Talk me into a Apex!!!

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Coralgurl

I have an Apex and honestly all that's plugged in are the heaters. I sat for 3 days trying to figure out the programming and just said f&$@ it. I don't need my lights plugged into it, they are programmed separately, as are my phs. Skimmer, return pump, fan, ato and gfo reactor are easy enough to unplug for water changes.

If it can do all the things posted here, I'm impressed but I suck at figuring it out and for me, the controller was a waste of money.

Yes, if you are not tech dweeb (like many canreefers seem to be), it can seem daunting. But it is not unlike a lot of other SW challenges, like cycles, ich, getting rid of cyano, algae,... growing SPS, etc, etc. The trick is to go one step at a time, like you did with your heaters. But don't stop there.

The good news is that Apex has a couple great manuals, one written by a user, that really helps break down the complexity. And I know, reading manuals is boring. But like said, if you take one thing at a time, it gets a lot easier. And those wizard option settings can be used for most things.

I have had my Apex for about a year now, and still adding function to it. Several weeks ago, we had a power outage in Langley, and was very pleased how my Apex, not only alerted me, but brought everything back up in an orderly fashion. That included turning on my skimmer 5 min after the return pump, so that it didn't overflow. And I really love how easy it is to adjust my dosing, and do things remotely, too (like in Maui).

So, don't be too quick to give up on your Apex. It really can help make things easier with reefing. And can be fun, too, as you get more confident with it. As I said, the trick is to go one step at a time.