Stay away from WAV, 1Link - pumps start to fail after 1 year.

[JoshH]

Apex 800$
GHL 1,099.90$ and I would need a next powerbar so add 75.90.

GHL Profilux 4 is $849.99 US??

If you want the ultimate set Which includes the touch pad (which isn't required) it's $1099.99 But the apex doesn't come with a controller pad so it's not a real comparison between those two, the real comparison is between the mega set and the apex so $50 more.

https://www.aquariumcomputer.com/usa/product-category/profilux/profilux-controller-sets/

 

[Asonitez]

Y’all are not making me feel good about the fact that I bought 2 sets of wavs and 1 link and have 1 set installed.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

i love my 2016 apex, but i have always laughed at the really "high end" submersible pumps. I STILL have a 4,000 gph jebao pump on my freshwater tank that has been running for 7 years. I think I paid $75. People seem to forget that many companies in this industry take advantage of huge mark ups because, lets face it, it is a hobby for the affluent.

But if there was not a huge hord of lemmings buying the latest and greatest thing, then it wouldn't happen.

dont think this is the case? Do a search in the classifieds for G3 radions for sale...

 

[doughboy]

I will start off by saying, I too am a loyal apex user and I think for the most part their products are great. I have had my all apex system for going on 7 years now with very few issues. Even the WAVs performed great when they were working, they really move some water and the adjustability is fantastic. But back on topic, after an inspection of the new pumps they sent me, the impellers look like they are my old ones and the magnets are definatly my old ones (you can still see some coralline on them and they are stuck together with the cardboard between them that I cut out LOL). The pump motor is new though (different serial number). I went back to my original ticket and asked about this and was told that they might have used my original impeller and magnets because there was nothing wrong with them. I told them that I wasnt happy about this as I had purchased a new pump (albeit at 30%off) and expected to get all new parts. Impellers wear, the nubs on the magnet mounts wear, the O-rings on the mounts wear. If I was going to get a refurbished pump it should have been way more than 30%off. I will keep you informed as to where this goes.

I think greed has got into them. Actually I think it did a long time ago.
I would insist on a brand new sealed one and not accept additional discount on what you got if they offer that. I agree with what you said, pump is a wear and tear item.
If you do end up with new one, best to sell it (with full disclosure to buyer), otherwise you will repeat this again after a year or two.

 

[Highgrade]

One of my WAV pumps failed last week. Just a couple weeks shy of two years. The pump completely died. Sent it back to Neptune last Friday for a replacement at no cost. The new replacement arrived on my doorstep a few minutes ago. I agree the pumps can be a pain at times and I'm not a fan of the cords. Still happy with Neptune for standing by their product.

 

[dealseer]

That’s excellent news for you.

However, the problem is that not everyone gets that treatment.

 

[Highgrade]

That’s excellent news for you.

However, the problem is that not everyone gets that treatment.

All it took was a little troubleshooting with their tech support and proof of purchase. No questions asked replacement. Maybe the issues others have had in regards to these pumps made Neptune change something on their end. Realizing they have a bigger problem on their hands if there is a high failure rate.

 

[cccharliecc]

This is scary... I have a used WAV package with 1 link and 2 WAV’s.

I had one fail 2 weeks ago out of the blue, did all the troubleshooting and Jon at Neptune assisted after hours mostly via email. Resolution was to send mine in, give them the tracking number and they sent a new one out a couple days later. Still waiting on its arrival, but I was pleased with the CS.

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Mine lasted until I powered them up.

Last Thursday I purchased 3 WAVs and the 1Link. During setup the pumps wouldn’t import into Fusion. After cruising through the forums and trying suggestions I called Neptune Marine CS. I had to allow them into my Fusion and the gentleman told me there were corrupt files that needed to be fixed. 15 minutes later I had control. The first pump I turned on started to click. Second pump received power, it was fine. Third pump, once it started up decided to slowly work its way down the glass into the sand. Pump one would not respond to changing of programs and kept clicking. At this point I’m three hours into adding three pumps. A little forums search, and then a call back to customer service. This is where it went really south. The kid that was representing the company started to get really snotty, claiming that they never claimed that the pumps were silent. I tried to say that motor noise was one thing but my tank sounding like and extremely large clock counting seconds was another. And then with the same pump not responding to the program code was not possible, either I had it plugged in wrong/internet was not responding finally saying he didn’t know what to tell me. With the pump magnet not holding, he said I was over the glass thickness limit at 3/4” thick. We have all seen it stated as good for one inch. I must have installed it wrong was the next statement. What? Really?
Basically it felt like an 8year old kid I was dealing with on the other line. I didn’t get into how long I’ve been with Apex, or how much of my money I’ve spent with them, what would it have done with this kid?so I asked to return the product, as that is usually the process when a product is faulty, I was told in a rather snotty way to take it up with the store I bought it from. The LFS owner was miffed to say the least about the story once I told him. He mentioned that if his sales rep. And he didn’t have the relationship that they do, he would drop this product in a heartbeat as he’s been treated this way several times, and he is a vendor.
I love my controller, and I have no issues with my DOS . But after this experience I can and will find somewhere else to burn my money. It really is unfortunate that it has gone this way. I hate to give such a negative review on something, and if the attitude had been different I probably would be waiting for two pumps to be shipped back to me.

 

[RobertP]

Hmm I have 3 Wav pumps but they are all on my power bar and not 1link. Only about a year old so we will see.

 

[KJAG]

Was already sold on GHL after the “vs” threads, but this buries and cements it. I’ll stick with GHL and Tunze.

 

[siggy]

My story gets more and more interesting. I sent my pump in 2-day air, as I wanted it looked at and possibly replaced quickly. At the conclusion of the story, Neptune offered to either recycle it for me (Did they forget there's a magnet, cage, impeller still there that I could use on my other pump????) or send it back to me. Ofcourse I want it back, I am cutting that baby up to see what's wrong with it. Just tracked it - FedEx ground that's going to take a full week to get here.

Well I WAS considering these at some point but the price point pushed it low on my wish list, I truly wonder how many have been sold and what the percentage of failure is ? @nvladik Can you connect an OHMmeter on the motor leads and see if its a short (open) or if its crossed or shorted (closed) before you open up, maybe post picks of the windings (burnt) and Ohm readings also there my be a PICO fuse or resistor in there.
Let's face it, 3 motor controllers + com.adaptor + 2 aux ports all in 1 little package, something's gotta give....very ambitious on apex's part....I Think they are relying on the insulation of the motor windings.

 

[Reefer1978]

I wanted to update this thread for a few days already, but family has been sick and taking my time away from the hobby and r2r. Although I thought my case was closed after the email exchange with Neptune Support, I received a phone call Neptune Systems and my situation was resolved with a positive outcome. I was also very happy to hear Neptune understands our support needs and service expectations.

I think greed has got into them. Actually I think it did a long time ago.
I would insist on a brand new sealed one and not accept additional discount on what you got if they offer that. I agree with what you said, pump is a wear and tear item.
If you do end up with new one, best to sell it (with full disclosure to buyer), otherwise you will repeat this again after a year or two.

I agree - especially if $ is coming out of my pocket, I expect a new product.

One of my WAV pumps failed last week. Just a couple weeks shy of two years. The pump completely died. Sent it back to Neptune last Friday for a replacement at no cost. The new replacement arrived on my doorstep a few minutes ago. I agree the pumps can be a pain at times and I'm not a fan of the cords. Still happy with Neptune for standing by their product.

Excellent about the CS experience. That's what I would expect of Neptune.

That’s excellent news for you.

However, the problem is that not everyone gets that treatment.

I hope this gets addressed in the near future.

This is scary... I have a used WAV package with 1 link and 2 WAV’s.

I had one fail 2 weeks ago out of the blue, did all the troubleshooting and Jon at Neptune assisted after hours mostly via email. Resolution was to send mine in, give them the tracking number and they sent a new one out a couple days later. Still waiting on its arrival, but I was pleased with the CS.

Keep us updated.

Mine lasted until I powered them up.

Last Thursday I purchased 3 WAVs and the 1Link. During setup the pumps wouldn’t import into Fusion. After cruising through the forums and trying suggestions I called Neptune Marine CS. I had to allow them into my Fusion and the gentleman told me there were corrupt files that needed to be fixed. 15 minutes later I had control. The first pump I turned on started to click. Second pump received power, it was fine. Third pump, once it started up decided to slowly work its way down the glass into the sand. Pump one would not respond to changing of programs and kept clicking. At this point I’m three hours into adding three pumps. A little forums search, and then a call back to customer service. This is where it went really south. The kid that was representing the company started to get really snotty, claiming that they never claimed that the pumps were silent. I tried to say that motor noise was one thing but my tank sounding like and extremely large clock counting seconds was another. And then with the same pump not responding to the program code was not possible, either I had it plugged in wrong/internet was not responding finally saying he didn’t know what to tell me. With the pump magnet not holding, he said I was over the glass thickness limit at 3/4” thick. We have all seen it stated as good for one inch. I must have installed it wrong was the next statement. What? Really?
Basically it felt like an 8year old kid I was dealing with on the other line. I didn’t get into how long I’ve been with Apex, or how much of my money I’ve spent with them, what would it have done with this kid?so I asked to return the product, as that is usually the process when a product is faulty, I was told in a rather snotty way to take it up with the store I bought it from. The LFS owner was miffed to say the least about the story once I told him. He mentioned that if his sales rep. And he didn’t have the relationship that they do, he would drop this product in a heartbeat as he’s been treated this way several times, and he is a vendor.
I love my controller, and I have no issues with my DOS . But after this experience I can and will find somewhere else to burn my money. It really is unfortunate that it has gone this way. I hate to give such a negative review on something, and if the attitude had been different I probably would be waiting for two pumps to be shipped back to me.

Now this is not a positive CS experience I would have expected. I am glad LFS took care of it for you. I am guessing all these issues and the setup was brand-new? One thing I can add from my personal experience - pumps were silent, very tiny humm showed up at 50% power. There should be no clicking what so ever.

Well I WAS considering these at some point but the price point pushed it low on my wish list, I truly wonder how many have been sold and what the percentage of failure is ? @nvladik Can you connect an OHMmeter on the motor leads and see if its a short (open) or if its crossed or shorted (closed) before you open up, maybe post picks of the windings (burnt) and Ohm readings also there my be a PICO fuse or resistor in there.
Let's face it, 3 motor controllers + com.adaptor + 2 aux ports all in 1 little package, something's gotta give....very ambitious on apex's part....I Think they are relying on the insulation of the motor windings.

I honestly have not had time to play with it at all as I was supposed to leave on vacation before the family got sick. But I should have some time this weekend. There are 4 leads on the connectors. I'll see if I get anything interesting out of them.

 

[Asonitez]

With 2 of my pumps im getting that weird like it won't stay stuck issue. THe magnets are very strong but they seem to have lost polarity on one part. causes them to twist a little. Any one experienced this?

 

[Asonitez]

With 2 of my pumps im getting that weird like it won't stay stuck issue. THe magnets are very strong but they seem to have lost polarity on one part. causes them to twist a little. Any one experienced this?

 

[gcarroll]

Was already sold on GHL after the “vs” threads, but this buries and cements it. I’ll stick with GHL and Tunze.

So are you making that decision based on GHL running Tunze vs Neptune running Tunze. I just dont see how this thread about the WAV cemented your position as GHL does not even offer a competing product.

 

[DarthSimon]

2 Year Full Warranty??? Amazing....
50% Off after 2 years.... Thank you Neptune Systems.....
Not sure if you could ask for anything more???
Again Neptune likes to Verify that there is actually something wrong with your gear. Often times, can be user error...

Guys,
I have opened Radion lights that have had issues brand new that needed to be exchanged... SH*& happens.....

 

[Cocugreek5]

2 Year Full Warranty??? Amazing....
50% Off after 2 years.... Thank you Neptune Systems.....
Not sure if you could ask for anything more???
Again Neptune likes to Verify that there is actually something wrong with your gear. Often times, can be user error...

Guys,
I have opened Radion lights that have had issues brand new that needed to be exchanged... SH*& happens.....

 

[Cocugreek5]

Well one died last night which shut the other one down. Luckily I still have my Tunze 6095s! I missed the little guys! Neptune should clone Roger from Tunze! Then again.....

 

[AQUAM]

Question for those who renounce WAV or all neptune product in that matter: what brand/product offers the same functionality at a similar price point?