You can go with different brands, generally speaking. There may be some compatibility issues from differences in the intermediate pressures from the first stage for which the second stage(s) are designed, but you can check for that before matching them up - I can't answer with respect to matching the Apeks with the Oceanic. Another issue to consider is whether you can get them both serviced at the same place.diveAK:ok, i decided on the apeks ATX100. so now for an octo, is it possible to go with a different brand of regs or not possible or not recommended? I was looking at an oceanic octo...