Apex Jr or RKL?

TheWB · Oct 7, 2017

Hi All,

I want a controller that will do a couple of specific things. I know almost nothing about the different controllers and the many add on modules so I’m hoping for some very basic help. I want to monitor temperature and maybe ph and I want to control two Current USA eFlux 1050 gph wave pumps and one eFlux dc return pump. Specifically I want to be able to ramp the intensity up and down on a preset schedule. The pumps come with a remote that lets you do it manually but I would like to automate it so they will run similar to the night mode on a Vortech. Can I do this with this brand of wave pump using one of these controllers right out of the box or would I need to add on additional modules? It’s just not clear to me from the basic info available what is compatible and what requires additional modules. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Bob Escher · Oct 7, 2017

I don’t believe any of those can be controlled by any controllers not specific to Current-USA
I may suggest contacting them directly and ask them

TheWB · Oct 7, 2017

Thanks Bob

Bob Escher · Oct 7, 2017

Well I hope I advised you good but my current LED ‘s didn’t work
NOW can you modify them certainly but not without much further cost

Bob Escher · Oct 7, 2017

Well I hope I advised you good but my current LED ‘s didn’t work
NOW can you modify them certainly but not without much further cost

Bob Escher · Oct 7, 2017

Well I hope I advised you good but my current LED ‘s didn’t work
NOW can you modify them certainly but not without much further cost

Ranjib · Oct 7, 2017

What voltage those dc pumps operate on? Or the control voltage ? It should not be hard to convert any of the controllers output to match the dc pumps

ngvu1 · Oct 7, 2017

Apex full. Used for $320

TheWB · Oct 8, 2017

Looks like they use a 24v dc transformer.

TheWB · Oct 8, 2017

ngvu1 said:
Apex full. Used for $320

What??? Please elaborate. Are you trying to sell an Apex?

Ranjib · Oct 8, 2017

I think apex has 24v dc output (not sure its pwm/dimmable or not)..
Otherwise, use a 24v dc power adapter and an appropriate power mosfet, and use any of the controllers 10v signal (like the one used for controlling kessil light) to gate power mosfet.

Cherub · Oct 8, 2017

Look at Reef Angel star they're cheaper and they do a lot

ngvu1 · Oct 8, 2017

I saw your post without reading post without knowing much about these Current USA eFlux pumps. The apex Jr. does not have the variable ports to control such thing, so I said apex full as that is the only thing with the variable ports. the price is just for your reference

I did look up the pump after reading this quote. From the comment of ReefBuilder below suggests that you cannot incorporate these pump with an apex easily. Unless Current USA sells an adapter or so.

"Current USA has a completely different strategy with the Eflux pump as one of the cornerstones of their new Loop System. The external voltage input is replaced by a series of four micro-USB inputs which are used to both connect to other Loop-enabled devices, and daisy chain others into the system."

https://reefbuilders.com/2016/10/27/hands-on-with-the-new-eflux-dc-pump-from-current-usa/

TheWB said:
What??? Please elaborate. Are you trying to sell an Apex?

Terence · Oct 8, 2017

It might be possible to control the pumps. You could check but I think that possibly the jebao adapter might do it. However you will need an apex with variable speed ports on it. The Apex Jr cannot do that unless you pair it with the vdm module.

TheWB · Oct 8, 2017

Terence said:
It might be possible to control the pumps. You could check but I think that possibly the jebao adapter might do it. However you will need an apex with variable speed ports on it. The Apex Jr cannot do that unless you pair it with the vdm module.

Thanks Terence, that’s very helpful. I will look into what that would entail. Since I’m only looking to do just a couple of things I was hoping the Jr would handle it. Adding extra adaptors and modules might make this cost more than its worth to just monitor temp and ramp the pumps up and down. Maybe a future upgrade to the Current Loop will let me do what I want to do with the pumps.

jml1149 · Oct 9, 2017

It might be slightly off topic, but I think night mode on wave makers is a significant mistake. Many of the corals in my tank, especially LPS, feed at night. Bubble corals, acans, favia, etc., all extend sweeper tentacles at night, so if the flow is reduced, so would the available "food" in the water.

If you plan on keeping SPS, the differential pressure created from the wave motion is critical to the transfer of nutrients from the tank to the coral, so running slow at night means reduced health. Dana Riddle did an excellent presentation on this and the importance of flow.

Also, and this is what really sold it for me, the ocean doesn't turn down at night, so why should my tank? Really, I would just leave your controllers set how you want and let it go the same 24-7.

Now, all that being said, I'm an admitted Apex Junkie. The Jr. is a gateway drug. It did me solid for a couple years, but eventually I got the itch again and upgraded. If you can swing it, go big and get a full size Apex. If not, the Jr. is fine, especially if you're relying on a heater's thermostat to control temperature. I feel that alone is worth it at an entry level for me.

TheWB · Oct 9, 2017

jml1149 said:
It might be slightly off topic, but I think night mode on wave makers is a significant mistake. Many of the corals in my tank, especially LPS, feed at night. Bubble corals, acans, favia, etc., all extend sweeper tentacles at night, so if the flow is reduced, so would the available "food" in the water.

If you plan on keeping SPS, the differential pressure created from the wave motion is critical to the transfer of nutrients from the tank to the coral, so running slow at night means reduced health. Dana Riddle did an excellent presentation on this and the importance of flow.

Also, and this is what really sold it for me, the ocean doesn't turn down at night, so why should my tank? Really, I would just leave your controllers set how you want and let it go the same 24-7.

Now, all that being said, I'm an admitted Apex Junkie. The Jr. is a gateway drug. It did me solid for a couple years, but eventually I got the itch again and upgraded. If you can swing it, go big and get a full size Apex. If not, the Jr. is fine, especially if you're relying on a heater's thermostat to control temperature. I feel that alone is worth it at an entry level for me.

Thanks for the reply, that’s an interesting perspective. I was looking at it from the standpoint of the fish more than the coral. I realize they live in the ocean and the ocean does not power down at night. My concern was that since my tank ( IM LAGOON 50 ) is such a finite area, roughly 29” by 20” by 14-15” of swimming space minus rock and sand that the fish might benefit from calmer conditions at night since they are in a limited area. Easier to rest if your not being blown all over the place. It’s probably not that important to me or I would have just bought a couple of MP10s to begin with but I liked the idea of that feature and if it could be accomplished relatively inexpensively and allow me to gain temp and maybe ph monitoring then that would have been something to consider. I had not considered it from the viewpoint of the corals. I will be keeping mostly Zoas on one island and on the other I’m thinking blastomussa, hammer and frogspawn spaced appropriately apart from each other. My understanding is that those are mostly photosynthetic although they can benefit from feeding ( topic for another thread ) so it didn’t occur to me that reduced flow at night would have much affect on them. I will have to look into that further. The Apex Jr may just be worth picking up at some point just for the basic monitoring capabilities, especially temp. I first got on this track while looking for a decent temp probe or thermometer. Very quickly ended up down the controller path and I thought if the eFlux pumps could be controlled then all the better. Appreciate everyone’s comments and info on the subject.

jml1149 · Oct 9, 2017

I agree 100%.

Last thing off topic: re: hammers and frogspawn, in my experience, the #1 cause of mortality is flow problems, either too much or too little. They require low-ish light, but I've seen so many people throw a couple $20 Jebao pumps in there and wonder why they melt a week later. The fish can find their own happy place, and they will. Corals are much harder to accommodate.

TheWB · Oct 9, 2017

jml1149 said:
I agree 100%.

Last thing off topic: re: hammers and frogspawn, in my experience, the #1 cause of mortality is flow problems, either too much or too little. They require low-ish light, but I've seen so many people throw a couple $20 Jebao pumps in there and wonder why they melt a week later. The fish can find their own happy place, and they will. Corals are much harder to accommodate.

I appreciate the advice. I think I’m good on flow. I have two of the eFlux wave pumps that are rated for up to 1090 gal per hour ( we’ll see ) and the matching eFlux return pump which should be a huge improvement over the pump that came with the tank. That’s a potential 3000+ gal per hour of flow in a tank that holds at the most 42-45 gallons including the back chambers. Can’t imagine I might need more but I can always add a 3rd pump with the Current USA system if needed. Got the neo-therm heater which hopefully will be reliable so I think I can wait in the APEX Jr for a while until I’m up and running to do quality temp monitoring. Maybe for Xmas.