Just want to add my two cents - I've been reefing for alittle bit now (alittle over 10 years) and we just set up a our second tank, a new Waterbox Reef 220.6 using Hydros Control 4 and Hydros XS. I've never owned a controller before this and can't speak about Neptune's Apex except for the fact our local fish store steered us away from Neptune a few months ago due to customer service issues/lack of support. However, from my personal experience, the Hydros user interface was so simple to start up and is very capable of advanced controls and has full integration directly with Focustronic's Mastertronic which can test alot more parameters than Apex's Trident. More importantly, they seem to be taking a fresh new look for automating an aquarium by making it more accessible to the larger community with different price entry points depending on user needs. Anytime there's a new product that comes out, there will be alot of questions/concerns which is understandable and us early adopters will have some challenges along the way. For example, Hydros will be coming out with a different salinity solution that is more accurate than the salinity probes currently out there. In the meantime, I'll use a refractometer - not a big deal in grand scheme of things. By in large, it's doing everything I'd ever want it to do so no complaints from me so far.
On a separate note, I think with Bulk Reef Supply buying Neptune will be a bad thing for our local fish stores though. Bulk Reef is trying to be Amazon in the aquarium world. If a LFS buys Neptune products for their customers, more money will be in BRS’s pocket to squeeze them on other product lines. I think this will hurt BRS's goodwill as they're primarily known for their videos online. You will seem more shameless plugging of their products are the best etc. Only time will tell, but monopolizing will only mean less innovation and higher prices over time. We need to support our local fish stores wherever possible and competition is good for our industry.
