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Neptune Apex System - Auto Water Change System
Last updated on November 17th, 2023
Neptune Apex System - Auto Water Change System
The most annoying, and difficult parts of owning a beautiful reef tank is doing weekly or monthly water changes. A large component of a futuristic, automated dream tank is to reduce as much work, including water changes, as possible. That inspired me to look into using the Neptune Apex System as an Auto Water Change System.
Why Use the Neptune Apex as an Auto Water Change System
I will start by addressing the question, Why Use the Neptune Apex as an Auto Water Change System? There are other, lower cost solutions available, such as the AutoAqua Smart AWC Auto Water Change System. Yet, I would still choose to use the Neptune Apex and Neptune DOS as the Auto Water Change System for my own Reef Tank. Why would that be?
Being a Reef Controller, the Neptune Apex provides much more than just an Auto Water Change System. There is a sensor for nearly anything. Including fluid levels that can monitor your sump water level, the saltwater mixing container's water level, temperatures, salinity, etc. Being a "techie" person, I like the idea of being able to expand the Auto Water Change System to eventually monitor the salinity of both the tank, and the mixing containers. Then before it does a water change, it could verify the temperature and salinity of both and alert you of any errors!
If that isn't cool enough, you can even have the Neptune Apex monitor the water level in the mixing container to tell you that you need more water! Paired with a smart ATO setup, it can add fresh or salt water to balance the salinity of the reef tank over time.
Wow! Impressive, right?! Though all of this is possible, it is very unlikely that I would do all of it myself. If you have the money and the motivation though, by all means, do it!
Okay, I know there are other reef controllers available as well, so why choose the Neptune Apex? Because the Neptune Apex System is one of the most popular reef tank controllers available. It has a great forum with answers and support, and the modules and equipment is readilly available! Making the Apex one of the best choices for a reef controller to use as an Auto Water Change System!
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What do You Need for an Apex Based Auto Water Change System
This article is going to talk about what is needed to set up an auto water change system using the Neptune Apex and Neptune DOS in a minimal setup. However, I should note that you can make the setup as technical or as simple as you would like by adding Temperature Probes, Salinity Probes, Optical Level Sensors, an Energy Bar, and even more. Most of this is far from necessary though and I would recommend starting with the minimal Auto Water Change System setup and adding to it as you find pain points.
What you will need: (Minimal Setup)
To learn more about the difference between the base units, check out the article: Neptune Apex System - Base Unit.
How to Set Up an Apex Auto Water Change System
The setup for the Apex Auto Water Change System is a little different than you would normally do for the Neptune DOS. Since one of the heads is removing water, it will spin the opposite direction as when it is used to dose additives. Make sure to follow the setup pictured here as well as in the setup in the tasks function (see video below).
So, I was going to walk you through setting up the Neptune Apex and Neptune DOS as an auto water change systemusing the tasks function in Apex Fusion. Then I thought, why re-invent the wheel? This video from the experts over at Neptune Systems will show you how to set up an Apex Auto Water Change System.
Limitations of the Apex Auto Water Change System
There are some limitations to using the Neptune Dos and Apex as an Auto Water Change System. The first being the limit of 31 gallons over 24 hours. As a person with between 300 and 400 gallons of water (420g maximum water volume), my weekly water change is roughly 35 gallons, and takes about an hour. The Neptune DOS is only capable of handling up to 31 gallons over 24 hours. Because of this limitation, I would recommend doing smaller water changes, such as 1.5% (in my case, roughly 5.25 gallons) per day to get a similar weekly water change.
The other limitation is more of an annoyance than a limitation. The Neptune DOS as an Auto Water Change System is actually fairly loud, with a higher pitched hum. As the video states, if you can set up the time to be when you're away from the house, it may be best. If you work from home however, you may have to try to pick a time where you are least likely to be disturbed by the noise. Alternatively you could build a noise dampening box around the Neptune DOS.
Conclusion
Hopefully this article shows you the value in using the Apex as an Auto Water Change System for your reef tank! Though there may be limitations such as the maximum of 31 gallons in a 24 hour time frame, for most, this is not a problem. Especially because you can split up the water change across the entire week to maintain stability in your reef tank.
About the Author
John Krenzer
John is a Software Engineer with a passion for saltwater aquariums, as well as the founder and president of Reef Stable. He started in the aquarium hobby as a child with a 20 gallon freshwater aquarium. His interest in aquarium life grew and in 2008, John set up his first saltwater aquarium.
Today, John maintains an over 300 gallon reef tank system, consisting of a 120g reef and a 210g reef. These large tanks are contained within the same system, sharing a sump as a means to reduce total maintenance and increase total water volume.
John writes articles for the blog as a means to learn about more reef aquarium topics. These articles act as a reference for the readers as well as himself. John updates these articles frequently to provide additional information or make corrections as new information becomes available.
If you would like to request an article, tank tour article, or to collaborate, let me know via the Contact Me Page!
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