New apex worth upgrading to?

Balz3352 · May 24, 2016

Hey guys!

What are your thoughts on the new apex. Im torn personally. I have a what they're calling now classic with 3 eb8s. Im setting up the aquarium now and was about to put the controller on the big tank. I still think ill need to purchase a vdm even with the new apex because I have a basement sump. And I need to control dimmable lights and pumps.

Is it worth upgrading at this point? I have many other uses for the $800 especially since im still setting this up. (we all know how expensive setup is).

Thanks

wcharon · May 24, 2016

In my case I am not upgrading. At least not in the moment as I bought mine around 6 months.

rayn · May 24, 2016

I like the ability to monitor amp usage, but it is t worth me upgrading either.

There are some cool features on it though.

AllSignsPointToFish · May 24, 2016

wcharon said:
In my case I am not upgrading. At least not in the moment as I bought mine around 6 months.

Agreed. I'm in the same boat.

jsker · May 24, 2016

If it not broken don't fix it

joshkirkland83 · May 24, 2016

jsker said:
If it not broken don't fix it

+1. Gotta let them get the bugs out first anyway. Never be a new products Guinea pig, especially a high end product.

jsker · May 24, 2016

I missed the whole think yesterday, so I do not even know what is new. Today I will stop by the site and see what is new.

Browner20 · May 24, 2016

I do not have a controller and thought about going on the cheap and just getting a Reef Keeper since BRS is offering the lite with salinity for $150. However I will probably hold out now and see what Vertex's new controller is like in a month, the timing of Neptune's pre-order release is suspect! I imagine they know they have new competition in the reef controller space and want their new shiny out in front of the Vertex release.

dstienmann · May 24, 2016

Can we use the New power bars on the classic?

Reefcowboy · May 24, 2016

Very simple:

If you want a very healthy, intelligent reef set up, fully controllable, accessed from your phone anywhere in the world, with all that you really need to basicaly sit back and enjoy the tank, then YES you need to upgrade to the new apex very soon.

Now...

If you want a very healthy, intelligent reef set up, fully controllable, accessed from your phone anywhere in the world, with all that you really need to basicaly sit back and enjoy the tank, then NO you dont need to upgrade, your current system is plenty.

It all comes down to how much of a tech freak you are, wanting the same equipment as you already have, with new packaging, and design.

Quite honestly, i like a clean tank, with all equipment inside the stand. The old apex can be tugged in and have all wires hidden allowing us to have the EXACT same things the new one offers. Neptune swears the upcoming modules will work with classic units(they better honor this promise)therefore existing systems will lose nothing that really matters. Wifi is nice, but we have the wireless adapter, the new eb832 has modules integrated, but we also have them already.

The red flag is the new system not being backwards compatible, hinting new modules could follow suit...that is upsetting. If that doesnt happen, classic owners will be fine

Balz3352 · May 24, 2016

dstienmann said:
Can we use the New power bars on the classic?

No

reefwiser · May 24, 2016

Reefcowboy · May 24, 2016

What the new apex looks like to me

adroc718 · May 24, 2016

I personally dont see a reason to update at all.
I dont run the Wav pumps so the included 1link doesnt really apply.
I would upgrade to the new Vectra pumps before I would a Cor (if it ever gets made)
Im pretty sure that Apex and Ecotech have all but parted ways at this point and hoping for some kind of integration between the 2 in the future is futile. So i would be stuck with the power bars for the MP40's anyways.
Maybe Im not the typical Apex user in that all i really do is use it to read PH, Temp and Salinity at a glance. I have my heaters (the titanium kind that dont have a thermometer built in and are just the heating element) plugged in and up until recently used the Apex to regulate the heaters using the apex temp probe but was told that was a big no no by Terrence and that he has seen many systems fail because of relying in the apex to control the heaters so I had to go out and buy a separate heater controller to take over that duty and only use the Apex for redundancy.
I do use it to run my swabby every 4hours for a minute.
So aside from the new probes that they claim are better I dont see a reason to upgrade.
Unless of course you like the new colors and are planning on running all apex products like the Wav, Dos, there dosing containers, the eventual Cor pump etc.
I would have rather they improved on the auto feeder and updated that instead of wasting time on stuff like re branding and the static Par sensor in a fake rock thing or something new and super useful like the flow sensor meter.
I dont know man Im way to invested in ecotechs LEDs and MP's to make the switch for the sake of matching components. And for that stuff I use the Reeflink anyways.

adroc718 · May 24, 2016

Reefcowboy said:
What the new apex looks like to me

hahah!
It is kind of clunky and cheap looking.
Not sure the new design screams state of the art streamlined craftsmanship either.

Reefcowboy · May 24, 2016

adroc718 said:
I personally dont see a reason to update at all.
I dont run the Wav pumps so the included 1link doesnt really apply.
I would upgrade to the new Vectra pumps before I would a Cor (if it ever gets made)
Im pretty sure that Apex and Ecotech have all but parted ways at this point and hoping for some kind of integration between the 2 in the future is futile. So i would be stuck with the power bars for the MP40's anyways.
Maybe Im not the typical Apex user in that all i really do is use it to read PH, Temp and Salinity at a glance. I have my heaters (the titanium kind that dont have a thermometer built in and are just the heating element) plugged in and up until recently used the Apex to regulate the heaters using the apex temp probe but was told that was a big no no by Terrence and that he has seen many systems fail because of relying in the apex to control the heaters so I had to go out and buy a separate heater controller to take over that duty and only use the Apex for redundancy.
I do use it to run my swabby every 4hours for a minute.
So aside from the new probes that they claim are better I dont see a reason to upgrade.
Unless of course you like the new colors and are planning on running all apex products like the Wav, Dos, there dosing containers, the eventual Cor pump etc.
I would have rather they improved on the auto feeder and updated that instead of wasting time on stuff like re branding and the static Par sensor in a fake rock thing or something new and super useful like the flow sensor meter.
I dont know man Im way to invested in ecotechs LEDs and MP's to make the switch for the sake of matching components. And for that stuff I use the Reeflink anyways.

So basicaly we have all been doing wrong relying first in the apex and the heater's crappy internal controller prone to sticking second?

I had my heater set to 82F and the apex outlet set to 78F, so the heaters own controller was set as secondary...am i wrong?

-Logzor · May 24, 2016

Who has room for that gigantic tank of of power brick? What is the other hunk of plastic on the right hand side (brought to you by the creators of mr. potato head and tonka trucks)? All kidding aside about the aesthetics, while it's definitely not as sexy as the classic, I'm sure the new Apex is awesome. If you have the money to blow and like gadgets, definitely upgrade. If you think the upgrade will make your corals more colorful, find a new hobby?

I would still be running my AC Jr. if the power input didn't get all messed up on me. I ran it for over 6 years. Loved it, but after numerous falls and spill the power input was unreliable, so I retired it.

I have the apex classic. It's nice but does pretty much the exact same thing as my Jr but has the internet. I don't test for salinity and I don't use all the features yet (I have plans to expand some float switches / alarms). I needed an upgrade, the old one was wearing out.

Point being, the old models are fantastic and will run fine for years to come. You don't need all that new stuff you'll never use and probably over-complicating your system anyways.