AlexKilpatrick Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I finally got this today after a month delay back and forth with an awful vendor. (don't buy from Poseidon's Realms) It is a pretty spiffy controller. I had it set up and working in about 10 minutes. Just plug things in and it configures itself. It uses USB to link together the power unit, the controller, and the display, interestingly enough. This makes it easy to add on more power bars. Once I had it up and plugged into my router, I just navigated to http://apex and from there I was able to set the names of all the power outlets to meaningful things, turn them on and off, etc. It also started logging my temp and Ph, which is pretty cool to see. (It will be more interesting to see how it changes over the day). Programming was a breeze and now I have some cool things set up like turning off the lights if it gets too hot, emails to me if the tank gets too hot, feed cycles, etc. Tomorrow I am planning on automating my two-part dosing using some peristaltic pumps from bulk reef supply. I had a controller many years ago and this was *so* much easier to set up. If you are considering one, I would take a look at the Apex lite, which I think is coming out this month. It drops the 4 variable speed outputs and the second pH port. I can't imagine most people even need that, and it is about $150 cheaper, I believe. If you want to check it out, just drop me a line and stop by sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Eckreef Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Have you been able to configure your Apex to allow you remote internet access? I have had mine for a month and love it but this is my last hurdle to tackle.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I forgot to mention that the Apex doesn't work with Aquanotes (iPhone app) but that is supposed to be fixed this week, supposedly. Eckreef -- I haven't tried it, but this shouldn't have anything to do with the Apex. It has to do with your router setup. You have to map port 80 from your router to the Apex IP address. I can help you with this if you would like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 Also, on reefcentral in the Neptune forum there is a download link for a beta version of the firmware that fixes a few problems, plus makes Aquanotes mostly function. Interestingly, Aquanotes is not associated with Neptune at all. It is just written by some random guy in Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Just plug things in and it configures itself. That's nice. The ACIII you have to manually tell the head unit that you've added a new DC-8, which means if you have more than one DC-8 then you had to get the jumper setting right, etc.... Not hard, but plug and plan is always nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 That's nice. The ACIII you have to manually tell the head unit that you've added a new DC-8, which means if you have more than one DC-8 then you had to get the jumper setting right, etc.... Not hard, but plug and plan is always nice. I think you still have to do that with the Apex for a second DC-8. It just configures the first one by itself. One of the things I realized is that you don't have to have the DC-8 close to everything else. You can have it at one end of the tank and just run a single USB cable from it back to the main controller. That way you don't have this huge nexus of power cords coming in to one location. From what I can tell, there isn't a huge difference between the AC-III and the APEX. Mainly, the ability to have variable speed ports (useless to most) and a somewhat nicer display. However, with the web interface (and iPhone) the display is not really useful. I would have gladly bought one without a display if it had saved me money. If anyone is considering a controller and you see a good deal on a used (or new) AC-III, I would recommend it. You won't be losing any significant functionality over the Apex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 (edited) Here is a shot of my Ph spike when I add two-part in the morning. And this is on a 150 gallon tank! I would have never noticed this without the controller. I'm planning to install some dosers this weekend so I can make this a little slower. I will probably start dosing around nighttime, to offset that Ph drop. I actually moved the Ph monitor from the sump to the tank. Yesterday when I dosed two part and had the monitor in the sump, it spiked all the way up to 9. I am sure the tank doesn't go that high, but that can't be good for my refugium. Edited November 11, 2009 by AlexKilpatrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 Also, I think this may be one measurement the AC III doesn't do. Nothing earth-shattering, but kind of interesting. Explains why my circuit breaker keeps tripping (I computers on the same circuit) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfowler99 Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Yeah, the ACIII definitely doesn't do Amps...that's cool. My pH goes up and down a lot more than that over the course of the day, lights on and off (outside of your two-part dump)... I will have to consider that when I start two-part soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Here is a shot of my Ph spike when I add two-part in the morning. And this is on a 150 gallon tank! I would have never noticed this without the controller. I'm planning to install some dosers this weekend so I can make this a little slower. I will probably start dosing around nighttime, to offset that Ph drop. I actually moved the Ph monitor from the sump to the tank. Yesterday when I dosed two part and had the monitor in the sump, it spiked all the way up to 9. I am sure the tank doesn't go that high, but that can't be good for my refugium. Goodness! How much are you adding? I add 20mL a day to my 90 g and my pH only goes up .05 looks like you are adding too much to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted November 17, 2009 Author Share Posted November 17, 2009 Well, my dKH is still only around 6-7. BulkReefSupply says you need to keep the spike below .2, and I am below that. I just got the dosing set up with my controller, so I can dose small amounts throughout the day (actually night). I think that will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfowler99 Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I just did the first two doses of two-part and I had a spike as well. Up to 8.52 the first time and 8.7 the second to try to move the alkalinity up. Dropped back down really quickly. I'm about to start regular dosing on it today and I'm going to keep an eye on it. I don't think it will move nearly as much with the daily dosing as it did with the initial doses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted November 17, 2009 Author Share Posted November 17, 2009 I'm still a little fuzzy on the chemisitry, but my understanding is that raising alkalinity reduces ph swings. So, it should be a self-correcting problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Have you been able to configure your Apex to allow you remote internet access? I have had mine for a month and love it but this is my last hurdle to tackle.... Eck, Are you tryin to access the Apex from a system outside your network an/or smartphone? Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Eckreef Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Eck, Are you tryin to access the Apex from a system outside your network an/or smartphone? Dave- Yes. i can access my apex at home just fine using both my computer's web browser and aquanotes on my iPhone. I cannot access the apex from abroad. I need to setup "port forwarding" but need to figure out how to do this on a mac. Eck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 You don't set up port forwarding on your mac (or pc) It is set up on your (probably wireless) router. Your router holds the external address that you would connect to when you are outside your network. It needs to pass the packets to your Apex. This should be described in your manual. I would be glad to stop by and give you a hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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