Neptune Apex should I go for it?

zulin · May 5, 2019

Hi everybody,

I know that this topic has been talked a lot over the years, but I am thinking to add a Neptune Apex to my setup but I have a lot of questions about it.

Most of the questions are related to if it's truly worth the investment an also the reliability of this equipment, the measurements are reliable and accurate? the equipment will last at least a few years working without problems?

I know, typical questions, but I would appreciate if some of you that have the Apex, share with me your opinions either good and bad. On the internet, I found very different opinions related to it and am a bit confused.

Thanks for your replies in advance.
Happy Reefing!

Billldg · May 5, 2019

Some reefers will say its absolutely needed, and others will say its a waste of money. Really it comes down to you and what you want out of it. I do have one and love it. So from me, is it a must have, no, is it worth it, yes. I like being able to check my DT's parameters from my phone. I like having it control my dosing. I like having it control my T5/LED hybrid. I like being able to see trends in my tank, temps, salinity, and PH. I personally don't care for the ORP function. Now to the main reason I have it. It HAS already saved me once. I checked my parameters at work and found that my salinity and tank temp both dropped suddenly. Because of that I knew something was up and was able to get home and find my drains not working properly and thus it emptied my ATO into my tank dropping my salinity. I was able to correct the problem and was able to get my tank back to normal operation and parameters within a few days. So again, for me it is worth having that security on the tank.

rkpetersen · May 5, 2019

At this point I would honestly have a hard time doing everything I do with my tanks without an Apex running each, or another controller with similar capabilities if one exists.

However I do have backup temporary plans were an Apex to suddenly fail. And many programmed safeguards against various hardware failures (not just the Apex itself, but pumps, heaters, etc.)
As with any technology, it pays to be pro-active in predicting things that could go wrong, and then taking steps to keep them from turning into disasters.

Spitty · May 5, 2019

Kinda depends on your lifestyle. If your away from your system a lot I think it’s a “no-brainer”. I have just gotten back into the hobby after a 15 year absence and I purchased an Apex. The features are really mind-blowing if you think about it and I’m barely scratching the surface of what it is capable of. I’m happy to have it.

SuncrestReef · May 5, 2019

I recently posted the following on a similar thread, but it’s probably worth repeating here:

Everyone has their own opinion of what something is worth, and of course what they are willing to spend. I'm a pretty big fan of home automation and have extended that to my reefing equipment. I'm a big fan of my Apex and use it both for convenience of automation as well as safety of my reef and home. Here are some of the things my Apex does for me:

Detect power outages to shut down non-critical devices to prolong power on my battery backup
Control dual heaters in my sump, and a heater in my saltwater mixing station
Control lighting schedules on my Radions, including moon lighting at night based on actual lunar phase
Monitor water level in the refugium if chaeto clogs the drain pipe and turn off the pump to prevent overflows
Adjust my Gyre for different flow rates throughout the day and night
Control 2-part dosing
Monitor water flow rate through my carbon & GFO reactors, as well as return pipe
Turn off my UV sterilizer when water flow goes below 250 gallons/hour
Shut off the skimmer when the Avast skimmate locker is full and send me an alert
Clean the skimmer neck every 6 hours with the Avast Swabbie
Control auto feeder when I'm away from home
Shut down pumps and send an alert if a leak is detected in my sump cabinet or the carpet below my tank
Daily automatic water changes
Remote ATO pump in my garage mixing station feeds water to my tank in the living room
Alert me when RO/DI tank is low, or too full
Alert me when saltwater storage tank is too low, and shut down auto water change until full
Turn on a cooling fan when temps are too high in summer
Keep track of all water test results and produce graphs over time
All alerts are sent to both email and text message

I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting.
To do all of these things, I have the following modules and add-ons, so I've invested substantially more than the Apex base unit:

3 x FMM modules
2 x DOS
WXM
PM2
PMK
DDR
COR-20
2 x PMUP
WAV
AFS
Breakout box
IceCap Gyre module
5 optical sensors
2 leak detectors
3 float switches
1 extra temperature probe
1 extra conductivity probe
Swabbie skimmer neck cleaner
Avast skimmate locker
Auxiliary power adapter for Apex to detect power failures

For me, it provides peace of mind that I wouldn't want to live without.

zulin · May 6, 2019

Hi,

Thank you for all your responses, it is really helpful to me hearing about people that has Apex or is thinking to buy one. After a lot of research and asking myself a lot of questions I think that I will go for it, because I travel a lot for work and I would like to have a bit more of safety and control to my tank. Also in the future, I will invest on modules for some automation like feeding for example.

Thanks again for your time.

SplitBumper-70 · May 6, 2019

It made my live so much eaiser. It was one of the best investments i made

SPR1968 · May 6, 2019

The piece of mind it gives you while travelling is worth every penny and coupled with a HD camera pointing at the tank as well.....

I only use basic functions and monitoring really on my system, but you can see ideas from @SuncrestReef above what it can do, and your only limited by your imagination really.

I see some of the screen set ups and modules and think like wow, mines a bit basic

It’s very easy to use and program as well.

I know you don’t need one to run a successful reef tank, but if you have the money go for it, you won’t regret it.

Adele · May 6, 2019

Just got to put my .02 in. I got the Apex EL last black friday and a DOS to do AWC and it was worth every penny. My Saturday mornings are free to Tank Tinker or if there is something else that needs to be done, well then I don't have to worry about lugging buckets and hoses that morning.
Love being able to check in with the tank and monitoring it. I am torn however on getting the salinity probe. lots of mixed reviews, but understand from the Neptune rep at Aquashella Dallas, that if you can put it in an area free of bubbles its quite accurate.

Js.Aqua.Project · May 6, 2019

SuncrestReef said:
I recently posted the following on a similar thread, but it’s probably worth repeating here:

Everyone has their own opinion of what something is worth, and of course what they are willing to spend. I'm a pretty big fan of home automation and have extended that to my reefing equipment. I'm a big fan of my Apex and use it both for convenience of automation as well as safety of my reef and home. Here are some of the things my Apex does for me:

Detect power outages to shut down non-critical devices to prolong power on my battery backup

Control dual heaters in my sump, and a heater in my saltwater mixing station

Control lighting schedules on my Radions, including moon lighting at night based on actual lunar phase

Monitor water level in the refugium if chaeto clogs the drain pipe and turn off the pump to prevent overflows

Adjust my Gyre for different flow rates throughout the day and night

Control 2-part dosing

Monitor water flow rate through my carbon & GFO reactors, as well as return pipe

Turn off my UV sterilizer when water flow goes below 250 gallons/hour

Shut off the skimmer when the Avast skimmate locker is full and send me an alert

Clean the skimmer neck every 6 hours with the Avast Swabbie

Control auto feeder when I'm away from home

Shut down pumps and send an alert if a leak is detected in my sump cabinet or the carpet below my tank

Daily automatic water changes

Remote ATO pump in my garage mixing station feeds water to my tank in the living room

Alert me when RO/DI tank is low, or too full

Alert me when saltwater storage tank is too low, and shut down auto water change until full

Turn on a cooling fan when temps are too high in summer

Keep track of all water test results and produce graphs over time

All alerts are sent to both email and text message

I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting.
To do all of these things, I have the following modules and add-ons, so I've invested substantially more than the Apex base unit:

3 x FMM modules

2 x DOS

WXM

PM2

PMK

DDR

COR-20

2 x PMUP

WAV

AFS

Breakout box

IceCap Gyre module

5 optical sensors

2 leak detectors

3 float switches

1 extra temperature probe

1 extra conductivity probe

Swabbie skimmer neck cleaner

Avast skimmate locker

Auxiliary power adapter for Apex to detect power failures

For me, it provides peace of mind that I wouldn't want to live without.

^This

Is it needed? Heck no, I know of a few people who still don't use sumps and are still using under gravel fixtures successfully. But the newer equipment makes life so much easier.

Greybeard · May 6, 2019

Lots of folks run a reef without a controller. I did... for decades.

Watched the BRS thing on cost justification of using a Reefkeeper lite as a heater controller, light timer, etc, and bought one on that basis.

A year later, I was using that Reefkeeper for all sorts of things I'd never considered before I had a controller. A year after that, I had an Apex.

I'll never run another aquarium without a controller.

svogun · May 6, 2019

Would never run a reef tank without one.

BeejReef · May 6, 2019

I don't have one YET, but it's on the list. All the technical stuff and the redundancies, safety features, and labor savings aside... I'm hesitant to travel to visit family or go straight from work to a kid's t-ball game without being able to stop home and have a quick look at the tank. Granted, I can be a bit obsessive and I'm new to reefing. Even so, if the only benefit of a controller was a false sense of security and I spent more time with family (and was less stressed doing it), it would be worth it on those grounds alone

That feeling of dread and anticipation coming home after a 4 day weekend to.......??? No fun at all.

My only concern is that adding too much complexity and too many scenarios could cause more issues than they solve.

zulin · May 7, 2019

Hi,

It is amazing the amount of coincidence that all of you have on the responses. I finally decided to try it and I ordered an Apex to the store.
Tomorrow I will receive it, let's see how amazing this new project will be.

Thanks again for all the responses.

russell13 · May 7, 2019

For the longest time I did not use them on my tank. I thought it was to complex and didn’t really think I needed one. I had always heard that after using a controller you will never know how you lived without one. I can now say that I will never have another tank without putting a controller on it. They are so easy to use and do so much for your tank. I have never met a person who got one and didn’t like it