Who has fully embraced the Ecotech ecosystem?

[ktownhero]

I'm just curious about people out there that just decided to go with everything Ecotech has to offer. Radion, Vortech, Reeflink, Battery Backup and possibly even a Vectra. How do you like it? Are you happy letting those products function via Ecosmart or do you feel the need to use a third party controller?

I'm just curious because I'm working on a 120 build and part of me thinks it would be nice to just go all-in and enjoy the ease of use and synergy of their products... It's a huge investment, but it's quite attractive.

 

[d2mini]

I'm just curious about people out there that just decided to go with everything Ecotech has to offer. Radion, Vortech, Reeflink, Battery Backup and possibly even a Vectra. How do you like it? Are you happy letting those products function via Ecosmart or do you feel the need to use a third party controller?

I'm just curious because I'm working on a 120 build and part of me thinks it would be nice to just go all-in and enjoy the ease of use and synergy of their products... It's a huge investment, but it's quite attractive.

I currently have all that you mentioned.
I'm using their coral glue, too.

Reef link I use because I have to. I'm not a fan of the whole cloud programming thing but it is what it is. I find myself having to do a power reset on it quite frequently because the phone app says it can't connect. Other than that, no issues. At my office I can't use reef link at all due to firewall issues so no radions or vectra there. Just a vortech.

No third party controller.

 

[ktownhero]

I currently have all that you mentioned.
I'm using their coral glue, too.

Reef link I use because I have to. I'm not a fan of the whole cloud programming thing but it is what it is. I find myself having to do a power reset on it quite frequently because the phone app says it can't connect. Other than that, no issues. At my office I can't use reef link at all due to firewall issues so no radions or vectra there. Just a vortech.

No third party controller.

And do you feel it is worth it? Over, say, implementing high quality parts instead like a Reefbreeder Photon and Ehiem return pump? Just that alone, leaving the Vortechs, is nearly a grand in savings up front. And I'm not asking because I need to save money, I am just curious about value.

As for Ecosmart Live. Programming over the cloud is one thing, but does the control also go through the cloud? In other words, if I request my lights to go off does the signal get sent locally or does it first go to Ecotech servers and then back down to my system?

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[d2mini]

And do you feel it is worth it? Over, say, implementing high quality parts instead like a Reefbreeder Photon and Ehiem return pump? Just that alone, leaving the Vortechs, is nearly a grand in savings up front. And I'm not asking because I need to save money, I am just curious about value.

As for Ecosmart Live. Programming over the cloud is one thing, but does the control also go through the cloud? In other words, if I request my lights to go off does the signal get sent locally or does it first go to Ecotech servers and then back down to my system?

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Eheim's are nice.
But I like the power of the Vectra L1, being able to control the power is great, and it's dead silent. When I turned it on the first time, I wouldn't have known it was even on if water wasn't coming out of my return in the display.
The new Vortech QD's are just as silent.

I'm not familiar with cheaper LEDs so can't comment there.

Pretty sure you can't do anything with the ESL app if their server is down.
When you open the app it logs you into your account. But this almost never happens. Once programmed, the vectra and vortechs I pretty much never need to mess with. And you still have some control via their physical controllers. The lights I'll mess with more often, like changing the spectrum to take pics, in which case the reef link needs to be connected to your wifi, and that's where I sometimes have a slight hiccup. You can use the buttons on the lights but that's a pain. The app is so much nicer/easy to use. If your reef link is having issues, you can still log into ESL through your browser and make changes to your lighting schedule or whatever but you won't be able to program your equipment until reef link makes a connection with the equipment.

 

[ca1ore]

Not the whole way, but I do run vortech, Vectra, reeflink and the battery backup (though less enamored of the latter as I've had a series of issues with it). I use reeflink only with the Vectra; apex with the vortechs.

 

[ktownhero]

Eheim's are nice.
But I like the power of the Vectra L1, being able to control the power is great, and it's dead silent. When I turned it on the first time, I wouldn't have known it was even on if water wasn't coming out of my return in the display.
The new Vortech QD's are just as silent.

I'm not familiar with cheaper LEDs so can't comment there.

Pretty sure you can't do anything with the ESL app if their server is down.
When you open the app it logs you into your account. But this almost never happens. Once programmed, the vectra and vortechs I pretty much never need to mess with. And you still have some control via their physical controllers. The lights I'll mess with more often, like changing the spectrum to take pics, in which case the reef link needs to be connected to your wifi, and that's where I sometimes have a slight hiccup. You can use the buttons on the lights but that's a pain. The app is so much nicer/easy to use. If your reef link is having issues, you can still log into ESL through your browser and make changes to your lighting schedule or whatever but you won't be able to program your equipment until reef link makes a connection with the equipment.

Being forced through the cloud is never ideal IMO, but at least that's only for programming after which everything runs locally. Thanks for the info.

I'm an advocate of the "pay once now or end up paying twice later" philosophy when it comes to investing in gear. It just doesn't seem like there is any feasible alternative to the synergy of these products.

 

[ktownhero]

Not the whole way, but I do run vortech, Vectra, reeflink and the battery backup (though less enamored of the latter as I've had a series of issues with it). I use reeflink only with the Vectra; apex with the vortechs.

How is your experience with it? Likes/dislikes, do you feel the premium was worth it?

 

[ca1ore]

How is your experience with it? Likes/dislikes, do you feel the premium was worth it?

What 'it' do you mean? I have been very happy with the vortech pumps, well worth the premium in my view. Vectra is also a very good performer, and not really with a premium. Reeflink was required, under duress, because Vectra is not apex compatible. I like the idea of the BB, but my unit has proven to be quite unreliable (though it's a sample size of just one).

 

[Squidmotron]

I have Vorteches and the Radions, but I use them all through the Apex controller.

I love them both. Before this, I used cheaper stuff and it broke a lot or had issues.

 

[fcmatt]

If the newest vortech pumps are anything like the original MP40 or slightly newer MP10w... they will eventually get louder and louder and you will wonder why you paid so much. Just my humble opinion. I am 99% sure I won't be buying more of them and selling what I have left some day soon.

The whole point of the quiet drive model is BECAUSE they have to admit the darn things are loud compared to other parts of the tank. They had to do something. Now I wonder if you will get two years out of them before those become louder.

 

[Squidmotron]

I've had mine for a few years, and I hadn't noticed. I think it's my pump's subtler rumble that's the most annoying thing. I may try the newer quiet versions at some point.

 

[d2mini]

I've never had a problem with my 40's or 10's.
Have run them for years.

 

[ca1ore]

Me neither. Clean the wetside regularly, and they stay at whatever noise level they started at.

 

[ktownhero]

The whole point of the quiet drive model is BECAUSE they have to admit the darn things are loud compared to other parts of the tank. They had to do something. Now I wonder if you will get two years out of them before those become louder.

Well that's an awfully jaded and skewed perspective. They fixed the ONE THING that anyone complained about and you are now holding the fix against them? haha. Sometimes people/businesses just can't win...

Honestly though, this wasn't a question about the quality of their products. I'm not interested in that debate, we all know where they stand there. I am more interested in finding out who has sort of gone "all in" with them now that they have powerheads + lights + pumps that all work together, and how they like it as an ecosystem versus using less expensive products with a third party controller.

And if my question seems odd, it's because I dropped off of these forums about 2 years ago and am just catching up with the tech changes. So bear with me a bit.

 

[ktownhero]

What 'it' do you mean? I have been very happy with the vortech pumps, well worth the premium in my view. Vectra is also a very good performer, and not really with a premium. Reeflink was required, under duress, because Vectra is not apex compatible. I like the idea of the BB, but my unit has proven to be quite unreliable (though it's a sample size of just one).

By "it", I mean the ecosystem as a whole. The "whole package" of having Vortech + Radion + Vectra + Reeflink working together via Ecosmart Live.

 

[fcmatt]

Well that's a crappy attitude to have. They fixed the ONE THING that anyone complained about, and you are now holding the fix against them? haha.

Honestly though, this wasn't a question about the quality of their products. I was more interested in finding out who has sort of gone "all in" with them now that they have powerheads + lights + pumps that all work together, and how they like it as an ecosystem versus using less expensive products with a third party controller.

It took them about ?6-7? years to fix the issue with a QD model. As an original MP40 user who got about 1-2 years out of it before it sounded like a grinder.. sorta leaves a bad taste. But alas I bought more MP10ws and one of those is loud now.

My experience with the pumps (as well as many many others) has been poor. They just do not represent good value over the long term. Thus I would never consider their whole ecosystem which I should have been more clear on.

But yes you are right. I derailed things. I recently pulled out 2 leftover mp10ws I have not used in a long while and was reminded how I dislike them. Probably why I have a bug up my ***. Sorry about that.

 

[ca1ore]

I am more interested in finding out who has sort of gone "all in" with them now that they have powerheads + lights + pumps that all work together, and how they like it as an ecosystem versus using less expensive products with a third party controller.

IMO, the reason to pay a 'premium' for ecotech has nothing to do with whether they work as a system or not - it's about the performance of the individual components. For example, I happen to think that the vortech pumps are the best thing on the market, so I pay for that. Whether I link them via reeflink or via apex makes no real difference.

 

[ktownhero]

It took them about ?6-7? years to fix the issue with a QD model. As an original MP40 user who got about 1-2 years out of it before it sounded like a grinder.. sorta leaves a bad taste. But alas I bought more MP10ws and one of those is loud now.

My experience with the pumps (as well as many many others) has been poor. They just do not represent good value over the long term. Thus I would never consider their whole ecosystem which I should have been more clear on.

But yes you are right. I derailed things. I recently pulled out 2 leftover mp10ws I have not used in a long while and was reminded how I dislike them. Probably why I have a bug up my ***. Sorry about that.

Customer: My car runs great, but the exhaust is pesky and noisy

Manufacturer: Hmmm, it's tough to get that kind of power without that exhaust noise... No other competitor offers this technology so we're pioneering, please bear with us.

Manufacturer: It took us a few years, but our engineers came up with a solution! Not only did they eliminate that noise, but the car now gets 40% better gas mileage and power!!!

Customer: Psh, my old car still makes noise and I bet that new one will break one day anyway.

You're a unicorn my friend!

IMO, the reason to pay a 'premium' for ecotech has nothing to do with whether they work as a system or not - it's about the performance of the individual components. For example, I happen to think that the vortech pumps are the best thing on the market, so I pay for that. Whether I link them via reeflink or via apex makes no real difference.

This is a good perspective, thanks for sharing. I haven't owned any of them yet, but have been eyeing them for years just waiting to have a good spot for a tank. Based on my research, I agree that each of the products are probably worth it for their core functionality alone.

 

[naterealbig]

I have the Ecotech "ecosystem", minus the battery backup. On my 65 gal,i have a Radion, 2xmp40s, the Vectra L1, and ReefLink. I have had only minor problems with the ReefLink. I purchased the ReefLink however, in the hopes that Ecotech would develop a full controller system. I also use the Apex.

Pros: you don't have to be an IT genius to connect the ReefLink to the internet wirelessly. You can control your Vectra (you can't with the Apex). All of your Ecotech equipment is easily syncable, easily programmable, easily controlled, firmware is easily upgradable, and it's cheap.

Cons: you can't control any ancillary equipment with it, such as a calcium reactor, or an auto top off. Particularly annoying to me, is not being able to turn off my skimmer automatically when i go into feed mode (like i could when everything was connected to my apex).

I think Ecotech has some amazing things coming, so i went all in, and definitely want disappointed.

 

[ReefCowboy]

Ecotech is awesome, simply awesome. They came into this hobby with revolutionary technology and really also changed the way hobbyists perceive equipment.

Someone whos used to running vortech pumps hardly will be impressed by much else out there today. And these pumps have come out quite a few years ago...

I was testing the Vectra pump the other day and while observing it closely was really impressed how they managed to build such a quality and crafted unit.