Controller backups!

[AcanthurusRex]

Yeah, I have run across a ton of people with the same issue during my research this morning. Appears the old EB8s are much more reliable than the new EB832s :-( There don't seem to be too many people that have had them more than a year without any issues?

Unfortunately you lose the ability to set up power alarms with the EB8s. That is the only "auto" function I let the Apex handle and I do find it helpful.
I guess I need to fix the EB832. From what others have posted they spent a good portion of the retail cost to get it fixed out of warranty.

 

[Roytrolls247]

Geez that is scary I Just bought my Apex on Saturday I too need to figure out a back up plan for power outage

 

[JGT]

Sounds like it failed the same way mine did. It was well out of warranty so I just bought another.
I took it apart to see if there was anything obvious I can fix without a schematic. The only issue I found was the high-side regulator was not working. It is an off the shelf item like the 24VDC supply.
There was another post a few days ago with the same issue. Maybe a spare is required.

Here’s another misnomer I recently learned about Apex stuff. I see people asking for original receipts on the Selling Forum when buying second hand Neptune equipment thinking that with that they are still covered under the warranty. Wrong!
Neptune requires that it be bought from a sanctioned dealer and the warranty is only good for the original buyer. So any warranty is non-transferable. Given the costs of their equipment this to me is unacceptable.

 

[G Santana]

Here’s another misnomer I recently learned about Apex stuff. I see people asking for original receipts on the Selling Forum when buying second hand Neptune equipment thinking that with that they are still covered under the warranty. Wrong!
Neptune requires that it be bought from a sanctioned dealer and the warranty is only good for the original buyer. So any warranty is non-transferable. Given the costs of their equipment this to me is unacceptable.

This is so important and you probably just told a ton of folks something they did not know. You can't transfer warranties!!!

 

[vangvace]

Good point.
Just curious as you say two electronic items have failed recently.
Is this a coincidence or did something happen to cause you issues?
Electrical issue maybe?

Seems like a good time to point out that the Neptune Powerbars do not provide surge protection and their support forums would recommend using one. You can get them for $8 from your local hardware store with a single outlet to plug your powerbar into.

 

[K7BMG]

Seems like a good time to point out that the Neptune Powerbars do not provide surge protection and their support forums would recommend using one. You can get them for $8 from your local hardware store with a single outlet to plug your powerbar into.

Just an FYI.
Don't buy a surge protector without looking at reviews.
Some of the better brands to look for in no particular order if your not going to do the research.
Tripp Lite
Belkin
APC
Schneider.

If you want better protection then look for LINE CONDITIONING and surge protection products.

 

[Waters]

Unfortunately you lose the ability to set up power alarms with the EB8s. That is the only "auto" function I let the Apex handle and I do find it helpful.
I guess I need to fix the EB832. From what others have posted they spent a good portion of the retail cost to get it fixed out of warranty.

Not only that but I just looked at my EB8s....they don't have any 1Link ports so I can't plug the WAVs into those.....I am forever tied to the EB832s unless I ditch the WAVs, or find a module that has available 1Link ports.

 

[Waters]

Seems like a good time to point out that the Neptune Powerbars do not provide surge protection and their support forums would recommend using one. You can get them for $8 from your local hardware store with a single outlet to plug your powerbar into.

Unfortunately, according to Neptune support anyways, they recommend battery backups, not surge protectors. I used to have an issue with my apex display that would go out anytime the power went out in my house......they said the only way to fix is with an APC ( I had a surge protector on my old Apex). After having them remote in 5-6 times over the course of a year to fix the display, I threw the display in the trash and picked up a tablet. I am sure a surge protector won't hurt to use though, for sure.

 

[K7BMG]

Unfortunately, according to Neptune support anyways, they recommend battery backups, not surge protectors. I used to have an issue with my apex display that would go out anytime the power went out in my house......they said the only way to fix is with an APC ( I had a surge protector on my old Apex). After having them remote in 5-6 times over the course of a year to fix the display, I threw the display in the trash and picked up a tablet. I am sure a surge protector won't hurt to use though, for sure.

Most all general purpose battery backups will have surge protection.
The higher end units will also have line conditioning. Best of the best!

 

[BZOFIQ]

When I first started collecting and putting the Apex pieces together, I wanted EVERYTHING to be Apex so the whole system worked together as one unit. I am starting to see that was a mistake. Now if something goes down, it takes everything with it where as a piece of equipment from a different vendor would continue to operate using its' own controller. The Apex brain would still "oversee" everything....just not have complete control over it.

On point, that's why I don't trust my setup to a single controller. NASA has similar approach.

 

[Hydrored]

I learned the hard way when we had a nasty brown out and killed a bunch of home electronics, now I keep a full new apex,2 COR20’s, and a PMUP for spares. Expensive to have around but I sleep better. Side note when I had my whole home generator installed I also added the surge suppressor, did absolutely nothing.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I learned the hard way when we had a nasty brown out and killed a bunch of home electronics, now I keep a full new apex,2 COR20’s, and a PMUP for spares. Expensive to have around but I sleep better. Side note when I had my whole home generator installed I also added the surge suppressor, did absolutely nothing.

But what's your plan when you're on a beach in Punta Cana?

 

[Waters]

I guess we can only control what we can control.....not much you can do if you are away from your tank and your controller fails lol. I need a back up of me to install my backup pieces

 

[Doctorgori]

..... I am guessing they are going to want me to send it in which I am not going to do. I have had to pay WAY too many times to ship back warranty equipment for repair to Neptune....which I know is normal but I find it crazy to have to pay for shipping on warranty items. It also always takes over a week to get the equipment back once it is repaired. My tank has run on the Trident and DOS for so long now that I wouldn't even know where to start as far as manual dosing to keep everything stable. I need to either start phasing out Apex stuff or buy another expensive replacement piece of equipment I guess. I just can't believe, for the price, how many Apex items I have that have either failed or needed warranty support in a single year lol. I love the stuff when it works.....just never seems to work reliably.

Couldn’t have said it better: For instant if you are charging $200 for a ATK same as a Tunze Oscimilato” then it should be as reliable, but I’m constantly fixing errors, changing sensors or resetting the dang thing. Shppimg charges for warranty repair is a hidden cost transfer that I’ve paid multiple times

One of the things we do with vital computer equipment in the real world is set up heartbeat processes on external machines - so that if something fails and is unreachable - we get an alert of some sort from the other machine.



And yeah - it drives me nuts when companies want me to send them back stuff so they can repair it while I wait. Just send me a refurbed one and a shipping label so I can get on with my day.

add in the wasted salaries emailing, diagnosing et et...yeah they may as well just have jumped to the end and let the refurbed and broken units pass each other in the mail

 

[robbyg]

I feel your pain, I am getting back into the hobby after many years away, saw what companies have done with controllers and was intrigued but as I read more and more about failures, I am hesitant on them.
I'll go controlerless until I learn more.
Having to pay for shipping for what appears to be their failures would really upset me.
I hope you get everything sorted soon!!!

The truth is that many controllers on the market have Zero issues over a period of years and decades. I am still running my original three Power Bars, Numerous modules for the control of six float switches, five level sensors, two leak sensors, two temp probes, Oxygen Probe, pH, ORP and Flow sensor and an SMS module and Dosing pump. All of this stuff has been running without an issue for almost 16 Years. The only thing I have done is remove the controller head in 2015 which was still working fine and replaced it with the latest model which was completely backward compatible with my original Hardware.

The problem in North America is that the leading company has a death grip on the market and therefore 95% of people own the same brand which IMO has numerous hardware design issues but has smartly made sure that they have great looking web based software and Apps and spend a ton of money on marketing and keeping dealers in line. The one or two that don't keep in line cough' "MD" well they don't get any six month reagents like the rest.

As I have said before none of the pretty graphs and easy template setup stuff is going to help you if you leave your house for a day and come back and find that your tank is dead. I have left my controller on complete auto pilot for weeks at a time and I honestly don't worry about anything going wrong.

 

[laverda]

This thread should warn everyone not to rely on your Apex for critical functions. I learned this the hard way 6 months or so ago when my apex turned my ALK dosing pump to "ON" three separate times, emptying my dosing container each time. On top of that it did not send any warnings like it was programed to do to let me know my PH was spiking! If it had i would have figured out what was going on before it killed all my SPS!

Do not run your return pump off you Apex. Have at least one flow pump that is not dependent on apex! Otherwise it is just a matter of time before your Apex let's you down.