Apex vs. Reef Keeper Elite

[civics14]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the process of purchasing a controller for a future aquarium that I'm slowly putting together. I'm reading mixed reviews of both. The biggest complaint I found about the Apex is that its hard to program, but saves you a lot of headaches down the road. To me, that shouldn't be a problem, because I don't mind taking longer in the beginning to save me some trouble down the road. The RKE seems to get mixed reviews, some hate it and some love it. A lot of people say its easier to program at first, but then complain of a lot of random issues down the road.

What I need from the controller short term is to control my t5 fixture (different lamps on/off), ph monitor, temp monitor & control heater, & return pump control. Long term, I plan on getting more serious with SPS but haven't decided to go with dosing or reactor for calcium control.

Another thing I'm concerned about is customer service, I understand the Apex is substantially more, but if they are willing to stand behind their product more than the RKE, then I will spend the extra money.

Any advice?

By the way, my equipment so far is:
Deep blue - 60g Cube
Jebao WP25 x2 (1 as back up)
eheim 100w x2
eheim 3000+ compact - return pump
24" coral life 8 bulb t5ho
eshopp s-120 skimmer
I'll be hard plumbing w/ gate valves
Sump will be basic 40g breeder w/ baffles
RO-DI - 5 stage Air Water Ice Typhoon Extreme

Almost finished the stand (see pics) lower tier will be like a table that I can set things on top of while working on the tank, top tier will have the tank.
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[franciscosalazar]

I recommend the Apex.
I could not get my Reef Keeper to operate smoothly.
My Apex was running full speed out of the box.
DA's customer service is very limited.
I truly hope DA's Archon is their game changer or I don't expect to see them around for the long haul.

 

[bcavalli]

I started with a ReefKeeper and realized a month into it I was a bad choice for me. If you want great customer support, tons of forums and information about the system, easy programming and a multitude of options for DYI. They are also releasing software upgrades consistently and have released new Apex equipment and a ton of new stuff is in the pipeline or about to be released. Apex is well worth the extra expense IMHO. I couldn't run my system without it. I would be a nervous wreck. Lol

 

[tonymission]

Apex is awesome. Have it and a ton of modules on all my systems now.

 

[reeferman]

i have had my RKE with lots of modules for well over 3 years without the first problem.i dont know anything about computers so the Apex is out for me.in fact,i bought an Apex and quickly gave it to Ryan for the Reefworks shop.

 

[joseayes]

Apex, reef angel, profilux... the choice is yours. .. mine was apex

 

[jrhunter0000]

I just sold my reef keeper but i can say i loved it was super easy to program. Apex has more options that the reefkeeper didnt. all depends on you and your lifestyle. Google youtube videos and see what they both have to offer.

 

[atlorange]

I have owned both...To me it's a no contest. Apex all the way. With Fusion it's a no brainer in my opinion.

 

[civics14]

Well, I was deciding between the two, but then I found out about Reef Angel. So, at the moment, I'm leaning towards the Reef Angel. Just waiting on BF to see if any deals out there.

 

[hiimsean]

Fusion makes things a lot easier. If you don't mind taking time to learn how to program, then Apex is for you. Most of the time it's IF/Then statements so it's not too confusing.

 

[snowmansnow]

I have only used the RKL, but now that I've used an apex... I like the apex a lot better.

why? for me it just worked better and seems to be much more reliable

 

[bruce 1]

I have RKE on 3 tanks. I have never had a problem and every time I called Digital Aquatics they promptly called me back. The first controller I had was an Apex and gave it away to much/many problems to get it to work. Everything I needed it to do I had to try to make/write a program to make it work. RKE out of the box worked and had the program's set up for it. Most people that bash RK systems have never owned one. I like all of mine for the ease of use and user friendly.

 

[huskerreefatl]

I would go the Apex route. I have the RKL and RKE. I have had issues with both and the net module and getting DA to even return your email or answer a call is extremely difficult. Their customer service is the worst that I have experienced. As a matter of fact, if you look on BBB they have a C- with open complaints that they haven't even bothered responding to BBB to fix. That tells me a lot about the company. If I didn't already have this investment in the RKE, I would go the Apex route. I have been waiting for 3 weeks to get a new RKE head unit. I upgraded the RKL to RKE thinking that it would fix my issues but the one that came didn't work...so after a call with Eric at DA, he said that they would send me another one but nothing has come in the mail. I have emailed and called both the sales and support but get not return email or return call...since the calls to sales go straight to voicemail. I noticed on the BBB site that folks had their SL1 module go out, while under warranty, and they have been waiting over 6 months to get a replacement....6 months....geez....

My Smart ATO was acting up and I emailed Coral Vue, received an email that day, and then they shipped a replacement that day.....now that is customer service.

The extra cost for Apex will be worth it for you in the end for more options and better customer service.

 

[linhtran]

Apex all the way!
Btw, that stand looks familiar .

 

[nicoli627]

apex easy to setup and works great I have two one one each tank i have

 

[huskerreefatl]

I will say though that the reefkeeper isn't too hard to set up once you get basic understanding of how it works. The manuals aren't very good though so you need to read the forums and there are plenty.

 

[civics14]

This is actually an old post, I ended up going with a reef angel plus that I am very happy with, controls all my pumps, ato, wifi to pull up charts and control the tank, control my lights, monitor ph and temp, all out the box

And the support is great.

 

[kevinathom]

FWIW, i just upgraded from a Reefkeeper lite to Apex. The RK was great for controlling the pumps and was easy to use, but after 6 months I wanted more than 4 outlets. I was thinking of buying another power bar when I found a used apex. The apex is difficult to program in my opinion but I love being able to use it over the net.

 

[huskerreefatl]

Did you have the net module for the RKL? I wonder how they are different? I know for the web portion of RKL/RKE, you can control the functions of the channels and see trend lines from probes that are connected such at temp, ph, etc.

 

[genesis]

I run a RKE Titanium package which has the SL2 module and a Salinity probe added to the normal package. My experience with it has been good overall. <span style="color: blue">Pros- </span><span style="color: #000000">cost lest than APEX, not hard to program with easy manuals, does give you that extra bonus of a controller, </span><span style="color: red">Cons- </span><span style="color: black">Not as up to date as the APEX, No online cloud based interface like Apex fusion, Some of the more advanced programming like as far as networking capablities is complicated and takes some outsourcing. Depending on how advanced you want your controller to be and the controlability of your equipment can play a major factor in which route you go. At the time I wanted a controller that would give be the best bang for my buck and it was the RKE. If I was looking at a long term investment it would be the APEX. I would have had to get a basic package with my set budget and add the extra modules I needed over time. </span>