Apex with basement sump

[Evilweevil]

Setting up an apex I have a95 gallon upstairs and the sump with most of the equipment is down in the sump/furnace room which is about 30 feet away I have most of the typical aquarium hardware and as it is constantly evolving I will not list all that here right now

My question is with the apex I want to have the display part of the controller and one energy bar at the DT and the other in the sump room what sort of cable do I need to run between them and where is the best ( cheapest) place to find it?

And also since I am new to this controller thing any tips that might help me along in hooking things up would be appreciated

[mseepman]

Apex does funny things with their wiring...I would buy the cables from Neptune, they have the 15' cable and 15' extension. You will know that it works from them.

[Madmak]

I extended a cable 40' to an EB4 near my mixing station using 6' M to F USB cables from Memory Express. They were about $5 each.

[kole]

Regular usb cables will work. Just make sure they are not boosted. If they are boosted you could fry your Apex. I got mine on ebay.

[lastlight]

I found this which seems to indicate you can't reach lengths in the 30ft range without boosting?

http://www.cablesplususa.com/pdf/USB_Cable_Length_Limitations.pdf

If you exceed these limitations can it work and simply not be as reliable?

[Madmak]

Apex uses USB cables and connectors but the data stream and power is not standard USB, it is something proprietary.

I haven't had a second of trouble with my extension.

That info is right about normal USB.

[ddarkz]

I use the 15' extension cable from APEX, as I needed the extra length going from my basement to the main floor, didn't try out other branded USB cables, I will be also using another 15' extension cable for the auto feeder once the unit is avaliable for sale again.