Do i need a regular surge protector?

[Notsolostfish]

Hi im new to saltwater so bear with me. I got myself the apex surge protector with the main unit. I have refugim light. Skimmer, main light. Etc. Do i need to plug all of those to apex? What if i dont want apex to control them? Can i use apex for a regular plug? Im a bit confused. As i have the radeon g5, nyos skimmer, and vectra s2 pump, and ai prime for refigum light. So not sure what works and what dont work. I bought the apex surge protector thingy not knowing what i waa getting myself to thinking its just a just surge protector. But since im already in through it might as well. I have currently the surge protector, and the main unit itself.

 

[Tamberav]

Apex is a controller. You should not daisy chain it from a surge protector or plug one into it. You can certainly use stuff you don't care to control on a different surge protector on a different outlet from the wall.

You can also plug that stuff into apex if you want/have enough plugs. You can just leave them in the ON position.

Apex is generally used to control heaters, float switches, certain lights, can add things like leak detection, send emails if you set it up to if parameters drift or such. It can be used to control simple dosers like BRS ones or more advanced ones like DOS or auto testing like Trident or you can simply input your manual tests for graphs and so on.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Apex is a controller. You should not daisy chain it from a surge protector or plug one into it. You can certainly use stuff you don't care to control on a different surge protector on a different outlet from the wall.

You can also plug that stuff into apex if you want/have enough plugs. You can just leave them in the ON position.

Like i can plug my g5 radion light, ai prime light refugim, nyos skimmer on the controller? And helios heater on different surge protector?

 

[Tamberav]

Like i can plug my g5 radion light, ai prime light refugim, nyos skimmer on the controller? And helios heater on different surge protector?

Yes. Auto is stuff I have programming for and the ON is just always on.

The heater should plug into Apex though. Then you set programming so if your heater fails.. your apex will catch it and turn it off. So say your heater is set to 78 degrees... you can program it so if it hits say 80... it cuts the power to your heater via that plug and alerts you.

Stuff like my skimmer... I have plugged in so I can just turn it on and off easy with the sliders.

I have everything on my Apex because I have two power strips for it but I didn't always. I used to have my ATO and stuff with its own controller (like lights that use apps to control) on a separate surge protector since I didn't have enough apex plugs.

Basically you have a lot of reading and learning to do now to know how to use the Apex.

 

[SPS2020]

Basically you have a lot of reading and learning to do now to know how to use the Apex.

This! ^^^

Watch the many BRS videos on Apex to understand capabilities. There is also an excellent thread on R2R regarding programming, etc.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Apex is a controller. You should not daisy chain it from a surge protector or plug one into it. You can certainly use stuff you don't care to control on a different surge protector on a different outlet from the wall.

You can also plug that stuff into apex if you want/have enough plugs. You can just leave them in the ON position.

Apex is generally used to control heaters, float switches, certain lights, can add things like leak detection, send emails if you set it up to if parameters drift or such. It can be used to control simple dosers like BRS ones or more advanced ones like DOS or auto testing like Trident or you can simply input your manual tests for graphs and so on.

Although, a lot of the early classics were taken out by power surge, brown out, and lightning. I’m not sure on the new Apex units. I would always recommend plugging ANY sensitive equipment into a quality surge protector. That said, those cheap power strips will cause more harm than good and I would avoid those at all costs. If you live in an area that sees frequent storms I would think about it. If you’re in an area with great weather, I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Yes. Auto is stuff I have programming for and the ON is just always on.

The heater should plug into Apex though. Then you set programming so if your heater fails.. your apex will catch it and turn it off. So say your heater is set to 78 degrees... you can program it so if it hits say 80... it cuts the power to your heater via that plug and alerts you.

Stuff like my skimmer... I have plugged in so I can just turn it on and off easy with the sliders.

I have everything on my Apex because I have two power strips for it but I didn't always. I used to have my ATO and stuff with its own controller (like lights that use apps to control) on a separate surge protector since I didn't have enough apex plugs.

Basically you have a lot of reading and learning to do now to know how to use the Apex.

But the stuff that i have shouldnt be compatible with apex first? Like the helios heaters i know they have their own controller so not sure.

 

[Dburr1014]

But the stuff that i have shouldnt be compatible with apex first? Like the helios heaters i know they have their own controller so not sure.

You can plug anything into the apex.
Let's take the heater as an example.
The helios heater can/should be programmed to your temp setting. Then you can program the Apex to 2 degrees higher. If the heater is stuck on, your apex will shut it off when it hits that 2 degree hotter setting.

 

[SPS2020]

Master Guide Apex Heaters

Master Guide Apex Testing and Monitoring

Apex Guide (tons of videos...watch them!)

 

[Tamberav]

But the stuff that i have shouldnt be compatible with apex first? Like the helios heaters i know they have their own controller so not sure.

heaters are kind of special... even with their own controller, you should use the apex as a secondary backup. So when/if the heaters controller fails, the apex will catch it and prevent disaster.