You're awesome GHL. Your $15 shipping is not.

[lmm1967]

I live in northern Alabama, so not close to any of the 3 companies.

Marine depot has a large warehouse in Atlanta. If their site shows it as in stock in the East Coast warehouse - you'll usually have it in a day without paying for expedited shipping.

It's one of the decision points I use when deciding where to order something.

 

[Brew12]

On Amazon, I've found that many items are available with free shipping or you can get the same item for the same cost with shipping charged separately. I normally won't use the free shipping option because in Alabama, the shipping is not taxed.
For instance, I just ordered some restaurant grade steel mixing bowls. They were roughly either $18 + $14 shipping or $32 with free shipping. So... paying for the shipping saved roughly $2 in sales tax.

 

[lmm1967]

On Amazon, I've found that many items are available with free shipping or you can get the same item for the same cost with shipping charged separately. I normally won't use the free shipping option because in Alabama, the shipping is not taxed.
For instance, I just ordered some restaurant grade steel mixing bowls. They were roughly either $18 + $14 shipping or $32 with free shipping. So... paying for the shipping saved roughly $2 in sales tax.

You may be one of the few humans that honestly realizes YOU are paying for shipping whether it's a line item on an invoice or not.

 

[AKAGuyver]

Aquarium Specialty does carry GHL. Lots of vendors dont carry the full array in stock because it just doesnt make business sense. However Aquarium Specialty Carrie's all of the popular items and have a lit if others in stock. Give them a call. It's a husband and wife run business so some items are not listed on their site. If they dont have it in stock, they will get it for you. Top notch service!

this is an online store? really trying to find a brick and mortar store that carries ghl. i live in the north east us within an hour from philly and new york i'd find it really hard to believe knowone would carry it locally. if for reason something happened, especially near the weekend and or im not around could be very inconvienient/dasastrous

 

[AKAGuyver]

****So to start with I've worked in Supply Chain roles for 25 years****
Oh how I would dream of the shipping cost of $15 to get to me. (Australia). I order direct from GHL in Germany.
I know you guys are just hoping for slightly cheaper shipping and sharing stories, but you do know that if they "work with" BRS or another distributor, then that is going to add another margin to the prices. You might not see that margin appear instantly as GHL might decide to keep the prices the same, but GHL / BRS / Marine Depot will pass that cost on somewhere and at sometime.
We currently have a wonderful situation where we are able to speak directly with the OEM and they have a direct to consumer route to market.
If they decide to go though a distributor, and then even perhaps they go through a retailer, that would mean TWO layers adding profit margins to the items. Not to mention that the goods are being handled more and being loaded / unloaded more, adding even more handling charges.
And GHL can't just "do this" just for the sake of it. It has to make sense within their business. Maybe they don't want to grow as growth comes with risk if you aren't able to scale your business (hire new people etc) proportionately with that growth.

im going to have to disagree with you here. marine depot is charging the same as ghl. they buy in bulk and get a vender price or else no one would ever buy from them.

 

[AKAGuyver]

Marine depot has a large warehouse in Atlanta. If their site shows it as in stock in the East Coast warehouse - you'll usually have it in a day without paying for expedited shipping.

It's one of the decision points I use when deciding where to order something.

thanks i didnt realize it said which warehouse it was in untill you said this now i see it in the shopping cart

 

[Daniel76]

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[AKAGuyver]

Yep, just realized that myself, but that's what I mentioned.
It might LOOK like there is no effect on price, what would have likely occurred is that GHL absorbed the distributer margin to keep the prices the same.
But they would try to re-coup that margin loss IN SOME OTHER WAY, by say increasing the price on new items. By not offering as big of a discount on Black Friday sales, by doing a price increase on ALL their products at a later date.
Or, it might mean that GHL's R&D budget gets reduced, meaning it takes 2 years longer to get a new product to market, or their IT sustainment budget is reduced meaning longer time to fix issues with the firmware on a Profilux.
I'm more concerned about those last 2 things!!!

or they took a bit of a loss per item in order to sell many items at once like any wholesaler would. just glad theres a "local" distributor other then just them direct. still wish for a local shop to carry them. tagged @Vinny@GHLUSA about it and heard nothing, probally because there is none. maybe ill take the 5k im gonna put in this build and start a small resale shop to ny and philly

 

[Daniel76]

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[AKAGuyver]

ion director is the number 1 reason i want ghl. but if something breaks it would be hell to wait a week for delivery. Also im looking at powerheads and pumps and alot are apex ready. to connect to ghl id have to buy a apex cable then cut the end and buy a breakout box, why is it that hard to make a crossover cable that puts the right cables at the right pinouts? ive been going over the pinouts of ghl ad apex and started a thread here:

apex to ghl cables 0 - 10v control

I've been reading alot about the 0-10v control cables most pumps/powerheads have available and the is obviously alot more apex ready solutions available. I REALLY ant to go GHL but im hitting speedbump after speedump, but I build/fix things all day so I'd really like to figure this out and make...

www.reef2reef.com

It's an rj-45 connector this is childs play. I dont know why when major players release a product GHL doesnt make an adapter cable. I'm working on doing it myseld so i dont have to buy multiple breakout boxes with the extra space at a premium.

 

[Daniel76]

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[AKAGuyver]

Yeah fair call.
Ecotech is compatible with ghl for sumps and return pumps, but again I think your limiting your considerations to zero companies if you think they are going to be able to deliver to you Amazon Prime style of you order at 9pm on a Friday for a 10 am Saturday delivery.
I lived in California for the last 2 years. Having that expectation that businesses should be providing you that level of service is hard to undo, and I think your selection criteria doesn't exist.
By the way, what brand(s) exist that do neat this criteria?
Why not buy exactly the brand you want, if a component fails, buy an interim lower priced item, while you wait for the replacement item to be shipped?

i understand having a backup ready is always ideal, currently trying to find info on connecting a 2k icecap gyre to the ghl profilux. its so much harder to find ghl info as opposed to apex. i have a red sea max e-170 that im converting to a custom sump and trying to figure out what i will need to connect the 2k gyre to profilux ;/ wish it wass listed on ghl website

 

[Kyl]

Gyres, icecaps specifically, will require the coralvue controller, or hydros wave engine, which can accept a 0-10v input to initiate modes like feed, turn off, etc. For the normal operation itself you would let the coralvue controller do the work. It's actually a nice way of doing things imo, since the profilux can drive events to the pumps, but leave the day to day operation to them instead of having to mess with stream groups, etc.

 

[Daniel76]

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[Brew12]

It's an rj-45 connector this is childs play. I dont know why when major players release a product GHL doesnt make an adapter cable. I'm working on doing it myseld so i dont have to buy multiple breakout boxes with the extra space at a premium.

I'm sure the reason that GHL doesn't use RJ45's for the 0-10V control is because they use it for the communication. You could cause damage if you crossed up the PAB cable with a digital input cable or 0-10V cable. Making them different sizes fixes this.
Apex gets around it by using USB cables for communication, but when I had my Apex I had issues with corrosion on the connections that the RJ45's seem less subject to.

Gyres, icecaps specifically, will require the coralvue controller, or hydros wave engine, which can accept a 0-10v input to initiate modes like feed, turn off, etc. For the normal operation itself you would let the coralvue controller do the work. It's actually a nice way of doing things imo, since the profilux can drive events to the pumps, but leave the day to day operation to them instead of having to mess with stream groups, etc.

I run my XF250's off my Profilux using the Icecap modules and breakout boxes. I didn't like any of the presets that came on the controller or any of the stream pump options in the Profilux. Instead, I use a custom program I made using 2 spare lighting channels.

 

[Michael Gray]

@AKAGuyver when u figure out how to cut the cor20 pump cable and hook it up to my p4. Let me know. I'd love to run it on my p4 but right now my cor20 is running stand alone. But that being said. I'll replace it with a varios 6 or 8 later on when it takes a poop.

 

[AKAGuyver]

I'm sure the reason that GHL doesn't use RJ45's for the 0-10V control is because they use it for the communication. You could cause damage if you crossed up the PAB cable with a digital input cable or 0-10V cable. Making them different sizes fixes this.
Apex gets around it by using USB cables for communication, but when I had my Apex I had issues with corrosion on the connections that the RJ45's seem less subject to.


I run my XF250's off my Profilux using the Icecap modules and breakout boxes. I didn't like any of the presets that came on the controller or any of the stream pump options in the Profilux. Instead, I use a custom program I made using 2 spare lighting channels.

so i am heavily looking and the hydros now. the integrated ecotech wifi controllability(which i wont immediately use) is $130 from ghl so that and the ability to control and power 4 pumps and cut down on controllers is a big plus, as well as controlling return pumps. actually ordered a 2k gyre with controller last and im trying to catch them before they send it out to cancel the 2k from the order. thinking about getting a maxspect 330 or icecap 4k. i like that the 330 i can change 1 impeller and have half go one way half go the other and easier to clean, but then im only using half a pump... Ive got a red sea max e-170 so i was thinking 1 gyre vertically in the middle of the back. any suggestions appreciated

 

[AKAGuyver]

Gyres, icecaps specifically, will require the coralvue controller, or hydros wave engine, which can accept a 0-10v input to initiate modes like feed, turn off, etc. For the normal operation itself you would let the coralvue controller do the work. It's actually a nice way of doing things imo, since the profilux can drive events to the pumps, but leave the day to day operation to them instead of having to mess with stream groups, etc.

are there any videos of the profilux connected to a coralvue controller? hydros maybe Id love to see that. 350 is alot to pay for a pump controller when the profilux controlls pumps but its got alot going for it and it if has more/better options then its worth it to me

 

[Brew12]

so i am heavily looking and the hydros now. the integrated ecotech wifi controllability(which i wont immediately use) is $130 from ghl so that and the ability to control and power 4 pumps and cut down on controllers is a big plus, as well as controlling return pumps. actually ordered a 2k gyre with controller last and im trying to catch them before they send it out to cancel the 2k from the order. thinking about getting a maxspect 330 or icecap 4k. i like that the 330 i can change 1 impeller and have half go one way half go the other and easier to clean, but then im only using half a pump... Ive got a red sea max e-170 so i was thinking 1 gyre vertically in the middle of the back. any suggestions appreciated

I know many more experienced reefers than I would disagree, but I think the random flow thing is just crap. Your coral doesn't care what flow is doing anywhere than at it's boundary layer. My tank took off once I started setting up 45 minute gyre flow to get maximum velocity at every coral.
I'm not saying gryes are the best for everyone because it is very aquascape specific but if you have a more open aquascape like mine, gyres are amazing if you let them actually set up the gyres and don't have them swapping every 30 seconds.

 

[AKAGuyver]

I know many more experienced reefers than I would disagree, but I think the random flow thing is just crap. Your coral doesn't care what flow is doing anywhere than at it's boundary layer. My tank took off once I started setting up 45 minute gyre flow to get maximum velocity at every coral.
I'm not saying gryes are the best for everyone because it is very aquascape specific but if you have a more open aquascape like mine, gyres are amazing if you let them actually set up the gyres and don't have them swapping every 30 seconds.

so you think sticking with the stock ghl flow control a better option? i havent used ghl or the hydros so i dont know :/ its either gyre with ghl and breakout box or hydros and it says it hooks up to the ghl buy it doesnt say if i need a breakout box, 2 breakout boxes if the hydros is running 4 pumps? any opinions on hydros vs ghl for pump control appreciated