Why is automated power strips necessary? or is it?

[Mindblock769]

I am currently building my very first tank (Reefer 250).

I am trying to understand why automated power strips are needed? I see people have like "feed mode" or "water change mode" and certains things turn off, but what is actually necessary to have the need for automation in other applications? Sorry if its a silly question!

 

[Supa]

I am currently building my very first tank (Reefer 250).

I am trying to understand why automated power strips are needed? I see people have like "feed mode" or "water change mode" and certains things turn off, but what is actually necessary to have the need for automation in other applications? Sorry if its a silly question!

I guess they are just versatile, not a necessity but more of a luxury item…. Power strip plugged into a gfi would do just fine I would assume. But it is kind of cool to see on the apex how much amps im drawing at one time per outlet etc I am new too and I’m certain I don’t know their full capabilities or anything. I just set up my reefer 250 not long ago

 

[Hydrored]

Main use for me is for heater failures (on) or to reboot something anywhere in the world

I don’t use any other features of the apex bar

 

[reefiniteasy]

In the case of my Hydros it’s nice to monitor things and I don’t have to manually pull plugs anymore at water change time amongst other benefits.

 

[LuisPerez711]

I am currently building my very first tank (Reefer 250).

I am trying to understand why automated power strips are needed? I see people have like "feed mode" or "water change mode" and certains things turn off, but what is actually necessary to have the need for automation in other applications? Sorry if its a silly question!

Like others have said, they are a sort of luxury item. I really use them to auto turn off/on plugs that are associated with specific sensors. I use mine for my return pump, skimmer, heaters, and supplemental lights.

The rest of the items are connected to these wifi power bars I bought off Amazon. They work well and are easy to control.

 

[James M]

They definitely aren’t necessary but it is nicer to have one

 

[ZoWhat]

To avoid this

With Apex, one outlet can control several pieces of equipment on the same schedule.

Run with the big dogs, or stay on mama's lap on the porch.....

 

[Mindblock769]

bumping this up to hear more feedback, thank you all!

 

[N.Sreefer]

Def not a necessity I have digital power bars but no control functions on them just unplug equipment to clean it. All the controllers and fancy smancy apex stuff is not needed its nice to have automation but I personally don't trust using all that stuff.

 

[burningmime]

FWIW, if I were to do it all again, I would get a $70 Kasa power strip and not $800 worth of Neptune. Being able to turn on and off things remotely is helpful (especially if you're gone for a weekend/week). Automated feed mode is very useful if you dose bacteria, since you want to turn skimmer and UV off for 4 hours while bacteria does its thing.

But unless you're fully inside the Neptune ecosystem, the Apex itself gives you very little that a Kasa smart power strip and a couple other monitors would not. Mobius controls my powerheads and lights. Inkbird controls my heater. For leaks, you could grab yourself one of these: https://www.hydrocheckproducts.com/product-page/waterwatcher-leak-detector . For pH monitoring, there are several cheap probes, including wifi ones. For Alk monitoring, every tester other than the Trident runs standalone. All together, you're still saving over half the cost of an Apex. Also, I really don't trust the build quality on the EB832 and the 7 amp relay is just sad.

 

[Dbichler]

I have a gfci with two power strips and have heater and return pumps on one and everything else on the other so I can keep water movement during water changes plus if a power outage happens I only have to plug in one strip. Everything fish tank related is on its own 20 amp breaker though.

 

[TatorTaco]

@reefiniteasy how'd you work out the door switches and your hydros? I'm waiting on CoralVue to open back up after the hurricane to ship my quad cable and reed's door switch so that way I can make my sump lights come on when the door is open. I'd love to integrate what you've done too.

 

[PeterC99]

I am currently building my very first tank (Reefer 250).

I am trying to understand why automated power strips are needed? I see people have like "feed mode" or "water change mode" and certains things turn off, but what is actually necessary to have the need for automation in other applications? Sorry if its a silly question!

Could you clarify your question? You can achieve some level of automation with a timer on the outlet or you could get much greater automation with a controller like Neptune Apex. All comes down to convenience and degree of functionality.

 

[Saltyreef]

I have a gfci with two power strips and have heater and return pumps on one and everything else on the other so I can keep water movement during water changes plus if a power outage happens I only have to plug in one strip. Everything fish tank related is on its own 20 amp breaker though.

So if the heater trips the gfci your return pump dies too?
Do you have a DC pump?

 

[Kershaw]

Back in the day, allot of aquarium Components we’re just on and off. They had no built in control. So you had to use outlet timers to turn things on and off. Then things like apex came around which gave you controllable outlets. Not only could you control them you can set fail safes. So yes you don’t need them but I won’t run a tank with out some type of controller. Mainly for heater fail safes and I like seeing what my tank is doing when I’m not there

 

[Dbichler]

So if the heater trips the gfci your return pump dies too?
Do you have a DC pump?

Yes but my mp40s are on the other outlet with another gfci and heater so double back up water moving and heat no matter what. Unless whole house loses power then it’s to the generator.

 

[Saltyreef]

The DC return pump and Mp40s dont need to be on a gfci since theres really no dangerous potential in the water from them.
Taking them off the GFCI will ensure you wont lose water movement in the event your heaters trip the gfci.

Heaters/ AC equipment like pumps and anything with AC power in danger of falling in the water should be on GFCI.

I would split your heater load between the two GFCIs and find another non GFCI for your pumps for better redundancy.

 

[Brew12]

I am currently building my very first tank (Reefer 250).

I am trying to understand why automated power strips are needed? I see people have like "feed mode" or "water change mode" and certains things turn off, but what is actually necessary to have the need for automation in other applications? Sorry if its a silly question!

The automated systems, like an Apex or GHL, have one big advantage to the health of a reef tank (in my opinion) and that is heater control. A heater with a built in thermastat can maintain a very constant temperature but they can also stick "on" and overheat a tank. A heater controller (ink bird type) can prevent oveheating but they don't maintain a very constant temperature. A controller, like the Apex or GHL, can provide protection and constant temperature.

As for the rest of it, it's all convenience. I like that I can hit one button when it is tank maintenance time. It turns off my heaters, return pump, skimmer, reactor pump, and power heads. I do my water change, hit one button, and everything starts back up except my skimmer. My skimmer starts 2 minutes later to let level in my sump stabilize.

My controller also turns on and off my refugium light, monitors and displays temp, pH, ORP, salinity, and alkalinity.

Controllers are all about making life easier for the reef keeper. It's nice to not have to worry about remembering to plug everything back in (or to unplug it) when doing maintenance.

 

[Brew12]

The DC return pump and Mp40s dont need to be on a gfci since theres really no dangerous potential in the water from them.

I agree about the MP40's, but I like my DC return pump to be on a GFCI. If my return pump develops a crack it can release copper and toxins into the water of my system. It may continue to run for weeks or longer in that condition. I want it to trip immediately to let me know it has an issue. For me, a GFCI/ground probe combination is just as much about protecting my reef as it is about protecting me.

 

[Dbichler]

I agree that would be however running another outlet seems to be more work.