Help me choose my first controller system, please !

[reely989]

Thanks a lot to all of you for your responses ! Much appreciated !

I cant tell precisely what are gonna be all of my future equipments. All I can say is that I'm going for a LPS dominated mixed reef and that I dont really plan on using a dosing pump.

I think both system would do an excellent job. I keep reading that Hydros controllers seem to be better build, but that the Apex compatibility is better for equipments of other companies... Tough choice, honestly.

What I can say is that general quality is important for me. I really dont know about customer service of neither company here in Canada.

Thanks again and please keep comments coming if you think of anything that might help me make a decision!

If build quality is important to you, I think you'd probably be disappointed with Apex. I was pretty surprised at how cheap and flimsy their stuff feels considering the price. The DOS was the only exception to this that I had.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

Promise it is so intuitive and app like the learning curve is like an afternoon not like months.

That's good to know. The Apex does have preset programming options for the range of normal stuff -- lights, heaters, ATO -- that the user can just program in the values (on/off times, on/off temps) if the advanced programming options aren't wanted or needed. So there doesn't have to be much of a learning curve to get the Apex running.

 

[KirM]

Promise it is so intuitive and app like the learning curve is like an afternoon not like months.

I am a GHL person. But I would switch to Hydros if I needed to change controllers.

 

[elchavo25]

They will both work well. I just swapped from Apex to Hydros after some issues, but as you can see by many here I'd say that Apex works great for most folks. I can only speak to my experience, but so far the biggest flaw in Hydros' ecosystem compared to Apex for me is dosing. The DOS pump is fantastic and I wish there was a similar product available for Hydros. Not that dosing is complicated, but that was a nice unit. I'm hoping that the Maven is a good auto tester. I was never in love with the Trident. It had a lot of head scratching design decisions imo. As others have mentioned, it really depends on your goals. If you just want a tank monitor, they will both work exceedingly well. If you want a well integrated doser into the system, I think Apex is ahead right now. If you want water testing right now, Apex is your only option.

Very late reply but what if I have my own doser (red sea’s reefdose) would I be able to add that to either of these controllers, or will they work only with their dosers?

 

[Liquid361]

How I see it… if you’re an apple guy, go Hydros.if you’re a PC guy, go Apex.

 

[skey44]

I recently purchased hydros xp4/xp8 pro pack. I’m happy with the monitoring and look forward to controlling a few things too.

 

[Connor At CoralVue]

How I see it… if you’re an apple guy, go Hydros.if you’re a PC guy, go Apex.

Slap me silly and call me Linux.

 

[braaap]

How I see it… if you’re an apple guy, go Hydros.if you’re a PC guy, go Apex.

That is pretty true. Apex you actually have to have an idea of what you are doing and how to accomplish it. The sky is the limit when it comes to control with Apex. Hydros will just be so confusing that you will have zero idea what you are doing and then when you do get it you will only get 1/4 of what can actually be done with it because of arbitrary coding limitations.

But most hydros gear is far more robust. Apex is very low quality components.

 

[exnisstech]

How I see it… if you’re an apple guy, go Hydros.if you’re a PC guy, go Apex.

Did you mean to say if your into PC and can code go for apex and if you can't do code for hydros? I've been on PC since windows 3.1 but can't code. Any time I even read about Apex and the coding required my head hurts. When I read about hydros I think I could probably do it. I've had one Apple device and gave it away in less than a week because i couldn't stand iOS.

 

[Connor At CoralVue]

You will only get 1/4 of what can actually be done with it because of arbitrary coding limitations.

It's like the smartphone revolution lol. We're actually consistently finding that users that have never had an aquarium control system before set up Hydros much faster than those that have been inundated with other systems.

Also..... It doesn't hurt to ask. Our support is top priority, so if there's something you want to do, or wish to do, simply reach out to support and we can remote in and confirm configuration, or set it up with you.

 

[n2585722]

Sorry wrong post.

 

[n2585722]

That is pretty true. Apex you actually have to have an idea of what you are doing and how to accomplish it. The sky is the limit when it comes to control with Apex. Hydros will just be so confusing that you will have zero idea what you are doing and then when you do get it you will only get 1/4 of what can actually be done with it because of arbitrary coding limitations.

But most hydros gear is far more robust. Apex is very low quality components.

I have not had any issues getting Hydros to do what I want it to do. I did come from Digital Aquatics though. It has my RODI and mixing station automated. If automatically refills the DI reservoir when it goes low from the RODI unit. It will transfer the water from the mixing tank to the fresh saltwater reservoir when it goes low and the water in the mixing tank is ready to use. Once the transfer completes it then refills the mix tank with DI from the RODI. All I have to do is add the salt mix and then press a button when it is ready for use. I also use the RODI for my ice maker in the fridge so Hydros turn it on for 10 minutes every other hour to make sure the RO bladder tank refills. It also does my ATO and AWC along with doing 4 alkalinity test a day and then dynamically dosing a KH buffer depending on the test results. It also controls my lighting and the normal things a controller does. i also have lights in the living room that will alert me to an active alert depending on the light pattern. They are my wife's ornaments and they are normally scheduled to be on in the afternoon and evening. They are normally either all on of all off but if there is a yellow alert only one set of them is on, if there is an orange alert the two sets of lights are on and if there s a red alert then three sets of lights are on. There are 4 sets of lights. All that took was a wifi power strip and setting up the outputs to accomplish it. I think that is a complex controller system.

 

[towels]

Hydros ez

 

[reely989]

Very late reply but what if I have my own doser (red sea’s reefdose) would I be able to add that to either of these controllers, or will they work only with their dosers?

You can't integrate reefdose into either. I use a reefdose now as well and I think it's really good.