Opinions on controller upgrade. 2016 apex or ghl

[KJoFan]

I went with GHL over Apex partly because it was something new/different to try vs my Apex Jr. I can say it's been solid so far. It does way more than I can even wrap my head around at this point, so the extent I use it is just a tip of the iceberg. I basically am only using it to control lights (on/off because MH), monitor pH, salinity and temp. I bought the optical sensor, and a level sensor and holding bracket to serve as my ATO. My MH ballast is capable of dimming but I haven't looked into setting that up but I know it's possible.

I am not running my Tunzes on it right now, I'm just using their inline controllers. My skimmer and return are also not controlled by the GHL but I do intend to buy another power bar and run those things off it for ease of maintenance mostly. My return pump is not DC.

So really I'm grossly underusing it, but plan to utilize it more as time goes on. I also just picked up the 2.1 4-head doser I have yet to hook up.

 

[mckinleyw]

The thing is that it seems like everyone who has the ghl controller doesn't use any real control features. Why is this? There are a lot of improvements to be made to either controller. Im wondering if ghl is looking into making hooking up misc. equipment a little easier to accomplish. The extension box they have is interesting, making it look like a solid unit instead of a bunch of different modules mounted around. "just my personal preference".
I hope to see some more input from others that actually use the controller and explain how the process to hook up these controllable equipment went. @Elder1945 has an awesome thread with the ghl. Im in the process of reading through that one now. Maybe Elder can jump in and give us a few of the highlights of his ghl experiences, good/bad/ugly

 

[daelie]

To control two Tunze pumps, you need the Tunze1 and Tunze2 cables and a splitter. That'll get you to interface with the controller and from there you can set up how you like the pumps to come on. I have mine on day mode for 14 hours, set up to randomly pick either 0, 1, or both tunzes to come on anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes (again random), and to randomly choose a wave for the pump that comes on to be pulsing between 1-6 seconds (random) between 50-100% intensity. You can change them to be more static values if you want, of course, but I essentially just set everything up to have a decent range and let the controller randomly generate the waves itself. At night, they're set up to produce smaller 10-30% intensity waves.

These also don't need to take up a spot on your GHL powerbar since they interface through a port in the back.

 

[Kayvon]

The thing is that it seems like everyone who has the ghl controller doesn't use any real control features. Why is this? There are a lot of improvements to be made to either controller. Im wondering if ghl is looking into making hooking up misc. equipment a little easier to accomplish. The extension box they have is interesting, making it look like a solid unit instead of a bunch of different modules mounted around. "just my personal preference".
I hope to see some more input from others that actually use the controller and explain how the process to hook up these controllable equipment went. @Elder1945 has an awesome thread with the ghl. Im in the process of reading through that one now. Maybe Elder can jump in and give us a few of the highlights of his ghl experiences, good/bad/ugly

I'm not sure what a real control feature is, but I use it to control my Vortechs, skimmer, heater, fuge lights, and return pump. The vortech module is simply hooked up using a PAB wire and programming it is simply setting which flow modes you want on which time window. The skimmer turns off/on based on the feed/maint. modes. Programming the heater is a matter of tying the on/off to the temp probe measurement (automatically done with the "heater" control setting). Fuge light is on a timer. The return pump is a 0-10V DC pump which changes speed in feed mode and turns off in maint. mode.

 

[iemsparticus]

I guess I’ll be the black sheep in the thread and say that I use the 2016 Apex and love it. Fusion is easy to use and customize (I use advanced programming on almost everything), I love the WAV pumps, the ATO (which obviously can be stand alone), the DOS pumps, the lunar module, etc... the built in WIFI is great, probes are easy to calibrate, and I love the voltage monitoring.

I’m greatly looking forward to their Trident release... monitoring Alk/calc/mag with the ability to control fosters based on measurements is going to be awesome.

Just thought I’d inject something other than doom and gloom regarding Apex.

 

[mckinleyw]

Do you plug the dc pump straight into the main controller? What about dimmable lights/leds with multiple channels? Those are my main interests what about the float switches? do these take added boards or expansions??

 

[mckinleyw]

I guess I’ll be the black sheep in the thread and say that I use the 2016 Apex and love it. Fusion is easy to use and customize (I use advanced programming on almost everything), I love the WAV pumps, the ATO (which obviously can be stand alone), the DOS pumps, the lunar module, etc... the built in WIFI is great, probes are easy to calibrate, and I love the voltage monitoring.

I’m greatly looking forward to their Trident release... monitoring Alk/calc/mag with the ability to control fosters based on measurements is going to be awesome.

Just thought I’d inject something other than doom and gloom regarding Apex.

LOL No black sheep here. I asked for input all is welcome. I do love my classic. Im just wanting to get the best controller for my money and ghl seems to be a good competitor.

 

[Kayvon]

Do you plug the dc pump straight into the main controller? What about dimmable lights/leds with multiple channels? Those are my main interests what about the float switches? do these take added boards or expansions??

I plug the pump into the wall to save me a plug on my powestrip. The 10v control can turn it off if I need to. My lights have a standalone controller, so I don't have any input on that. No idea on float switches. I know GHL has a forum in which they have staff monitor and walk people thru functions they want to implement.

 

[Elder1945 Verified Sponsor]

GHL had me when I connected it to my wifi and it never cut out...

I like the quality of GHL products. Can a Apex and GHL do the exact same thing? Yes. There is a difference in quality thought for sure. I can say for a fact the Apex/GHL can all be programmed about the same.. I see no benefits to one or the other. I might like Apex's Layout but then like GHL pull down menus but this is all just opinions.

On another note the WAV pumps are just meh (I have owned 6 WAV pumps)... And this is the only product I could see no overlapped by GHL. The big deal breaker or incentive to buy GHL came to the following points.

Again this is a opinion and I do have a sponsored build by GHL USA (I asked them though).

1. GHL did NOT place the Profilux 3 on sale a month before releasing the Profilux 4 with out announcing what was going on. Then follow up with "we will support what we can for the old users".
2. I connect to wifi I stay on wifi..... No disconnects.
3. Build quality.... If i spend money on the "Best" I would like to feel that I got something worth the money.
4. The GHL team is nice

In the end the Apex and GHL do the same thing but if I am spending $1,000 I would go with the GHL.

The "Trident" does nothing for me as ALK testers will become main stream soon and there will be quite a few options to chose from. Also GHL has a ALK monitor.
Measuring Mag and Calcium seem to be a waste of money in the long run tbh.

 

[mckinleyw]

GHL had me when I connected it to my wifi and it never cut out...

I like the quality of GHL products. Can a Apex and GHL do the exact same thing? Yes. There is a difference in quality thought for sure. I can say for a fact the Apex/GHL can all be programmed about the same.. I see no benefits to one or the other. I might like Apex's Layout but then like GHL pull down menus but this is all just opinions.

On another note the WAV pumps are just meh (I have owned 6 WAV pumps)... And this is the only product I could see no overlapped by GHL. The big deal breaker or incentive to buy GHL came to the following points.

Again this is a opinion and I do have a sponsored build by GHL USA (I asked them though).

1. GHL did NOT place the Profilux 3 on sale a month before releasing the Profilux 4 with out announcing what was going on. Then follow up with "we will support what we can for the old users".
2. I connect to wifi I stay on wifi..... No disconnects.
3. Build quality.... If i spend money on the "Best" I would like to feel that I got something worth the money.
4. The GHL team is nice

In the end the Apex and GHL do the same thing but if I am spending $1,000 I would go with the GHL.

The "Trident" does nothing for me as ALK testers will become main stream soon and there will be quite a few options to chose from. Also GHL has a ALK monitor.
Measuring Mag and Calcium seem to be a waste of money in the long run tbh.

Thank you. I agree and opinions are what i asked for. And i did kinda get hosed when they had the sale just before they released the 2016.
Anyways, lets hear your opinions.

 

[Elder1945 Verified Sponsor]

5. I did not buy 2 Profilux 4 controllers at launch then spend the next 4 weeks back and forth. The guy who bought the 2 apex's from this thread (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-apex-2016-lol.255462/) had to re-return one to be repaired.

 

[Kayvon]

5. I did not buy 2 Profilux 4 controllers at launch then spend the next 4 weeks back and forth. The guy who bought the 2 apex's from this thread (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-apex-2016-lol.255462/) had to re-return one to be repaired.

I did notice that my package from GHL had some hand written notes saying they checked that it was working before sending it. A nice thing to see since I spent so much on it.

 

[iemsparticus]

To be fair, I have never once had a WiFi disconnect, and have nothing but praise for Neptune’s customer service team.

Not sure how you can say that testing calc and mag are a waste of money in the long run... most people test calc and mag at a semi consistent rate as part of their routine (I test calc every week and mag every month), so where as having something test those things more frequently isn’t a reason to go out and buy the thing, I don’t see how it’s a waste...

 

[Elder1945 Verified Sponsor]

To be fair, I have never once had a WiFi disconnect, and have nothing but praise for Neptune’s customer service team.

Not sure how you can say that testing calc and mag are a waste of money in the long run... most people test calc and mag at a semi consistent rate as part of their routine (I test calc every week and mag every month), so where as having something test those things more frequently isn’t a reason to go out and buy the thing, I don’t see how it’s a waste...

The trident I thought tested all 3.. I would like to have my alk tested a few times a day but not calcium. My understanding is that the regents would have a shelf life and would need to be replaced. So I would be buying regents I do not use.

I have yet to read up on the trident fully but still see no need to test calcium and mag all the time. This is all just my opinion. As for the Apex yes i would agree hundreds if not thousands of people's apex head units work just fine.

Still GHL all the way. IMHO better quality for you money I know as I have taken both apart no hot glue in the GHL that i can see .

 

[chefjpaul]

I switched to ghl, and wont look back. Both are great controllers, I just love this P4.

I run my vortecs in multiple programs and run my doser 2.
Will be getting the alk monitor, as Elder stated, I don't need to test the other perimeters daily.

I do truly appreciate GHL customer service.

 

[rkpetersen]

You don’t read stories about ghl crashing someone’s tank with non-beta firmware. Build quality is excellent, and programming is incredibly simple.

I run an Apex, and for the most part I love it, but the reliability factor makes me nervous sometimes. This is life support equipment, it needs to be as bulletproof as possible before offered to the public.

 

[daelie]

I run an Apex, and for the most part I love it, but the reliability factor makes me nervous sometimes. This is life support equipment, it needs to be as bulletproof as possible before offered to the public.

I know, the apex 2016 release didn’t help much either. Having owned both, ghl is on a different level of quality.

And I’m definitely with Elder in saying that calcium and mag aren’t in need of daily testing. They certainly aren’t as important as Neptune would have you believe.

 

[justingraham]

Go to brs and look at the last couple reviews of the new apex compared to the classic

Now I have the new apex in route but I wouldn’t pay for it in fact I didn’t pay for it

I do not like apex’s attitude lately on every thing there new stance is it can’t be our fault we have thousands of customers with no problems and what they are doing with the trident forcing u to upgrade to a controller that isn’t as good as the original is horrible to me plus the new apex is ugly and then the whole thing with well buy the new apex anyway because ur going to need probes in a couple years and u can now monitor ur electricity and and salinity (well kind of as the probe has to be in a perfect spot to work) is just a stupid sales pitch instead of rewarding their loyal customers they are treating them worse then a new customer so to me that tells me everything I need to know about a company it’s never their fault they only want your money and could care less about its customers

I would say elder has the best knowledge of both systems and take his word for it as he has taken both of them apart and knows the build quality I mean like he said ghl doesn’t have u paying a thousand dollars for hot glue

If I wasn’t getting the new apex for free I would be getting the ghl

 

[Mark Gray]

I have had my a picks for a year now I have adnil problems with it whatsoever Well I take that back I had problems with the feeder that I bought I call DE paix they called me back right away and help me fix it it turned out that there was a gear jammed in the feeder Happened during shipping

 

[Cherub]

Good read. Thanks for all the opinions. Have you considered waiting for the new vertex or eKoral? Vertex is supposed to be out this month. eKoral in a couple of months.

I was on board for a GHL but went with a used rkl to give these others a chance to be released