Best equipment that works with Apex?

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I am about to graduate to a Neptune Apex. I want to be sure I get the equipment that works best with it and it has been many years since I have stayed up to date on the latest equipment. Here are the next few pieces of equipment I want to add and my thoughts/questions:

1. Titanium heater. I am looking at the BRS branded heater vs a Finnex and with thermostat vs without. Have there been any reports of the thermostat/temp probe on the Apex going bad? Is having the heater thermostat a worthwhile backup?

2. Doser. Which doser do you guys prefer for ESV B-Ionic? I don't have room to add one of the calcium reactors I have under my tank and since I only have an 80 figure I can get away with just dosing ESV. Other than ESV I have been considering doing a hybrid Triton method (or one of the other quality products) to cut back on water changes. Any of them that is just a single supplement? I seem to recall one discussed in a BRS video and the name escapes me. It was quite expensive, but again, I only have an 80 and I plan on using it to cut down on water changes not do away with them entirely.

3. ATO. Which ATO is best? (right now I am considering Neptune vs Tunze) I will probably keep a 5-8 gallon container under my tank with a small powerhead and kalkwasser to supplement my B-Ionic dosing. (Also helps to deal with any phosphates going this route)

Thanks,

Alfred

 

[yousolo]

1. BRS heater is just a good quality titanium heater. Is Finnex heater better, hard to say. Do u need a temperature controler work with Apex, not really. Apex can control temperature around 0.1F up or down. Most temperature controler can't. But someone has burned Apex power bank with these constant on and off. So it's really just up to you.

 

[yousolo]

2. As for doser, DOS from Apex is good. Ecotech new Doser might be as good or better. Same price.

 

[yousolo]

Tunz ATO is good, I have 2 currently setup now. The only complain that I have with them is price. $190???? It's just too much.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

1. BRS heater is just a good quality titanium heater. Is Finnex heater better, hard to say. Do u need a temperature controler work with Apex, not really. Apex can control temperature around 0.1F up or down. Most temperature controler can't. But someone has burned Apex power bank with these constant on and off. So it's really just up to you.

The Finnex 500W is a about the same price as the BRS 300W, so will probably go with one. I hadn’t considered the possibility of burning out a power bank. I imagine to do that you really have to have some pretty strict rules. A swing half a degree either way isn’t going to kill anything.

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Geraud]

If you are going to dose with B-Ionic, the DOS is really good. I also have an Ecotech Versa, and it is good too, but has absolutely no connection to the APEX: that might be because Neptune add more and more stuff that feels like a direct competition to Ecotech business. It is controlled by an "ok" app through Bluetooth. Tiny compared to the DOS though. (and prettier. I was never a fan of the orange and grey Fisher Price vibe of the modern Neptune products)

For the ATO, I have the Tunze osmolator. 10 years without an issue. I have it on the APEX just as an on/off button, nothing else.

 

[reefs4life]

For heater I personally run an 800W Finnex without a temperature controller because the Apex is there for temp monitoring and its probe is fairly accurate. I've heard about frying the EB8 with constant on and off of such high drawing accessories but I've also been using plug 4 and plug 8 as I was told these plugs (at least on the old EB8s) are mechanically controlled switches as opposed to electronic switches like the rest of them (I could be wrong). I also have an EB4 HD which is supposed to have all mechanical switches but I don't know if they make that anymore.

As far as ATO, I use a plain old float switch hooked up to a breakout box and based on that input I have a plug that turns a power supply on and off for a solenoid that feeds the RO/DI unit.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

My tank is only 80 gallons, so an 500W is more than enough. I will look into the plugs and see which are mechanical. But I figure all I need is to add a decent heater. The living room is always cool since we have an oversized A/C running all summer. (If I am going to use the electricity I might as well make myself comfortable along with the fish!)

The one chore that would be great to automate is top off. My kitchen is less than 10 feet from the tank and if I can figure out a way to turn on the RO/DI once every 3 days to fill an ATO reservoir without risking a flood I can tubing from my RO/DI unit to my sump easily enough. That way all I have to worry about is keeping the containers of B-Ionic full and a small monthly water change.

 

[Geraud]

When it comes to outlets, on the EB8, the ones further from the input cable (and the white label) are mechanical switches.

 

[STRIPERVIPER]

Look into the creep killer from Aquafx. If u can run your ato out of your rodi reservoir depending on how u set it up your rodi won’t turn on every time your ato does but it also won’t let the reservoir go below whatever level u set it to. I love it.

 

[STRIPERVIPER]

I’ve been running a 500w finnex for almost a year on an eb832 for almost a year now with out issue.

 

[STRIPERVIPER]

On another tank I’m running an 800w On another 832 for a few months with out issue.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I am still trying to decide if I want to swing for the extra $50 to get a titanium heater with a thermostat or just let it run with the Apex. (I just installed my Apex this morning)

 

[nycearnestchink]

anybody know how to fix 2 clocks on my apex classic ? without display , driving me nuts

 

[Geraud]

anybody know how to fix 2 clocks on my apex classic ? without display , driving me nuts

You mean to fix the clocks? If it is set up by default, try http://apex/ from a browser. Otherwise connect to your router and see which IP it is using and connect to that one.

 

[nycearnestchink]

You mean to fix the clocks? If it is set up by default, try http://apex/ from a browser. Otherwise connect to your router and see which IP it is using and connect to that one.

whats login and pw?

 

[nycearnestchink]

i got in admin 1234 default. know where to nav ?

 

[Geraud]

If it is the time it is somewhere in settings -> system. I cannot check since I have the new model now.

 

[nycearnestchink]

If it is the time it is somewhere in settings -> system. I cannot check since I have the new model now.

thanks bro , you lead me to the right direction ! , my apex clock finally shows one time !!