Neptune Apex Display Lighting thoughts

[Elder1945]

::Speculation::

As i am still a big fan of the Apex classic (not a big fan of the new apex). I was wondering when everyone thinks Neptune will anounce there new LED lights? My guess is late this year or next. I assume this is next in line for them.

I know they have their DC pump on the way and ATO thing.

As the DC pump has no ramp control as I was told just on and off and feed mode. I do not see it selling all that well as the market of return pumps is already flooded. We will see..

As for the ATO finally a little big for a nano though I wonder if it fits in my Nuvo.

I also have see Neptune move away from working with other companys like EcoTech as an example.


On a side note i am wondering now when EcoTech will launch there controller.



My assumption now is that Neptune will make a whole system top to bottom.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Brew12]

::Speculation::

As i am still a big fan of the Apex classic (not a big fan of the new apex). I was wondering when everyone thinks Neptune will anounce there new LED lights? My guess is late this year or next. I assume this is next in line for them.

I know they have their DC pump on the way and ATO thing.

As the DC pump has no ramp control as I was told just on and off and feed mode. I do not see it selling all that well as the market of return pumps is already flooded. We will see..

As for the ATO finally a little big for a nano though I wonder if it fits in my Nuvo.

I also have see Neptune move away from working with other companys like EcoTech as an example.


On a side note i am wondering now when EcoTech will launch there controller.



My assumption now is that Neptune will make a whole system top to bottom.

What are your thoughts?

Good question. I do get worried because I love the Apex platform but it seems like there are fewer compatible items being released instead of more. Its a shame.

 

[vhuang168]

I'm pretty sure the COR will have variable speeds. Would be dumb not to be able to do.

 

[Elder1945]

I'm pretty sure the COR will have variable speeds. Would be dumb not to be able to do.

Yes it will sorry I was thinking of a wavemaker type control.

Ramp up and down for use in closed loops and things.

 

[Elder1945]

Good question. I do get worried because I love the Apex platform but it seems like there are fewer compatible items being released instead of more. Its a shame.

Yes Neptune is not the only company doing this . I wish there was more collaboration in this industry but it seems that will never happen.

I think I will be picking up another "New apex" and messing around with it... I might re make their housings to better suit my taste though.

 

[Brew12]

Yes Neptune is not the only company doing this . I wish there was more collaboration in this industry but it seems that will never happen.

I think I will be picking up another "New apex" and messing around with it... I might re make their housings to better suit my taste though.

Yup. I understand it but I don't like it. Neptune wants to make more money by getting into pumps and lights. This makes them competitors with pump and light companies so there is little motivation to work together. On the flip side, some pump and light companies are developing their own controllers so Neptune sees them as a competitor.

Not a great thing for hobbyists right now although competition could make things better in the long run.

 

[Terence]

I cannot comment on future products outside of what has already been announced, but what I can say is that we are working harder than ever to integrate with other devices. The upgraded hardware in the new Apex has enabled us to create IoTa which is an entirely new interface standard that any lighting and pump manufacturer can utilize to more tightly integrate their products into the Apex ecosystem - wirelessly. And a number of companies are currently working on this right now.

The fact that we will continue to make peripheral products ourselves does not mean we are shutting to door to others. I have said this many times, think about peripherals and the Apple ecosystem. I can use my Logitech mouse with my MacBook Pro or I can use my Apple mouse. The only difference in how they operate is that the Apple mouse can be more tightly integrated into their ecosystem because it is made by them.

It might seem counterintuitive to many, but there is plenty of motivation for us to want to give our customers the power to choose to operate their aquariums in the way they choose.

I think what is not seen by many hobbyists is that the overall saltwater aquarium market is not as big as you might think and developing technology is very expensive. This means that many companies outsource much of the technology that you use today - this makes it difficult for them to do things like integrate via protocols like IoTa as it costs more money and the developers aren't even connected to the industry so there is a lack of context.

One final insight. Many companies are not in touch with the high end aquarium consumer. Sadly a lot of the senior people at many companies do not even keep aquariums themselves anymore or have the passion. What this means is that they often do not even consider integration (even if it means just 0-10v) in the design process or they even cast it aside as an unnecessary cost. They then release the product and are stunned with the tidal wave of enthusiasts that want this capability.

If any of you would ever want to chat about this topic, come out to one of the major conferences like RAP (where I was this weekend) and I would be glad to discuss it all with you.

 

[Bob Escher]

Great insight Terrence

 

[Jonnywhoop]

Little off topic but check out Avast's ATO sensor and perialsitic pump combo. Very very precise and the footprint is extremely small.

Of course on my apex I just leave it in "always on" but you won't regret that quality ATO.

 

[Brew12]

I think what is not seen by many hobbyists is that the overall saltwater aquarium market is not as big as you might think and developing technology is very expensive.

I agree and wish more people took this into consideration. People complain about the high price of reefing equipment compared to the fairly low cost of production. Every company has fixed costs for marketing and R&D. These costs need to be spread out over the number of units sold, be it controllers, lights, or skimmers. If Neptune was selling a million units a year the R&D would be fairly negligible. I have no idea how many units Apex actually does sell a year, but if it is 5,000 than R&D makes up a much higher percentage of the cost.

 

[Breadman03]

If any of you would ever want to chat about this topic, come out to one of the major conferences like RAP (where I was this weekend) and I would be glad to discuss it all with you.

I love to do just that.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

I think I will be picking up another "New apex" and messing around with it... I might re make their housings to better suit my taste though.

That's the one thing I don't like about their 2016 model, the way it looks. I loved the black boxes and thought they looked very sleek and solid. In my opinion the new look is really bulky and I'm not a huge fan of the plastic...

 

[Elder1945]

I cannot comment on future products outside of what has already been announced, but what I can say is that we are working harder than ever to integrate with other devices. The upgraded hardware in the new Apex has enabled us to create IoTa which is an entirely new interface standard that any lighting and pump manufacturer can utilize to more tightly integrate their products into the Apex ecosystem - wirelessly. And a number of companies are currently working on this right now.

The fact that we will continue to make peripheral products ourselves does not mean we are shutting to door to others. I have said this many times, think about peripherals and the Apple ecosystem. I can use my Logitech mouse with my MacBook Pro or I can use my Apple mouse. The only difference in how they operate is that the Apple mouse can be more tightly integrated into their ecosystem because it is made by them.

It might seem counterintuitive to many, but there is plenty of motivation for us to want to give our customers the power to choose to operate their aquariums in the way they choose.

I think what is not seen by many hobbyists is that the overall saltwater aquarium market is not as big as you might think and developing technology is very expensive. This means that many companies outsource much of the technology that you use today - this makes it difficult for them to do things like integrate via protocols like IoTa as it costs more money and the developers aren't even connected to the industry so there is a lack of context.

One final insight. Many companies are not in touch with the high end aquarium consumer. Sadly a lot of the senior people at many companies do not even keep aquariums themselves anymore or have the passion. What this means is that they often do not even consider integration (even if it means just 0-10v) in the design process or they even cast it aside as an unnecessary cost. They then release the product and are stunned with the tidal wave of enthusiasts that want this capability.

If any of you would ever want to chat about this topic, come out to one of the major conferences like RAP (where I was this weekend) and I would be glad to discuss it all with you.

Thank you Terence for the reply! When do your LED lights come out? Also do they have anything to do with Phillips?

Edit: Yes the aquarium hobby is small it even supersized me and why I don't mind shelling out the money to support the company's whether Neptune or Vertex as they are pushing the hobby forward

That's the one thing I don't like about their 2016 model, the way it looks. I loved the black boxes and thought they looked very sleek and solid. In my opinion the new look is really bulky and I'm not a huge fan of the plastic...

Yes this is my personal objection but to be honest I am thinking of picking up a whole new system as the look is growing on me . I would like to collaborate with Neptune on something cough cough..

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Thank you Terence for the reply! When do your LED lights come out? Also do they have anything to do with Phillips?

Edit: Yes the aquarium hobby is small it even supersized me and why I don't mind shelling out the money to support the company's whether Neptune or Vertex as they are pushing the hobby forward




Yes this is my personal objection but to be honest I am thinking of picking up a whole new system as the look is growing on me . I would like to collaborate with Neptune on something cough cough..

I pulled the trigger and don't regret it. Mine is hidden inside my stand though and I'm just displaying the box on top of my ATO cabinet. Lol I need people to know that I have it, I just don't want them to see it

...if only there was someone on here affiliated with them that could get the message across... Oh well

 

[Elder1945]

This is how I mounted my apex

1st attempt..

2nd attempt I never finished this one as I ripped down the tank

And I did @revhtree board

I was trying to make it fit my taste.......

 

[Ty Hamatake]

2nd attempt I never finished this one as I ripped down the tank

Where did you get this? If you made it, would there be any chance whatsoever of getting one from you? I would display mine with pride if it was mounted on this...

 

[Fabianslit]

The Ato kits are showing up on YouTube already, so some beta testers have them.

I want the COR before my jebao gives out, or else I'm going to have to go with the M1, as I want to make my next return pump purchase my last

 

[Elder1945]

Where did you get this? If you made it, would there be any chance whatsoever of getting one from you? I would display mine with pride if it was mounted on this...

Yes I made it ...

I have pic's of the build in my old tank build thread here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/16-foot-350-gallon-reef-build.204682/

I have built quite a few things if you search my name on R2R

This is what I am building right now for myself
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sponsored-project-reef-by-elder1945-200g.291796/


As for making them sorry I don't sell them.. They are either gifts from me to whomever or collaborations with company's ..

 

[Elder1945]

BTW the one you want is hanging in my garage as a light now LOL.

 

[MaddyP]

Yes this is my personal objection but to be honest I am thinking of picking up a whole new system as the look is growing on me

I completely agree with you. My plan was to stick with my Apex Classic for as long as possible, but I ended up winning a new Apex here on R2R and used it on my new build. I am more impressed than I had expected to be...