Neptune Apex or Reef-pi

[Taxus812]

If money was not a concern and you cold buy a professionally built Reef-pi system. What would you prefer and why ? (please feel free to add other production controllers. I am trying to decided if I want to build a reef-pi (which is fully in my capability) or save for an Apex controller.

 

[LiveWire]

In my opinion I like the Apex as it has what I need to keep things thriving but is also missing some things that I would like to have. I like the Reef Pi concept and the fact that you make it what you want but I cant find the time to put into building a system from the ground up.

I would like to have a Smart plug that I can control from the other side of the room with my Apex but that is not an option at this time. SO I have to use other smart devices. That is an option with the Reef Pi though so I could see myself building one if I had the time. When the kids get a bit older I can see me Creating a Home Assistant setup to a Reef Pi setup and then I think the possibilities would be endless.

I would say that if you have the time and like to build like some of us do then Go all out with the Reef Pi. I remember having to write all the code for my Apex back in the day and the fact that I don't have to do that anymore was great for me and is great for someone that does not have as much free time So I think its all comes down to the time you have and how much you want to do with it outside of what Apex can already do.

 

[dank reefer]

Another option is ekoral.

 

[bigcheese]

I'm on the fence with neither.. but a little bit of both.
I run both reef-pi and Apex Classic, and hoping at some point in the near future to integrate the two using the Pi as a proxy (and publish instructions [emoji54]).

There are always tradeoffs... Apex is pretty rock-solid, efficient, stable, great at the low-level stuff.. if it's responsible for the continued operation of a tank with thousands, if not tens of thousands worth in livestock, it needs to be. If something's gone haywire, I want real support with an answer or fix most rickey-tic.
The Pi is not that thing... yet. And it may never be, due to the internal Pi architecture and pile of *ahem* community-supported code *ahem* that is Raspbian (Check out the status of the Vertex Cerebra for perspective).

On the other hand, not having usable analog inputs, BLE radio or legit security hardening on the Apex are unforgiveable and shortsighted.

So... long story longer: reef-pi on top of FreeRTOS, BSD, or WindRiver Linux; running on a Beaglebone (or RPi with Arduinos handling the real-world interfaces); and @Ranjith on the payroll for 24x7 support gets my hard-earned cash.

 

[Tastee]

For me it’s the Apex. As per prior comments I want something that works without a lot of effort on my part. I don’t mind spending effort to learn something, but I don’t want to spend effort to maintain it. I also like the range of accessories that directly interface to the Apex allowing controllability, alarms and redundancy.

Finally it’s the Fusion interface and iPad/iPhone app that is the deal breaker for me. I am also using the Alexa integration - my wife loves telling Alexa when it is time to feed the fish and I love using it when I have my hands deep in the tank doing maintenance. Even our recent house sitter had no trouble feeding the fish using the Alexa driven feeding cycle.

It does come at a price however as you already know.