Is an apex a must or can u maintain a good reef without it ?

[Milton kranewijk]

Just wondering as recently got an apex system for my 250 reefer
But since i dont understand anything its readu g out starting to wonder if i do need it or if i woukd be better off just hand testing everything everyday

Any help would be appriciated

 

[Rjukan]

Totally optional equipment imo.

 

[SuncrestReef]

This was recently discussed in another thread. See my lengthy response here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/neptune-apex-should-i-go-for-it.594520/#post-6019552

 

[Elder1945]

My Reefer 450... No Controller also no reactors or fancy stuff. You can make a bucket of water into a amazing reef just do a bunch of waterchanges.

 

[Elder1945]

Yea those are jebao power heads LOL..

 

[tehmadreefer]

Absolutely not! Do you think every person with a tank has an expensive piece of equipment that is over hyped? Nope!

 

[tehmadreefer]

Yea those are jebao power heads LOL..

Lol, the new OW series are actually really good. The flow is a bit more narrow but quality is great.

 

[Mariette]

Not necessary. At all. Sure would be nice though

 

[BestMomEver]

Not necessary but I love mine. I splurged on the leak detection kit to accompany my apex. Was at Reefapalooza and had an overflow issue. Apex saved the day. Shut everything down, sent zillions of alerts. I feel better leaving town now that I have it!

 

[shred5]

Personally other than temp controller I have been moving away from controllers.
I have been in the hobby 30+ years and only used a controller maybe the last 10 and the hobby has been no more enjoyable with or without them.
Matter of fact I have 7 tanks right now without one.
Most equipment comes with it own controller now a days and allot of those controllers are far more capable.
Another thing is controllers fail and if all your equipment is on one it takes everything out.

The new Coralvue Wave engine does look cool though and the main reason is it allows me to get rid of all the power supplies.

 

[madweazl]

Made it 20 years without one but I've been using a controller the past three years and it has been handy. Alerted me to a failing heater and I appreciate the small amount of automation I've done (dosing). A nice convenience but certainly not mandatory; I'm sure the vast majority of tanks are run without them.

 

[FlyPenFly]

Inkbird temp controller hooked up to fans and heater...

Alexa enabled power strips to handle automated feeding and anything you want to hook up to a timer. The routines feature is key here.

Wyze webcams for active monitoring of tank, sump, and even temperature if you put your inkbird somewhere smart!

 

[Thaxxx]

I don't know if you want to trust Alexa 100%. She has dropped the ball on me a couple of times with reminders and routines. Non reef related.

 

[Fourstars]

If your away from your tank often, I'd say required.

 

[FlyPenFly]

I don't know if you want to trust Alexa 100%. She has dropped the ball on me a couple of times with reminders and routines. Non reef related.

Sometimes the voice recognition is off but routines have been far more reliable for me than the apex cloud ... which is probably hosted on Amazon Aws lol

 

[Milton kranewijk]

I don't know if you want to trust Alexa 100%. She has dropped the ball on me a couple of times with reminders and routines. Non reef related.

Hahahahahaha,my home is google friendly so not too worried about her

 

[DanConnor]

Absolutely not, and as a beginner I would recommend you not use one.

But, you definitely don't need to test everything every day. At first it will be a good idea to test a lot until you figure out what you are doing.
I test alk on my reef once a week and thats it. Magnesium on occasions.

I don't think I would trust my reef to a controller, and I dont think it would add to my enjoyment.
I would use one for monitoring while on long trips though- but not controlling.

 

[Milton kranewijk]

Thanks for that advise

Absolutely not, and as a beginner I would recommend you not use one.

But, you definitely don't need to test everything every day. At first it will be a good idea to test a lot until you figure out what you are doing.
I test alk on my reef once a week and thats it. Magnesium on occasions.

I don't think I would trust my reef to a controller, and I dont think it would add to my enjoyment.
I would use one for monitoring while on long trips though- but not controlling.

 

[ca1ore]

A nice to have - certainly not a must have (and I do travel a lot).

 

[Scorpius]

My ato pump failed on me probably Tuesday sometime. I woke up this morning to my return pump sucking air. An apex would have alerted me to the increased salinity.