Fed up with Apex

MnFish1

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Guys just avoid turning the thread in to a fighting thread. Once it turn this way, thread and the informstions in it loose its value.
Everyone entitled to their openion, see through the point of the posts;)

BTW - im more on your side than the Apex side - but face it - the title says it all lol:) its all about fighting. Its about fighting Apex.

I would suggest not changing it into an. unfactual emotional thread based on what you use
 

chefjpaul

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Sorry I thought GHL was going for the majority of the market - not a niche pocket in the US. Maybe I'm wrong.
I assume they are as well. Its a business. I would.

I am loyal to any company that builds a solid, reputable business model and product, but have no hesitation to drop anyone if those morals slip.

The car analogy is right in line with my thinking with anything, as I got tired of constant maintenance, multiple yearly oil changes, cheap parts, horrible customer service and road side assistance. Switched to a better car manufacturer and now saving more than money in the long run, saving my patience and time.

I have had all the major brands of current, past, and currently in the "re-work" companies of controllers. This GHL product currently is superior.

I am switching my RODI after a decade for a better product and customer service. Don't like to, but its beautiful about capitalism. I can.
 

road_runner

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thanks:)..... Im looking to switch so - perhaps we have something in common - but to pretend that there is a wave here in the US - is a fantasy
I never pretended such. As a matter of fact I was saying I do not believe in the volume game. I was saying to me it doesnot matter who sell more. That's why I was suprised and thought maybe you were talking to someone else.
Ofcourse there is no wave..ghl is big in Europe not yet here.
I do not care about how many ghl sell in usa...I really do not. I got what I like and more as I said...I guess I have good will power ha ha.;)
 

MnFish1

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I assume they are as well. Its a business. I would.

I am loyal to any company that builds a solid, reputable business model and product, but have no hesitation to drop anyone if those morals slip.

The car analogy is right in line with my thinking with anything, as I got tired of constant maintenance, multiple yearly oil changes, cheap parts, horrible customer service and road side assistance. Switched to a better car manufacturer and now saving more than money in the long run, saving my patience and time.

I have had all the major brands of current, past, and currently in the "re-work" companies of controllers. This GHL product currently is superior.

I am switching my RODI after a decade for a better product and customer service. Don't like to, but its beautiful about capitalism. I can.
This I agree with
 

road_runner

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BTW - im more on your side than the Apex side - but face it - the title says it all lol:) its all about fighting. Its about fighting Apex.

I would suggest not changing it into an. unfactual emotional thread based on what you use
Again I think you are mixing me with ghl.
I am a user, a customer, a reefer. When you say my side you must mean liking good products cause that's my side.
If you think my side is against Neptune then u mistaken. So..yeh, come be on my side but make sure you know what side it is ha ha.

Cheers man,
 

chefjpaul

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GHL has many products on BRS or?
Marine Depot picked them up.

All the on line companies are loyal to their own. Friendship and busines deals.... back door etc..

GHL does sell directly, (where I buy), don't know how long that model can last if they grow substantially.

Plus they build their own equipment. I did some digging lately on aquarium companies and their history and philosophy are quite impressive.
 

Raptor777

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Relax. It works great. Have it for my new WaterBox 230.6. Sure there are some complicated programs but I travel ALOT and it comes in so handy to see and handle almost everything I can think of. I also bought mine before I even had my tank. Customer service alway takes care of me and the forum while a little snobbish at times is very good to find answers to all the same questions will have. Good luck don’t let all these sour grapes stuff away you. Read and read and mark your own decision based on your own needs.
You relax we are all entitled to our own opinions based on experience so chill out
 

Raptor777

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Relax. It works great. Have it for my new WaterBox 230.6. Sure there are some complicated programs but I travel ALOT and it comes in so handy to see and handle almost everything I can think of. I also bought mine before I even had my tank. Customer service alway takes care of me and the forum while a little snobbish at times is very good to find answers to all the same questions will have. Good luck don’t let all these sour grapes stuff away you. Read and read and mark your own decision based on your own needs.
You relax People are entitled to their own opinions and based off my personal and some of my friends experiences i don't recommend the Apex. So chill and let people state their opinions without jumping on them Thanks!
 

AZMSGT

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deleted, my comment was not really a part of this post and not needed... Shame on me
 
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ca1ore

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My main issue with GHL (I have a pair of their standalone dosers) has been support - which is mostly why I went with the apex originally. Limited experience granted, but GHL build quality seems excellent - typically German LOL. I tend to think of it as six to one, half dozen to the other. If you are sensible and prudent in how you employ a controller, either will suffice.
 
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ShawnSaucier

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Just gonna step in. Of course this post was originally an “emotional “ post in stating about having to deal with a situation that I was very frustrated with. In dealing publicly with a frustration of course it will trigger others to voice theirs’ also. But there is no right or wrong on which system you are using. As long as the system is working for you, that’s great!!

I had made my purchase of the New Apex system having come from the Classic and had hoped for vast improvements. Yes the hardware was a disaster for me, but for the most part the issue I was most aggravated with was the Customer Service. Unfortunately it took this post and 13 pages of discussion for a rep to reach out and try to make amends. Throughout the time this post has been up, there have been so many people that have responded having the same issues. And these issues causing people to find a different solution. Which is what I was looking for, a solution to my problem.

This post was not meant to bash a company. Apex is a great company and have made so many people happy with their purchase. And I assume the same can be said for GHL.

I don’t know which system is better, only that a working system is better than what I have. Ascetics speaking, from what I have seen the GHL is a sexy looking system. It gives the eyes a feeling of being robust and very professional looking. Color options for the units and Things like a color touch screen also add to the flare. Other bits of hardware that can be used as stand alone or part of a full system seems a bit smart also. Doesn’t mean that it may not have its own issues. One for me is that it is PC based and not IOS compatible.

AsI’ve stated several times, I’ve seen many people leave Apex to go to GHL, but not one post that I can remember has stated switch from GHL to Apex. So obviously there has to be something good there for people to stay.

As this post has progressed what I am finding more important is that there are other companies out there that provide a similar product, but we don’t know as much about. Conspiracy theories or not, I think it would be a benefit to the major retailers/sponsors to review more than one option of controller. This doesn’t only help us as customers, but the competition helps your rival companies as well. How else are you to improve your product if you do not have a comparison? And this would benefit us all.
 

Jeremy Chatham

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Personally Im running APEX Hardware. Basically everything you can get from them and duplicates.
Sometimes I have connection issues, but other than that and some delay of sensors, it seems to be a pretty good controller.
I might be biased since I have over $3000 in controllers alone and they are all APEX.

I am however building a custom monitoring system using Arduino, PHP, Google Sheets and other hardware.
It is much cheaper to get Arduino based probes and devices, In example... a dissolved oxygen probe on Arduino is only around $150 whereas an APEX version is like $700 - $1000.
There are Arduino based hardware for everything apex has plus more... so That why I am building my own controllers now.

If you are interested in building your own custom controller with Arduino, raspberry pi, or beaglebone, just message me. I would be more than happy to tell you how to get started.
 
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User1

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I am however building a custom monitoring system using Arduino, PHP, Google Sheets and other hardware.

There is a reason why the reef angel controller, Arduino based, is successful. While I used one successfully for over 7 years I switched back to Apex. However, there are many things that code base offers that no other controller on the market does today be it Apex or GHL that I miss. Geo location, tides, and weather functions to name a few. Yes I can, and do, use a virtual outlet in Apex to simulate high/low tides but it pales in comparison to what I was able to do with the Arduino and custom libraries others created.

And that is actually why open source is sometimes better because of these features compared to a closed system from GHL or Neptune. They do allow some custom and/or advanced programming but only using their libraries. That is what I miss the most. Other than that though my Neptune products have always been rock solid be it home or away on travel.
 

dealseer

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Shawn, I also wasted lots of money on Apex before I wised up and moved to Profilux.
 

USMCHerkNav

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I'd wager if you are having trouble with the Apex then you will have trouble with GHL or any other controller be it DIY Pi based or say Reef Angel. I'd go so far as to say if you have a sizeable investment with either product then before switching I'd do everything in my power to understand what the problems are, what I tried to do to mitigate, what those results are, and if I am able to overcome it.

On the other had if you are fed up and have money to burn then by all means find the next solution that you believe will work and be done with it.
Solid advice and nice profile pic ;)
 

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