Do I need an APEX?

Best investment I've ever made for my tank. Why? It paid for itself in one shot when I had a catastrophic leak while at work. I was notified, auto programming shut off all pumps(other than my vortechs) until I got home. I replaced a few power supplies that were splashed, but my stand, carpet, subfloor, trim work, drywall, cabinets, etc were all saved because of my apex. I lost maybe 2 gallons versus worst case 100+gals.

Monitoring is great to glance at, but the safety features that you program in can be life savers.


Do you NEED an Apex, No, BUT to each their own...
 
PsychoticBeauty said:
What's an APEX? If you've got the time to feed your fish once a day couldn't you just cancel this so called APEX out? Do the work in other words... ;)
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Can you be by the tank 24/7 356 to make sure your tank doesn't spring a leak?

Can you be by the tank 24/7 356 to see if your return pump sucked up a snail or something jamming it? Thus causing there to be very little to no return this causing your tank temp to drop and oxygen circulation to be lowered so your fish as gasping?




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vhuang168 said:
Can you be by the tank 24/7 356 to make sure your tank doesn't spring a leak?

Can you be by the tank 24/7 356 to see if your return pump sucked up a snail or something jamming it? Thus causing there to be very little to no return this causing your tank temp to drop and oxygen circulation to be lowered so your fish as gasping?




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Click to expand...

If I could do 356 why would I take 9 days off?
 
Of COURSE you need an Apex!! What else would any of us have done that have been in this hobby for 40 years without one?

Oh. Ummm. Dang, I didn't have one :(

I will say I love it though!!! It also gives me the ability to combine my IT knowledge from work, electronics from 13 years as a Navy avionics tech, and an aquarium. Still working on my new build, but my wife and friends call it the "Geek Tank". So, yes, for ME it was a must have :) Yet, we all survived many, many years without it!!
 
vhuang168 said:
Now you have even more incentive to get an Apex. They just announced the Trident!

Not only does it monitor Alk, it does Ca and Mg too!

55f78668d3dcbaabe6bd387c66dd5a49.jpg



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Does this only work with hr newer models???
 
i got along without a reef tank for 58 years and once I got one couldn't live without it.

Then I got along without a controller for 10 years and now I couldn't get along without my Apex.

Simply put, you do not miss what you don't have.
 
Spend the upfront apex cost and potentially save yourself dead fish, corals and lost money down the line. If you'll be addicted to this hobby like most others, you'll end up with a controller eventually, so get it out of the way and enjoy your tank.


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Jon0807 said:
There's such a huge learning curve to saltwater tanks that I would learn the basics before I got controllers to control and monitor everything before I even know what they were supposed to control and monitor. People have been reefing for decades without it and have been very successful. Yes they make life easier, but like I said, learn the basics of chemistry first, then move on from there
Click to expand...
Totally agree. I WANT a control, but just starting out I think it's good to manually do it and lean it all from the get go.


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IMO controllers can be a help in monitoring and controlling a reef system. That being said I would not setup a system with a controller where the failure of the controller or the power outlets they control would cause a system crash. I have seen multiple problems over the years with controllers such as outlets staying permanantly on or off, the controller unit itself failing (one with an electrician turning off the circuit breaker supplying power) and the data ports failing leaving heaters on or off.
 
Jakers88 said:
Totally agree. I WANT a control, but just starting out I think it's good to manually do it and lean it all from the get go.


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Click to expand...

If you do get a controller, I would use it only to monitor levels and to warn you if something is wrong. But then again, that may cause a beginning reefer to over react and try to correct things that don't really need to be corrected. It takes experience to know when to correct a problem and when not to.
 
Before I carry on, I'd like to preface what I am about to say by saying that the APEX is clearly an excellent product which many thousands of people trust, rely on and love.

That said, after doing a bunch of research, these are the reason I have decided against buying one:

1. I'm new and I'm heeding the advice so many reefers give. Beyond an ATO and some basic dosing I'm not automating anything in the beginning (obviously this a general point). Now, on the APEX specifically:

2. The breakouts and modules are expensive and at times necessary. Other controllers offer out of the box compatibility or minimal cost add-ons or capacity to program features for similar functions only available by buying an expensive module with the APEX.

3. From experience professionally and personally, I don't trust the business arrangements that sit around a preferred/only just compatible method of compatibility. It usually has more to do with sweet heart deals between manufacturers than it does actual compatibility. Unfortunately customers often get punished (either through the pocket or because of reduced compatibility) for not using preferred partner manufacturer's products.

4. A lot of people are buying Neptune's hardware (DOS, wave pumps and now Alk controller) without much of a demonstrable track record for manufacturing hardware. Again, the enhanced compatibility is the draw card on this but does that necessarily make it a good choice?

5. I'm a contrarian grump :lol2:
 
Do I need an APEX?

Punchanello said:
2. The breakouts and modules are expensive and at times necessary. Other controllers offer out of the box compatibility or minimal cost add-ons or capacity to program features for similar functions only available by buying an expensive module with the APEX.

3. From experience professionally and personally, I don't trust the business arrangements that sit around a preferred/only just compatible method of compatibility. It usually has more to do with sweet heart deals between manufacturers than it does actual compatibility. Unfortunately customers often get punished (either through the pocket or because of reduced compatibility) for not using preferred partner manufacturer's products.
Click to expand...



Eg of 2 and 3?


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Jakers88 said:
Totally agree. I WANT a control, but just starting out I think it's good to manually do it and lean it all from the get go.
Click to expand...

Manually do what though? Use a test kit to check your pH and a refractometer to check your SG? To turn you lights on and off? Unless you are an advanced user of the Apex, it is mainly going to handle easy, repetitive tasks.

My controls my lights, heaters, and Alk/Cal dosers. The probs just replace other visual checks, just without the work to get to the checks.

I'm curious what you feel you would not learn by using an Apex early on?
 
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