Apex Controller

[Yati]

Ok reefers, help your brother out.. I've been trying to justify buying a controller for months and just can't do it.. It's like i "want" one but don't feel I "need" one.. I've been reefing since '99 so i'm used to doing/checking on my own and thats where the problem lies.. Spend a grand on unit for what? Any input will help decide either way... Thanks in advance

 

[Palyzoa]

If you have been getting along fine without one than I don't see a need for one. However, If you want to take your aquarium to the next level, a controller would do that. You can customize it to your needs while adding piece of mind to your day. For example, programming wave makers with custom schedules to mimic natural ocean current patterns. Or, programming outlets to turn off or on for feeding or in the event of equipment failure. Live updates during emergencies or just checking the parameters while away from the tank for an extended period of time. Programming fail safes or convenient functions like turning a light on automatically when you open a cabinet door have never been easier. Personally, I use the Apex classic (Recently upgraded from the Jr.) and couldn't be happier. I could get by without one but the apex helps me with stability, redundancy, and piece of mind. Of course, there is always the risk of a controller failing, but I try to plan for situations like that and not rely to much on them.

 

[Yati]

If you have been getting along fine without one than I don't see a need for one. However, If you want to take your aquarium to the next level, a controller would do that. You can customize it to your needs while adding piece of mind to your day. For example, programming wave makers with custom schedules to mimic natural ocean current patterns. Or, programming outlets to turn off or on for feeding or in the event of equipment failure. Live updates during emergencies or just checking the parameters while away from the tank for an extended period of time. Programming fail safes or convenient functions like turning a light on automatically when you open a cabinet door have never been easier. Personally, I use the Apex classic (Recently upgraded from the Jr.) and couldn't be happier. I could get by without one but the apex helps me with stability, redundancy, and piece of mind. Of course, there is always the risk of a controller failing, but I try to plan for situations like that and not rely to much on them.

Great info! I was speaking with my brother he runs one and his tank is primarily a softy tank and I'm SPS dom and he's like bro you need one! granted it would be nice not to have to unplug a return when i feed or forget to turn the ATO back on when I cut it off for maintenance. I'm actually about to head to the LFS and see what I need, just counted the amount of things plugged in and made a list so i know how many energy bars I need.. 17 items plugged in

 

[LoneStarReef]

I like being able to monitor and see trends over time (pH, temp, salinity). I also really like the way Apex integrates different functions. I can create an automatic water change system and at the same time Apex will automatically turn off my ATO when the water change is in process. Apex will also operate an auto feeder and put all my pumps in to “feed mode” automatically when feeding. Another cool feature is the leak detector module. I have it sitting in my PVC liner outside my sump. If it detects water it turns the return pump off and sends me a notification. Is all of this needed? No. But it is really nice to have and makes reefing much more enjoyable for me.

 

[Mark Gray]

I ran with out one for around 30 years. Now I have had an Apex almost 2 years saved my tank 1 time so it paid for it's self right then. I am not home a lot but I can use the Apex to check things. I can't get my dog to answer the phone.. Anyway now I will not run with out one, My new build will be the first of next year and I have a new Apex for it

 

[Yati]

I like being able to monitor and see trends over time (pH, temp, salinity). I also really like the way Apex integrates different functions. I can create an automatic water change system and at the same time Apex will automatically turn off my ATO when the water change is in process. I can also put an auto feeder that Apex will run and put all my pumps in to “feed mode” automatically. Another cool feature is the leak detector module. I have it sitting in my PVC liner outside my sump. If it detects water it turns the return pump off and sends me a notification. Is all of this needed? No. But it is really nice to have and makes reefing much more enjoyable for me.

I picked one up yesterday.. strange to see how the controller read so differently from my other units.. ie my tank thermostat read at 77 but the controller read at 75 and the biggest and scariest was my fractomotor read at 1.026 but the controller read 44ppm, granted I just did a water change mins before install and figured it could have thrown it off just a bit but even now I get a reading of salinity at 30 so I may need to recalibrate it.. other than that yes the one stop shop especially for feeding will definitely beat unplugging a few components and forgetting to plug them back in...

 

[LoneStarReef]

I had problems with my salinity probe too. Make sure there aren’t any bubbles on the probe. Maybe shake it around a bit. If I’m remembering correctly the salinity probe has a sleeve around the probe that air can get trapped in too. I think I had to even recalibrate to get mine to behave. I was reading 57 at one point which I knew wasn’t correct. Now it reads 35 to 36 consistently which matches my refractometer reading.

 

[Radman73]

Regarding number of items that need to be plugged in, you can consolidate if necessary. For instance, I use a single plug for two heaters and I've run other items that don't need individual control off of a single outlet.

We travel several times a year for a week at a time and, since switching to working remote, I travel to my office for a week or so about once per quarter. Being able to monitor changes to basic things like temp and ph are helpful. An Apex has saved a small biocube once and was critical in easily recovering from a major issue on my 60 cube.

I don't necessarily consider it a need as there are manual ways of accomplishing almost everything, but it makes my life significantly easier.

 

[Rick's Reef]

I will admit that having a ton of parameters to look at can be a distraction...and if you are just looking at those and not enjoying the tank, then you're missing out on the enjoyment of a reef aquarium.

That said, I have an instance from this weekend where the indicator can drive a quicker response to an issue. See the chart below. It was a typical Saturday - I had no fish chores planned so I had no reason to look under the cabinet. However, around 1 o'clock, I noticed my ORP had dropped massively, from ~425 to ~350. I have no fish in my tank yet, just LR, sponges, CUC and a couple of gorgonians, all from TB Saltwater, so it couldn't be coming from a dead fish. A quick 5 minute investigation showed that someone had dumped an entire 3 oz container of Neptune's CD pellet fish food into the sump. My son has autism and loves my tank and I have always been aware of the risk of his interest. My cabinet has 3 doors and sitting on the floor in the corner next to the fish tank sat 3 tot-locks that I kept meaning to put on (after some other higher priority items). Well...the tot locks are on now (last night's project) because of an incident that I detected looking at my ORP probe.

Fortunately, he dumped the food into the LR section of the sump, ahead of the filter pad in front of the return pump chamber, so there was no food into the DT. An hour later of siphoning and ~15% water change (20g, mostly from the sump) and all of the pellets were removed and water parameters quickly returned to "normal".

Now, maybe you don't have a similar risk, but it is an example of how an indicator could alert you to something and prompt a response. In my case, I didn't have an alarm, it was just me regularly checking parameters. YMMV.

 

[Yati]

I had problems with my salinity probe too. Make sure there aren’t any bubbles on the probe. Maybe shake it around a bit. If I’m remembering correctly the salinity probe has a sleeve around the probe that air can get trapped in too. I think I had to even recalibrate to get mine to behave. I was reading 57 at one point which I knew wasn’t correct. Now it reads 35 to 36 consistently which matches my refractometer reading.

I'll check it out now! I'm hoping that's it, initially I did top off with some RO but then I said NOPE! I'm trusting that my salinity is correct, especially after it went from 44 and then dropped all the way to 29 and now reading a solid 30