I have both. If you’re tired of reading: Go with the Apex. The bottom line is that living creatures (worth literally thousands of dollars) deserve a reliable, rich, well thought out, and mature system. Save the Hydros for small side project tanks and basic setups where problems won’t end up in death.
I use the Apex for my big boy tank. I have all the stuff- Trident, a couple EB832, a satellite saltwater mixing station 70’ away, all the modules, flow monitors, a few feeders, PMUP’s, refugium lights, etc. it is hardwired via Ethernet.
It has a 99.9% up time hardwired and a 99.5% up time when on Wi-Fi. It is incredibly reliable in that regard.
I just replaced the Trident and Neptune was awesome about it (no one could figure out what it’s problem was) so waaayy out of warranty they swapped it for me. This is my 3rd unit (one went in for cleaning).
The leak sensors are just ok. They’re backed up with Ring leak sensors (which call me, my wife, and everyone else on earth). The flow sensor is great for seeing my ATO throughput and alerting me to issues. I can use solenoids to control fresh air intake to maintain CO2/Ph.
the DOS pumps are excellent at AWC. I recommend an in-line filter as well but still they only need to be serviced every 6-12 months. Some dosing pumps (looking at you ecotech) have a pin-sized input which gets clogged very quickly.
Apex is not the easiest to learn to program but once you figure it out, it’s easy, your options are close to limitless. The basic ports mean you can wire almost anything in you want (you can easily even step down power for 5v USB, 12v, etc).
the trident has been the key (knock on wood) to me being able to keep giant acro colonies alive and thriving for years. It isn’t perfect, you have to change the reagents sooner than instructed, but coupled with dosing pumps and control intervals it keeps my parameters far more stable than I would alone. Looking and tweaking from my phone is so much easier than testing and dosing. It’s a true game changer. I adjusted my alkalinity on vacation and it took 5 seconds.
Adding units is incredibly easily.
my problem with it: Stuff breaks. I lost an EB832’s 8 plugs about 6 months ago. No big deal, I just needed the side ports, not the AC power. Yesterday morning, while I was 1000 miles away, the *other* EB832 blew the DC ports. I got a “volt” error on my return pump. So after walking around a theme park for 6 hours, flying for a couple more, I got to play “what’s wrong with my tank?” Luckily I had a module in backup so I just plugged it in, updated the firmware, moved the devices over, and boom! Good to go.
HYDROS: I have the wave engine on the big boy tank. I kept blowing out XF350 controller. I don’t know why. Coralvue replaced 2 then cut me off so I use the wave engine now. It works ok. The pumps are finicky and if you don’t put them back together just right, they throw off errors (not a wave engine problem I don’t think). Up time is decent but it does inexplicably just disconnect itself sometimes. I wish it had Ethernet. It’s a bit buggy and programming is counter intuitive, limited, but just fine once you get things set. If you’re a tweaker, I wouldn’t recommend it.
in the beginning of owning it I would wake up to a brick and I’d have to troubleshoot it for hours, reset it repeatedly, etc. They've done a good job fixing the software so it’s more reliable. It still decides it just wants to disconnect sometimes.
I have two smaller tanks next to each other that I use the Hydros control modules for. I didn’t want to deal with the expense of a Apex. I wish I had. This software NEEDS MAJOR WORK. It’s buggy, doesn’t always upload changes (it gets fatigue and will give errors during programming).
They control the heater/temp, leaks, CO2 (one is a FW), fans, return pumps, ato’s, etc. I have 2 modules + 2 of the 4-port power bars. I hate it. The software is a nightmare. Sometimes the collective will just “break.” Sometimes I can reset it. Sometimes I have to rebuild it. If you don’t plug everything in correctly (don’t forget the terminator ends!) it breaks or explodes (per instruction manual). It appears to use a token Ethernet ring or something which as an old person, was frustrating and awful 20 years ago and is a technology that should have been left in its grave.
The powerbars CONSTANTLY disconnect. To the point where I just ignore it now. I get 10+ emails a day “your upper bar is disconnected.” “Your upper power bar has reconnected.” It’s close to a router. My 2.4ghz network has no issues.
I bought the larger hardwired 8-outlet bar and it’s sitting in my cabinet waiting to get wired (or sold with the rest of the crap and replaced). I know that installing it will inevitably break the collective or cause drama and so I need to block 3-4 hours to install it….vs the Apex which literally took me 30 seconds to add a module.
The Hydros “front end” is easy to use and looks good. I can see everything clearly on the screen with big “feed, normal, clean” buttons across the front along with temps so my wife can use it. Unfortunately, despite having an always on tablet next to the tank, the screen doesn’t refresh itself so I can’t just glance at it. I have to refresh and wait a few seconds vs the Apex which constantly updates on its dedicated tablet.
It’s just cheap. Cheap cheap cheap. The hardware is ridiculous. The lack of Ethernet port makes it a hard pass for anyone on an expensive tank. Less glowing lights and a better radio would have been smart.
the power strip fees like a repurposed Chinese Wi-Fi strip. The USB ports can’t be controlled separately. It’s just a mess.
I think they’re trying to hit the low-end market with the Hydros and that’s fine.
