HOLY JEEBUS! APEX is my SAVIOR! Controller-less people READ!

[Wankell]

So I just wanted to let everyone who might on the fence about dishing out cash for a controller that its WELL worth it!


This is just the beginning of what I have yet to discover but I will be using Temperature as an example!


Before I had the apex I had the typical hang on the inside thermometer to check on the temps every day and night. I relied on the internal thermometer for the heater to keep my tank at the right temps. Well little did I know it was fluctuating quite a BIT! Up to 82 degrees in the day with the halide on!! :fear: And apparently down to 76 at night with the halide off!!


With a little tweaking and Apex MAGIC, I now have my tank running within .25-.50 degrees fluctuation at any given time!


See my examples -


Overall change -

Fine detail -

I have the Apex Jr. before they started including the display unit. You can still find them out there but act quick because soon you will have to spend over $220 to even get started with one.


I also found that your thermometer on the heater never stops working, so the Apex might have it powered on, but the heater itself isn't powered on because you set it too low! So crank it up and let the Apex decide when to turn it on and off, not the heater!

 

[Dave A]

Don't crank it too high, on the slim chance that you controller fails with the heat on you could find your tank is too hot. Anything can fail and if your controller does, your heater will be either permanently on or permanently off. Set your heater no more than a degree or two warmer than the set point of your controller.
I currently have my Reef Angel set to come on at 77.7 and go off at 78. My heater is set at 79.

 

[ToXIc]

Don't crank it too high, on the slim chance that you controller fails with the heat on you could find your tank is too hot. Anything can fail and if your controller does, your heater will be either permanently on or permanently off. Set your heater no more than a degree or two warmer than the set point of your controller.
I currently have my Reef Angel set to come on at 77.7 and go off at 78. My heater is set at 79.

very good post..

 

[Dave A]

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Definitely a good point about grabbing a Jr while you can, $220 is just too much to pay for it. That's almost what I paid for my RA and I can do anything with it that a full Apex will do, and then some.

 

[Wankell]

Don't crank it too high, on the slim chance that you controller fails with the heat on you could find your tank is too hot. Anything can fail and if your controller does, your heater will be either permanently on or permanently off. Set your heater no more than a degree or two warmer than the set point of your controller.
I currently have my Reef Angel set to come on at 77.7 and go off at 78. My heater is set at 79.

Yeah, I lowered it on the off chance that it fails... however the apex does has a safety measure to default to off if it were to fail!

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Definitely a good point about grabbing a Jr while you can, $220 is just too much to pay for it. That's almost what I paid for my RA and I can do anything with it that a full Apex will do, and then some.

Yeah, it only includes the Display too, so you dont get any additional functions like pH or module additions. So far it does what I need though, I already want pH... and its $75 on top of the cost of the probe... Extra $100 right there!

Definitely a must have though, for temp stability alone!

 

[vbsaltydog]

You dont want to keep your temp tolerance so tight. It will train your corals to not be able to survive normal temperature swings.

Your temp should swing a few degrees over 24 hours so they corals can survive these changes. If you run .25 degree temp tolerance and your controller/heater/chiller fails, the slightest temp swing will kill your corals that have been kept at .25 degree tolerances.

Another tip is to run two heaters vs one. The two heaters should equal enough wattage to heat your tank, that way if one sticks on, it will not be strong enough to cook your tank. This removes "single point of failure" from your heating solution regardless of whether you run a controller or not.

 

[Dave A]

You dont want to keep your temp tolerance so tight. It will train your corals to not be able to survive normal temperature swings.

Your temp should swing a few degrees over 24 hours so they corals can survive these changes. If you run .25 degree temp tolerance and your controller/heater/chiller fails, the slightest temp swing will kill your corals that have been kept at .25 degree tolerances.

Another tip is to run two heaters vs one. The two heaters should equal enough wattage to heat your tank, that way if one sticks on, it will not be strong enough to cook your tank. This removes "single point of failure" from your heating solution regardless of whether you run a controller or not.

Good points. I'm currently keeping a narrow swing of 0.3-0.4 degrees on my temps because my chilly basement causes rapid fluctuations in temperature. I do change the temps every couple days to keep the inhabitants guessing a bit. I've been meaning to look into setting up my RA to drop a degree when the lights are off, I didn't realize how much heat my T5s put off until I switched to LEDs.

 

[Wankell]

My heater was working overtime for SURE!

Just before 3pm you can see I made the change, big difference!

 

[ReEfErAdDiCt]

Nice. I've been really worried about my temps lately because they've been swinging so much. I've always wanted a controller and seeing a thread like this only shows me how well worth the money they can be.