GHL Ion Director Review - Part 1

[@reconnaissance7372]

The evolution of reef-tech is so awesome, I'm sure so many people are super excited for this piece of kit.

[@ParkersReef]

Reef tech is accelerating quickly, but we need to ensure the support for it keeps up

[@mc_hammer_reefing1087]

Enjoyed the honest review Sam. Can't say i'm inspired to get a device this complicated to set up, no matter how much convenience it provides...

[@ParkersReef]

I'm afraid I agree at the current point in time... Hopefully it can improve in months to come?

[@flyinbryan7151]

Connecting the GHL to the internet I think is like giving birth. Endless pain and suffering, a final push, and suddenly - there they are. And then you forget all the suffering you went through and you become a big time GHL fan boy!! Whatever you do not change routers - ever! Also - I am glad someone is FINALLY doing an actual soup to nuts review of this.

[@ParkersReef]

Hahahaha and they say men cannot give birth 😅😂

[@patrickxxaloyoxx5314]

Love you're vidoes mate and I love how you always make time for your fans and get back to us I don't know how you donit but you do keep up the good work❤️

[@ParkersReef]

Appreciate that, thanks for watching and following my journey!

[@quokkaYT]

Wooooffff I did not expect the set up and results to be so convoluted!

[@ParkersReef]

Way too complicated…

[@Fish_Ventura]

Love the long videos bro, always.

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks for taking the time to watch it and comment :)

[@pauldunienville3928]

Hi Sam thanks for the review. I purchased a profilux 4 and a kh director late last year and they are still in my spare room. It was a job I was going to do over the Xmas break but I have been having second thoughts about installing it. After watching your video I have decided that I will put them on the market. I think I will end up getting a kh keeper instead. My goal in reefing was to keep it as simple as I can. Cheers Paul

[@ParkersReef]

Ah sorry to hear mate. Might be worth a try first then sell. The hardware is high quality but the connecting dramas were a nightmare

[@joshmuldoon9622]

Great honest review. Thank you!

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you :)

[@kurtdonohoe2802]

Great review! I honestly hate tinkering for ages on something to get it to work. Seems like everyone across the board are not happy with the difficulty. Still interested with the overall result though. I was excited for this product.

[@ParkersReef]

Hopefully they can improve the setup procedure in the near future. Stay tuned for part two in another week and a bit :)

[@Loci333]

Thank you for the review, if you have the same issue with other WiFi devices in the future give your router a reboot as sometimes when things fail to connnect they can block them from re attempting for security. Might explain why your Lan cable didn't work with it and it mystery started working after a couple of days. Interesting bit of kit look forward to part two :) p.s. your tanks looking amazing 👌

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks mate! Yeah the router was restarted a BUNCH of times during this setup. But you’re right, it is a good starting point when troubleshooting

[@ghost61]

thanks for an awesome video sam. I was on the fence about buying one of them. not anymore

[@ParkersReef]

Is just my views on the device, I have heard others are enjoying it.... Stay tuned for part 2 though :P

[@jackpeer]

@Parkers Reef - Now a year later, can you please make another video on the GHL ION Director?

[@ParkersReef]

I cannot. The device still does not work

[@jonathanstephens7804]

Thank you for the genuine review which is so important nowadays with the cost of these things. I'm surprised how awkward the wifi set up was. I run a profilux 4 and the set up for that was average compared to many. On the P4 they ditched the LAN connection which is a massive downer. I ran the Profilux 3 years ago and that included the LAN. Good to see the LAN on the dosers but why not the Profilux, very odd. Really interested to see how accurate this thing is. Its been delayed for a very long time so you'd think it should be accurate. I've yet to like an auto tester. I've had the reefbot and found it junk, had the mastertronic and found it unreliable and just not accurate compared to icps. Fingers crossed the ion director is accurate and what's great is I know you will tell us! cheers

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah odd that the p4 dropped Ethernet… no idea why?! Stay tuned for the results video in a couple weeks!

[@MrAurel737]

Another great video Sam Quick question: Where did you get your Vortech MP guard ? You mentioned it once but I can’t remember Thanks

[@ParkersReef]

thanks mate! I had a friend of mine 3D print them for me. We sell them at DeerPark aquarium if you are chasing any :)

[@ParkersReef]

let me know how you go finding them!

[@Reefahholic]

Mate, you aren’t the only one. GHL makes me pull my hair out. Now, I always put in a ticket and get Vinny or Josh Kraft (in our group who works with Vinny now) to come in remotely on Teamviewer. Yesterday, Josh went in remotely to setup Nick Rewis’s new GHL 2.1 SA Doser, and even he couldn’t get it online. Plus….Vinny is out of town till the 11/14. Talk about annoying! However, in GHL‘s defense every time I have had a piece of their equipment online I have very little problems with it. The equipment itself is solid, but the set up….dear gosh! 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@ParkersReef]

yeah it can be a challenge setting up for sure. Unfortunately in 2022, it shouldn't be that difficult :(

[@antoniofaustino2548]

Mate !!! Things you do to for us , I would give up in the first minute, manual testing is a pain but I think I will stick with it for a while longer 😅 but I will be interested to know if results of testing was worth the troubles you when through to set it up ,thanks for the video Sam .

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks mate, manual testing ain’t this bad!!

[@pool24boy]

Man I love this. I'd also love to see a 3 month review on how it worked, maintenence, reliability, problems, etc..... seriously, thank you so much for this. I'm in the market for an auto tester and doser so if this works I'd be happy to order from an affiliate link...just sayin.... 😁

[@ParkersReef]

Haha I’m always uncomfortable with affiliate links as it then gives a sense of persuasion to buy the device… But rest assured, tests are underway and I will give a follow up in two weeks :)

[@Puciferthegreat]

Was gonna order it, noticed the lack of phosphate testing so then it was kinda pointless as i have to do the testing anyways. Did hear that they will update that in the future and the in development Reef factory tester is supposed to have it as well

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah it’s missing phosphate which is a shame

[@stuartgreen7203]

Bloody hell, that looked a right faff to get setup. I have plenty of patience, but that would have had me crying in the corner 😂 Some bad decisions by GHL, no local storage? I have a cheap humidity sensor that stores 30 days of readings. So considering the cost of this, that’s a really bad design, especially when being sold as a standalone system! Also that probe design and location needs questioning. Why insert the probe on the side and then plug it in the back? Cable was heavy duty and too short, I can see that being a failure point. I bet a replacement probe isn’t going to be cheap. Thanks for the honest reviews, I see so many that people seem afraid to say anything negative. Long may they continue.

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks mate, it can be very unpopular to post constructive reviews, but it is a key factor of my channel to say it how it is

[@simmo56able]

I could see the frustration coming through but you were very controlled and balanced. Looking forward to part 2. If the probe needs to be replaced every 6-12 months, what are they and the reference fluid worth?

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah absolutely good questions, will cover in part 2 👍🏻

[@bryanxx9119]

Looking forward part 2. GHL connect app is a pain on another level. Very very slow with “Establishing connection”, “please wait”, “applying change” then fail.

[@ParkersReef]

yeah have to admit, the app is a fair fail.... Has potential though as it is relatively well laid out

[@Omsk-Sea]

Да всё оборудование от GHL очень сильно заморочено😵, за обзор 👍

[@ParkersReef]

Да, я думаю, им нужно пересмотреть этот процесс. Я довольно технически подкованный человек, и у меня было много проблем с его настройкой.

[@HugDeeznueces]

I am just now joining the GHL fan club. I hope I don't have these issues as you did.

[@ParkersReef]

Good luck….. :)

[@piranhascot]

I'm holding out for your next review, should this work as per the instructions bye bye all other testers - cant argue this is the way to go,,, was also holding out for the new neptune Trident but should this work al jump

[@ParkersReef]

should..... Part 2 coming very very soon :)

[@mwilk19]

You said you borrowed it from a friend. Did he have the same issues connecting to the internet? I’ve had the Profilux 4 and the KH Director for three years and didn’t experience the same difficulty connecting everything.

[@SB-ju4yf]

I Haare Profilux and KHD, same connectivity issues. Threw KHD out, total crap, see my other comment

[@ParkersReef]

Is brand new, my friend had not set it up yet.

[@OCReventsAndbuilds]

Yeah they have the cleanest built setup I’m not a fan because no one sells GHL local but love how they stack

[@ParkersReef]

The stack is pretty slick 👌🏻

[@freakygoblin3068]

In my opinion the hardware for GHL is great. I wonder how many of them actually run home reef tanks though as they are not good for users. Are they aiming more for enterprise solutions such as coral farms, public aquariums etc? Was the standalone ION director an afterthought with the design assumed to connect to the profilux 4? Part of me wishes GHL would release an Application Programming Interface (API) for their hardware so people could write their own apps for control. One thing I haven't looked at recently is if they have sorted out alerts and sending alerts as text messages to your phone. That to me would be something important.

[@ParkersReef]

Yep I hear ya!

[@PazLeBon]

as we say locally, "fook that for a game of soldiers"

[@ParkersReef]

Hahahaha well said too

[@ReefingwithO]

I tried a doser and profilux 5 plus years ago and had the same issues - terrible to see that nothing has improved in that time. You need a PC and that Windows 95 piece of looking software GCC to use any GHL hardware

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah I had to pickup a windows laptop just to try and get it to connect… fun times 😅

[@ReefingwithO]

@@ParkersReef I’ve been a Mac user for over 15 years and the only copy of Windows I bought in that time was to setup my GHL doser and Profilux. I had already spent so much money that an extra $129 didn’t seem like much.

[@SuperRell83]

What happened to this I can’t find it anywhere for sale

[@ParkersReef]

I can sell you one if you're interested???

[@jestronixhanderson9898]

Almost bought one, theres talk of P04 , if that happens its next level

[@ParkersReef]

Next level, if it works accurately…

[@GETBNT1]

Let’s hope they make some improvements., keen to see how it goes over a long period of time. Do they have a rough idea on life span of the probe? Also you still doing a follow up on KH keeper plus?

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah hopefully taking feedback on board. They suggest the probe is good for 6-12 months, time will tell. Yep will follow up with the KH keeper soon :)

[@eillyacostandinides3344]

Honestly for something that is "smart" it does seem complicated. I really don't understand why they say the director above pumps which might cause the tube to block due to twisting

[@ParkersReef]

So confusing….

[@trouttrouty1780]

Hey Sam is your filter roller ok it's bunched up?

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah it’s fine :)

[@ReefDork]

Good at making hardware... Baaaaad at making software!

[@ParkersReef]

oh man that software experience..... Wow...

[@JakeDogg-RIP]

I excited!! 😁🐶

[@ParkersReef]

not long now mate :D

[@adambahe9309]

Was it making a dhcp request? What did the dhcpd logs say? Time to bust out tcpdump!

[@ParkersReef]

Shouldn’t need to interrogate the network. I did try dhcp and static, neither were good. Ironically, if you do go for a dhcp ip, you need to go to the router to find its allocated ip later as that is how you actually connect to the unit… 😅

[@adambahe9309]

@@ParkersReef Yeah. But if you tail the dhcpd logs itll at least tell you if it has a working layer 2 or not. Even if it fails to grab an IP, that means the mac addresses and ARP table are working correctly. Given that both wireless and wired had such massive issues I would lean towards a hardware failure. Either way, this is terrible QA on their part. It should not be this difficult nor confusing to get set up. They should hire some real software developers and set something up like Ecotech's software. On a slightly related topic, I dissected my dead Apex controller the other day. I am thinking about doing a video showing just how poorly constructed and how many bad decisions Neptune made in designing their controller. They literally welded the CMOS battery into the device. You can't replace it. Once that battery dies your Apex also dies. The whole unit runs off of an SD card. The SD card is....also welded in. How many times have you had an SD card go bad? Yeah, the Apex is NOT designed to last more than 4ish years.

[@Reefkpr1]

I'll stick to manual testing. It's not that hard and keeps me in the ballpark. Seems like it would be a nice tool to have but still seems buggy, or maybe you got a unit that was built at quitting time on Friday. lol I have the GHL 2.1 Doser and it has been great over the years. Would like to see better software. 💯

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah I suspect I just got unlucky…

[@one-armed-reefer5184]

can't wait for part 2 now tbh lol

[@ParkersReef]

Perhaps next weekend, but more likely the weekend after ;)

[@one-armed-reefer5184]

@@ParkersReef will wait till then before I order one 😂🤣😂

[@SB-ju4yf]

Hi Parker I m really angry with GHL and don’t recommend them any more. My KH Director needed to be sent in for repair 3 times within 8 months! GHL was unable to at least provide a replacement unit during these month long absences. Technically the IOND works similarly to the KHD, by sucking in water from tank and some calibration fluids. If any of the dosing pumps goes crazy or if the device itself leaks (my case), you can forget about the results. I almost killed my tank by believing the KH results!

[@ParkersReef]

oh wow that is no good at all, the unit should never leak water!

[@SB-ju4yf]

@@ParkersReef now, as i saw the video, i must say, you did a great job. I was always annoyed about that crappy software, but ignored these problems. GHL is living behind the moon…

[@reefpassion6364]

Pake the connecivity poblem could be due to the fact of the ghl products don´t wok with 5G

[@ParkersReef]

Yes I know, was connecting to a dedicated 2.4ghz network with its own SSID that I use for all my home automation equipment:)

[@ArrickthaRed]

Yeah I got a GHL dose a few years back when I tried out Triton. Like you SD the quality of the hardware is top notch. The software is junk to be honest. Setup and calibration is extremely frustrating. Not user friendly at all. Once you get it there it is good but getting it there and keeping it there is the problem. Whenever I refilled reagents it was a pain to get it to recognize the containers were full and to calibrate. I would bang my head on the wall and then out of the blue it would just work. I had to take it off line after a year and a half. This hobby is hard enough without this type of headache.

[@ParkersReef]

Hmmm ok, seems to be a consistent trend….

[@petesreef1891]

Sounds like poo Sam lots of work to setup. Will look forward though to the next one to see if it runs well 👍

[@ParkersReef]

Will keep you updated!

[@bigbearmeetslittlebear3401]

I had the same experience with connecting to the internet... mindblowingly numbing... Same issues with history... no charts without myghl...

[@ParkersReef]

Ouch, so I’m not alone 😅

[@ParkersReef]

I can say that once myGhl is setup, it seems to work ok. Well, by ok I mean as long as you don't connect via their cloud and use an external IP address you setup yourself :P

[@JakeDogg-RIP]

U a good boy SamSam! Thanks for do another good interesting video! 🥰🐶 I like ones with more fishes and corals more, but these is good for educations! 🥰🐶

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks mate

[@sunnygoold9449]

I had the same experience with my KHD - after hours of not connecting it sudden just had - argggh I hate this thing

[@ParkersReef]

Soooooo frustrating

[@sunnygoold9449]

@@ParkersReef Yeah they REALLY need to fix the software and make it so it just connects via WiFi. I want what the IOND does but simply could not go through all this again. The KHD is the by far the piece of equipment I regret buying the most. I'm waiting to see if ReefFactory brings out this. Xepta had this - same parameters and no reagent. Shame they couldnt gain traction / had supply chain issues

[@RockoP89]

Wow I’m glad I went with my apex lol 😂

[@ParkersReef]

In fairness, there are people who struggle and those who do not with either brand. Seems I was unlucky 😅

[@CherryHaze86]

Dude... the setup looks like a nightmare. Hope it is worth it for anyone that has the budget and desire to buy it.

[@ParkersReef]

Lot of work, not the most impressive results so far…. But we’ll see how it goes!

[@paulmeneely]

OMG You are a very patient man Sam. “Stück Scheiße” 😂

[@ParkersReef]

Haha far from it after this…

[@henryorcustus3412]

By the look of the thumbnail I hope Reef Factory values your feedback and come up with something better!

[@ParkersReef]

Fingers crossed

[@SuzanneWolfe-zc9bt]

Garcia Eric Clark Kevin Lee Melissa

[@ParkersReef]

you're welcome to send the link if you like? I don't believe GHL have made any progress with the Ion Director since the time of filming

[@eillyacostandinides3344]

I wrote my comment before heqring the story about connecting to wifi..damn you have some patience. If it was me i would have retained it to supplier . Imagine paying 1500usd for somthing that doesn't work. In part 2 i want to see u putting it back in box and return it. What a wastee

[@ParkersReef]

Hehehe was certainly more of a challenge than I was expecting!!

[@aquaristicenthusiast1218]

The problem is probably not your connectivity, it is the ghl server that isn't responding... I heard a lot of that here in Germany from a lot of reefers. To be honest, especially the ion director in Germany is kind of a running gag, years of releasegags and nothing happenends, the probes needed to switch a lot of times. I know a lot of reefers that going away from ghl because of the shitty service for normal customers, without yt community ;) bad pump heads, etz etz so be aware. Have a good one, greetz from germany.

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks for the comment, good to know I am not the only person who thinks this product is a bit under done :)

[@jules2545]

Gosh, how tedious, GHL kit always looks so well made.

[@ParkersReef]

Beautiful hardware…. Software actually is decent, but the connectivity is terrible

[@marcinm2871]

had neptune, was easy as hell and i hate pc set up.

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah the Neptune setup isn’t too bad. I think reef factory is leading the user interface race though

[@barbarablomfield2125]

Thomas Matthew Allen Charles Jackson Eric

[@ParkersReef]

Jeffery john joseph

[@JimRiley-d1r]

Walker Joseph Allen Scott Anderson Shirley

[@ParkersReef]

you're welcome to send the link if you like? I don't believe GHL have made any progress with the Ion Director since the time of filming

[@lombeard]

GHL products are great but their app is extremely frustrating.

[@ParkersReef]

certainly does seem that way...

[@Sammy31Dee]

I've heard so much bad about GHL I pretend like they don't exist....buy an apex folks....never been happier with my reef automation

[@ParkersReef]

as an outsider to tank controllers, I have to say I've heard equally as much bad about apex... But I'll only speak to my experiences with either :P

[@dirtydogsanddiesel]

@@ParkersReef Im a bit of a tech numbskull Sam, but even i managed too setup my apex, trident and dosers, ddr and have it calibrated in a few hours. I wish though Neptune were made with the quality of Ghl but again the forums have plenty of poor reliability reviews.🤷

[@Sammy31Dee]

@@dirtydogsanddiesel yes agree...the older apex though, was a P.I.T.A....... Parker the new Apex app is polished and extremely user friendly...I.promise if you try it your gonna be like "Dang that was so much easier"

[@jonathanstephens7804]

I ran an apex system and unfortunately found it pretty unreliable. The COR20 pump is very overpriced and just so unreliable.

[@alexl.9317]

Man, the software on these things is a nightmare. I do own a Profilux4 and IonD, the thing is that you need the P4 to be able to record stuff locally. The P4 has memory, however limited, so that is the reason you may want to chose what to save and how often. Now, viewing those graphs is plain stupid, you have to use the PC app, to download a text file (or CSV) which then you have to open and check. Stupid. The cloud service is more like a dump of data kind of implementation, the P4 will dump data there although with a few hours delay. That is stupid too. Btw, all GHL devices can dump data there. So if you had a P4, all the recordings would have been saved inside it....smart huh..... :| Regarding the tube lengths, GHL has the tendency to overcomplicate things. They must have smart people but dumb at explaining their own products, they don't explain why are you doing what are you doing. All that calculation is for one reason only, to know how much to flush the tubes in order to get tank water tested. So if your tubes hold 20ml, and you only flush 10ml, you will not test the tank water, but the leftover water form the previous test. You can set it as high as you would like, but you have to make sure the actual tank water is tested and not tube leftovers. You could just put 50ml and will flush the tubes really good. Also, I would recommend to use a scale to calibrate. SW is a bit heavier than RO water. Do more tests, like 3-4 and take the average for best calibration. Also, I have read somewhere that the placement of the device cannot be changed so either IonD is on the top or on the side. Don't know about that though. Another, quite important thing, and probably why you are asked for the 12h wait is air bubbles, you have to get them out. Hit the tubes to move them away. Also air bubbles can form on the sensor and will read very strange results....you just have to wait it out. They tried to fix that by soaking it first. So the whole long process is a poor attempt to stop bubbles from forming. Does not work all the time. The chamber for testing is quite small and there is no way to force bubbles out other than keep flushing and waiting. I see no reason to test more than 1 per day, I would have liked even lower but their statement is that lower periods is "evaluated". Whatever that means.

[@ParkersReef]

I feel like it is the right product with the wrong implementation. Still needs a bit of refining. Yep totally understand and agree with the tube lengths, why not just make it run double and flush extra water through, wouldn’t hurt anything?

[@alexl.9317]

@@ParkersReef The device is designed to be able to dump water back to sump, or in a separate container. So, GHL thinks this was the best way to make sure you waste minimal amount of water. You calculate the volume of the tubes and filter and draw just enough from the tank to have new saltwater from the tank in the measurement chamber. I dump it back to tank so I can flush them as much as I want, but if I was not, then it could impact salinity over time. Unfortunately, is not properly explained and confuses people more, when the initial intention was to help. And about the actual value to flush, the device has no idea how long are the tubes (thus, double what?) and in order to assure the above, this step was included. KHD does the same, some other alkalinity devices do the same but it might be hidden from user and use a general value based on "recommended tube length". Others, just don't care if you measure some old water, it just going to even things out as you are testing more.

[@ParkersReef]

Yes sorry, when I said “double” I meant, double the volume you enter. Just to ensure good readings

[@alexl.9317]

​@@ParkersReef You wont get better readings if the water was fully replaced already. Thus flushing more, in theory is not needed and will upset people that will throw away the waste. So...yeah...in some way they decided to let us just figure this out. I say a bad job at presenting and explaining their products. Hopefully these sort of reviews will make them work more on the user friendliness and software implementation. There is A LOT to improve, even some better wording would help dramatically. I am curious about the long term review, I have it for 3 months and I have no complains, is stable and accurate, however a fried of mine could not get it to work properly for 2 months already, burned a lot of reference solutions (that are not cheap), has even received another sensor and still has issues (low sensor performance alarms) so he has to sent it back to GHL for warranty.

[@bopeep7806]

Get a xepta job done :)

[@ParkersReef]

Is it though???

[@bopeep7806]

@@ParkersReef i love mine

[@ParkersReef]

Great stuff, I wasn’t aware they were out in the wild yet

[@ParkersReef]

Great stuff, I wasn’t aware they were out in the wild yet

[@bopeep7806]

@@ParkersReef i have had mine 5 months, better than my alkatronic, it tests kh calcium and mag and doses too :) and the reagent is safe to go back in the aquarium, so not salanilty swings, £550 in uk cheapest and best ive had

[@tomastomasas8463]

Regret purchasing GHL, my Amazon power bar has better connectivity then GHL

[@ParkersReef]

yeah I don't have anything good to say about GHL anymore sadly :(

[@threesons270]

And this is exactly why I refuse to buy ghl. It's a Lamborghini with a Ford focus motor. There is absolutely zero excuse that a premium product uses software so primitive. It's a shame this day in age

[@ParkersReef]

yeah it is something that needs to be revised. Thankfully, the hardware is top notch - so if GHL invest some time and money into the software, they could dominate...

[@bigbearmeetslittlebear3401]

This is typical GHL setup for dosers.... Between the overly complicated setup, impossible remember how to programming anything, and the frequently lose of internet connectivity and/or losing default settings on GHL Connect, I wish i never bought GHL anything.... Nothing easy about GHL.

[@ParkersReef]

Damn, it’s a shame as the hardware feels very high quality…

[@jmdelira87]

Man you were sounding like you were against this from the get go. Overly critical about even the small details. I mean, you even complained about tightening a screw to finger strength? Hmmm.

[@ParkersReef]

What did you like about the unit? I’m struggling to find many positives 😅

[@MrLucarsen]

@@ParkersReef It tests 5 parameters (3 critical ones) every single day without having to lift a finger, notify in case of issues, and automatically adjust dosing accordingly. I think that's positive enough.

[@ParkersReef]

@@MrLucarsen it is, if it actually does test those values, gets accurate results and can notify you. Those three points I have had issues with, which suggests it is not quite ready for public release yet...