Why do I need an Apex (controller)?

[shoelaceike]

Do you sit in front of your tank all day to monitor it? What if this were to happen during the day when you would have your phone on?

I actually have an alarm by the tank if the temp goes outside of a specific range

 

[Chriscrna]

That sucks Caleb! I hope they pull through.

 

[BlueDevil]

I actually have an alarm by the tank if the temp goes outside of a specific range

And if you were out running errands for a few hours?

 

[Reeflogic]

Apex recommends use a Ranco controller instead of their unit for actually control of the heater. You would use a controller to monitor the temp itself.
I work with PLC controls of packaging machines an we never connect a heater to a output of a PLC the solenoid state relays just can not handle the draw of a heating element. We use special controllers made to run heaters with special solid state relays. The Ranco controller is made to control heating elements and works great for aquariums. An it is only 50 bucks.
One should always design an aquarium setup to solve all the stupid issues with an aquarium.

Interesting. I have a combined total usage of 8 years between two controllers, with dual heaters connected to a 2-way plug and directly into the controller and never once read anything from either controller company stating that they do not recommend using their devices to control heaters and never once had an issue with this setup. I did a quick Google search regarding it and didn't find anything either, but time is limited this morning. Do you have any documentation to support what you stated? Or is it just your opinion? Not arguing your knowledge! Just curious as to where I can read something stating Neptune recommends not using their controllers to monitor heating elements!

 

[shoelaceike]

And if you were out running errands for a few hours?

1. In a few hours my tank won't get 5 degrees hotter. 2. I have always said I like the idea of the controller but $800 for a backup is a bit steep. 3. If a heater would malfunction and kill my livestock, obviously the manufacturer would be liable to pay for any damages. 4. The Apex can fail as well.

 

[shoelaceike]

It actually looks like the Jr would work as good of a backup as the gold. Is that correct?

 

[Maacc]

1. In a few hours my tank won't get 5 degrees hotter. 2. I have always said I like the idea of the controller but $800 for a backup is a bit steep. 3. If a heater would malfunction and kill my livestock, obviously the manufacturer would be liable to pay for any damages. 4. The Apex can fail as well.

You want to read the warranty carefully. They specifically state that the warranty will cover the heater and the cost to repair / replace only. They indemnify themselves in the warranty against being responsible for any damages resulting from the failure of the product. Broiler plate warranty terms.

 

[shoelaceike]

You want to read the warranty carefully. They specifically state that the warranty will cover the heater and the cost to repair / replace only. They indemnify themselves in the warranty against being responsible for any damages resulting from the failure of the product. Broiler plate warranty terms.

I don't think it matters what they write.

 

[shoelaceike]

http://injury.findlaw.com/product-liability/are-product-liability-disclaimers-effective.html

 

[Maacc]

http://injury.findlaw.com/product-liability/are-product-liability-disclaimers-effective.html

Good luck with the court battle....
The apex jr has a module limit of 7, and does have a temp probe. You can add modules to get the equivalent of the gold, but it will be more expensive and you will be limited permanently to 7 modules.

 

[reefwiser]

I appreciate all the feedback guys. Dramatic change and tastes are always hard to get everyone happy on a direction. Regardless I appreciate the feedback and the passion.

As far as the heater question is concerned what I told one poster above is that we have had customers plug heating elements directly into the Apex. This is not a good idea because relays and triacs can and do fail. Also, it is not uncommon to accidentally turn on an outlet manually. For these reasons it is best to always use a heater with its own thermostat as a redundant fail safe. Whether you choose the heater or the apex to be the primary thermostat control is up to you. I have heard compelling reasons on both sides.

This is from Terence of Neptune systems. As you see. I learned this at a MACNA many years ago.

 

[shoelaceike]

Good luck with the court battle....
The apex jr has a module limit of 7, and does have a temp probe. You can add modules to get the equivalent of the gold, but it will be more expensive and you will be limited permanently to 7 modules.

Lol. Let's hope it never happens.....as a fail safe + some control it looks like the Jr is the way to go.

 

[shoelaceike]

This is from Terence of Neptune systems. As you see. I learned this at a MACNA many years ago.

Not sure what that means....we shouldn't have a heater on the Apex?

 

[reefwiser]

Yes that is what that means.

 

[shoelaceike]

What would be the issue of using it as a back up? Just so that it would turn off the heaters if the temp got too high?

 

[reefwiser]

Refunded control of a heater is very important. It's the most common failure in aquariums. Neptune is just covering their *ss. In case their triac failed to shut the heater off also. It's so simple to use a Ranco to do this that use should be a no brainer.

 

[den75]

Yes that is what that means.

I believe he means don't use a heater without its own built in thermostat and rely on the apex alone to control the temp. Heaters with their own thermostats can be used and you can choose whether to use the apex to control the heater and use the heater thermostat as a backup or vice versa.

 

[Steve Dillon]

Today I had a perfect instance of why a controller could have saved the day. I had a heater go bad in my sump and tripped a breaker to my tank around 5 am and I didn't wake up and see it until 10am. There was zero flow in the tank and the temp was 71.9 - I was in full panic mode. It's been a rough day, a lot of my SPS look awful. Luckily I didn't lose any fish or lps corals. Not sure on SPS yet. The tank is cloudy and I'm trying to wait 24/48 hours before I make decisions on deaths of SPS.

It's hard bc I know if I would of had a controller once the temp drop 1 degree I could of saved my tank so much stress. To me 600 dollars to save $3000 worth of fish and coral is a no brainer.

I will be purchasing an apex as soon as financially possible.

Hey when you buy spend the extra money on the lab grade probes. I just found out the cheaper ones are hard to calibrate and are off on calibration.

 

[BlueDevil]

Refunded control of a heater is very important. It's the most common failure in aquariums. Neptune is just covering their *ss. In case their triac failed to shut the heater off also. It's so simple to use a Ranco to do this that use should be a no brainer.

There's so many different Ranco controllers out there. Which one do you use personally?

 

[reefwiser]

http://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE
I have many friends who use this with their Apex systems.
How to wire it up.
You can find them already wired up sometimes also.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/manuals/ranco_intructions.pdf