Only Care About Reliability - APEX or GHL

[LadyTang2]

I don't care which is easier to program/setup

I just want to choose the more reliable option, I know many are happy with either but if all you care about is reliability, which would you go with, which power strip is not gonna fail on or off when the controller says otherwise (or any other failure for that matter).

APEX or GHL?

 

[SuncrestReef]

I'm not going to vote because I have never owned a GHL controller so I cannot directly comment on them. All I can say is I've owned my extensive Apex setup for 2.5 years, and the only failures I had were an optical sensor on the DDR reservoir, and a COR-20 power supply, both repaired/replaced by Neptune under warranty. All 15 of my modules & EnergyBars have worked flawlessly.

 

[homer1475]

+1

While I have never owned GHL, I have also never had a failure on any of my apex equipment in the last 5 years. I have had a few firmware issues, but since it's a classic it no longer receives them, so that is not an issue anymore.

 

[Bryan68]

I've been curious as well, I hope you receive a lot of input on this.

 

[LadyTang2]

I'm not going to vote because I have never owned a GHL controller so I cannot directly comment on them. All I can say is I've owned my extensive Apex setup for 2.5 years, and the only failures I had were an optical sensor on the DDR reservoir, and a COR-20 power supply, both repaired/replaced by Neptune under warranty. All 15 of my modules & EnergyBars have worked flawlessly.

There's no surge protection on the energy bars right? Do you plug those into a surge protector then the wall?

 

[Philly Reefer]

I find it funny that the votes goes to GHL but the comments goes to Apex.
If I didn't get an Apex, I would be asking the same question.
I only got my apex last week. So I cant really say how good it is. So far I like it though

 

[SuncrestReef]

There's no surge protection on the energy bars right? Do you plug those into a surge protector then the wall?

Correct, there is no built-in surge protection on the EnergyBars, only an overload circuit breaker. My EnergyBar plugs into a UPS backup battery which also provides surge protection. Here's a diagram from my tutorial on Apex Power Monitoring where I provide instructions on integrating the Apex with a UPS to preserve battery life during a power failure:

 

[Montiman]

I am an APEX user for over 5 years and I have never experienced a failure. From my research Neptune has better software but GHL has better hardware. I am not a fan of having Neptune or GHL Everything.

All I want a controller to do is notify me if there is a problem. Because of this hardware quality is less important than software as I prefer third party pumps, ATOs, dosing. Most of the complaints I have heard about Neptune products are about AFS, ATK, DOS but I don't even want to use any of these or the GHL equivalents so Neptune wins for me.

 

[TheHarold]

It's a tricky question that begs a false response, as the option choice makes it seem like one is "unreliable".

People who are happy with GHL will answer that their GHL is more reliable. People who are happy with apex will answer that their Apex system is more reliable.

Very few people have experience with both. You won't get a valid answer this way.

I have not had any failures in my 4+ years of owning several apex systems, and helping many others set up theirs. So I would categorize it as very reliable.

 

[amps]

I have an Apex (two EB8, DOS, FMM) and I also have a GHL KH Director. I've never had a problem with my Apex and it's done everything I need it to. The KH Director has been great as well though I've only had it for a few months.

The two differences I've noticed are:

-The GHL is built like a tank. Not that the Apex is weak physically but the GHL just seems like a stronger product design wise.
-The GHL is has a lot more options and a lot more buttons to push in the software. It may be because it's less focused on statement programming and more on option selection and data tables. I like it but I'm also a technical person. The Apex programming seems complicated at first but it's very straightforward and easy to understand once you're past the initial hump.

I think you'll be happy either way.

 

[Biglew11]

I have the apex, only problems were with an optical sensor, and an lsm that was no longer recognized.

Correct, there is no built-in surge protection on the EnergyBars, only an overload circuit breaker. My EnergyBar plugs into a UPS backup battery which also provides surge protection. Here's a diagram from my tutorial on Apex Power Monitoring where I provide instructions on integrating the Apex with a UPS to preserve battery life during a power failure:

I have my apex set up the same way. When power fails it sets essential equipment to low, non essential equipment to off.

 

[DJF]

I have both; it’s my opinion that GHL is more reliable.

 

[Trivan]

I’m currently switching from Apex classic which I ran for almost 8 years to GHL. I’ve had 3 crashes with Apex, one pre Fusion. 2 were minor just reboot the system and back and running, one required tech support to completely wipe and reset everything after logging into my system. Customer service was great on the Apex. I rely on my controller for almost everything from making RODI, ATO, auto water changes, and other things. Each failure happened at the worst times, why can’t these ever fail when I’m home and not hundred of miles away. Hahah

This last time, my RODI didn’t trigger, my ATO bucket went dry and the tank was blowing bubbles. I spent some time checking my switches and connections all were good, final step reboot the apex and things started working. I’ll consider that a crash. So I bite the bullet and bought a new ghl set up, which I’m slowing migrating too. Time will tell, but my reading of the forums, major failures are few and many issues haven’t been critical with ghl. I’m loving the KH Director thou.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Apex for expansion , cost and Great customer support

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I can only tell you about my experience thus far with Apex. I have had their Neptune system for 2 months now. Easy to set up... make sure you buy a few extra calibration fluid kits. You will need several at first. It took some time to get the salinity probe calibrated. But once I did, it has been spot on. The PH probe was a problem. The one that came with my set never worked... I spent $50 on fluids trying to get it to calibrate. Apex kept saying it can take two weeks for a PH probe to “settle in”... yeah, mine never did. They replaced it and it calibrated on the first try.... 2 weeks later, recalibrated and it has been spot on since. ...I recalibrate the PH and Salinity probe once a month now, otherwise my system works hands free no problems at all... anymore.

The temperature function is flawless... plug your heater in, set a range and let it go... it just stays in range : )

 

[1ByLand2BySea]

I have been using GHL controllers for about 15 years and no issues or failures. I like the fact that you don't need to as modules to the controller and its all wired and controlled from one box.

 

[Tastee]

I also only have an Apex so can’t comment on GHL reliability. My first tank’s Apex is now 2 1/2 years old with only one issue - an FMM that periodically needs a reboot. Neptune support is currently helping me with that and providing great service. My second tank is also Apex controlled but only 4 months old.

I do have one suggestion for Apex users regarding failsafes and reliability that I just stumbled across this week. I have a low level optical sensor in my sump and a VO based on that with a defer to smooth out temporary cases where the sensor opens due to waves etc. My email alert is based on the VO, not the sensor directly. Last week the troublesome FMM decided to completely lose all the connected sensors due to it’s intermittent issue - they all disappeared from Apex Fusion. As the VO turns off based on the sensor being closed it suddenly turned on when the sensor went missing and I got an alert. If my alert was based on the sensor itself I don’t think I would have got an alert. So using a VO for the alert in this configuration seems to be a good idea. An FMM reboot immediately resolved the issue.

 

[robbyg]

If reliability is the question than GHL is the better choice.
I own a on Apex and An Aquatronica and also worked fairly extensively with the Profilux III.

The Apex is a great at getting you started and even leads you through step by step procedures. The problem is that anything past basic commands can be really hard as you now delve into the realm of command line programming.
For some it will be easy and for others very hard.

The GHL is consistent in the way it is programmed and can be A bit daunting for those who are not at all tech savvy. The good part is that once you get use to it you will find doing complicated stuff is just as easy to do as the basic stuff.

 

[MabuyaQ]

I still use a Profilux 2 ex on one of my systems. No idea how old it is but never had an issue with it. Neither with the P3 and now P4 I use on the main system.
Never used Apex but that is mainly because when I was looking into getting a controller there was no reliable source for spare parts in case I would need them (the Netherlands). That is most important for me when it comes to reliability, because nothing lasts forever.

 

[lmm1967]

I currently run both systems. Apex running 2 reef tanks, GHL running 3 tanks.

My intention roughly a year ago was to move away from Apex and over to GHL - I liked the info I was getting about the dosing, I wanted to run KH Directors on my setups and was relaly looking forward to the ION Director.

Currently - I'm in the process of selling off all GHL gear. Almost exclusively due to reliability problems with GHL.

GHL is also the only equipment anywhere in my home that can't stay connected to wifi (it's 3 feet from my apex, 6 feet from a reef-pi).

It is also the only equipment in my home that can't reliably tell me what temperature my tanks are - gotta love the 1 AM alarms telling you you're tanks is 121F. I have to run a secondary temp controller where I have GHL running just so I can confirm that temp alarms are fake.

How about the gallons of water all over the floor - twice - because GHL Maxi Doser heads are assembled with internal tubing that is too long and the cam wheel eventually slices holes in the tubes - that's a pleasant surprise to come home too.

No the KD Director is leaking INTERNALLY - not from the the threaded part the probe is inserted in to - it's leaking somewhere inside the KHD box. I'll be taking that apart sometime in the next day or so to figure out if it's trashed or if I can repair & salvage it so I might be able to recover a portion of that investment.