Apex vs. Reefkeeper Elite V2 Mini Review

Well... here we are 4 years later. I've been out of the hobby and just pulled my RKE out of the box. It didn't work(head unit would not stay powered up). Sent in the SID to get it updated. Hopefull it just needed an update. But anyway.. looking at the way APEX has changed over the last few years it seems Apex now has a better product in many ways.(but cost more)
1. I'm a mac user . I'm surprised RK is still clunky 1999 PC only.
2. Much nicer looking graphs
3. Vortech module.. love the idea of putting them in night mode.
4. Leak module

It just seems like they are just a little more "with it". But of course it is priced more for a reason.
If I can get the RKE to work I won't be in a hurry to trade systems but thinking about it. Also I had forgotten about that puny and short temp probe. hehe
Really, I'm a little surprised that they both still have the same Head unit. It's kinda old looking. Still works I suppose but a little nicer screen is always nice.

 

I like my apex. It does everything that I wanted it to do. I see that you liked the idea of controlling your vortechs. Take a look on ecotech's website they are coming out with something called reef link. With that you can make schedules for your vortech pumps. It sounds pretty neat.

 

Apex is THE Boss.

 

Apex for me also....Once you learn the "mentality" of the apex, it's a really useful tool and you quickly realize that even the smallest tank could use something like the apex to make everyday reef-keeping a lot more enjoyable.

 

I have a pretty large rke system. Truthfully it works really well for my tank. I have 4 pc4, net, alc, sl1 and new sl2. I don't have vortecs. My system works pretty darn good and DA had taken care of every issue I have had.

 

I have almost an identical setup as Pickupman...but I do have vortechs. The only plus I can justify with the Apex is the vortech control. I have $500+ invested in my RKE, so I well not be changing any time soon.

 

I have the RKL maxed out with 4 pc4's and sl1. It does everything I need for now with my system and thankfully as of now I have not had any major issues. The only thing I feel is lacking from the RK system is their net/ smart phone control. This is what is making me consider going apex not RKE when I upgrade to a larger system. Otherwise I've been very happy for the past 4 yrs.

 

I want the apc module so I can hack my jeboa wp40s to run like the tunze. Should be straight forward. To replace my rke I'm looking at $1000 worth of apex.

 

That's why I will probably just stick with the RKE. I'm not too much of a techi so I don't really need fancier stuff. So if my RKE works when I get my SID back from them I'll just stick with it.
I have to give them a little credit for supporting this thing for free. .. after so many years. But I think that is fair since they made that major change to 2.0.