Apex with basement sump
 

Setting up an apex I have a95 gallon upstairs and the sump with most of the equipment is down in the sump/furnace room which is about 30 feet away I have most of the typical aquarium hardware and as it is constantly evolving I will not list all that here right now

My question is with the apex I want to have the display part of the controller and one energy bar at the DT and the other in the sump room what sort of cable do I need to run between them and where is the best ( cheapest) place to find it?

And also since I am new to this controller thing any tips that might help me along in hooking things up would be appreciated

Apex does funny things with their wiring...I would buy the cables from Neptune, they have the 15' cable and 15' extension. You will know that it works from them.

I extended a cable 40' to an EB4 near my mixing station using 6' M to F USB cables from Memory Express. They were about $5 each.

Regular usb cables will work. Just make sure they are not boosted. If they are boosted you could fry your Apex. I got mine on ebay.

I found this which seems to indicate you can't reach lengths in the 30ft range without boosting?

http://www.cablesplususa.com/pdf/USB...imitations.pdf

If you exceed these limitations can it work and simply not be as reliable?

Apex with basement sump
 

Apex uses USB cables and connectors but the data stream and power is not standard USB, it is something proprietary.

I haven't had a second of trouble with my extension.

That info is right about normal USB.

I use the 15' extension cable from APEX, as I needed the extra length going from my basement to the main floor, didn't try out other branded USB cables, I will be also using another 15' extension cable for the auto feeder once the unit is avaliable for sale again.