What makes the Neptune APEX controller worth $799.00

[CMO]

The honest short answer is nothing...
At this point apex is just a temp control and on off switches.
Most of my equipments are controlled other means.
Apex have became too expensive, many reliability issues and keep changing.

Not really. I just updated my DOS via apex at the airport. I don't think my sps would have enjoyed the alk swing that would have ensued without this capability ...

It also shuts off my skimmer when my locker is full, protects ato from overflowing if my Tunz fails, shut off pumps incase of leaks or drain clogs, feeds my tank with auto feeder, provides backup failsafe on both chiller and heater temp control, controls vortech pumps across several settings throughout the day, etc. etc. etc. I could continue but you get the point...

 

[acropora4u]

Not really. I just updated my DOS via apex at the airport. I don't think my sps would have enjoyed the alk swing that would have ensued without this capability ...

It also shuts off my skimmer when my locker is full, protects ato from overflowing if my Tunz fails, shut off pumps incase of leaks or drain clogs, feeds my tank with auto feeder, provides backup failsafe on both chiller and heater temp control, controls vortech pumps across several settings throughout the day, etc. etc. etc. I could continue but you get the point...

So do you have a the EL or full version ???

 

[CMO]

So do you have a the EL or full version ???

I have the full but I believe much of what I said would be compatible with El. However, I do have an extensive set of expansion modules and other add on products to allow some of this. While I agree ORP is not all that helpful for the average reefer I do find the salinity probe to be very helpful and pretty accurate in my experience within 1 ppt. I actually just had a friend call me while on vacation saying his salinity spiked on his apex. I went over and found his ato had run dry.

If calibrated properly (100% dry) and placed away from microbubbles the salinity probe works very well.

 

[acropora4u]

I have the full but I believe much of what I said would be compatible with El. However, I do have an extensive set of expansion modules and other add on products to allow some of this. While I agree ORP is not all that helpful for the average reefer I do find the salinity probe to be very helpful and pretty accurate in my experience within 1 ppt. I actually just had a friend call me while on vacation saying his salinity spiked on his apex. I went over and found his ato had run dry.

If calibrated properly (100% dry) and placed away from microbubbles the salinity probe works very well.

Thanks. I think maybe I’ll get the full Apex as I’ll need 2 ph probes so I have one for my calcium reactor as well.

 

[Zohar78]

I imagine many is in the same boat. It is an expensive piece of equipment. Seems for the most part, gives u choice to get what what you need/want out of

 

[road_runner]

Not really. I just updated my DOS via apex at the airport. I don't think my sps would have enjoyed the alk swing that would have ensued without this capability ...

It also shuts off my skimmer when my locker is full, protects ato from overflowing if my Tunz fails, shut off pumps incase of leaks or drain clogs, feeds my tank with auto feeder, provides backup failsafe on both chiller and heater temp control, controls vortech pumps across several settings throughout the day, etc. etc. etc. I could continue but you get the point...

Lol. Good for you. Not to minimize your post, but on my end I think most of these are gimmicks. Most of what's described is toggling outlets on and off which the chepqrst apex can do as well ad many other cheap controllers. That's exactly what I meant with my post. Apex is more of on off toggle for me.
As for dosing, the forums are full of threads of how unreliable apex dos are..
I have more than $40k worth of sps in ly systems and not about to risk it dor apex.
8 just went through an awful ATO issues with apex ATK and FMM which I also realized are super common. Just Google fmm lock up or ATK freez and enjoy the readings...
Again I mean no disrespect thats my simple openion

 

[CMO]

Lol. Good for you. Not to minimize your post, but on my end I think most of these are gimmicks. Most of what's described is toggling outlets on and off which the chepqrst apex can do as well ad many other cheap controllers. That's exactly what I meant with my post. Apex is more of on off toggle for me.
As for dosing, the forums are full of threads of how unreliable apex dos are..
I have more than $40k worth of sps in ly systems and not about to risk it dor apex.
8 just went through an awful ATO issues with apex ATK and FMM which I also realized are super common. Just Google fmm lock up or ATK freez and enjoy the readings...
Again I mean no disrespect thats my simple openion

None taken. And I'm with you. That's why on every critical component I have a back up not tied to apex. Ato for example I rely on tunze which has optical and float. Apex provides a 3rd sump high cutoff only via a separate device (if 2 devices fail simultaneously its just not meant to be). As for the dosing, I have a non wifi doser standing by waiting for a DOS failure (but haven't had any issues yet running 3 of them about 1 year now). However, I truly cannot imagine managing my tank without apex and think it goes far beyond just on/off if used in that capacity. The trident will only expand upon that.

 

[road_runner]

None taken. And I'm with you. That's why on every critical component I have a back up not tied to apex. Ato for example I rely on tunze which has optical and float. Apex provides a 3rd sump high cutoff only via a separate device (if 2 devices fail simultaneously its just not meant to be). As for the dosing, I have a non wifi doser standing by waiting for a DOS failure (but haven't had any issues yet running of them about 1 year now). However, I truly cannot imagine managing my tank without apex and think it goes far beyond just on/off if used in that capacity. The trident will only expand upon that.

I been using khg for 2 years now. Super stable kh measurment and dosing.
I guarantee u the trident will suck for at least a year..you will see. That has become a trend with Neptune. Early adopter of their modules alwayes pay the price of instability....

 

[CMO]

I been using khg for 2 years now. Super stable kh measurment and dosing.
I guarantee u the trident will suck for at least a year..you will see. That has become a trend with Neptune. Early adopter of their modules alwayes pay the price of instability....

Just based on the same logic, khg reviews are terrible...

 

[Garia666]

I have no apex and it probably going to stay a while, I cant stand the colouration of Its products. They should deliver just a plain white one. If you want something orange then put a small orange logo on it Or something. I might see the day. Cant say anything about the operation most ppl I speak are sattisfied about it.

 

[Tamberav]

I bought a used apex lite years ago and I do like it and was not disappointed in the purchase, keep in mind I only paid like 200 though, not 800. Some of the add-on's are lack luster though compared to what other companies use. The Tunze ATO vs ATK is a good example. The auto feeder is loud and kind of bulky, I don't have experience with the DOS.

I do wish the new orange apex was more sleek, I think it's kind of bulky and ugly. I think the PAR meter inside a rock is kind of funny, I don't think par in 1 spot is something I need to constantly measure. I wish they made a HD camera that was easy to add on or made it easy to add on dropcams/nest cams ect. There is certainly room to improve in some areas.

I haven't found a need to upgrade yet, maybe Trident will be reliable, I will wait and see.

I basically use it to have a way to control the tank and keep an eye on it if I am not home but it is certainly not a needed piece of equipment to be successful.

 

[Lollipop]

everyone will have a different answer and nothing is perfect. even though this is a hobby grade controller it does a great job helping to automate almost everything. I personally dont think i would want to do without a controller and apex seems to be the best choice in my opinion. you will be happy with it i believe.

Unreliable for sure. incidences should be monitored to prevent unexpected disasters. I had to deal with a mess created by malfunction a couple of times. Gross stuff in the skimmer collection cup got poured into sump when it failed to shut it down when the return pump was off. Imagine that! Pricewase, you are paying for the novel idea as no one came up with the comparable devices, which I still don’t understand. All the companies out there didn’t try to copy. I thought maybe it was patented. But it has been around for Moore than 10 years right?
Apex slashed my livestock once when heater went nuts. Since then I have two heaters attached to apex with an alarm so I can control both from away. Freedom to add what you want and control on/off given set inputs is priceless instead of trying to figure out which line is which in that black tangled rubber line Forrest in the cabinet. Real premiums come with special ideas, not production/business cost people! T

 

[Lollipop]

I would love to pay premium for a novel idea that would eliminate the needs for cables...

 

[doughboy]

Is it worth that much? heck no.
But considering there is no shortage of reefers with money overflowing out of their pockets, they need to take advantage of the opportunity and get a piece of the action. People pay way more for micro or nano frags, so $800 is nothing. Apple is able to demand a high price for their products and rightly so. But apex is no Apple, not by a loooong shot. Maybe Apple wannabe, but certainly no Apple. They can’t even get power measurement right, something kill-a-watt has been doing for years.

 

[acropora4u]

id rather support Apex or Apple any day..

 

[MARK ZAWADZKI]

To answer the original question “what makes Apex worth 800$?”, your paying for the orange and grey paint job lol
GHL > Apex

 

[Jeff_H]

I have had the Apex 2016 since it was released, and I can say I would not try to run a tank with a significant investment in corals and fish without one. That said - It's far from perfect, and I've had various failures ranging from the head unit to various modules like the DOS. I travel a good bit for work, so I've now taken the approach that if it can fail while I'm out of town, it will fail. To that end, I have done my best to provide redundancy for every critical component in the tank to keep it alive until I can get home or arrange a friend to get over and repair something.

If I had to do it over, I might relegate the APEX to only perform monitoring and control functions, and leave other duties like dosing, ATO, powerheads, pumps, etc, to best of breed components. I say this because I've had issues where the DOS pumps stopped working because the EB832 when offline and in fallback mode, the DOS will not dose. I agree that this is the 'right' answer, but now I'm dependent on the EB832 connected to the head unit to dose my Triton. If I was using a GHL or other doser I would not be dependent on all three components, but could still monitor and control the GHL. I use GHL as an example since I have one on my Frag/HT tank, but I can also say that Apex Fusion is way ahead with Cloud integration and more reliable when you're away from the tank.

Just my .02... End the end there's no perfect answer... I hope my experience helps!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm thinking a visual will help here. Because it can monitor all this reliably and easily!! Makes reef keeping practical. I can travel and still know exactly what's going on with my tank and make adjustments as needed.

I need to get my screen to show all these features- IF I knew how.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have the $800 unit and not only the ease of setup and WiFi was first noticeable but the functionality was recognized up front.3

My answer though: The great customer service and support worth EVERY Cent

 

[ShadowR55]

Would never run a tank without it, worth every penny I spent on it. Heck, I have 4 corals alone that cost more than the apex and every Neptune product I’ve bought.