Input on going to a controller.

Nmaran72 · Apr 10, 2019

Sorry guys for not being more pro active on the forum. I went thru some stuff this past year. I just completed my build this is where I’m at. I’m debating on going to an automated system with an apex controller due to all the stories I hear. I know how most have great success and some don’t. I’m not tech savvy but learning. I have been out of the game for over 10 years due to raising a family and not being able to dedicate time to a reef aquarium. My system is as follows. Innovative marine sr60 tank custom stand. Kessil ap700 light. Reef octopus main pump. Tunze 9012 skimmer. Maxspect 330 gyre pump. Tank has been running for 3 months and I’m at the final stage of the cycle. Algae/ diatom bloom. I’m at where I am because of all you and the research I did on this forum. Thank you all.

Arricefe · Apr 10, 2019

I have an Apex and although I don't use it to its full potential I think it's cool, expensive but cool. I think I could do the same I do now with an inkbird controller and a couple of WiFi power strips throw in the soon to be available Coralvue hydros and you'll have some decent automation.

ccombs · Apr 10, 2019

In all reality the APEX is very solid. The forum might make it look less reliable because most people don't share when everything is working as planned lol.

I have a fairly simple tank, but I love the flexibility the APEX has given me. It has allowed me to set up a lot of failsafes on the tank.

Nmaran72 · Apr 10, 2019

FelixA said:
I have an Apex and although I don't use it to its full potential I think it's cool, expensive but cool. I think I could do the same I do now with an inkbird controller and a couple of WiFi power strips throw in the soon to be available Coralvue hydros and you'll have some decent automation.

This is my concern. Using it to it potential for the cost to set it up.

Nmaran72 · Apr 10, 2019

ccombs said:
In all reality the APEX is very solid. The forum might make it look less reliable because most people don't share when everything is working as planned lol.

I have a fairly simple tank, but I love the flexibility the APEX has given me. It has allowed me to set up a lot of failsafes on the tank.

The fail safes are why I want one. But not being tech savvy with programming or understanding the complete functions of it is what gives me doubt

ccombs · Apr 10, 2019

Nmaran72 said:
The fail safes are why I want one. But not being tech savvy with programming or understanding the complete functions of it is what gives me doubt

I am a tech nerd so I made it more complex than I needed to. They make it easy to program stuff. If you want to go deep into it, you can go to the 'advanced' mode and actually program lines of code.

DarthSimon · Apr 10, 2019

Having an aquarium controller running your system has a plethora of benefits. The obvious ones are the daily monitoring of your parameters and control of your devices. I think most would agree the single best reason to have the Controller is peace of mind. Having the ability to be away from your tank, being at work, vacation ect. Being able to quickly react can be priceless with the large investments we make in this hobby with our time and money.

Nmaran72 · Apr 10, 2019

DarthSimon said:
Having an aquarium controller running your system has a plethora of benefits. The obvious ones are the daily monitoring of your parameters and control of your devices. I think most would agree the single best reason to have the Controller is peace of mind. Having the ability to be away from your tank, being at work, vacation ect. Being able to quickly react can be priceless with the large investments we make in this hobby with our time and money.

I agree with all the Benefits it has to offer. My biggest concern is the constant change in tech and upgrade costs

DarthSimon · Apr 10, 2019

Nmaran72 said:
I agree with all the Benefits it has to offer. My biggest concern is the constant change in tech and upgrade costs

That's any technology right???

Tastee · Apr 11, 2019

Nmaran72 said:
I agree with all the Benefits it has to offer. My biggest concern is the constant change in tech and upgrade costs

The Apex upgrade cycle isn’t really that rapid, certainly far slower than Apple devices for example. They also seem to have good support for older devices, so I expect 10 years lifespan is a quite reasonable expectation, possibly longer. That is better than most tech out there.

I run one on my tank (2016 model) and would not consider setting up another tank without it. It automatically fills my gravity fed ATO once a day, doses my tank with 3 part gradually throughout the day and gives me lots of lots of failsafes. I will probably use it to implement AWCs in the future.

Nmaran72 · Apr 11, 2019

Tastee said:
The Apex upgrade cycle isn’t really that rapid, certainly far slower than Apple devices for example. They also seem to have good support for older devices, so I expect 10 years lifespan is a quite reasonable expectation, possibly longer. That is better than most tech out there.

I run one on my tank (2016 model) and would not consider setting up another tank without it. It automatically fills my gravity fed ATO once a day, doses my tank with 3 part gradually throughout the day and gives me lots of lots of failsafes. I will probably use it to implement AWCs in the future.

This is what I want it for. I keep seeing people on this forum and others with serious doubts and issues especially concerning dosing failures.

Tastee · Apr 12, 2019

Nmaran72 said:
This is what I want it for. I keep seeing people on this forum and others with serious doubts and issues especially concerning dosing failures.

I’ve had no apex caused issues with dosing failures and have been using it for over a year now.

The only dosing issue I had was when I accidentally knocked out one of the DOS power supplys from my power board and that head stopped dosing. This is an improvement in the Apex I would love to see actually - alerting me to this situation. The DOS head was still online as it was connected via the Aquabus cable but the motor wouldn’t work without the DOS power supply. It would be nice if the Apex was smart enough to detect this situation and tell me. I’ll drop them a note when I have a chance to suggest this.

homer1475 · Apr 12, 2019

Tastee said:
I’ve had no apex caused issues with dosing failures and have been using it for over a year now.

The only dosing issue I had was when I accidentally knocked out one of the DOS power supplys from my power board and that head stopped dosing. This is an improvement in the Apex I would love to see actually - alerting me to this situation. The DOS head was still online as it was connected via the Aquabus cable but the motor wouldn’t work without the DOS power supply. It would be nice if the Apex was smart enough to detect this situation and tell me. I’ll drop them a note when I have a chance to suggest this.

If you have the 2016 apex brain and an EB832, just use the 1link cable. It supplies power and data transfer in one cable. It also free's up an EB832 outlet if you have your DOS plugged into that.

Tastee · Apr 13, 2019

homer1475 said:
If you have the 2016 apex brain and an EB832, just use the 1link cable. It supplies power and data transfer in one cable. It also free's up an EB832 outlet if you have your DOS plugged into that.

I am in Sydney Australia so we don’t have access to the EB8. I would love it if Neptune made an international version of the EB8 but for now we have to live with the EB6 which doesn’t the additional ports. I connect my DOS heads to mains power, not my EB as there is no value in using up an EB outlet.