This is certainly the case for me. I tend to get OCD with my equipment and when I got an Apex about a year and a half ago as the first controller I ever bought, I went out and got all the add-ons, all the modules that served my specific needs and when I had an issue, I was disappointed by Neptune as a company. THIS is where the choice to transition started for me, even before the new P4 was released. I had a warranty issue and after owning similar products in this hobby, I was maybe spoiled in how I felt a customer should be treated, but when compared to such fantastic customer service offered by EcoTech, Neptune fell FAR Short. To have an issue with your MAIN controller, under warranty, and to be told that you have to either spend another $130 on a spare brain OR wait without a controller, AND be held responsible for the shipping charges to send it in, is just ridiculous IMHO. When my second-hand Ecotech MP10wES had an issue, a month out of its original warranty, with the controller, EcoTech had a controller at my doorstep, the next business day, with a prepaid return label in the box. And THAT is how you do customer service. Since thy day I have been a Loyal EcoTech customer and will ALWAYS be. I cannot say enough good things about their company on EVERY LEVEL. Anyway... back to the point. So although I was holding out for a full EcoTech controller, it just wasn't happening soon enough so, like many people I know, I bought the Apex Controller as I felt there weren't that many relevant options in the US market, that don't require open source programming and had the support required to get your tank up and running. The one thing I give Neptune credit for is Fusion. Fusion is much easier than the classic interface and the ability to connect anywhere at anytime, while not being charged a monthly fee is one thing I liked. Then when I needed a doser, I heard the horror stories of the DöS and with just 2 pump heads that still command the price of most 4 head doser a out there (and one of the uglier designs I've ever seen), I definitely wasn't buying one or say two of these. I stuck with a Jebao doser for over a year that did everything I needed and never skipped a beat, while the Apex controlled everything else. Then when I got wind of the GHL doser 2 and saw how good it looked and how much it could do, I decided to upgrade my doser. Once I had the doser hooked up and programmed within an hour or so, with the wifi capabilities and ease of intuitive programming, I was more than satisfied. Then, after a few more "service" issues with my Apex components and the release of the New Apex, I was getting less and less impressed. The new Apex was so ugly to me and the way it seemed, that if you wanted to keep up with the new releases, you had better bring your checkbook for add on modules or just upgrade to the new one. And finally as I saw the GHL P4 release announcement a day or so before my birthday, plus the word on the new alk and Ca probes (not like the automatic reagent testing catastrophe of a massive box of tubes, that Neptune ha stage rights to), I was sold on dumping my Apex and I preordered the P4 mega set that evening.
Adios Apex.
