Neptune Systems - The countdown has begun

[trevorhiller]

If I thought $120 was ridiculous for something in this hobby, I’d just have a reef scene playing on my TV and no tank at all.

It’s a nice to have. Definitely not a need to have. But I like the tinkering and automation just as much as the inhabitants.

It's not that $120 goes very far these days... it certainly doesn't.

I just don't think there is a lot of tech in the product, making the profit margin pretty high I'm sure. We all try to make ourselves feel better about the ridiculous amount of money we spend on this hobby and companies know this so they can take advantage. It perpetuates the cycle and I don't like that. I think we need to expect a little more for our money otherwise manufacturers have no incentive to make higher quality, more durable, more reliable products.

Perhaps if there was a premium feel to the Neptune products maybe I wouldn't be so annoyed with them. But most of my Apex products look and feel like some budget electronic component ordered off Amazon or Aliexpress. Some attempt at water and dust resistance would show at least some effort being made to making a durable product. Or if they don't want to spend money there, how about Versa compatibility out of the box. See what I'm saying?

I'll probably buy one eventually, but I'll likely hold out for Versa compatibility. Right now it doesn't offer me enough features for my money. Maybe now they are owned by this "giant" company they'll have some extra resources to step up their game going forward.

 

[apb03]

It's not that $120 goes very far these days... it certainly doesn't.

I just don't think there is a lot of tech in the product, making the profit margin pretty high I'm sure. We all try to make ourselves feel better about the ridiculous amount of money we spend on this hobby and companies know this so they can take advantage. It perpetuates the cycle and I don't like that. I think we need to expect a little more for our money otherwise manufacturers have no incentive to make higher quality, more durable, more reliable products.

Perhaps if there was a premium feel to the Neptune products maybe I wouldn't be so annoyed with them. But most of my Apex products look and feel like some budget electronic component ordered off Amazon or Aliexpress. Some attempt at water and dust resistance would show at least some effort being made to making a durable product. Or if they don't want to spend money there, how about Versa compatibility out of the box. See what I'm saying?

I'll probably buy one eventually, but I'll likely hold out for Versa compatibility. Right now it doesn't offer me enough features for my money. Maybe now they are owned by this "giant" company they'll have some extra resources to step up their game going forward.

Exactly. The MXM without Versa support is a deal breaker. It's the only value add worth even considering. It would allow you to integrate the Trident for dosing and truly extend the Ecotech lineup. Without it, it's just basically replacing a management interface with another. I get the appeal of a single app for everything, but that's not what this product offers, and has no real benefit to the user.

I can't bring myself to buy Neptune products, whether it be the proprietary ecosystem or the cheap build quality, it makes a lot more sense to just set up a reef-pi and be done with it. At least with that setup, I can also control my Kasa plugs.

 

[brian222]

As I said I’ve been testing the mxm since December. For me it’s been great. What I like is the ability to tie things into my apex for automation.

Some examples:

I have my MP40s, Nero 3 and Nero 7 all controlled by my apex. I have multiple feed modes setup. One feed mode is all flow off, so it turns everything off when I do Feed A. Another feed mode reduces flow. So my two Neros turn off and my Mp40s go into a gentle pulse and my return pump turns off.

I’ve also got a flush mode that I enable where my Mp40s turn on to NTM mode at a high percentage, the Neros turn on pulse, my return ramps up full and my auto top off turns off. I can turn this on when I want to storm the tank.

For my radions I have a profile setup that reduces the intensity of my lights when I do big water changes since a lot of corals are out of the water. So I have a virtual outlet setup that turns off all flow, and reduces the intensity of my lights by half. I can turn this on via Alexa by just saying “Alexa ask apex fusion to turn on big water change”.

Also with my Radions my wife often complains the living room is too blue when she takes pics of the kids so I made a radion profile that turns my lights full while. I setup a virtual outlet with a “when on” statement to turn it off after a period of time. When my wife wants to not mess up her kid pics she can just say “Alexa ask apex fusion to set “white lights to auto”. It will turn on that profile for 15 minutes then turn it off. I use the same profile when I’m hunting algae in my tank.

I’ve also got a “blue pop” setting setup the same way that I enable with Alexa.

thanks for sharing, so you can control the light to run a different schedule in Fusion using virtual output? like switching on photo mode with Neptune SKY?

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

thanks for sharing, so you can control the light to run a different schedule in Fusion using virtual output? like switching on photo mode with Neptune SKY?

I'm not familiar with N. Sky. Do you have to set up profiles for that to happen?

 

[trmiv]

thanks for sharing, so you can control the light to run a different schedule in Fusion using virtual output? like switching on photo mode with Neptune SKY?

Not sure how the sky works, but with the radion you can do it with profiles and you activate those with a virtual outlet.

 

[slythy]

Been testing the MXM as part of the Neptune NSI program for quite awhile. It’s been great so far and I’ve been really happy with it. I can’t share much more than that until after the official release, but if anyone has any questions once it does I’ll be happy to answer any.

Hey quick question. Do i have to rebuild all my profiles from mobius into fusion? I really like how everythings currently setup and dont want to deal with remaking 5 mpxx pump profiles as well as my 2 radions.

If its truely add mxm and it works like normal im sold!

 

[trmiv]

Hey quick question. Do i have to rebuild all my profiles from mobius into fusion? I really like how everythings currently setup and dont want to deal with remaking 5 mpxx pump profiles as well as my 2 radions.

If its truely add mxm and it works like normal im sold!

Yes you’re going to have to rebuild them. They don’t import into fusion.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

dont want to deal with remaking 5 mpxx pump profiles as well as my 2 radions.

The good news is, there is a copy feature in fusion that allows you to import a file over to another pump and/or light.

 

[trmiv]

One suggestion I’d make is save your pumps and light profiles as templates in mobius before you import them in to fusion. When you add a pump or light to the mxm it erases the mobius profile. Then after you get it into fusion, go back and reload the template as a fallback schedule. Not only does that make an easy way to set your fallback schedule but then you have a reference to build the schedule in fusion.

 

[Mike1970]

I wish it worked with versa Pumps!!

 

[David Cher]

One suggestion I’d make is save your pumps and light profiles as templates in mobius before you import them in to fusion. When you add a pump or light to the mxm it erases the mobius profile. Then after you get it into fusion, go back and reload the template as a fallback schedule. Not only does that make an easy way to set your fallback schedule but then you have a reference to build the schedule in fusion.

agreed on this