is an apex worth the cost?

[Rscott]

other then turning outlets on and off remotely what can an apex do for you?

can it change the speed of the cor pumps?

can it change speeds of the Neptune power heads or just one/off?

does it interact with AI hydra lights?

I know later on it has great things like dosing , leak detection and many other things
but for a new hobbyist is it worth the cost given how much an initial setup costs already

Thanks for the thoughts

 

[Smo]

Yes. Can’t imagine running a salt water tank without one. If you are new to the hobby look for an Apex Junior as a starter. You can run up to 7 modules with it and build your system at your own pace.

 

[Rscott]

Yes. Can’t imagine running a salt water tank without one. If you are new to the hobby look for an Apex Junior as a starter. You can run up to 7 modules with it and build your system at your own pace.

I was thinking that but didnt want to buy a junior only to need to upgrade shortly after.
whats the main difference between the two? still can control via cell phone?
I was thinking to get a cor pump and apex power heads but the whole deal is like $2k!

 

[don_chuwish]

It's certainly something you can wait for - see how far you go with the hobby first. But it does all the things you asked about and so much more. Automated response scenarios to power failures, alarms for that, alarms for pH & temp, various different customizable 'feed' modes... on and on. I started with an Apex Lite and have added on from there. If you do dive in and then bail out of the hobby later they hold their value well - reselling used at respectable prices.

 

[Rakie]

Been in the hobby since I was a kid. It's unnecessary. It doesn't do too much. I have one... I could easily go without it. I will not buy one in the future, it doesn't do much.

 

[Darryl]

YES!!!!!!!

 

[Matthew Frost]

I think this is a question of your personal choice. Some would say you can't run a "successful" reef without one, not true because there are many people that do. Some would say its a waste of money, but their are features it provides and tasks it can perform when properly set up that make it a very powerful tool. Its a matter of your personal needs and choices. I would do your research and think about tasks you may want to automate, water changes, feeding, skimmer cleaning, heater control, lighting control, tank monitoring, leak detection, decide if those things are important enough to justify the investment to automate.

 

[wesman42]

I will never see the need to spend thousands of dollars on poor programming and a raspberry pi . I WOULD however, like to eventually get to building Reef-Pi. It does more than neptune ever could....lol.

 

[Michael E.]

I just got one last month after being in the hobby
For 8 years. I can say it’s definitely not the easiest to use. So you do have to dedicate some time to figuring out everything.

The reason I pulled the trigger on it was mainly
For the future release of the trident (the automated water testing)

What I found out is how important it is to have a centralized control platform. It keeps everything consistent, which is obviously important in this hobby. I have my kessils, return pump, chiller and pump, flow and leak sensors on it. At some point, each one of these items has and will fail again (usually while I’m on vacation). Had there been an APEX, I would have been able to take some action and avoid damages from failed equipment quicker.

Because I’ve had to rebuild or deal with dead corals/fish, I think of it as an insurance policy...

 

[User1]

Personally choice. I have one. I also have a reef angel. I also go back a ways with Neptune using one of their earlier controllers in 2000 with the X10 units. Worked great until my GSD thought it was a chew toy after I left it on the ground on the side of my tank after fiddling with it. It can do what you want it to do. Out of the box some basic on off Boolean logic stuff. If this, do that, etc plus some monitor capabilities. Up to you if you feel it is worth it or not.

Like I noted above it was early Neptune unit, then later I moved to Reef Angel, used that for a long while, recent up grade to 210 gallons I picked up the new Apex and just has happy. However, I still use the Reef Angel for controlling lights since it has features like geo location for sunrise, sun set, and tidal functions that I don't see possible with the apex. One day I will retire it and the be all Neptune eco system.

So to your question. Do you need it. No. It is no different that most things in this hobby say like a skimmer. Do you need a skimmer? No. It all comes down to you, the hobbyist, and how you deploy and maintain your system. I do think one larger benefit any controller offers is alerting though for when away. That is something to consider has the cost of your tank to replace increases. Just something to consider - apex or any other.

 

[Ranjib]

other then turning outlets on and off remotely what can an apex do for you?

can it change the speed of the cor pumps?

can it change speeds of the Neptune power heads or just one/off?

does it interact with AI hydra lights?

I know later on it has great things like dosing , leak detection and many other things
but for a new hobbyist is it worth the cost given how much an initial setup costs already

Thanks for the thoughts

Its not a necessity, but it does adds a lot of peace of mind to your precious livestock and let you explore your tanks daily fluctuations. If you spend enough, it will also save significant amount of time and effort by automating dosing etc.

 

[CenlaReefer]

I am very interested to get an Apex EL soon mostly for monitoring the tank while away for work, for insurance against heater failure, and pH monitoring.

I wonder when it would be possible with an Apex EL, Trident, and Apex dosers to have the controller dose Alk, Ca, and Mg automatically as needed. Imagine only having to monitor the refill of reagents and those 3 supplements!

 

[ChadmRoman]

Yes

 

[ihavecrabs]

Definitely a personal choice.

For me, since I travel a decent amount, it really helps with peace of mind.

• I get alerts for power failures, so I can have someone check-in or set up the generator
• I get alerts when temp goes out of my desired range
  • I also have heaters on backup that won't kick in until it reaches a threshold, just in case. It also warns me.
• My ATO warns me when there is an issue (filling too long or out of water)
• I have a backup return pump on standby in case I go out of town and someone tells me the water isnt moving.. (I also could get an alert for temp low in display..) Turn the backup outlet on
• Everything has a redundancy.. Heater stuck on, Apex turns power off to it when temp is reached. Heater stuck off, backup heater kicks in and alerts me. pH too high or too low, check dosing or lights. temp too high, lights are turned off.
• Unusual electrical usage

I also use the apex to control a lot of things:

• Moon light based on the moons location itself
• Water temp based on the seasonal water temps (within reason.. I take the top and bottom edge off!)
• My MP40's and Jebao are both programmed through the Apex that provides an awesome randomized flow constantly as well as lower flow and turbulence at night and swells during the day.
• Main light on/off schedule
• Dosing control and graph

I think the only thing I need now to feel quite safe with leaving for an extended period of time is one of the many Alkalinity monitors so that I can adjust dosing while remote with real-time information!

 

[declanisadog]

I always told myself it wasn't worth the money, but then I got one in a trade. Now I look at it like a smartphone, I was fine for years without one, but now if mine craps out, I will replace immediately.

 

[symon_say]

Not a necessity, but will make your reefing life easier.

This don't apply exclusively to apex, but to allá controllers.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

other then turning outlets on and off remotely what can an apex do for you?

In addition to outlet control, it provides tank monitoring via pH, conductivity, temp, and ORP probes. Fusion also provides around the clock access to your tank from anywhere with internet access as well as test result logging. Through expansion modules it can also feed your tank, control Ecotech Radions & MPw powerheads, detect leaks, dose, and with a breakout box and some ingenuity just about anything (I saw a guy on here using a BOB as a garage door opener!).

can it change the speed of the cor pumps?

Yes.

can it change speeds of the Neptune power heads or just one/off?

Yes, they are speed controllable.

does it interact with AI hydra lights?

The EL and 2016 (aka NG) both can control/interact with AI hydras.

is it worth the cost given how much an initial setup costs already

This part is debatable, an Apex is not a requirement for any tank...ever. However, I personally will not run any tank long term without one again (QT excluded).

There is also a learning curve associated with an Apex in getting used to it and what it does out of the box versus what you may have expected - I refer to it as the "Apex Honeymoon."

 

[Matt Carden]

I'm considering the reef angel star as it is half the price for nearly the same capability. Also the expansions seem to be cheaper.

 

[steve bergmann]

I have had mine for some time now. I suppose it depends on what type of other equipment and the quality of that is. I really don't see too much value in it other than it does make a very good and very expensive automatic fish feeder, my Anthias love it. As for the probes I am not sure how reliable they are so I always seem to be running backup checks. I don't think I would really recommend spending the money on one but that is just me. I got mine because I wanted to be ready for their Trident and was getting tired of the DKH tests that I constantly run. Now that I have an Apex I don't think I would trust their Trident's test results, at least based off of my trust of their probes. Depends on your budget but my first $ spent would always go towards high quality lights and pumps. I would even throw a high quality light over the sump in this category. After you have those taken care of then maybe an Apex would be on my list. It seems to me that us reef hobbyists are also good candidates to be gadget buyers, and the Apex seems to fall in the gadget category. I know plenty would disagree but that is my thoughts.

 

[steve bergmann]

It has a great thermometer as well.