New And Cheaper Apexel Released.

[TORX]

Well for people looking to upgrade to a controller, now it is a little more tempting on the wallet. They just released the ApexEL. The origonal new Apex was $799 USD and the EL is listed at $499 USD. The only change...just no salinity probe (lots of issues on their forum anyways about this probe), no ORP probe (which most people do not need anyways), Variable Speed Ports, and no 6 ft Aquabus Cable (which a standard USB cable from the dollar store will work). Save $300 USD to get what you need. What else does this mean??? Does it mean that the cheaper Apex Jr will soon be obsolete as well? Are the officially moving away from the old Apex module? Will the Apex Classic and Jr soon become obsolete? They have already started designing modules that work only with the new Apex and ApexEL.

ApexEL
Apex (2016)

 

[Sue]

We use the ORP and SAlinity probes quite extensively and find them both very useful and accurate when cleaned periodically.
But for $300 less, maybe an option for ones not in need of such sophistication!

 

[Matt1997]

You should edit lol. I was completely joking about apex buying reefkeeper in the other thread

 

[TORX]

I just watched the EL release video. Yes they are planning on discontinuing the Jr as soon as their stock runs out.

The EL will still work with the Trident when/if it gets released.

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[harleymike]

These controllers are stupid priced. What a rip off. Are you kidding me for what you get it costs that much.
Same thing goes for the lighting out there.

The equipment for this hobby is ridiculous. I don't mind buying good stuff but come on.
I guess we don't have much choice.
I really enjoy my tanks, and love it. But i hate the way the companies rip us off.

 

[Salty Cracker]

I have to disagree. Without the apex, I would not have a reef tank. Not even a slight chance. I would have the mess I had before I got a controller.

Whatever they charge for it, it's worth it. Considering one already went south on me and I had to buy a complete second head unit, I sincerely mean they are invaluable.

 

[TORX]

I agree with you Salty. They are worth every penny and have saved my reef already once that I know of and who knows how many I didn't no of as it does everything automatically.

They are micro computers, there are software developers and research and design teams that depend on and make a living on the product they are selling. Sure you could make one yourself, someone here actually did make one himself. He made it cheap as well, but making it yourself vs supporting a company, employees, benefits, expenses, legal team and still making a personal living comes at a cost. You can make just about anything for a 1/4 of the cost of retail when you aren't making a living off it.

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[harleymike]

I have to disagree. Without the apex, I would not have a reef tank. Not even a slight chance. I would have the mess I had before I got a controller.

Whatever they charge for it, it's worth it. Considering one already went south on me and I had to buy a complete second head unit, I sincerely mean they are invaluable

Really. LOL. I know lots of people that don't have them and have beautiful tanks.
Tonnes of people have no controllers at and have awesome tanks.

You already had to replace the head unit once?
Sorry, you guys are exactly why its over priced. Are they good, yup. Just way too expensive for what you get.

You guys are sheep.

Just my 2 cents don't judge me. LOL

 

[harleymike]

Not just the controllers, but pumps and everything. Come on really. 600 bucks for a little pump.
Probably cost 75 bucks to make it, or less.
And don't say the cheap ones are Chinese knock offs. If you tore apart a over priced pump Im sure it is full of Chinese parts.

 

[TORX]

Not saying you are wrong. You can do most of what you can do with a controller with timers, and other systems. You can also run a tank off cheap lights, pumps and can build a tank out of plywood. You could set up an entire system for a few hundred if you are patient enough to do that shopping.

For me I had a heater fail On and didnt notice it. Then the second failed On and my tank automatically controlled the heat while I was in the states. It sent me a warning that the tank was too hot and automatically cut the power to the heaters as needed. I forgot about a second instance where my return pump failed just after I went to bed. Only reason I knew it failed was because my phone sent me an alert. I wouldn't have noticed it otherwise until the next night after work. Tank probably would have been toast by then.

It all depends on the chances you are willing to make and your personal choice. I could have made one of the cheap controllers at home and save a few hundred dollars. I decided to let someone else do the work and bought a controller.

Not saying you are wrong on the pumps either, but when people are being paid $0.25 a day to build something vs $15-30 an hour, there is a slight difference in the end cost lol. That is the same reason most manufacturing of every day products has been and continues to be going to other countries, but that is a whole other discussion.

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[harleymike]

I agree. They do there job well. But they are way over priced.
And you don't have to have one.
Like i said, there are beautiful tanks out there, and lots of them, that don't use any controllers at all.
And like someone already said, your controller can fail, and they do.
i have seen lots of problems with them also.

There are cheaper options for the people that don't have unlimited budgets.
I can afford to buy one, but at this point I refuse.

There are 50 dollar controllers for heaters out there. They work great.

Maybe Im being cheap, but pisses me off when I see what I get for what i pay.

And the day may come that I buy one, but at this point. I'll keep it simple and stand my ground.
I use timers for lights, and a controller(it was like 50 bucks) for heater.
I also have cameras on my tanks so I can see whats up when not home.

 

[TORX]

We use the ORP and SAlinity probes quite extensively and find them both very useful and accurate when cleaned periodically.
But for $300 less, maybe an option for ones not in need of such sophistication!

That is exactly it, they made a controller for people who do not need all the bells and whistles. In reference to the VSP, when I got my classic the VSP's were bad. In talking with someone, I discovered that many are bad, only most people never use them and therefore it was easier and cheaper to just repair the ones that call instead of fix the problem. That speaks volumes to the amount of people (or lack there of) that actually use the onboard VDM. Most people as well do not track the Salinity ever and only really need ORP if you are using ozone or calcium reactor I believe. To note, CAD pricing has been released as well. (prices per currently listed price on reefsupplies.ca)

ApexEL:$674.94
Apex: $1079.94

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Apex-Controllers/

 

[Salty Cracker]

I think most of us know someone who had a "fantastic" tank, that crashed due so something....heater going haywire, power going out, top off flooding the system with fresh water, leak/flood, etc etc.

My tank had a flood, which caused a short, and killed the whole system. Fortunately, the heartbeat app from apex let me know the tank had gone silent, and I was able to get someone over to check it (who then filled the tank with a bucket of fresh water, but that's another story). I definitely wouldn't have had any warning if I simply had a cheap temperature controller. The tank survived with just a couple of losses (instead of a total tank loss).

So now the apex (on a huge battery backup) is part of a hopefully bullet-proof system. I bought the ~$75 dosing pumps from BRS, so I'm not all about going $$$ on the tank. My ato is a bucket with a cheap aliexpress float switch in the sump, wired to the apex. The wet floor alarm is also a cheapy from china. My lights are DIY frankensteins (that fortunately crank out sps).

Over all of that, I put the apex. So while sure it's possible to run a great tank without one, it's the calamities that I need it for. I don't think that people need to buy them, and I definitely am not defending the pricing systems of neptune, but for me it's worth every penny.

 

[Sue]

I think it is a matter of how much time you spend with your tank, people that have very successful reef tanks tend to be homies and do not spend the whole week working 12 hrs daily and do weekends out with the family. For us people running around like headless chicken, the Controller is essential and more or less vital, on the other hand, if you are the homie person who can afford spending lots of time checking on the system, multiple times per day, don't go much on long vacations or business trips, you certainly can do great without one.
Price is your choice, there are controllers that are cheaper and there are the Apex, both do a good job, make your choice according to how much you are willing to spend.

 

[TORX]

With the release of the EL, they also released a new firmware for both the Apex and ApexEL that can now control Aqua Illumination Prime, Prime HD, Hydra 26HD, and Hydra 52HD lighting (not compatible with Classic Apex).

https://www.neptunesystems.com/downloads/docs/IoTa-AI_Prime_and_Hydra_User_Guide.pdf