Equipment

[Cb24]

Is there anything out there where you can control your lights and stuff by say a smart phone?

 

[DIZZLE808]

These cost a pretty penny but are really good from what I hear...

http://www.neptunesystems.com/products/apex-controllers/

 

[All_fish]

I think the reef keepers do that also for a lot cheeper.

 

[carey]

I run a reefkeeper elite, I like it alot. You would need the net version which almost comes out to the same as the apex controller. Overall, for accessories, the reefkeeper comes out cheaper though. Things like the power strips, modules and probes are cheaper as well.
BUT alot of people swear by the apex, I can only comment on the reefkeeper which I love. I barely ever touch my tanks equipment now, the only time is when I hit the standby mode for during water changes and it turns off what I dont run while doing maintenance and keeps things like the lights on so I can see what I am doing.

Hope that was a little helpful at least.

 

[Cb24]

With the reefkeeper elite do you know like a certain brand of equipment for it to work? Or can any piece of equipment connect to it? Cuz I know on some you need to have the same brand of the controller

 

[Cb24]

With the reefkeeper elite can you control it with say an app on a smart phone

 

[All_fish]

I run a reefkeeper elite, I like it alot. You would need the net version which almost comes out to the same as the apex controller. Overall, for accessories, the reefkeeper comes out cheaper though. Things like the power strips, modules and probes are cheaper as well.
BUT alot of people swear by the apex, I can only comment on the reefkeeper which I love. I barely ever touch my tanks equipment now, the only time is when I hit the standby mode for during water changes and it turns off what I dont run while doing maintenance and keeps things like the lights on so I can see what I am doing.

Hope that was a little helpful at least.

Question for you: do you have to buy something else for the reef keeper lite to control lights, pumps, etc. from your iPhone? Thanks

 

[Gregcoyote]

The apps I have found for my Reefkeeper system allows you to monitor but not effect changes. That's if you get the net module. Still love the system.

 

[Cb24]

With this system can you shut off and turn things on with your iPhone?

 

[carey]

the apex works like the reefkeeper. no special equipment needed. anything with a plug you can control on and off.
the only drawback to the apex jr is that you can only connect a few modules, same as the reefkeeper lite. You need the high end versions of either to get the full effect and be able to add endless modules. I run ph probes, temp probes and have 3 strips for sockets so I already would have maxed out the lite version.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I can monitor probes and plugs over the Internet, but can't reprogram the unit. I need to connect via USB or use the front panel to turn stuff on and off.

 

[ezy33]

I use a X10 Ativehome system to run my system with a computer and remote control. There's a App that's supposed to but I haven't tried it. Good luck!
X10 Home Automation

 

[Cb24]

What's the app called for the apex systems?

 

[All_fish]

Look up neptunes systems on the App Store.

 

[Cb24]

I got the apex jr has anyone been able to control it when your away from your house..I can't figure it out at all

 

[Gregcoyote]

It requires a bit of networking. You need to have either a Internet connection with a static IP address or use a proxy service. The issue is there has to be a route from your portable device to the Apex.

 

[Cb24]

I have a verizon wifi router so anybody know the steps to take to figure this out

 

[Gregcoyote]

Do you know how to do any basic router stuff? If not, find the nearest 14 year old, he knows. There are services out there that provide automatic routing, but you need basic skills to set it up. Check out YouTube for some tutorials. Your basically doing the same thing when you connect to a web based home security camera with a portable device.

 

[Cb24]

I've literally tried everything even going through the router company themselves and nothing works

 

[Gregcoyote]

Again, anyone with IT training can correct this quickly by setting up the routing properly and "pinging" the devices like the Apex you want to monitor. This is not so simple for anyone without this basic IT training. Many teenagers know how to do this to support game play over the Internet. Some devices like web cameras come with a manufacturer supported web site that makes this simpler, but Apex doesn't.