Need help choosing accessories

[LSUJosh]

In the next few months I will be buying an apex system. I know I will be buying the WXM module but I am wondering what else I should pick up with it. I am very unfamiliar with aquarium controllers as this will be my first so I will list the things I want it to do.
I want to be able to monitor water temp/led heatsink temp.
Run fans on the heatsinks when the temp reaches a certain level
dim/simulate sunrise and sunset (and thunderstorms if possible) of diy leds
control my vortechs
have access to everything on my iphone
monitor salinity/ph
run moonlight leds on a lunar cycle

This is everything I can think of, I have a background in c++ so the software is not much of a concern at the moment I really just need help making sure I get all of the hardware I need. thanks!

 

[RussM]

Based on that list of requirements, the full Apex model is the way to go (as opposed to the Apex Lite or the soon-to-come Apex Jr.

You'd need:

- Apex (full)
- PM2 with a conductivity probe and a second temp probe
- WXM
- Lunar Simulator and desired number of LEDs. (There is a next-generation Lunar Simulator model about to start shipping, but we don't know much else about it yet.)

The only catch I see is the monitoring of LED heatsink. The Apex will not measure high temps - the limit is 120F - that may be a problem for you, depending on the temp range involved. You can measure ambient temp near the heatsink though, and program the Apex to react accordingly.

The Apex uses programming syntax that you should readily grasp. Much of the advanced programming is done with If ... then ... statements, etc. Much simpler than C for sure. Boolean logic can be tricky, and there is no If ... Then ... Else, which would be really nice to have at times.

So let me ask you this, as a C programmer... if C is the best thing since sliced bread as some C programmers insist, why is it a "C" Why not an "A"? In other things in life, a "C" grade equates to average, mundane, mediocre. (just kidding... I'm a (really) old-school BASIC & Pascal guy.)

 

[LSUJosh]

I actually hate C I just had to learn it for school, I deal with a lot of boolean logic in my ee courses so that should not be a problem.