There are 2 levels of integration with Apex.
At one level for any device the Apex can turn on and off the power outlet. This is really all you need for some items, like turn the skimmer off when feeding, manage the ATO, stopping it and telling you if it runs for 5 minutes and apparently does not fill the tank or stopping if the PH gets too high if using kalk, Turn on lights in the cabinet when you open the door (it is one of those features you scoff at when you read about it but it turns out to be a feature you use constantly).
A second level is greater control than simple ON/OFF. It was once great to have your lights come on in the morning and go off at night. Now it is nice for the light go gradually come on in the morning, reach maximum around noon and dim to off at night, all the while changing the color temperature. The Apex has the ability to send out 0-10 volt control voltages and some equipment will use this voltage to control level and color of light, I have Kessil lights that do that so my light levels change over the day and go from blueish to white. Any power head you use for water motion can be switched on and off but some use the voltage to control speed so you can have different wave patterns, Tunze. Some go beyond that and allow for complex programs to simulate various types of environments, Neputne Wave, and there is a wireless module to control Vortech pumps.
One thing the Apex brings is backup and notification of problems that can crash a tank. For example my ATO power is shut off if the pH rises too high. That will stop a problem with an ATO float not registering and dumping my entire fresh water, with kalk. I get an email when the ATO water or water change water gets low. If a heater were to stick on power is cut and an email is sent when the temp gets too high. If the temp falls too low I get an email, even if it is at night and I would never see the problem. I monitor ORP and if it falls I get an email so I can look into why it fell. The new power bar will monitor power used by the return pump and, hopefully, the current draw for the return pump will increase as it starts to fail.
Yeah, I can look at most of that stuff myself but the Apex does not forget or get a little lazy and in some cases it can do something even if I am out of the house. It also watches stuff 24/7.
