Let's talk about the new apex

[702]

So I am curious what others think, say, or know about what is coming. I feel my resources are very trustworthy seeing how they are an authorized platinum dealer for apex. Word is there is a new apex on the horizon and should be hitting the market soon. Let's hear what others think. true, false, rumors?. After all, it is about that time for an updated controller.

 

[Poochaku]

Probably true but who knows the timeline. Personally think they waited way too long

 

[Derrick0580]

They sticking old brains in new plastic body and tripling the price? Lord knows they think their stuff is made of gold!

 

[techhnyne]

Being a neptunes authorized sales i can honestly say that they are made like trash and all my customers complain how much they break. You have to see the piles of broken apex gear that gets acquired. Their warranty is too short to cover anything. They must use the cheapest electronics manufacturer in china of something

 

[rtparty]

Outside of redundant brains, not sure what else they can improve on. Better build quality? Yeah it would be nice to see. However, I've got 7 year old Neptune stuff and not a failure to date on any of it. I've had almost every single part from Hydros replaced in less than a year.

I'd love to see a $299 option but that's not happening IMO. They already had the BRS ELMO and it was a smashing success. Yet, they never released it a second time.

Maybe a Trident that can test PO4 and NO3? Then you pick your 3 you want tested?

Sleeker design overall? Would be nice but not essential.

 

[rtparty]

They sticking old brains in new plastic body and tripling the price? Lord knows they think their stuff is made of gold!

I'm curious...is there another company with the same capabilities charging WAY less? From what I've seen every controller is around the same price.

If you could give us Neptune capabilities at 1/3 the price and be profitable, you'd take the controller market overnight.

 

[xyzner]

I think ReefFactory has the right idea with not requiring a centralized brain/hub. Sure wish we could get them in the US though.

 

[DanTheReefer]

I'm curious...is there another company with the same capabilities charging WAY less? From what I've seen every controller is around the same price.

If you could give us Neptune capabilities at 1/3 the price and be profitable, you'd take the controller market overnight.

If you’re talking power bars, temp/ ph controller/ monitors, dosing, light control, probably the robotank complete reef-pi kit for about $200

It has less convenient cloud capabilities compared to Apex, but still provides notification alerts. Also less doesn’t look like your standard china build quality (3d printed parts) but if it breaks less than 4X as fast as an Apex (it won’t) your wallet breaks even.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Everythings just a rumor these days. Will it be blue? Will it have a mr chili logo? Ha They have to be working on so many things right now. Picking what survives and what gets canned. Versa or Dos? Sky or Radion? Cor or Vectra? Wav or MP? Mobius or Fusion? Ecotune or Neptech? It’s a lot to think about. A stand alone trident with nitrate and phosphate would be nice. The ability to run mixed gear seamlessly, eco tech or Neptune, would be cool. Who knows at this point?

 

[Chrisv.]

I wonder how difficult it would be to make a reliable wireless eb832 and other peripheral gear, that can communicate with the brain without being directly connected. Maybe via Bluetooth.

I know a lot of people prefer wired connection for their apex but I really love the "fewer cables when possible" approach.

No reason Trident needs to be limited to three tests, either.

People are very defensive about apex controllers. I'm in the market for one too, and I find it a bit shocking that we're still using 2016 technology. If nothing else this could all be made smaller.

 

[Hydrored]

I have experienced a power bar failure, outside of that been reliable for the last 6 years. They really need need to provide a premium power bar.

 

[Hydrored]

I wonder how difficult it would be to make a reliable wireless eb832 and other peripheral gear, that can communicate with the brain without being directly connected. Maybe via Bluetooth.

I know a lot of people prefer wired connection for their apex but I really love the "fewer cables when possible" approach.

No reason Trident needs to be limited to three tests, either.

People are very defensive about apex controllers. I'm in the market for one too, and I find it a bit shocking that we're still using 2016 technology. If nothing else this could all be made smaller.

I like my stuff hard wired, not interested in dealing with mobius like problems with Neptune equipment

 

[rtparty]

If you’re talking power bars, temp/ ph controller/ monitors, dosing, light control, probably the robotank complete reef-pi kit for about $200

It has less convenient cloud capabilities compared to Apex, but still provides notification alerts. Also less doesn’t look like your standard china build quality (3d printed parts) but if it breaks less than 4X as fast as an Apex (it won’t) your wallet breaks even.

Is this the Reef Pi you're talking about?

 

[Chrisv.]

I have experienced a power bar failure, outside of that been reliable for the last 6 years. They really need need to provide a premium power bar.

I'm still running first release first gen apex (now called classic) and I really trust the gear. I've had it for more than a decade. And the display is the only thing that's failed me.

I've been looking to upgrade and of course, if you look for horror stories you will find them. I keep hearing about eb832 failures due to the bum 12v power converter module. The idea of a bad eb832 does concern me. My control strategy/philosophy has always been centered on isolating risk. I love the idea of a smart pump that integrates with a controller, but I love the reliability of an ac pump directly plugged into the wall even more. I like controlling equipment that has it's own onboard controller and using one or the other as a failsafe.

I know it's all just rumors and conjecture at this point, but it would be exciting for a new version to be released. It's a bit odd to me to see so many people take the "what could they possibly do better" position on technology development. I ,for one, am excited to see what they come up with that is better.

 

[areefer01]

Neptune is fine, so is their controller and other products. There are always loud people who generate negative waves but if it was as bad as a few in this thread say they wouldn't be one of the, if not, longest running aquarium controllers in the market.

You don't get that position by making cheap or unreliable products. GHL and Neptune and Open Source all are made to work in a very unfriendly environment around saltwater. Onus is on the hobbyist to get that part right regardless of what package one uses.

There are new products in the works of course. You don't get to stay idle and it is a balance of looking at what others are doing, who will integrate and play nice, or who is going alone and bringing their own controller or control to the market. People can play nice together one only has to look at Sicce and Kessil. Both make lights and power heads yet willing to work with Neptune to allow control. Huge quality of life improvement and they work.

I am a past and present user going back to 1999/2000 when they had X10 relays and base Boolean login. So yes, I'm probably a bit biased but if that is what a user of a companies product(s) makes you then it is what it is. The thing is controllers, regardless of brand, are not necessary for a successful reef.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I'm still running first release first gen apex (now called classic) and I really trust the gear. I've had it for more than a decade. And the display is the only thing that's failed me.

I've been looking to upgrade and of course, if you look for horror stories you will find them. I keep hearing about eb832 failures due to the bum 12v power converter module. The idea of a bad eb832 does concern me. My control strategy/philosophy has always been centered on isolating risk. I love the idea of a smart pump that integrates with a controller, but I love the reliability of an ac pump directly plugged into the wall even more. I like controlling equipment that has it's own onboard controller and using one or the other as a failsafe.

I know it's all just rumors and conjecture at this point, but it would be exciting for a new version to be released. It's a bit odd to me to see so many people take the "what could they possibly do better" position on technology development. I ,for one, am excited to see what they come up with that is better.

I’m with ya on the old classic. I don’t want to jinx it though. Only issues I’ve had are wavs every two years and one brand new dos that had a pinched line inside the head that squirt saltwater out and dripped into another dos below it which fried. No conformal coating like most of thier gear. They charged me $50 bucks to fix it which ticked me off a little but they’ve made up for it on my wavs.

 

[Breadman03]

Is this the Reef Pi you're talking about?

Search ReefPi. Is used a Radpberry Pi computer and lots of user generated programming. It’s really DIY, but I think some folks produce stuff for it.

 

[DanTheReefer]

So I am curious what others think, say, or know about what is coming. I feel my resources are very trustworthy seeing how they are an authorized platinum dealer for apex. Word is there is a new apex on the horizon and should be hitting the market soon. Let's hear what others think. true, false, rumors?. After all, it is about that time for an updated controller.

My guess is

Is this the Reef Pi you're talking about?

That’s it. Reef-Pi is the open source Reef controller software that runs on raspberry pi computers. Most Reef-Pi users like me tend to be tinkerers who make their own circuits for all of the hardware that hooks up to the Pi.

That robotank is a product for folks that want a complete Reef-Pi without having to build it. I think you need to buy the ph ($30-80) and temp (about $10) probes though, and upgrade to the kit that includes the power bar (+$90). Alternatively, Reef-Pi can control the TPlink Kasa HS-300 smart wifi strip ($47) via wifi as well, but use caution when depending on wifi to control your heater, I had issues and ended up building a plug just for the heater - at least the Pi text me that it was cooking the tank and I turned off the heater via the Kasa app from work. It also notified me when my HOB overflow siphon died.

Probably the biggest downside is reef-pi doesn’t have it’s own cloud so the community relies on other free services (gmail for text notifications, adafruit for viewing measurements) for the cloud features, and if you want a heartbeat service it will cost a few bucks a month.

The reef-pi community is great as well and is my favorite thing about R2R

 

[rtparty]

I’m with ya on the old classic. I don’t want to jinx it though. Only issues I’ve had are wavs every two years and one brand new dos that had a pinched line inside the head that squirt saltwater out and dripped into another dos below it which fried. No conformal coating like most of thier gear. They charged me $50 bucks to fix it which ticked me off a little but they’ve made up for it on my wavs.

I do find it quite odd (read intentional) that they put no waterproofing on the DOS units when they specifically designed them to be stacked. The top unit will eventually leak and destroy the unit below for some users.

I mean $30 in pumps and $15 in plastic leaves absolutely no room for a $1 gasket on a $300 unit lol

 

[DanTheReefer]

So I am curious what others think, say, or know about what is coming. I feel my resources are very trustworthy seeing how they are an authorized platinum dealer for apex. Word is there is a new apex on the horizon and should be hitting the market soon. Let's hear what others think. true, false, rumors?. After all, it is about that time for an updated controller.

My guess is it will be released 3 weeks after the BRS has a “Neptune is on sale this NEVER happens!” event