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.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Coralgurl

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.

I'd try and find someone locally that was willing to drop by and give you a brief tutorial. It really is simple to set up most things once you have a handle on the basics.

[daniella3d]

Oh my...at first when I read your post I thought it was funny but as I read the whole thing I think it is sad. Why don't you get some help to program it? I am sure once you know how convenient it is to have everything on your controller you will not want to do this manually again.

One example, if you unplug everything for feeding or water change and you get distracted or an emergency happen and you must leave quickly and you forget to retart the pumps, skimmer etc...?

with the controller you start the feed mode or the water change mode and what ever is associated with these mode will be turned off. With the water change mode you must retart it yourself I think, but with the feeding mode it will restart everything after a delay that you determine.

It is sad to have paid so much money and not to enjoy it.

Another advantage is to control the fan according to the tank temperature, so you don't have to suffer the noise of the fan if the tank temperature is not high. Only when my temperature reach 77 that my fan start and as soon as the temperature get back to 76 it stops.

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.

[FishyFishy!]

Originally Posted by daniella3d

LOL!? who's loughting?

A) I'm laughing at you.....
B) What the hell is loughting? Is that like shop lifting from a loft?
C) You're comparing what you would want in a controller.... not what I want
D) So therefore my calculations on what I WANT are accurate
E) Reef Angel still sucks
F) That is all.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by FishyFishy!

A) I'm laughing at you.....
B) What the hell is loughting? Is that like shop lifting from a loft?
C) You're comparing what you would want in a controller.... not what I want
D) So therefore my calculations on what I WANT are accurate
E) Reef Angel still sucks
F) That is all.

So I just had a look at the reef angel web site. I reckon if I were to spend the $$s on a controller, I might just lean that way. Main reason for me would be that it's open source. Could conceivably talk to the home automation system I might consider. See my earlier rant.