Apex or dosing controller newbie questions

[Dalbery]

I have been in and out of saltwater for 25 years and have never ran a doser or Apex. I really like how the apex monitors and doses, but there are so many generations of Apex I have no clue what I'm looking for or what to get. I don't want to spend $1500 to set up a controller for dosing, so I will be buying used. I would like to use the app. What do I look for used to get a controller with dosing? I won't be using the controller for anything but monitoring parameters and dosing. I have my system set up the way I like it so far. I just would like to be able to monitor Ca, Alk, Ph, and whatever else I can monitor without having to test all the time. Thank in advance.

 

[SuncrestReef]

You could get the Apex-EL and DOS brand new for $798 with warranty coverage. If you buy used, you'll mostly find the older Apex Classic model which lacks some of the features of the current models, won't have any warranty, and will not allow you to take advantage of the Trident for automated testing if you want one later.

See my Apex Hardware Overview article for more details:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/apex-hardware-overview.775/
It's part of my series of Apex tutorials, which can give you ideas of what you can do with the Apex:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/authors/suncrestreef.93940/

 

[Billldg]

If you went with a new Apex EL then the cost would only be $500 new. You, more than likely don't need a Full Apex as most of us, myself included don't use or care about the ORP. The other items for dosing and monitoring Alk and Cal you can buy used to help lower cost.

 

[Dalbery]

SuncrestReef, Thank you. So I could go with an EL then add a PM2 if I wanted salinity as well? I definitely want a trident so it looks like the older Apex's won't work. Thanks for the links, they were very helpful.