Surge protector for Apex?

[Holy_makerel]

Going to be installing my Apex soon and was wondering if anyone uses a surge protector or similar device to protect it from spikes or other issues. I'd like to protect my investment. I'm looking at this unit but it also has multiple outlets. I'd essentially be Daisy chaining with the Apex off of one of those outlets. I'm not sure if that would be acceptable.

Any help? Am I overthinking this?

 

[ccombs]

Going to be installing my Apex soon and was wondering if anyone uses a surge protector or similar device to protect it from spikes or other issues. I'd like to protect my investment. I'm looking at this unit but it also has multiple outlets. I'd essentially be Daisy chaining with the Apex off of one of those outlets. I'm not sure if that would be acceptable.

Any help? Am I overthinking this?

That would be a good battery back up. You can get their DC power supply and run power monitoring on the APEX. This senses when the power goes out and turns off everything except basic life support. I wouldn't get that UPS, personally, here is a link to a similar one that I purchased and really like.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06VY6FXMM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you need more help with setting this up, let me know and I will walk you through it.

If you are just wanting surge protection, that is overkill. For a battery that gets you though a power outage, you are starting down the right path.

 

[Holy_makerel]

That would be a good battery back up. You can get their DC power supply and run power monitoring on the APEX. This senses when the power goes out and turns off everything except basic life support. I wouldn't get that UPS, personally, here is a link to a similar one that I purchased and really like.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06VY6FXMM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you need more help with setting this up, let me know and I will walk you through it.

Thank you. Glad to know I'm on the right track. This will be my first controller so I'm sure I'll need some guidance

 

[ccombs]

Thank you. Glad to know I'm on the right track. This will be my first controller so I'm sure I'll need some guidance

So, it is not included with the Apex, but pick up one of these.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/12v-power-supply-neptune-systems.html

The UPS I recommended has 2 sets of outlets. Set 1 is on the battery, this is what you will run your energy bar(s) to. This allows you to maintain power to your energy bars and power the base through aquabus when you lose power. Set 2 is not on the battery, this is what you will run the power supply above to. The APEX has a function called power monitor. Power Monitor senses when it no longer has power coming from the 12v power supply, hence why you run it to the non-battery outlet.

From there, you can program all of the outlets to perform different functions in the case of a power outage. For me, everything turns off except my main return pump. My heaters turn off as well (big power consumption) UNLESS the temp drops below 72 degrees. I am wagering that the tank will naturally retain heat long enough to get through a few hour power outage.

You can also set up alerts, etc.

There is a ton of cool stuff like this you can do.

I would also recommend looking into the breakout box. I wired a switch that triggers a feed mode that I made (virtual outlets cannot trigger actual feed modes) so my pumps and skimmers turn off when I feed and I don't need to get on the computer to do it.

Hit me up for more tips, I read the whole comprehensive 100 something page manual and did a lot of reading on the Neptune forum haha.

 

[Holy_makerel]

So, it is not included with the Apex, but pick up one of these.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/12v-power-supply-neptune-systems.html

The UPS I recommended has 2 sets of outlets. Set 1 is on the battery, this is what you will run your energy bar(s) to. This allows you to maintain power to your energy bars and power the base through aquabus when you lose power. Set 2 is not on the battery, this is what you will run the power supply above to. The APEX has a function called power monitor. Power Monitor senses when it no longer has power coming from the 12v power supply, hence why you run it to the non-battery outlet.

From there, you can program all of the outlets to perform different functions in the case of a power outage. For me, everything turns off except my main return pump. My heaters turn off as well (big power consumption) UNLESS the temp drops below 72 degrees. I am wagering that the tank will naturally retain heat long enough to get through a few hour power outage.

You can also set up alerts, etc.

There is a ton of cool stuff like this you can do.

I would also recommend looking into the breakout box. I wired a switch that triggers a feed mode that I made (virtual outlets cannot trigger actual feed modes) so my pumps and skimmers turn off when I feed and I don't need to get on the computer to do it.

Hit me up for more tips, I read the whole comprehensive 100 something page manual and did a lot of reading on the Neptune forum haha.

Awesome! Thank you!

 

[rkpetersen]

A UPS also supplies your Apex with clean stable power, which will reduce the likelihood of 'odd' behavior from your system (loss of wifi connection, etc.)