Apex remote access setup (how to)

Ive been using the Apex Lite on my 90, and I love it. Im not gonna list what it is capable of here, but I couldn't figure out how to set up the remote access outside of the local network. With all the help from Russ at Reeftronics.net, he made it possible. Im no expert of tech stuff, but here we go!

Here is what I have:
-D-link DIR-601 (very common router)
-DynDNS Pro service from dyn.com (free)
-Dynamic IP address from a cable company (most common)

First go here and sign up the free 14 days trial. I canceled it right away because I couldn't justify any extra cost for the remote access. They'll ask your billing info but you"ll never get charged if you cancel it within 14 day trial period. They'll let you keep one domain. Make sure you access it often enough so the domain stays active
Pics below as your reference:





Ok lets get to it. Access your router by typing
192.168.0.1 (or 192.168.1.1 depends on the router manufacturer)
on your browser (I use Firefox and/or Safari, btw) or similar. Of course you have to access it with admin with the password.

Once you access it, there is a tab that you can change/edit the NETWORK SETTINGS (see the pic below). You see the list of what's connected to the router with/without hard cables. There should be "UNKNOWN" device, which is your Apex in the list. You don't want the router to change the internal IP address so you lock and 'reserve' the number. If all goes fine, you should see the Apex with the fixed IP address that doesn't expire like in the pic.




Now access your Apex Network setup in the Configuration tab by typing the IP address (192.168.0.198) on the browser. "DHCP" shouldn't be Enabled because you just reserved the IP address that's assigned only for your Apex. It should look like this:



I had to use the Apex display instead of my Macbook because I typed invalid values in the "AquaController IP address" and "HTTP port." You can change them back on the Apex display. As long as you're on the same network with correct internal IP adderss, you should be fine.

Then you go back to the router setting. Its called either "VIRTUAL SERVER" or "PORT FORWARDING" so when you access your domain (example: yourapex.dontexist.orgort#), it gets re-routed to your Apex. I used the VIRTUAL SERVER option, because.. well, Russ at Reefstrnics.net told me to. lol

Nothing complicated if you made this far. Like this. I have no idea why the public port is 5555, but it works. It's likely that it can be done with the port forwarding option. (Can anyone chime in on this??)


I think this is it. You can check if you set it up right by typing http://yourapex.dontexist.org:5555
on your browser, or on your smartphone with 3G/4G connection.

So when you're in your house, you use 192.168.0.198 to access your Apex. If you're outside of your local network, you access it by typing http://yourapex.dontexist.org:5555.

--------------------------
If you see anything that is missing from this post, please feel free to chime in.

Again, special thanks to Russ at Reeftronics.net, who made it possible.

 

Very nice!!!

Im assuming you joined ReefTronics, if so whats your username?

 

Hey Chris, thank you! It's "Exactlyobp"! What's yours??

 

Thanks for the info , I have been wondering how to do this.
K+

 

yeah its super cool! I just found an article to do this for my reefangel too!

 

Also yours is written better ;-)

 

Hey bwalker thanks! I seriously envy your 220! Let me know if there is anything I need to add/edit!

 

Haha thanks and the K+ as well, Alex!! I'm sure RA setup is very similar. But you gotta calibrate the pH first! Looks like I need to calibrate the probe every other week...

 

Hey! I honestly forgot it already. It hasn't gone live yet but when it does I'll shoot ya a PM.

Looking forward to stalking your tank

 

Port 5555 shouldn't matter what numbers you use. The lower numbers are sometimes reserved by your ISP. But any 4 numbers should work. As long as you open that port up.