Does Apex EL control these devices?

[BullyBee]

Does the Apex EL control two kessil lights and an AI Nero pump? Does it control an Ecotech Vectra pump? I can add salinity and orp probe to it...right?

Or is it just a fancy power supply with temp and ph monitoring?

 

[Coolcasino]

It cannot control any Kessils. No Apex has the ability to control any of the vetra pumps. To monitor salinity you will need a PM2 module and for orp you will need a PM1 module. You can add a breakout box for float switches and light switches but that's about it. So yeah... the EL is a glorified temp and ph monitor and controller.

 

[BullyBee]

It cannot control any Kessils. No Apex has the ability to control any of the vetra pumps. To monitor salinity you will need a PM2 module and for orp you will need a PM1 module. You can add a breakout box for float switches and light switches but that's about it. So yeah... the EL is a glorified temp and ph monitor and controller.

dissapointing. I’m better off keeping things the way they are and adding a Seneye. Won’t do salinity but Atleast it’s way cheaper and all I need to add is a leak detector and wifi.

 

[Coolcasino]

It does have wifi and ethernet but you will need a few modules down the line for other equipment. Better off buying the next up but even still you will need to buy a PM2 for the salinity. You have to take a sec and think of all the possible equipment and goals you think you are going to need and then decide which brand suits you and your tanks goals.

 

[BullyBee]

I care about monitoring salinity, ph and temp as well as possibly control lighting and mayyyyyybe my pump. I’d like the notifications when stuff goes wrong

 

[Coolcasino]

So check what Neptune has to offer and if they meet your goals and check Seneye for the same. I'm biased as I have a full APEX. I think in the long run you will want the full APEX as you wont need any extra modules. You will just keep adding equipment to it like a DOS pump and leak detectors and ATOs. But I would look at what both offer and which one makes more sense to buy.

 

[Jonreefer]

The ApexEL can do everything the regular Apex can do except they removed the ORP and salinity to lower the cost for people who dont care about that. You can add them down the line. I for one have no interest really in either of those so i spent less money and got the EL and it does everything I need. You can add any module to the EL that you can the full Apex. So the only difference between the 2 is the orp and salinity probes out of the box included. I dont get what do you need the Apex to control the Vectra for? I mean its going to run at a constant speed its not like you are going to make it a wavemaker with schedules being a return pump unless its just a closed loop pump.

 

[Water Dog]

Also, if you wanted to control lights and pumps that are Apex compatible through 0-10v dimming control, such as Tunze pumps, Reef Octopus Varios return pumps, Kessil lights prior to the “X” generation, etc, you will need a VDM module, as the variable dimming ports do not come standard in the Apex EL, like they do in the standard 2016 Apex.

 

[Coolcasino]

You don't get the 4 channels of variable speed/dimming with the EL but you can add it down the line if you need it. He can turn the Vectra off for feed cycles and maintenance and such.

 

[BullyBee]

I think coolcasino is right. I need to take a step back and see what I need because today, after sleeping on it, I wonder how much I’m really gonna need to have on demand access to ph and salinity. I much more on the fence today.

I just don’t know because I have zero experience with salt water. So I don’t know what I need. I am big into planted tanks and aside from my drop checker I don’t worry about much because the tank talks to me, I kinda know what to look for.

I feel like monitoring real time ph and salinity is important. I could be wrong though...I just wont know till It’s too late lol

 

[sfmacguy]

I think coolcasino is right. I need to take a step back and see what I need because today, after sleeping on it, I wonder how much I’m really gonna need to have on demand access to ph and salinity. I much more on the fence today.

I just don’t know because I have zero experience with salt water. So I don’t know what I need. I am big into planted tanks and aside from my drop checker I don’t worry about much because the tank talks to me, I kinda know what to look for.

I feel like monitoring real time ph and salinity is important. I could be wrong though...I just wont know till It’s too late lol

the apex salinity probe is not useful at all. It needs constant recalibration, and I find my refractometer (digital) to be much simpler to utilize. Just FYI

 

[Jonreefer]

in all honesty. I think I check my salinity once a month with my refractometer and it never seems to move more than .5
I don't have my RODI hooked into my ATO so there is no chance something like that might get stuck on and cause it to drop drastically. What i like the most about the Apex is I can get alerts about power usage if something dies and isnt pulling zero power I can be alerted or if its running high it could be time for cleaning.

 

[ca1ore]

My initial foray into the Apex world was the Lite ….. essentially to the classic what EL is to the current full apex. Very quickly regretted it and spent more that the price difference in 'make up' modules. If you can swing it, buy the full apex.

 

[Coolcasino]

I think coolcasino is right. I need to take a step back and see what I need because today, after sleeping on it, I wonder how much I’m really gonna need to have on demand access to ph and salinity. I much more on the fence today.

I just don’t know because I have zero experience with salt water. So I don’t know what I need. I am big into planted tanks and aside from my drop checker I don’t worry about much because the tank talks to me, I kinda know what to look for.

I feel like monitoring real time ph and salinity is important. I could be wrong though...I just wont know till It’s too late lol

Having any APEX is just having one more tool available to you. Even tho I have a full APEX I still check my salinity with a refractometer. I have a trident and I still test with a Hanna ALK checker and a Red Sea Cal test. Just more tools in your tool box. Getting any controller isnt going to make your tank magical and prefect. You will still need to get your hands wet from time to time. The APEX will only help you and tell if there's something wrong for the most part. The rest will still be up to you. You can definitely have a striving tank with an APEX and without one. Today most companies have aps that you can control their devices. Most are leaning towards not opening the programs to Neptune so the devices that can be controller by the APEX is getting smaller.