Reef keeper VS. Apex

[youngtimothy]

I have the reef keeper lite and love it, costumer service has been great ( just called with a couple questions) only problem I've had is my temp probe has gone bad but could be because of where I have it.

[Tom@HaslettMI]

I too have a reefkeeper lite. It's run flawlessly for 3 years, and programing has been a breeze. It's the only controller I've owned so I can't give opinons on the other brands.

I was considering eventually switching to an APEX, but with the number of recent failure reports and now poor customer service... I am thinking I'll more likely upgrade to an elite if/when I outgrow the lite.

Tom

[jimsflies]

That's a good question. I think for 500+ dollars that you should be able to get more than 3 years. I do like the Apex honestly.I am just very disappointed more in the service change then I am the unit failing tho

While I am disappointed mine had issues, I guess the fact it is 3 years old and they can fix it up good as new for $60 (based on Flynnfish's post) doesn't seem too unreasonable. The biggest hassle to me is not having the controller during the time it is sent back for service.

The fact that they are very fast to respond to problems, the helpfulness of the Apex community in general, and the regular updates to firmware that add functionality to the controller still make Neptune my favorite controller option.

[binford4000]

While I am disappointed mine had issues, I guess the fact it is 3 years old and they can fix it up good as new for $60 (based on Flynnfish's post) doesn't seem too unreasonable. The biggest hassle to me is not having the controller during the time it is sent back for service.

The fact that they are very fast to respond to problems, the helpfulness of the Apex community in general, and the regular updates to firmware that add functionality to the controller still make Neptune my favorite controller option.

I agree to some point Jim. I have decieded to get another base and then save the programs to it and send in my old base unit and hey pad.. Service is the most important part of these units IMHO. Another thing to is how they respond to complaints of bad service. Neptune has made it worth while to stay with them and has fully addressed the issue of how my ticket was handled.Thanks to everyone who responded!

[pinhigh1886]

I just recieved my AFS and AWM module. At that point everything but water changes will be controlled. I have been nothing but impressed with Neptune and the APEX. I have 2 senarios where I need help including one time where ultimately I had to send my display module back. I have only had this contoller for a littke over a year so the display was covered by warranty. My router was going bad and caused lots of problems. I bought a new brand of router and could not get anything going. Neptune logged into my computer and stayed on the phone with me for over an hour until everything was right. I am bummed about your experience and I would be as upset as you are for sure. I hope they make it right!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

[binford4000]

I just recieved my AFS and AWM module. At that point everything but water changes will be controlled. I have been nothing but impressed with Neptune and the APEX. I have 2 senarios where I need help including one time where ultimately I had to send my display module back. I have only had this contoller for a littke over a year so the display was covered by warranty. My router was going bad and caused lots of problems. I bought a new brand of router and could not get anything going. Neptune logged into my computer and stayed on the phone with me for over an hour until everything was right. I am bummed about your experience and I would be as upset as you are for sure. I hope they make it right!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Neptune did repair the main unit and also the keypad. I ended up buying another complete Apex to get things back on line tell they repaired and returned my unit. Never really explained what they had to do tho! Guess we have a back up plan now. Lol they do make a very powerful unit that pretty much can do anything you want it to do now with all the new modules they're coming out with now

[pinhigh1886]

I had a similar issue a few months back. The apex decided to turn everything off and i didn't notice it till 12 hours later. Lost seven fish and almost lost my prized fish, a 9 inch fowleri tang that i had for two years was on his back gasping for air. My husband rebooted everything and we called Neptune directly. They walked is through resetting everything back up. Worked fine for a day. Same thing happened on day two, but we noticed it after an hour. Called Neptune again, they accessed our computer and went into the apex unit and it blocked them out. ??? So the guy told us to send in the base unit. Sent it in and was told that it was an internal electrical failure that was "not uncommon". Was fixed and returned within a few days for $60. Haven't had an issue since. Call Neptune.

I was thinking about this today and how aweful it was. Do you have email alerts and alarms set p to notify you next time? Also not sure if you know about reeftronics.net? RussM who is close or an associate of Neptune set it up. You give him all your IP info and a few other things and then your programs, status, and few other graph options are store on his site. Others can see your program but can't do anything with it. The best part if the site loses communication with your Apex you get lots of email notifications!

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[FlynnFish]

For some reason the unit doesn't always send emails. I had the alarm go off from the temp being to high and never received an email. Something I still have to look into.

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