Interested in a controller

[Aheinz]

I understand that controllers can help monitor salinity, ph, temp, dosing, can help stop a heater malfunction, and alert you to certain issues with a tank.

I know that theres the apex, ghl, eKoral. What do y'all run or prefer. Ghl while I've heard the ui is a bit outdated, is fairly reliable and of quality, the apex I know has a very nice ui, but have seen some issues with them failing. EKoral indont know much about. I'm really curious as to what I would start with to get going, ghl has a number of package levels which is nice and expandable internally, and their dosing pumps I've heard run great.

 

[Hitman]

I run the Apex EL and I’m very happy with it. I also run a no longer available Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper.

 

[Deiblerj]

I don’t have a controller but have looked into them a lot. Seems like apex and GHL are the big two. I don’t think you can go wrong with either. You’ll find people who love one over the other but that’s going to be with anything you research in life.

If it were me, and I had the money, I’d probably go GHL. You don’t see many negative reviews about GHL compared to the failures people have experienced with apex

 

[Tariq]

My next tank would not rely on a controller. Adding complexity at the risk of a failure (all electronics will fail at some point) isn’t feasible. I realize chances are low but the consequences can be devastating.

Majority of the reef equipment these days has some sort of a built in controller. Lights, return pumps, wave makers and dosers etc. can be programmed independently. For temperature, it’s better to buy an independent temperature controller anyways.

For skimmer overflow etc. some companies are selling individual mods that can turn the skimmer off in case of an overflow.

I have heard the argument from reefers who cite “peace of mind” with a controller while on a vacation by logging in and making sure everything is ok. Unless you have someone who can access your house and knows how to troubleshoot in case of a problem, witnessing a catastrophe while on a vacation will only spoil the purpose of taking a vacation.

Use the $$ towards buying reliable basic support equipment rather than investing in a controller.

 

[Aheinz]

My next tank would not rely on a controller. Adding complexity at the risk of a failure (all electronics will fail at some point) isn’t feasible. I realize chances are low but the consequences can be devastating.

Majority of the reef equipment these days has some sort of a built in controller. Lights, return pumps, wave makers and dosers etc. can be programmed independently. For temperature, it’s better to buy an independent temperature controller anyways.

For skimmer overflow etc. some companies are selling individual mods that can turn the skimmer off in case of an overflow.

I have heard the argument from reefers who cite “peace of mind” with a controller while on a vacation by logging in and making sure everything is ok. Unless you have someone who can access your house and knows how to troubleshoot in case of a problem, witnessing a catastrophe while on a vacation will only spoil the purpose of taking a vacation.

Use the $$ towards buying reliable basic support equipment rather than investing in a controller.

I totally get where you are coming from, first steps are getting good reliable equipment before getting fancy

 

[SuncrestReef]

I have an extensive Apex setup with a lot of automation, which is something I really enjoy. Since I have the budget to afford it, I keep spare equipment on hand so if anything fails I can quickly swap it out with a spare to keep the tank running while getting the failed device repaired. It's an expensive approach, but it eliminates that single point of failure situation.

 

[drspiroraft]

Apex would be my suggestion. Solid piece of tech. Not so sure about the above comments. Can’t see how having an additional fail safe is a bad idea. I too did not rely on a controller for some time but once you make the change you wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

 

[smartwater101]

witnessing a catastrophe while on a vacation will only spoil the purpose of taking a vacation.

Not if you have a controller and are able to stop the catastrophe. A quick phone call to a friend and say "hey can you unplug this, or refill that"

I just got back from vacation and seeing the effects of pH changes was fascinating. My alk would have dropped so hard just because my dog and I wernt home sucking the air out of the place, (and i keep windows and balcony door open almost year round.) But I was able to make simple dosing adjustments and keep everything stable.

Anyway. Having constant access to the information is both fascinating and SO helpful to maintaining stability. Its not just about piece of mind, its about really learning what is going on with the ecosystem hour to hour, day to day, season to season. That information really teaches you where you need to adjust, not just the tank, but moreso our own bad habbits.

 

[smartwater101]

If you would have asked me 4 months ago I would have said Apex. I wont get too deep into a rant about it (already have a post up about it) but I will say: Ive noticed most people who have used both Apex and GHL, agree that GHL is much more consistent and has MUCH better build quality and reliability.

Now that the excitement of having a controller has worn off (though I genuinely love having a controller) I've realized I invested in the wrong software/hardware ecosystem and will likely be making the switch over in the next few months.

 

[road_runner]

Ghl all the way. One of the best controllers I have ever owned. I had reef keeper, Alex and now ghl. Solid performance, no coding, very nice UI after the recent years updates and simple use. Best of all everything work out of the box and very reliable.

 

[cmcoker]

The GHL UI has been revamped in the last year or so and is still improving. You do need the PC software for a few things like firmware updates still. Most programming can now be done through the app. You should look through @Ditto thread where he changed over from Apex to a Profilux 4, lots of comparisons in that thread. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/switching-controllers-from-apex-to-ghl.316106/#post-3899242

 

[road_runner]

The GHL UI has been revamped in the last year or so and is still improving. You do need the PC software for a few things like firmware updates still. Most programming can now be done through the app. You should look through @Ditto thread where he changed over from Apex to a Profilux 4, lots of comparisons in that thread. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/switching-controllers-from-apex-to-ghl.316106/#post-3899242

I liked the ability of running firmware update from a PC. I simply bring my laptop next to the controller and update.
My apex (classic) used to force me to connect directly to the access point via ethernet to do update which was pain cause my access point was in diffrent room. So inside to shut down the whole system, rip off the controller and take it to the router room to do update. I even gave up and stopped doing updates
Not any more thanks to profilux..

 

[Ditto]

@cmcoker - thank you for the tag

GHL interface and app have come a long way since I originally did my switchout. It is true you still need a Windows PC to program the vortech pumps and do the firmware upgrades. But pretty much everything else is now in the web interface of the P4 or the GHL connect app.

My switching controller thread provides insight to both controllers and how I did things in both. I tell people to choose the controller that best fits his/her needs. We always have had choices but now we have a wealth of information about the different products.

If your looking for quality, reliability then GHL is the controller for you.

 

[Tobe71]

Of what’s currently available, GHL hands down. However I’m holding out for the new Vertex Cerebra 7 to be all it’s been hyped to be. Hell, I now own 27 of the beta units betting its going to be a success! And the interface looks like it will be way easier than GHL (imagine iPhone intuitive).
Looking forward to recovering the first of my units very soon (all beta testers get a new unit for every beta unit they own for free. Thus my buying frenzy when other Beta Testers got tired of the wait)...
But short version, of you want something now go for GHL. If I wasn’t waiting on the Cerebra, I’d already have a GHL.

 

[Jay Z]

I've only used apex, beside fighting with salinity probe calibration, I can't say a bad thing about it.

 

[drspiroraft]

If you would have asked me 4 months ago I would have said Apex. I wont get too deep into a rant about it (already have a post up about it) but I will say: Ive noticed most people who have used both Apex and GHL, agree that GHL is much more consistent and has MUCH better build quality and reliability.

Now that the excitement of having a controller has worn off (though I genuinely love having a controller) I've realized I invested in the wrong software/hardware ecosystem and will likely be making the switch over in the next few months.

Not sure if there is a difference but I have the latest Apex. It has been rock solid. No issues. Great UI. Easy firmware updates with no need to lug a computer to the controller and such a wide variety of solid accessories. Programming also a piece of cake and caters for complete dummies to expert programmers. I can’t speak about GHL as I have never used it but can say that my experience with Apex over the last 6 months has been very good and I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone considering it as their controller.

 

[Aheinz]

Thank you all for the bit more in depth thoughts, and it will be some time before I get a controller. The tank upgrade comes first then the controller Haha