New to Apex

[Amyschingeck]

I recently bought a new home and it has a built in 120 reef tank. Fish and coral were left in it. We’re doing ok for newbies and everything is somehow alive. We did have an algae scrubber installed. They also left behind an Apex system. I can find this on my wireless networks, but when I try to connect it says “no internet connection”. I have internet so obviously I’m missing something. I really need to adjust the flow on this tank because the bubble tips are wigging out on me. We have an aquarium guy that’s been out a few times to help us, but I really want this Apex situation taken care of!

 

[UCF Alum]

Did you download the Apex Fusion app yet?
Start there!

 

[Amyschingeck]

Yep. Got it. I created an account but can not connect. and when I called Apex they said the previous owners had to delete their info first. The previous owners said they can’t do that till I get it connected to the internet which I cannot figure out! All the google searches and sleepless nights reading the dang manual and nothing!

 

[TheHarold]

Yep. Got it. I created an account but can not connect. and when I called Apex they said the previous owners had to delete their info first. The previous owners said they can’t do that till I get it connected to the internet which I cannot figure out! All the google searches and sleepless nights reading the dang manual and nothing!

That is not correct, to my knowledge. They can just login to their Apex Fusion account and delete the apex.

Once that is done, you can reset it and it will be like a new unit.

 

[SuncrestReef]

First try connecting to it on the local network at http://apex.local

The default user name and password is:

admin
1234

Also, I see it has an orange network cable going into a wall jack. Do you know if that is patched through to your Internet router?

 

[Amyschingeck]

That’s what I thought too! But they keep saying no. I’ll try calling Apex again. Any ideas why I’m getting this when I try to connect though?

 

[SuncrestReef]

That is not correct, to my knowledge. They can just login to their Apex Fusion account and delete the apex.

Once that is done, you can reset it and it will be like a new unit.

See this article on transferring an Apex: https://forum.neptunesystems.com/showthread.php?7399-Transfering-an-Apex-To-or-From-Someone-Else

 

[SuncrestReef]

That’s what I thought too! But they keep saying no. I’ll try calling Apex again. Any ideas why I’m getting this when I try to connect though?

Is the Neptune logo currently blue on your Apex? In your original photos it was orange. But in your screenshot it's showing the Apex Setup_#### WiFi network which means it's currently in WiFi Setup mode, which happens if you pressed the reset button until the logo turned blue.

If that's the case, then you should be able to set it up easily. Follow the steps in Neptune's Getting Started guide: https://www.neptunesystems.com/getstarted/apexng/

 

[Amyschingeck]

First try connecting to it on the local network at http://apex.local

The default user name and password is:

admin
1234

Also, I see it has an orange network cable going into a wall jack. Do you know if that is patched through to your Internet router?

I’m thinking that cable has to be patched thru, however it is not connected to the router because quite frankly I don’t know which cable to plug into the router and where. This guy has the house wired for everything, TV locations all have HDMI cables coming out of the wall, it’s insane!

 

[Amyschingeck]

Alright when I unplug the Ethernet cable, the light turns blue and I can connect to it. I’m going to read up on all this tomorrow. This is a job!

 

[Goomba_BC]

I thought so too. Now I can't live without it .
Well maybe I can but I don't want to.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Another good source of information is the Neptune user forums - https://forum.neptunesystems.com/forum.php

All I keep thinking is "wow - you get a 120 gallon reef tank, set up and running with an Apex controller for Free!!!" It is a bit to swallow all at once if you don't have experience, though. For a short term fix to your flow problem, is there any sort of valve on the return pump pipe? You may be able to tweak that to reduce the flow until you can get the Apex figured out.

 

[Amyschingeck]

First try connecting to it on the local network at http://apex.local

The default user name and password is:

admin
1234

Also, I see it has an orange network cable going into a wall jack. Do you know if that is patched through to your Internet router?

So i have it connected wirelessly now. The next step according to the instructions are to go to apex.local and use admin for the username and 1234 for the password. Did that but several tries in and it says "login failed". I watched a youtube video and the guy setting his up came up right away when he put in admin, etc. Could it be because it was already linked?

 

[SuncrestReef]

So i have it connected wirelessly now. The next step according to the instructions are to go to apex.local and use admin for the username and 1234 for the password. Did that but several tries in and it says "login failed". I watched a youtube video and the guy setting his up came up right away when he put in admin, etc. Could it be because it was already linked?

The most likely problem is that the previous owner changed the admin password. Do you have any way to contact the owner? If not, you will need to factory reset your Apex and then re-do all the programming, which will be very difficult if you have no record of how things were set.

 

[Amyschingeck]

Another good source of information is the Neptune user forums - https://forum.neptunesystems.com/forum.php

All I keep thinking is "wow - you get a 120 gallon reef tank, set up and running with an Apex controller for Free!!!" It is a bit to swallow all at once if you don't have experience, though. For a short term fix to your flow problem, is there any sort of valve on the return pump pipe? You may be able to tweak that to reduce the flow until you can get the Apex figured out.

I was shocked too! Ok here is a photo of the pumps and you'll have to forgive me as I'm not sure which one you are referring to. I do know that the circular one is too high because it is blowing sand around and the coral looks like it's in a tornado sometimes.

 

[Amyschingeck]

The most likely problem is that the previous owner changed the admin password. Do you have any way to contact the owner? If not, you will need to factory reset your Apex and then re-do all the programming, which will be very difficult if you have no record of how things were set.

OH boy.....which means as a newbie I will probably never figure this out! I dont want to mess with what it is doing right now because quite honestly, I dont know what it's doing. I just want control of the flow and to get the water right. All that other stuff can come in time.

 

[Sleepydoc]

That’s a gyre pump you pictured. I’m not terribly familiar with them, but my understanding is they have a control module to use in stand-alone mode and an apex interface box that you have pictured. Do you have the regular control module? In the short term it may be easier to take it off of the Apex and control it manually.

The basic Apex programming isn’t terribly difficult, so if you have to reset it you can get things like heaters and the return pump set up relatively easily but I’d set aside an afternoon just in case - you don’t want to start and then not have enough time to get it running again!

One other thing that would be good to do regardless is to figure out how to keep it running without the Apex. That way if it goes out for any reason you’re not up a creek.

 

[SuncrestReef]

OH boy.....which means as a newbie I will probably never figure this out! I dont want to mess with what it is doing right now because quite honestly, I dont know what it's doing. I just want control of the flow and to get the water right. All that other stuff can come in time.

Are you able to contact the previous owner? If so, this can be very easy to get things under control. If you cannot reach them, it will be a bit of a process, but I'd be willing to help you out. I'm the guy who wrote the 8-part Apex Programming Tutorial series here on Reef2Reef: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/neptune-apex-programming-tutorials-part-1.685/

If you can't get the login info from the previous owner, this would be the process to recover:

1. Inventory all the Apex modules. This would entail following each cable plugged into the Apex and EnergyBar to see what is connected and where.
2. Factory reset the Apex. This will wipe out all its programming, but would let you connect in to set it up from scratch.
3. Program all the basics....Heater control, return pump, powerheads, etc.
4. Program any additional features based on which modules are connected.

Once the Apex is online and linked to Fusion, you can grant remote access to it, allowing me or someone else you choose to connect to assist in programming or troubleshooting. Once it's set up, you can then remove the additional remote access.

 

[Amyschingeck]

That’s kind of the goal is to go old school and learn how to go without it first. Now I’m in a situation because the previous owners messaged me and said they noticed I connected it to the internet so they deleted it from their account. I’m praying hard core that it didn’t reset anything because I have no idea how to do anything if it did. And Apex is closed today.

 

[Amyschingeck]

I have their Facebook information but now that they deleted it am I screwed?