Apex jr A3 experiences.

[Pearse73]

Hello. As the title suggests I’d like to hear of anyone’s experience with the new Apex Jr.
I’m looking to dip my toes into monitoring and this seems the best fit for me.
Eventually I may go into to control but not yet.
Had a GHL doser but eventually swapped it out as the software and connections are horrific (and I’m tech savvy). So I don’t want to go near a Profilux.
Hydros isn’t an option on this side of the Atlantic even though they keep saying they will release in Europe. We’ve been hearing this for nearly two years. I personally don’t believe them anymore.

Any info, pros or cons, I would be grateful.

 

[glb]

Hello. As the title suggests I’d like to hear of anyone’s experience with the new Apex Jr.
I’m looking to dip my toes into monitoring and this seems the best fit for me.
Eventually I may go into to control but not yet.
Had a GHL doser but eventually swapped it out as the software and connections are horrific (and I’m tech savvy). So I don’t want to go near a Profilux.
Hydros isn’t an option on this side of the Atlantic even though they keep saying they will release in Europe. We’ve been hearing this for nearly two years. I personally don’t believe them anymore.

Any info, pros or cons, I would be grateful.

I don’t have this one but have read sketchy reviews about it. I have the original Apex Jr and after all these years it still works like a charm. I can’t use some of the newer equipment like the Trident but have everything I need for my 40g. If you could find the original one I’d highly recommend it. Good luck!

 

[Pearse73]

I don’t have this one but have read sketchy reviews about it. I have the original Apex Jr and after all these years it still works like a charm. I can’t use some of the newer equipment like the Trident but have everything I need for my 40g. If you could find the original one I’d highly recommend it. Good luck!

Thanks for your reply.
I do tend to take reviews online with a very very large pinch of salt. That’s why I’m hoping to read some first hand experiences.

 

[TokenReefer]

Brs got me with 15% off on this. Just came today. Gonna hook it up later. Will lyk ;)

 

[Pearse73]

Brs got me with 15% off on this. Just came today. Gonna hook it up later. Will lyk ;)

Hello. Did you ever get a chance to play with your new Apex Jr?

 

[TokenReefer]

Hello. Did you ever get a chance to play with your new Apex Jr?

Sure have. I've added all my past hand written logged data and the view it creates with graphs to compare alone is worth it to me (played around with a few reef apps prior). Combine that with the price of a lone ph probe and then add a temp controller and it's only a bit more money but a lot more capable. Snagged a EB4 a week ago (temp controller part). So far I just stare at it and make sure I adjust the ac remotely if it gets too hot... But I'll add a doser next and I'll be capable of dosing to ph... For ~300 bucks... Absolutely not necessary for a good reef however, just more data points if that's what your into.. Imo there's no way to realistically track ph without constant probing as it changes so much...so that insight is great

 

[LuizW13]

I bought one when it was on sale and I have to say, I quite enjoy the added peace of mind knowing I'll be alerted if my temperature and PH are out of the desired range.

I work from home and don't travel much, so controlling isn't really needed, but one day I'll add some of the other components- I believe this is the more expensive approach, so keep that in mind.

 

[Pearse73]

Sure have. I've added all my past hand written logged data and the view it creates with graphs to compare alone is worth it to me (played around with a few reef apps prior). Combine that with the price of a lone ph probe and then add a temp controller and it's only a bit more money but a lot more capable. Snagged a EB4 a week ago (temp controller part). So far I just stare at it and make sure I adjust the ac remotely if it gets too hot... But I'll add a doser next and I'll be capable of dosing to ph... For ~300 bucks... Absolutely not necessary for a good reef however, just more data points if that's what your into.. Imo there's no way to realistically track ph without constant probing as it changes so much...so that insight is great

I agree with you about the pH monitoring. A stand alone monitor would be around £250 on this side of the Atlantic. So add on a temperature probe and potential expansion, the Apex Jr is worth it in my mind.
So you find it easy and reliable to operate?

 

[Pearse73]

I bought one when it was on sale and I have to say, I quite enjoy the added peace of mind knowing I'll be alerted if my temperature and PH are out of the desired range.

I work from home and don't travel much, so controlling isn't really needed, but one day I'll add some of the other components- I believe this is the more expensive approach, so keep that in mind.

My plan would be expand slowly. Dipping my toes with the Apex Jr. Then an energy bar. As you say, maybe expansion is a little more expensive but I like the idea of moving incrementally.

 

[LuizW13]

I agree with you about the pH monitoring. A stand alone monitor would be around £250 on this side of the Atlantic. So add on a temperature probe and potential expansion, the Apex Jr is worth it in my mind.
So you find it easy and reliable to operate?

Yes, I do, however there was a bit of misconfiguration out of the box in the default settings, which I obviously didn't know how to fix. A short call with their support staff, and we got it resolved.

 

[TokenReefer]

So you find it easy and reliable to operate?

I do yes. Neptune has done a good job with thier Fusion UI. It's a Unix (I think) device so if you're handy with those commands you can fiddle there. I had one hiccup but was able to fully restore my data and the hiccup was my own fault (I don't wanna talk about it :p) but like I said was able to get back up and it's been solid since. Used the MOS to tell me when my ato rodi bucket is low. Not having to manually check/forget.... Priceless lol

 

[TokenReefer]

I do yes. Neptune has done a good job with thier Fusion UI. It's a Unix (I think) device so if you're handy with those commands you can fiddle there. I had one hiccup but was able to fully restore my data and the hiccup was my own fault (I don't wanna talk about it :p) but like I said was able to get back up and it's been solid since. Used the MOS to tell me when my ato rodi bucket is low. Not having to manually check/forget.... Priceless lol

I will say minor con (for me at least) is the unit cannot be on a (guest) vlan.

 

[dangles]

I bought one back in January and set it up with my new tank. It worked really well until about a month ago. I had disconnected everything so I could up my cord management game on a DIY controller board. When I hooked it all back up, the Jr wouldn’t connect to my wifi. I spent almost 2 weeks going back and forth with support (which is very good btw) before they decided to just send me a replacement. They said they had not seen my particular issue before, but my confidence was shaken on the wifi-only feature of the Jr so I told them I wanted to upgrade to the regular Apex so I could physically connect it via Ethernet.

That aside, I’m quite happy with the ecosystem. I started out monitoring only, but have since added a couple of DOS units, the new MXM, and an EB832.

The nice thing about the Jr is that it’s a little less expensive up front, and you can use any of the modules with it. You can grow it out pretty much as big as you want.

However given the wifi issue I had (which admittedly was an anomaly), I’d suggest you save up just a bit longer and get the regular Apex.

 

[Pearse73]

I bought one back in January and set it up with my new tank. It worked really well until about a month ago. I had disconnected everything so I could up my cord management game on a DIY controller board. When I hooked it all back up, the Jr wouldn’t connect to my wifi. I spent almost 2 weeks going back and forth with support (which is very good btw) before they decided to just send me a replacement. They said they had not seen my particular issue before, but my confidence was shaken on the wifi-only feature of the Jr so I told them I wanted to upgrade to the regular Apex so I could physically connect it via Ethernet.

That aside, I’m quite happy with the ecosystem. I started out monitoring only, but have since added a couple of DOS units, the new MXM, and an EB832.

The nice thing about the Jr is that it’s a little less expensive up front, and you can use any of the modules with it. You can grow it out pretty much as big as you want.

However given the wifi issue I had (which admittedly was an anomaly), I’d suggest you save up just a bit longer and get the regular Apex.

Unfortunately ethernet isn’t really a practical option for me. Way too awkward to try an run a cable from the side of the tank to my router. Food for thought though. I could run a physical connection if issues arise (albeit temporarily) but would have to rely on Wi-Fi connectivity.

 

[Chewy954]

I upgraded from an A1 Jr to A3 JR.
I've had zero issues, everything works great.