RKE or Apex?

Mr.Ghostly

Mr.Ghostly

New member
I was hoping some of you one here could help me decide between the two. I was just looking for some of your reviews on them if you have either or considering I know they are both basically the same thing from a controller perspective
 
I have the rke for the.money I like it slot does it's job haven't had any issues.with it yet I really like that my temp rarely changes from what I have it set at I ha s it controlling many others as well I vote rke jmo
 
It's all about who YOU are. Confused let me explain.

Neptune Systems Apex controller is a great system they have been in the controller business for years. Their systems are very reliable and tested. If you are into writing code and programming computers Apex systems are for you. Apex has plethora of options, probes and modules. My favorite being the Wireless Expansion Module (WXM) which controls your Ecotech power-heads. This alone would of convinced me to purchase it, however I did not know about it when I purchased my current controller.

Digital Aquatics RKE/RKL is also a great system in the way they have come about making controllers for the average person. To program a RKE a simple drop menu is used, ie IF your temp is XX then turn channel XX on. Although they do have many manufacture recall due to some bad planning and unreliable equipment. They are also not known for support. Usually if you have a question you are referred to their forum page, not always but most of the time. All of which is being corrected and has improved.

I have a RKE and RKL. It has made my husbandry for my reef tanks a whole lot easier. My RKE has automated almost every thing on my 72g bowfront. With the exception of my ATO. My RKL is controlling my BC29 Mod.

All in all they are both great systems, able to control every aspect of your aquarium. Both system allow you to control, receive and change system setting online. On your home WAN or outside it. A big plus if you want a quick update of you parameters.

Well I hoped I helped.
 
I have a RKL on my 72 Bow Front and an Apex on my 92 Gal Corner Bow Front. To me the Apex is a much better system. I like the fact I can control it off of my computer and my iphone and ipad.... of course ...the RKL is less expensive and does not have all of the bells and whistles the RKE has... but as I understand the Apex is a bit more "elegant" out of the box than the RKE. You need a net interface for the RKE or the RKL if you want to access any features remotely.

For the money... I wished I had purchased the Apex straight away!

Now to each his own. I gues it depends on the tanks you have and what you keep in them. Also, what you want to control. I run my LEDs, my return, mutiple reactors, skimmer... on both controllers. It is just easier to manage everything from the Apex. I am planning to sell my RKL this summer and then adding an expansion to the Apex.... to control my 72.

The one feature... I think I like the most from the Apex has to be the controlability from my PC, iphone and ipad. I can even dial in when traveling to check on the tank. That is pretty handy....
 
Just to make sure you've heard of it, also check out the Reef Angel. It requires some light programming as well, but I haven't seen anyone with a bad review of it. I was in the same boat as you and it's what I went with. It should arrive next week!
 
Thank you reddevil and dansreef with that information that defiantly helped out a lot with the decision making if I have any other questions I will be posting up on here
 
I would personally choose the Apex as it's very reputable and has all the information one could want available online,not to mention it's constantly being upgraded and it's usually free to the end-user.
 
I can only comment on the APEX - i've had it for almost two years and i love it, but it is pretty advanced and it definitely has it's own language. I love mine but it took a while for me to figure it out - the sky is the limit with this thing, but I can see how it wouldn't be for everyone.
 
In retrospect I wish I invested in Apex. Now I am so depended on Digital Aquatics that there is no easy way back. Oh well all I can hope for is that they step up their game.
 
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