Controller Comparison

[Kungpaoshizi]

What can't be done with Fusion currently?

You'll find out.. heh
I want to say a good 50% of stuff I wanted to do was either "not supported", "coming soon", or done in the classic control panel.

@Harry_Y Maybe I was just unlucky! The whole experience sucked though imo because I wanted to do so much more, but couldn't. Then when I asked about it to customer service, it was always 'we're working on it!'. A couple years went by like that, so I decided w/e, moving on.

 

[llutin]

I love Apex, It simplify the control for me

 

[Mel]

As an apex owner, I wish I had gone for the profilux. The final nail in the coffin for Apex was the DOS. Here in Aus $700 for a 2 channel doser, compared to the lower priced GHL doser with more features is ludicrous. Plug and play for Tunze wavemakers would have been nice. Hey I would have even liked to have lights available that are compatible with the Apex.

 

[Tori]

I did research for a couple of months before finally going with the Reef Angel. I'm completely satisfied with it and the customer service has been great! It was between the Apex and the Reef Angel for me after ruling out all the other options. I will say, if my controller needed to be visible I would have gone with the Apex because of how sleek it looks but since I knew it would pretty much stay tucked in my cabinet I ultimately went with the RA. I prefer to use the mobile app and web portal for control anyway.

 

[wikidd]

So guys nice topic well as for being in a tiny island in the Mediterranean and not very much close to the US,i too had this issue with what controller,but finally i had decided to go for Apex,it is not cheap for sure as to buy the Unit and extra modules it costed me quite a bit and my last purchase were the Wavs and the Par monitor,but then all in all there are quite a bit of advantages,like set up plig and play,the Fusion Utility,and most of all Customer support,in my first few days approximately after 3 months i had a faulty Main module,after contacting Neptune and retried firmware the support guy just told me to send back and had been replaced with a new one hassle free and very helpfull,but from than on it works wonders and all this in the palm of my hand,so basically i would reccomend the system,just plan what you will be needing for your tank and good luck with your setup

 

[03864reefer]

Have you looked at Digital Aquatics? That is what I have an am very happy with it.

I bit on their stuff.. Spent hundreds of dollars.. The "warranty" and tech support is HORRIBLE.. They should be ashamed of their performance.. I WOULD NOT ever recommend them..

 

[Macdaddynick1]

Im not sure If anyone mentioned this already, but I think Apex is the way to go.

 

[ReeferReefer]

Just got my Apex in and enjoying it so far. Still need to get the hang of programming though.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

I can't wait for FishBit or a couple others in development to mature. This is one area of the hobby that needs an update. Totally happy with the RA especially since 1 guy has better customer service skills than Neptune ever did, but until a company can beat the rope leak detector.. /shrug
I would love to see more effort put into probes etc to figure out testing methods for alk/no3/po4..

 

[n2585722]

I can't wait for FishBit or a couple others in development to mature. This is one area of the hobby that needs an update. Totally happy with the RA especially since 1 guy has better customer service skills than Neptune ever did, but until a company can beat the rope leak detector.. /shrug
I would love to see more effort put into probes etc to figure out testing methods for alk/no3/po4..

You do know that GRI makes a rope dectector that can be hooked to the switch inputs of any of the controllers. I use the 2600 GRI detectors on my Archon.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

You do know that GRI makes a rope dectector that can be hooked to the switch inputs of any of the controllers. I use the 2600 GRI detectors on my Archon.

Ahh! Good to know! The Archon is compatible with RA stuff too iirc..
I was tempted to get the Archon, but it seemed pretty quiet in the community. And their website sucks lol..

I'm still surprised to this day how fast of a response Roberto (RA guy) continues to have after I've bothered him with simple questions here and there. The guy is a beast! lol He beats Neptune hands down for response time on every single inquiry I've had.

 

[Tori]

Ahh! Good to know! The Archon is compatible with RA stuff too iirc..
I was tempted to get the Archon, but it seemed pretty quiet in the community. And their website sucks lol..

I'm still surprised to this day how fast of a response Roberto (RA guy) continues to have after I've bothered him with simple questions here and there. The guy is a beast! lol He beats Neptune hands down for response time on every single inquiry I've had.

I have to agree with the RA service being amazing. He even helped me troubleshoot and set up my router and the issue that I was having had nothing to do with the RA equipment.

 

[zoomonster]

I started off with a Neptune Aquacontroller II years ago (still works and still have it) and this time around I went with Apex gold plus a ton of added modules, power and probes. Pretty much went with what I knew and mostly trusted. Now has it been trouble free? No but eventually after dealing with Neptune's slow, frustrating, arrogant and archaic support system I got past it (did I mention they don't ever answer phones). Last time with WXM and new Vortechs though it took BRS getting involved to get the issue resolved. Pretty much all these issues have been out of the box though and once resolved Apex really has been set it and forget it and no failures other than maybe the leak detection probe. That thing is a little junky and the bottom corroded to the point the alarm is always on. Of course I don't use DOS, the autofeeder or WAV. And speaking of attitude... back at the first RAP in Orlando Terence (pretty sure it was him) was there and some kid who was showing off the new Apex feeder. I think my comment was something like "that thing sounds like a can opener" and the kid got nasty and looked like he was ready to fight. I just laughed at him and walked off.

Anyway they have been around and are more likely to stay around than most others. They have a big user base and the product line keeps growing. Plus for the most part it does everything I need it to do and has been reliable in operation. So yes if I had it to do again my decision would probably be the same. If you get lucky and everything works out of the box and don't have to deal with the terrible customer support its all good. Like others have said Fusion is one of their biggest pluses even if all the functionality from the display is not there yet. Someone asked what's missing and the first thing that comes to mind is probe setup and calibration and a lot of other admin type functions.

 

[bluwtr]

Hi all. I'm back in the market (sort of--beginning the search again). Life happened when I started this thread---over a year ago, but I'm still looking at options. One thing that I have found out is that www.puratek.com is a suspended account. Not sure what's going on with that but that really, REALLY makes me want to steer away from them. Does anyone have any info regarding this?

 

[Tori]

If you can spend the money, I would just go with an Apex system and call it a day.

 

[Starwar]

I was tempted to get the Archon, but it seemed pretty quiet in the community. And their website sucks lol..

I just bought an Apex yesterday...it was between that an the Archon. Funny you said that but i agree. The unit looks great, but the website is a total turnoff. And it just doesnt seem very accepted by the community. I feel like DA has been left behind in the dust.

 

[d2mini]

Hi all. I'm back in the market (sort of--beginning the search again). Life happened when I started this thread---over a year ago, but I'm still looking at options. One thing that I have found out is that www.puratek.com is a suspended account. Not sure what's going on with that but that really, REALLY makes me want to steer away from them. Does anyone have any info regarding this?

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/big-and-loud-controller-comparison-thread.285837/

 

[Sleepydoc]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/big-and-loud-controller-comparison-thread.285837/

??? Not sure what you're trying to refer to. The thread mentions Puratek several times, but there's nothing that gives any indication about the status of the company.

A google search gives several reviews, but not much more.

 

[d2mini]

??? Not sure what you're trying to refer to. The thread mentions Puratek several times, but there's nothing that gives any indication about the status of the company.

A google search gives several reviews, but not much more.

He said he's back and looking at options but brought up a thread that was a year old.
Just pointing him to a current thread with a lot more information about the various controllers available today.
I think @mdbannister owns a Puratek controller and mentions that in that thread.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Ah, ok. Thought you were responding to the questions about Puratek's web site being suspended.

Yes, mdbannister made a review video that he linked to somewhere in the thread. I didn't view it, but he presumably owned one at one point.