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The Energy Bars available for our Apex systems are much more than a glorified power strip. In fact, this component of your aquarium controller equipment is far more important than most people realize – and not all systems are created equal!
It is obvious that this component is key to controlling things on your aquarium, but what is not so apparent is how it is critical to preventing catastrophe in your aquarium. Here’s how.
Each of the independently controlled outlets on the Energy Bar are independently switched and easily carry the current load specified on the label. In fact, we intentionally underrate our outlets just to provide that extra level of security.
So, depending on which Energy Bar you purchase, each outlet is rated from 5A to 10A at 120V AC or 8A on our 240V European model.
Each Energy Bar outlet can be configured to be either in an off or on state if the power were to fail and then come back on or if there was a communication failure with the Apex base unit. This means that if, for instance, your heater was on when the power went off, you could have it programmed to be off until control was reestablished with the Apex base unit. Or, as another example, you could program your main return pump to always be in the on position in case of failure
One additional advanced feature is that when you use an additional Energy Bar on a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) you can have key lifesaving devices (low power power heads and bubblers) on there that will automatically go into their Failsafe State once power failure is detected. This can keep your tank alive and healthy for hours on a good UPS until the power comes back online. This will run completely unattended and is ideal to give you peace of mind when you are away from home whether out for the evening or on a two-week cruise!
It is easy to see the importance of this one small feature that differentiates the Neptune Systems Energy Bars from the rest and how once again Neptune Systems is looking out for every possible way for you to avoid catastrophe in your aquarium.
Each Energy Bar has additional connectors so that you can easily expand to other modules. This is very helpful for those that want to use one Apex to control multiple aquariums. The Energy Bar becomes an AquaBus “hub” at any location you choose – allowing you to connect more modules in that area. This is called a “star topology” and is unique to the Apex. Many other controllers require you to daisy chain together every module or they require you to buy a separate “hub” to connect everything together.
