Why Even Get a "Controller"?

[workhz]

In a mature tank. Say 100g and over. Other than heaters, what could possibly go wrong that would crash it if you don’t have a dozen contraptions hooked up to it

Wouldn’t most of the changes to water chemistry happen gradually?

I get the gadget angle and micro controlling everything. It can be fun.

 

[Saltinmyblood]

I have an ATO with a reservoir that lasts a week. I have an inkbird and very reliable heater. I dose (by hand) ALK as needed. Sometimes calcium. So what in the world would I need an Apex or GHL for? Is there something I am missing? I do not care about salinity; it is stable. I don't care about temperature; stable. ORP? Pfffft. pH? I threw away my pH kit, it was worthless; all my corals care about is ALK.

So am I missing something? What good is a controller? What need do I have that it would fill? I cannot think of one. But I would appreciate feedback if I am missing something. Seems like the controllers that are out there test parameters that were important a generation ago?

What am I missing?

I did freshwater most of my life in the last 15 years saltwater and I thought the same way you do until I had a swing in my Alk and it burnt the tips of almost all my Acros so a month ago I went and bought an Apex and couldn't be happier. One button to do maintenance and the control is pretty much unlimited

 

[Gtinnel]

I only got an apex a few months ago after spending a year or more talking myself out of it. Much like you I had my temp controlled with a inkbird, my ATO was controlled by a homemade controller, my AWC was done with a masterflex peristaltic pump and smart outlets, then almost everything else in my tank was plugged into smart powerstrips. I had remote control over almost everything without an apex. I couldn't remotely see any water parameters, other than temp, though.

I finally bought an apex, and if I'm being honest I wasn't overly impressed. Sure I can now remotely see my salinity and pH, but I can't seem to get the probes to be accurate. I guess I can still use them to see swings in those parameters at least. However, once I hooked up my dos and trident my opinion completely changed. With alkalinity being one of the more important parameters for stony corals I absolutely love the ability to see what my alkalinity is from multiple tests each day, and now I have it setup to automatically adjust my dosing to keep parameters stable.

I have about $1700 into apex components and honestly I'm not sure that it is worth the cost. I think it depends upon how much money in fish and corals that people have in their tanks. On my tank if it would somehow prevent one crash it would probably pay for itself. For anyone that does get an apex get a trident and dos also, they are well worth the extra $900 IMO.

 

[WVNed]

I have a HYDROS XS and it doesn't control much. It does run my ATO, do AWC, shut off my skimmer if the drain bucket is full and tell me if I need to make RODI or mix saltwater.
It is well worth what it cost just for those functions alone. The great thing about HYDROS is how scalable it is.
It could do more but I already had systems in place to run my lights, heaters and dosing so I left them alone.

You make the equipment work for you to make your life easier. See a need, fill a need.

 

[MichaelReefer]

In a mature tank. Say 100g and over. Other than heaters, what could possibly go wrong that would crash it if you don’t have a dozen contraptions hooked up to it

Wouldn’t most of the changes to water chemistry happen gradually?

I get the gadget angle and micro controlling everything. It can be fun.

Faulty doser dumping an entire container of 2 part into your tank? ATO getting stuck on? You would be surprised how many things could go wrong.