I decided to make the switch from Apex in 2019 when my 800G matured and got the P4 megaset. I needed to be out of town for a month so wanted the extra security and choosing to believe all the wonderful things written about reliability and stability.
Straight out the box this thing was frustrating but I decided to put my opinions aside and learn the ins & outs. Not lying when I say I tried to calibrate my probes every weekend for over a month. 5,6 times each weekend to no avail. The only probe that worked accurately was the temperature probe.
The outlet on the powerbar had melted that controls my Tunze ATO (after only a couple months) and this morning I woke up to the smell of burning plastic again, losing a second socket running one of the heaters. The unit's setup in a humidity controlled fish room, far away from the sump so moisture wasn't at fault here.
The Wifi loses connectivity on a monthly basis (located 8 foot from the router) and there's no input for a ethernet cable meaning you have to manually reset the device each time.
The notifications just don't work. I've lost days setting it up... and a week later they stop working, When they do work it takes 15minutes to come through.
The web / device interface is really slow to log in every time compared to the apex that just magically opens up and lets you turn channels on or off. Imagine being able to do that on a P4? You don't have individual control over channels long term either. Can't just "turn off the lights". When you log out, the lights turn back on. Clearly designed by engineers for engineers and lacks an intuitive interface. I can't imagine the developers at GHL had ever lived with a reef tank long term.
Unfortunately I just cannot stay quiet about this controller any longer. In my opinion it is way inferior to the apex in the ways that matter most. Reliability is quite frankly appalling. I'm ordering a new apex today and putting this chapter behind me. Maybe I just had a defective controller... and powerbar... and probes... but then again if that's the case, case & point.
I've been using both generations of apex controllers and the GHL for many many years but just can't stand reading good reviews on the P4 anymore.
Straight out the box this thing was frustrating but I decided to put my opinions aside and learn the ins & outs. Not lying when I say I tried to calibrate my probes every weekend for over a month. 5,6 times each weekend to no avail. The only probe that worked accurately was the temperature probe.
The outlet on the powerbar had melted that controls my Tunze ATO (after only a couple months) and this morning I woke up to the smell of burning plastic again, losing a second socket running one of the heaters. The unit's setup in a humidity controlled fish room, far away from the sump so moisture wasn't at fault here.
The Wifi loses connectivity on a monthly basis (located 8 foot from the router) and there's no input for a ethernet cable meaning you have to manually reset the device each time.
The notifications just don't work. I've lost days setting it up... and a week later they stop working, When they do work it takes 15minutes to come through.
The web / device interface is really slow to log in every time compared to the apex that just magically opens up and lets you turn channels on or off. Imagine being able to do that on a P4? You don't have individual control over channels long term either. Can't just "turn off the lights". When you log out, the lights turn back on. Clearly designed by engineers for engineers and lacks an intuitive interface. I can't imagine the developers at GHL had ever lived with a reef tank long term.
Unfortunately I just cannot stay quiet about this controller any longer. In my opinion it is way inferior to the apex in the ways that matter most. Reliability is quite frankly appalling. I'm ordering a new apex today and putting this chapter behind me. Maybe I just had a defective controller... and powerbar... and probes... but then again if that's the case, case & point.
I've been using both generations of apex controllers and the GHL for many many years but just can't stand reading good reviews on the P4 anymore.
