Connecting Your Orp and Temperature Probes

You've got your Apex mounted, connected to your network, and you've updated your Apex AOS (DO NOT proceed any further in the setup process if you have not yet updated your AOS), so now you're ready to get your probes connected and calibrated.

Before we begin this process, it's helpful to identify your probes and the ports they will connect to.

Also, please remember that all of your probes are fragile and should be handled with care.

Your Apex comes with a temperature probe, ORP probe, pH probe, and a salinity (conductivity) probe as shown in the image below.

Each of these probes connect to your Apex base unit in their corresponding ports as shown in the image below.

The first two probes you will connect are the temperature and orp probes. These probes come preset from Neptune and do not need to be calibrated.

Connecting Your Temperature Probe

First, identify your temperature probe. This is the short black probe with what appears to be a cap on the end of it. Do not attempt to remove the cap from the end. It is part of the probe.

Connect the probe to your Apex base unit as shown in the video below.

Now place your temperature probe in your sump. Ideally, you should place your probe in a probe holder of some sort designed to hold it in place.

When placing your probe in the sump, make sure the lower end of the probe is fully submerged, but the wire end is above the surface of the water. When using a probe holder, be careful not to over tighten the screw holding your probe in place as you may damage the probe.

Your temperature probe will immediately begin showing readings in Fusion.

Your temperature probe will give readings in Fahrenheit and is set with standard minimum and maximum values of 75°F and 82°F respectively. If your temperature decreases beyond the minimum or increases beyond the maximum, you will receive an alarm notification.

If you would like to adjust your minimum or maximum presets, or if you would like to convert your readings to Celsius, you can do so by clicking on the gear icon just above your temperature readings. This will open your temperature probe configuration page where you may adjust your temperature configuration settings (see image below).

Congratulations! You've installed your temperature probe. Now let's proceed to installing your orp probe.

Connecting Your ORP Probe

Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP) is the measurement of oxidizing power of your aquarium water. It is generally believed to be the measure of purity of cleanliness of the water (although this is an oversimplified conceptualization of ORP). For a detailed explanation of ORP, see this article by Randy Holmes-Farley.

Now, let's get your ORP probe connected.

First, locate your ORP probe. This is the red probe that came with your Apex.

Now, connect your ORP probe to your Apex base unit as shown in the video below.

Your probe should have a cap on the end filled with a solution designed to keep it wet until installed. Remove that cap, and then place your ORP probe in your sump. As with the temperature probe, the ORP probe is ideally placed in a probe holder of some sort designed to hold it in place.

Once again, make sure that your probe end is completely submerged in the water, but ensure that the wire end is above the water's surface. When using a probe holder, be careful not to over tighten the screw holding your probe in place as you may damage the probe.

Your ORP probe will immediately begin to show readings, but your probe will require a break in time of at least a few days (and up to 2 weeks) before the reading is accurate. You will know your probe is accurately reflecting the ORP of your aquarium when the reading starts rising and falling opposite your pH.

You can see your readings in Fusion as shown in the image below.

As with the temperature probe configuration, you can access and adjust your ORP probe settings by clicking on the gear icon above your ORP readings.

In the configuration page, you can adjust the preset minimum value of 200 and maximum value of 450. You will also see here the option to calibrate your ORP probe should the need arise. (Neptune does not recommend calibrating your ORP probe because it has already been calibrated for you. Your Neptune ORP probe should not be calibrated using standard ORP calibration fluids. Do not attempt to calibrate your probe without first contacting Neptune support.)

Congratulations! Your temperature and ORP probes are now installed on your Apex! Next, we will continue with the installation and calibration of your pH and salinity probes.