Dived in and got an Apex... now what?

[cope413]

Finally did it and sprung for the Apex gold controller last night. Hasn't even shipped yet, but I should be getting it on Saturday.

I've been reading everything I can find about it, and the gist I get is that

1) It's difficult to get setup
2) No one knows what lighting schedule to use, or how to even begin to make their own

So, does anyone have a good link for apex lighting schedules or software setup?

The stuff from Apex doesn't seem very thorough.

I have reef radiance fixtures that I modified to be controllable - whites on 1 channel, blues/others on the other channel.

Any suggestions are much appreciated

 

[Sobo's Reef]

You'll need to get a VDM module if u plan on dimming the lights. Also if u haven't already, reef radiance came out with apex ready wires for the dm165e I believe.

 

[cdness]

With the full fledged APEX you do not need the VDM module...

Regarding your points:

1) It's difficult to get setup - Actually it is really simple if you understand logic statements. You just need to be sure to understand that every step will be processed and later steps will override earlier steps.
2) No one knows what lighting schedule to use, or how to even begin to make their own - I made my own all manual with ramp up, constant run at the noon hour, then ramp down. Mine also takes into account power loss and resumes the program where it left off...

What you need is the comprehensive manual for the APEX. It covers everything for setup and even includes sample code. With the latest UI and Fusion though it has gotten easier than ever to program...

Check out Reeftronics.net and you can view other people's programs and profiles to see how they run their apex. It is great for getting ideas and baselines for your own code.

 

[Robthorn]

Go to neptunes site and look under support I think it is and get the comprehensive reference manual. Read it at least once. It teaches you how to program it. After that you will be able to do whatever you want.

 

[Jimbo662]

Go to neptunes site and look under support I think it is and get the comprehensive reference manual. Read it at least once. It teaches you how to program it. After that you will be able to do whatever you want.

+1 lots of good info on the forums and lots of help available just like on R2R

Neptune Systems Community

 

[cope413]

Thanks for all the input and links. Got it and in the process of getting it all set up. Already discovered my salinity has been high by about 1.8ppt.

I get the sense that getting it mounted on a board and routing all the wires is more of a chore than dialing in the software...