Why do i WANT apex controller?!

[zheka757]

I'll start by saying my hand are itching to get apex controller.
I don't really NEED it, my system is stable enough that I only need to test water monthly, can leave tank unsupervised for a week. I don't even know what to connect to it from my current system. Lights I prefer to use old style timers. Putting things like return pump to controller; seems like extra failure points. The idea of monitoring everything from the phone sounds like a good idea, but for the price tag, I don't know if its worth it, if all I WANT is to just to look at the phone.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'll start by saying my hand are itching to get apex controller.
I don't really NEED it, my system is stable enough that I only need to test water monthly, can leave tank unsupervised for a week. I don't even know what to connect to it from my current system. Lights I prefer to use old style timers. Putting things like return pump to controller; seems like extra failure points. The idea of monitoring everything from the phone sounds like a good idea, but for the price tag, I don't know if its worth it, if all I WANT is to just to look at the phone.

Automation- it’s like having a butler to turn your lights on and off- monitor temperature, ph and salinity- turn on ATO and auto feeder as needed and more

 

[zheka757]

Automation- it’s like having a butler to turn your lights on and off- monitor temperature, ph and salinity- turn on ATO and auto feeder as needed and more

But I have all that now, with timers. -monitoring

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Monitoring can save your tank, It did mine. I was on vacation and my ATO sensor got some smutz on it. I was able to manually run my ATO from 2000 miles away.
Last year I was like you, I most everything was analog, with Alexa turning on my lights. During last summers heat wave, my fuse blew on my chiller in one of my temperate tanks in the middle of the night. Lost a few things. This was something that was easily avoided if I had some sort of system in place. I am slowly connecting all my tanks so I can look at them at a glance.
As far as a mechanical advantage, it is really nice to shut down all your tanks at once with a push of a button. When I have to for feeding time a few times a day.
A little word of warning IME... They are not plug and play, there is a bit of a learning curve.

 

[UtahReefer]

Been reefing since I was 16, now 60. Never used any sort of controller. Finally gave up and jumped into an Apex when I did my transfer to a new tank three weeks ago. I'll just say that I should have done this years ago. Apex gives me redundancy, something a timer will never do. If most are like me we have invested an awful lot of coin in systems over the years, the redundancy alone gives you additional piece of mind. Yes it's automation and that's really sweet and a time saver, but monitoring power usage on my pumps.... I can see when there's an issue with the pump before it fails. No timer has ever been able to do that for me. It's only been three weeks, but I like it a lot and I'm looking forward to using it and further implementing things that will help keep my system stable.

 

[Floyd-]

I have one and am in the process of getting rid of it. Its a nice bit of kit but I really only use it to control my fan and heater automatically. Remote stuff is neat to look but ive never had a need for it and if you loose power you loose the ability to control the Apex because WIFI went out also. Im going back to simple controllers and power strips again.

 

[ronnie]

Because it’s fun. I like the toys. Do I need ‘em? Nah. Do I like ‘em? Heck yeah! My tank is my outlet. So I set a budget and use it.

 

[Gtinnel]

I’ve had my apex for about 2 years and I also went through the struggle of trying to decide if it was worth the cost for me.

I absolutely love controlled dosing with the trident and dos. Even though I love it the trident can be frustrating at times with testing errors, but when it works it’s great. I also love the breakout box where I can use switches on the tank to program something to happen. I use floats switches to turn my skimmer off when my collection container is full, I get a notification when my ATO reservoir is almost empty, etc. The possibilities of controlling things with switches is almost limitless.

If I didn’t have those two things then the apex would not have been worth the cost for me.

 

[zoomonster]

One touch control from anywhere and overall stability. It also allows you to setup and run more elaborate schedules/programs for your lights and powerheads. With a little programming you can create dependencies so if you turn off something it will also turn off dependent devices. So, if I turn off my main pump (or use a feed button) it also shuts off chiller, skimmer, ozone, air pump, bio reactor, CaRx, Co2 etc. In the case of skimmer there's a delay programmed in, so it does not come right back on after say a feed cycle. It also provides a failsafe to my heater controller. And on and on...

 

[apb03]

Separating need and want in this hobby is a great challenge indeed!

A controller certainly unlocks a lot of potential but is often not needed. There are ways to achieve your goals without an Apex but probably not as refined and more difficult to implement.

I use a reef pi for basic monitoring, but I definitely plan on getting a Hydros later this year to step up my Automation game.

Apex isn't for me, but many swear by it.

 

[ronnie]

I think they’re two kinds of reefers. Those that use Apex, and those that haven’t used an Apex, yet. Lol

Separating need and want in this hobby is a great challenge indeed!

A controller certainly unlocks a lot of potential but is often not needed. There are ways to achieve your goals without an Apex but probably not as refined and more difficult to implement.

I use a reef pi for basic monitoring, but I definitely plan on getting a Hydros later this year to step up my Automation game.

Apex isn't for me, but many swear by it.

 

[blaxsun]

Let's put it this way: I'd rather have my Apex running and not need it than be stuck without an Apex and desperately need it.

 

[zheka757]

Thank you all for your responses, all very good points to consider and think about.
So far you all steered me to want it even more! Lol

 

[Acros]

It is hard to reef without one for me. Haha.

It is a fun toy and is really useful for automation. I like that I can program each outlet and what not, giving me more control. I can program my ATO to come on once every hour, or only once a day since I dose saturated kalk.

All of this comes with a drawback. It is really hard to not obsess with ph once you see it (if you have low ph).

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

I have an Apex because I have MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome). It allows me to test and monitor multiple tanks at once, and I even made it voice controlled. I used to be completely against controllers, until I got one. Here is a vid I did a while ago about how I use it.

 

[StatelineReefer]

Separating need and want in this hobby is a great challenge indeed!

A controller certainly unlocks a lot of potential but is often not needed. There are ways to achieve your goals without an Apex but probably not as refined and more difficult to implement.

I use a reef pi for basic monitoring, but I definitely plan on getting a Hydros later this year to step up my Automation game.

Apex isn't for me, but many swear by it.

Most people I know with Apex just swear at it.

 

[SillyReef]

I had apex and in the end got rid of it. Caused me a system crash. Not worth the extra cost. I use all single wifi connected outlet, heat controllers and cameras. Thing is with the apex its all tied together so once one thing goes it effects others plus the cost is so high so if something starts to fail it cost so much to replace. Also are you ok with learning the programming?

 

[zheka757]

Also are you ok with learning the programming?

No, Not really. But Iike I mentioned before, if I were to get one, I wouldn't load everything I got on it, it will be very limited use for me,
at least that's what I think right now.

 

[ronnie]

No, Not really. But Iike I mentioned before, if I were to get one, I wouldn't load everything I got on it, it will be very limited use for me,
at least that's what I think right now.

They have made the programming a lot more user friendly compared to 10 years ago. I programmed 13 outlets in an hour using the templates they provided. Then I went back in and tweaked a couple with actual code to fit my preferences.

 

[apb03]

I had apex and in the end got rid of it. Caused me a system crash. Not worth the extra cost. I use all single wifi connected outlet, heat controllers and cameras. Thing is with the apex its all tied together so once one thing goes it effects others plus the cost is so high so if something starts to fail it cost so much to replace. Also are you ok with learning the programming?

I set up two cheap security cams, one for the sump and another for viewing the tank, it's by far my favourite remote monitoring tool.