ReefRacer
Community Member
Well, there are a gazillion threads on this subject, but I wanted to offer my personal experience. I will preface this with saying that I just a regular guy, addicted to this 'lifestyle' and in no way associated with either company.
- Cost
The Reef Keeper controllers from DA are definitely cheaper up front, but in the long run, the cost gap closes. I started out with a Reef Keeper Lite Basic system on my 75. If I remember correctly, I got it from Bulk Reef Supply for $109. Over time, I added the Net module so I could access the controller from my phone/internet, more PC4 plugs (around $90 each), lunar module (which I really liked), and SL1 to monitor PH. I upgraded to a 120 and the upgraded my RK Lite to an Elite due to the Lite's module limit. I got rid of my 120 and went to 2 smaller tanks and switched to the Neptune Apex to run both systems. I never have added up the exact amount, but I imagine, in the end, the total cost was about the same.
- Directions
Neither system comes with a whole lot of printed documentation, but both have a vast amount of information on the internet. However, I will give the advantage to Neptune in this area due to their expansive online manual. I think it was originally written by a regular reefer and then adopted and modified by Neptune as their official manual. It has an immense amount of information and is very helpful.
- Ease of basic setup
For the basic functionality, like lights, heater and pump control, setup for both system is pretty simple. But, the Reef Keeper gets the advantage. I had my my RKL setup in a few minutes without the need for any manual.
- Ease of advanced setup
This is an area where I lost a lot of brain cells and sprouted new grey hairs. By advanced, I mean wireless access to the controller, WAN access, and email/text alerting. The Reef Keeper requires the NET module to have wireless access whereas the Neptune has it standard. But, both proved to be a challenge to setup. The challenges really had nothing to do with the controller though. With the wide range of ISPs and wireless routers, it can be tough to say the least. Getting wireless access to either controller within my LAN was no sweat, but making it accessible from outside gave me some headaches. I should also mentioned that I have all Apple wireless products and the amount of instruction out there was less than some of the popular wireless devices. In the end, I was able to successfully access both of the controllers from the internet and both were successfully sending me email/text alerts.
- Advanced Advanced Setup
This topic is for those of you that have complicated requirements/rules for your system. The Apex is far and away more flexible. Don't misunderstand this as bashing the RK, cause I am certainly not. The RK will probably serve 99% of reefers well, but the Apex is a step ahead. The Apex basically has it's own program language that allows you to create statements for each plug attached to the controller. You can also setup virtual plugs and program around those as well. With the addition of the Apex Breakout box (or a DIY breakout box), you have the ability to setup some pretty cool things. A humidity sensor could turn on fans in your stand, or a water sensor could shut down your pumps if water was felt inside your stand. My favorite is my magnetic door alarm that turns on lights under the stand when I open the door. The Apex flexibility is only limited by your imagination.
- Smart Phone Access
To me, this is a major area. I travel a lot and I want to make sure that everything is going well with my tanks. Apex wins this area by wide margin. Unless things have changed recently, Digital Aquatics does not have a smart phone app. There is or was one available for the iphone, but it was written by a hobbyist and lacked the ability to turn outlets on or off. It simply read the current status of that outlet. To be clear, I am not talking about normal internet access, cause that worked pretty ok on my iPhone with the RK. I am talking about a native application. Neptune systems has their iPhone/iPad/Android app that is pretty great. You have full control over each outlet, can enter feed modes, see graphs for temp, ph and orp and can even change the programming for each outlet. The responsiveness is very fast as well. I can literally press the Feed A button on my phone 3000 miles away and the tank shut down within a second. It's still cool no matter how many times I do it.
- Connectivity
This area is meant to describe how each module connects to the next for each system. The Reef Keeper is a daisy-changed approach. I phone plug style cord (it's not a phone cord, I think 2 of the wires are switched around) that basically goes in a module or pc (power controller) and then out. If the chain is interrupted, anything after the point of interruption will be affected. The Apex modules or energy bars are connected via AquaBus..aka USB. I normal male USB plug works like a champ. The Energy Bars have more than 2 outlets, so it's possible that you could avoid the daisy-chaining limitations with proper setup. I don't think it anything that gives one controller an advantage over the other, but it's one of those things that is helpful to understand.
- Construction
I give a very slight advantage to Neptune in this area. Modules from both company are basically the exact same. A plastic box about the size of a deck of cards. The Neptune Energy bars are made of metal (not sure what type) and are more substantial then the ones from DA. But, I wouldn't say the PCs from DA where cheap by any sense. The Apex and Reef Keeper Elite display units are very similar and I wouldn't give an advantage to either...both are pretty descent.
- Don't likes
*The email/text alerts from the Reef Keeper are specific to an individual failure and the Apex is just a global system information message. When the Apex fails and sends an email/text, it send an entire system status with the first line being the item that failed/alerted. It's a bit annoying.
*My RK would just randomly shut off for a couple of seconds at times. It would come back on in the state that it shut off, but I have no idea why.
*The Apex has to be connected to your router via an ethernet plug to update firmware. This can suck if you have a 2 story house and the controller is on a different floor. The RK has a USB interface for direct access to update firware, but this can suck also if you don't have a laptop.
*The RK can't detect a power outage. If you have an Apex connected to a battery backup, you can program it to shut down everything but the return pump during a power outage and have the return pump run off your battery.
- Summary
A lot of people ask, "Do I need a Controller?". I say DEFINITELY! A decent timer for lights will set you back $30 and for $109 you can control your lights, heater and pumps. It's a no brainer to me. I heard a guy in my LFS the other day say that his chiller broke on while he was out of town and he got home to his tank at 60 degrees. A controller could have shut down power to the chiller and texted him when the temp was out of whack. After using both systems, I prefer the Apex. It feels more refined and more stable. I never had any problems with the RK, but the Apex gives a more 'polished' impression. The Reef Keeper is a great choice if you don't have the cheddar up front to dump into an Apex, but if you are running a more 'advanced' system, I would certainly consider the Apex.
Happy Reef Keeping
- Cost
The Reef Keeper controllers from DA are definitely cheaper up front, but in the long run, the cost gap closes. I started out with a Reef Keeper Lite Basic system on my 75. If I remember correctly, I got it from Bulk Reef Supply for $109. Over time, I added the Net module so I could access the controller from my phone/internet, more PC4 plugs (around $90 each), lunar module (which I really liked), and SL1 to monitor PH. I upgraded to a 120 and the upgraded my RK Lite to an Elite due to the Lite's module limit. I got rid of my 120 and went to 2 smaller tanks and switched to the Neptune Apex to run both systems. I never have added up the exact amount, but I imagine, in the end, the total cost was about the same.
- Directions
Neither system comes with a whole lot of printed documentation, but both have a vast amount of information on the internet. However, I will give the advantage to Neptune in this area due to their expansive online manual. I think it was originally written by a regular reefer and then adopted and modified by Neptune as their official manual. It has an immense amount of information and is very helpful.
- Ease of basic setup
For the basic functionality, like lights, heater and pump control, setup for both system is pretty simple. But, the Reef Keeper gets the advantage. I had my my RKL setup in a few minutes without the need for any manual.
- Ease of advanced setup
This is an area where I lost a lot of brain cells and sprouted new grey hairs. By advanced, I mean wireless access to the controller, WAN access, and email/text alerting. The Reef Keeper requires the NET module to have wireless access whereas the Neptune has it standard. But, both proved to be a challenge to setup. The challenges really had nothing to do with the controller though. With the wide range of ISPs and wireless routers, it can be tough to say the least. Getting wireless access to either controller within my LAN was no sweat, but making it accessible from outside gave me some headaches. I should also mentioned that I have all Apple wireless products and the amount of instruction out there was less than some of the popular wireless devices. In the end, I was able to successfully access both of the controllers from the internet and both were successfully sending me email/text alerts.
- Advanced Advanced Setup
This topic is for those of you that have complicated requirements/rules for your system. The Apex is far and away more flexible. Don't misunderstand this as bashing the RK, cause I am certainly not. The RK will probably serve 99% of reefers well, but the Apex is a step ahead. The Apex basically has it's own program language that allows you to create statements for each plug attached to the controller. You can also setup virtual plugs and program around those as well. With the addition of the Apex Breakout box (or a DIY breakout box), you have the ability to setup some pretty cool things. A humidity sensor could turn on fans in your stand, or a water sensor could shut down your pumps if water was felt inside your stand. My favorite is my magnetic door alarm that turns on lights under the stand when I open the door. The Apex flexibility is only limited by your imagination.
- Smart Phone Access
To me, this is a major area. I travel a lot and I want to make sure that everything is going well with my tanks. Apex wins this area by wide margin. Unless things have changed recently, Digital Aquatics does not have a smart phone app. There is or was one available for the iphone, but it was written by a hobbyist and lacked the ability to turn outlets on or off. It simply read the current status of that outlet. To be clear, I am not talking about normal internet access, cause that worked pretty ok on my iPhone with the RK. I am talking about a native application. Neptune systems has their iPhone/iPad/Android app that is pretty great. You have full control over each outlet, can enter feed modes, see graphs for temp, ph and orp and can even change the programming for each outlet. The responsiveness is very fast as well. I can literally press the Feed A button on my phone 3000 miles away and the tank shut down within a second. It's still cool no matter how many times I do it.
- Connectivity
This area is meant to describe how each module connects to the next for each system. The Reef Keeper is a daisy-changed approach. I phone plug style cord (it's not a phone cord, I think 2 of the wires are switched around) that basically goes in a module or pc (power controller) and then out. If the chain is interrupted, anything after the point of interruption will be affected. The Apex modules or energy bars are connected via AquaBus..aka USB. I normal male USB plug works like a champ. The Energy Bars have more than 2 outlets, so it's possible that you could avoid the daisy-chaining limitations with proper setup. I don't think it anything that gives one controller an advantage over the other, but it's one of those things that is helpful to understand.
- Construction
I give a very slight advantage to Neptune in this area. Modules from both company are basically the exact same. A plastic box about the size of a deck of cards. The Neptune Energy bars are made of metal (not sure what type) and are more substantial then the ones from DA. But, I wouldn't say the PCs from DA where cheap by any sense. The Apex and Reef Keeper Elite display units are very similar and I wouldn't give an advantage to either...both are pretty descent.
- Don't likes
*The email/text alerts from the Reef Keeper are specific to an individual failure and the Apex is just a global system information message. When the Apex fails and sends an email/text, it send an entire system status with the first line being the item that failed/alerted. It's a bit annoying.
*My RK would just randomly shut off for a couple of seconds at times. It would come back on in the state that it shut off, but I have no idea why.
*The Apex has to be connected to your router via an ethernet plug to update firmware. This can suck if you have a 2 story house and the controller is on a different floor. The RK has a USB interface for direct access to update firware, but this can suck also if you don't have a laptop.
*The RK can't detect a power outage. If you have an Apex connected to a battery backup, you can program it to shut down everything but the return pump during a power outage and have the return pump run off your battery.
- Summary
A lot of people ask, "Do I need a Controller?". I say DEFINITELY! A decent timer for lights will set you back $30 and for $109 you can control your lights, heater and pumps. It's a no brainer to me. I heard a guy in my LFS the other day say that his chiller broke on while he was out of town and he got home to his tank at 60 degrees. A controller could have shut down power to the chiller and texted him when the temp was out of whack. After using both systems, I prefer the Apex. It feels more refined and more stable. I never had any problems with the RK, but the Apex gives a more 'polished' impression. The Reef Keeper is a great choice if you don't have the cheddar up front to dump into an Apex, but if you are running a more 'advanced' system, I would certainly consider the Apex.
Happy Reef Keeping
