Why so many Apex being sold?

[lawdog]

I am in the market for a controller and have been looking closely and almost exclusively at the Apex models. Honestly the main reason I have not pulled the trigger yet is there seems to be a flood of them in the used/for sale forums lately. Full/Lite you name it is for sale. My concern being the obvious why are these "barely" used "works great" "only had two months" Apex's all over the place?

I get the occasional... life happens and I bought something now I need cash situation... but I have seen a ton of them floating out there... many with great deals $500 for the whole Apex plus extras galore... I am not buying this is happening to everyone.

Soo.... big question. What is the deal with Apex? Is it really that great? All I really want to do is always know Temp/PH ...and let me know if the power goes out... salinity, running lights and maybe a delay skimmer restart and stuff is a bonus but not necessary

Are people getting these and thinking overkill and selling? Or is the next great thing coming out and everyone is upgrading?

Why so many Apex for sale...

[Grizzle]

I have been using the Apex for a LONG time and cannot imagine being without it! Any time I had any questions I could either get the answer here or directly from Apex.

I run MP 40's, two heaters, 3 dosing pumps, ATO, auto water change, skimmer, bio pellet reactor, GFO/charcoal, sump fans and night light, RO/DI and main return pump from it. I am sure I am missing something. Use to run my MH lights as well until I switched to the AI Vega's and have not gotten the module to control them ....yet.

Ray

[ca1ore]

Don't know that there are more for sale currently than at points past! Seems to me people cycle in and out of the hobby pretty consistently (I wonder what the mean duration is for the average reef hobbyist?) so these kinds of things come up for sale with similar frequency. There's also a learning curve for something like Apex, so perhaps some folks just find that too intimidating.

[Opus123]

I think ca1ore has it correct. I also think that for reason people tend to spend a lot more on their reefs than in the past. I don't remember people putting all this money into their reefs 10 years ago. Now it seems most people that get into the hobby are willing to spend the money on all the gadgets. Maybe it is just a generational thing.

[rocsec1]

I just pick one up from a guy getting out of the hobby. I got a smoking deal on it because he just wanted out. I've already spent $250 getting a wxm and ald modules And two leak probes . I sold a rke that I had been using. I love this thing.

[Whiterabbitrage]

I was wondering about a controller too. Not wanting to waste money on something I may not like, ended up getting the Apex Jr. Ca1ore is right. Man oh man is there a learning curve. For Tech Tards like me it's brutal. But after a few months am kicking myself for not getting the full Apex. Keeping in touch with your tank no matter where you are is great. But the best parts are the warning texts it sends you if something goes out of whack, and the graphs you can look at. I had no idea about tha temperature dip every midnight or the ph swings. Would never run a tank with out it now.

[rezaktp]

+1 on the Apex, and I also agree that more folks have controllers today. This can be a time consuming hobby and if you can afford it on the $$$ front, your family and career may not give you the time needed to succed!

[Portsie]

Just a heads up, the apex won't be able to tell you that the power went out until after it comes back on without a couple of extras. You'll need backup power to your apex, as well as your modem. I believe there is also a pay service available that monitors your apex communication.

[jduck]

Look at Reeftronics, they will email you if it looses communication with apex

[slief]

Originally Posted by Portsie

Just a heads up, the apex won't be able to tell you that the power went out until after it comes back on without a couple of extras. You'll need backup power to your apex, as well as your modem. I believe there is also a pay service available that monitors your apex communication.

Not entirely true.. If your Apex is connected to the Reeftronics site, Reeftronics will send you an email or text shortly after it looses connection with your Apex. That said, to your point, the AC Adapter and Battery Backup for the controller and Router is a very good idea if power outages are a big concern.


As to why there are so many available used.. That's pretty simple. It's because it's the most popular controller on the market and for good reason. There are lots of used Corvettes on the market too. That doesn't mean they are bad cars. That just means that they are popular and also proof that people go in other directions. As mentioned, people come and go with this hobby. People also downsize. Then there are those who by things but don't like reading directions or asking for help. They end up giving up on it because they can't figure it out.

I've had my Apex since it was first released and have a ridiculously extensive system. My Apex has served me very well and I wouldn't run a large system without one. Prior to my Apex I had a first generation Neptune Aqua Controller that I had for over 15 years since new. Neptune Systems has been in the controller business for a LONG LONG time and for very good reason. They are one of if not the best when it comes to function, features, expandability and support.

[tkeracer619]

Because they sell a lot.

[vpaul79]

I don't see any more influx of apex units compared to all the other gadgets being. I believe you are over focused on it and it's influenced your perspective

[jokeefe727@aol.com]

Buy the apex lite. The Apex help alone is worth the cost. I should know.

[fitnessitalia]

Neptune is better

[ca1ore]

Originally Posted by jokeefe727@aol.com

Buy the apex lite. The Apex help alone is worth the cost. I should know.

Discontinued!

[rocsec1]

I just up my rw8 and wp25 on the apex and it is the coolest thing ever. Got rid of those two controllers and have a much more functional controller running the pumps

[ThaBeast]

Just buy an Apex! I've had a reefkeeper, no comparison. Just like popular cars, they make lots of them and people change their minds and go in different directions

[archangel91]

I got my apex about a month ago and don't know how I went a year without it. It does take a bit to learn the programming, but the newer fusion web programming (if you hook up apex to your internet) is pretty easy and has wizards for almost everything now. And most of the common programming how-to's can be found with little effort on the netpune sponsor forum here.

[moondoggy4]

Originally Posted by Whiterabbitrage

I was wondering about a controller too. Not wanting to waste money on something I may not like, ended up getting the Apex Jr. Ca1ore is right. Man oh man is there a learning curve. For Tech Tards like me it's brutal. But after a few months am kicking myself for not getting the full Apex. Keeping in touch with your tank no matter where you are is great. But the best parts are the warning texts it sends you if something goes out of whack, and the graphs you can look at. I had no idea about tha temperature dip every midnight or the ph swings. Would never run a tank with out it now.

2nd

[unze]

The apex is a nice unit, mine has been very stable.
I also run a ghl profilux, Both are good units.

[oseymour]

I've only been in this hobby for a year and my Apex helps me stay on top of all the parameters of my tank. I started out with a Jr and I've expanded it so much.

It had a huge learning curve especially before Fusion.

I can't imagine running my tank without my Apex, it also allows my wife and kids help out by feeding and monitoring the lights, pumps and parameters because of all the graphs.

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by fitnessitalia

Neptune is better

I agree. Neptune is definitely better than Apex.

[Michfish77]

Go with the Full Apex. You won't regret it. Definitely makes things easier.

[lawdog]

Thanks for the replies to this... Helps put it into perspective. I just didn't want to be the last to know some secret reason why people were dumping them... I will keep an eye out for one or will just by new... Any real reason to avoid a used one? Is it any harder to setup one that has already run on a tank?

[Tweaked]

Originally Posted by lawdog

Thanks for the replies to this... Helps put it into perspective. I just didn't want to be the last to know some secret reason why people were dumping them... I will keep an eye out for one or will just by new... Any real reason to avoid a used one? Is it any harder to setup one that has already run on a tank?

Reason to avoid used would be rusted out internals depending on how previous owner had setup. And they can be factory reset easily.