I dont think its that bad, really. Its frustrating because we get an expensive box of goodies and want it to work RIGHT NOW! Which is expected, but I think there are a few things that you can do to lessen the anxiety.
1.) DONT unplug everything from your tank right away. Move things over to the Apex once you understand what its doing for you, whether thats replacing timers, activating outlets or monitoring paramters.
2.) Update your firmware FIRST (dont even attempt to route cords or open all the other shinies!)
3.) Work through the bits and pieces one at a time. Dont plug in all of the modules at once... you'll get sensory overload. Plug in your EB8, work with that first, then at pH, etc ,etc
4.) Use Fusion. The little screen that comes with the Apex is great for seeing what the temp is or starting a feed mode, but its crap for everything else. Use Fusion. Setting modules/timers/feeders/etc is SOOOO much easier this way. Have a light? Open the outlet and set it to "Light". Now you only have to add in what time you want the lights on and what time you want it off. Easy. Have a feeder - same deal. Make use of the presets first, then you can always go back and change them later and add in more descriptive and intricate programming.
5.) Name it all! Change the outlets to be labeled how you will identify things. Grabbing a label maker and labeling the EB8s and /or power cords can help troubleshooting immensely. If you dont have something plugged into the outlet, I leave the label alone. Once I realized that AMP_3 was the EB8 that corresponded to Outlet_3_7, then the system became easier. I now know that Outlet_3_7 is the 3rd outlet on the bottom row of the EB8 that corresponds to AMP_3 in my Fusion window.
6.) Watch your graphs and the output log! These tell you what is happening in your system. Did your light come on at 8am like you told Apex to? Check the log! Thats how you know. I see that my AMP_3 (which has my 800w heater on it) has intervals that correspond to the spikes in my temperature chart. Its these correlations that let me know what I want the Apex to do, its doing.
7.) Take advantage of the forums. Either here or where ever you are comfortable. Say, "Hey, I want my Apex to make my lights do "this". What do you do?" I'd bet you'll have the answers in no time.
