Reef Keeper I used my road runner email address. Now I'm using a private email address given to me by a friends comapny with the apex. You might want to contact Neptune and see of they have any suggestions on email providers to use.

Jeff Saurwein
SDMAS President
SDReefs Moderator
Sent from my Galaxy s4 using Tapatalk

One of the email providers that's used is GMX, they were having some issues a months ago but Neptune released a update for the Apex that solved all the issues. GMX is free and easy to setup.

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AquaAngel · Sep 17, 2013

The fallback setting for when it loses and regains power but not connection to the base was important to me once. I had manually set the skimmer off for a reason, power skipped, skimmer overflowed because the fallback was set to on.

gdemos · Sep 17, 2013

My experience also suggests utilizing Reeftronics.net I have experienced power outages and this was my primary reason for the Apex. Here's my almost horror story. I come home early from work one day, sunny 75 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. I crack a beer at the fridge and the fridge light goes out. Next thing I know the tank is gurggling as water recedes below the bulkhead. Power's Out! Thankfully I'm home, I crank up the 7.5KW Generator and I'm back up within minutes. So disaster averted...the dust settles and I realize I never got my email or text from the Apex Power Outage alarm I have programmed?!?

Low and behold as others mentioned here, the GMX port for email I utilized no longer worked with Apex. Had I not been home, the only thing that would have saved me would be Reeftronics. Reeftronics will send a note if they cannot communicate with your Apex for a span of 2 hours (and I've received this before). I get Neptune on the horn and ultimately change my ISP email accordingly.

So: use your ISP email and subscribe to Reeftronics.

I keep my programming pretty basic, very basic compared to others I've seen. But for me it works and life is good. I do not program lights, I use ATI programmable/dimmable T5s. Controlling Vortechs via their module is pretty cool, but at this stage I run them at constant anyway so just a fancy feature to change flow settings if you're into that. I'd like to see an auto frozen feeder. load in a pile of strained/thawed and garlic soaked misys/spirulina into a chilled auto feeder ... programmed by time of day and other fancy stuff...now we're talking.

Sound Investment

specvjeff · Sep 19, 2013

Dtech07 said:
One of the email providers that's used is GMX, they were having some issues a months ago but Neptune released a update for the Apex that solved all the issues. GMX is free and easy to setup.

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I say there's an issue with it because of what happened to Sanjay. He had his set up to alert him when his tank temp went over a certain temp. Came home to an 88.5 degree tank. He never got an email while he was at MACNA. He was using gmx. This happened about 3 weeks ago.

Jeff Saurwein
SDMAS President
SDReefs Moderator
Sent from my Galaxy s4 using Tapatalk

Dtech07 · Sep 19, 2013

specvjeff said:
I say there's an issue with it because of what happened to Sanjay. He had his set up to alert him when his tank temp went over a certain temp. Came home to an 88.5 degree tank. He never got an email while he was at MACNA. He was using gmx. This happened about 3 weeks ago.

Jeff Saurwein
SDMAS President
SDReefs Moderator
Sent from my Galaxy s4 using Tapatalk

He did update the Apex Firmware then? The fix has been out now for at lease 2 months. This has been up now for over three months on the Neptune Community Forum site:

http://forum.neptunesystems.com/forum.php

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
ATTENTION GMX USERS

If you use GMX to send Apex alarm emails, read this important announcement:

GMX and Apex Compatibility Issues

This site isn't Reef Central but it does utilize the same techs from there plus a few others.

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Russ · Sep 20, 2013

Adam, welcome to the Apex club! No doubt you will love it.

Lots of good advice posted already. I've been running mine for around 3-4 years. No horror stories, but I have had a few issues users should be aware of. One issue was with the use of GMX as others have described above. I came home to find my skimmer turned off. I have a float switch in the collection container that will kill the skimmer when full. This is helpful if/when the skimmer goes nuts, but is supposed to send an email and text so I can get it back online asap. Apparantly GMX and Apex were not getting along at the time, and no alerts were being sent. I contacted Neptune, and they were great about it. They were already aware of the issue and had a special update ready to go. Easy fix, but would have been nice if there was some way to alert us about these things instead of just coming across them after having a problem. Wasn't a big problem for me, but could have been. It's working again, but I am looking for a more reliable solution for the future. Hopefully this new method of connecting through the cloud will be the answer.

The other problem I had I have actually told you about over the phone, but in short it had to do with using Verizon as an ISP. No fault of Neptune's at all, but Verizon setup was much more difficult and finicky for me, and led to connectivity being lost every few days for months. Controller kept doing what it should, I just couldn't access it over the web. Eventually, I ended up having a total loss of the tank while I was out of town and my controller was unable to alert me of an extended power outage (about 4 days). I guess that's a horror story, but in no way the Apex's fault. All had to do with Verizon locking me out of remotely accessing the home network.

I have never had issue with the controller not doing what I told it to do. You just have to have patience and ALWAYS test your programming thoroughly before relying on it. It will definitely to what it is told to do, but sometimes what you told it to do is not what you thought you did. Lots of examples for most every programming need out there in the forums.

The only other problem I hear of has to do with people relying too heavily on the controller and they stop paying attention to things themselves.

specvjeff · Sep 22, 2013

A lot of ISP's will randomly change your IP address which could explain you loss in network connection. There are also other issues with ISP's and how the modem and router communicate. I learned a lot about this when I set up a controller on AT&T internet. So far Herr is southern California, Time Warner Cable and Cox seem to be the most reliable ISP for use with a controller.

Jeff Saurwein
SDMAS President
SDReefs Moderator
Sent from my Galaxy s4 using Tapatalk