The Profilux Mini is one of three new smaller aquarium controllers announced this weekend by GHL. The Profilux Mini, along with the Profilux Light and Profilux Terra, are the newest major electronic product offered by the GHL manufacturer in a long time but hopefully will satisfy a growing demand for cheaper and simpler aquarium controllers.
Each of the new Mini Profilux have a much smaller form factor than the flagship Profilux controller, and a different concentration of features to accomplish different goals. By sacrificing the do-it-all platform of the Profilux, GHL has been able to design its three new flavors of Mini Profilux to be more effective at controlling a tank, controlling and aquarium, or controlling a terrarium.
The star of GHL’s new Profilux controller line up is probably going to be the Profilux Mini, a pared down version of the company’s flagship controller. The interesting form factor of the Profilux Mini is greatly reduced, yet still manages to include a graphical display, 6 navigation buttons, four accessory ports for lights, pumps, a powerbar as well as two BNC connections for pH and temperature.
What makes the Profilux Mini truly shine is that since there isn’t a dizzying number of outlets and devices to control, interfacing with the P-Mini and programming is much more streamlined and intuitive. All features and settings of the Profilux Mini are quickly accessible through the built in controls and display, and you can also access the menu with a PC via a USB connection.
You’ll notice that GHL didn’t make the Profilux Mini networkable in any way, so you can get the monitoring reports of this device online, nor can you connect to it wirelessly at home with a smartphone. When it comes to an aquarium controller we can live without smartphone access but not being able to see basic parameters online is going to be a deal breaker for many reefers looking for remote assurance while traveling away from their home tanks.
With a price starting at around 185€ (~$210) for the base unit and a temperature probe, you can do a lot with the Profilux Mini aquarium controller. However, you’ll probably want to throw in a pH probe ($75), a Powerbar ($219+) and a number of control cables to get the most out of the Profilux Mini.
The Profilux Light is an even more basic controller specifically designed for managing controllable lights, most notably GHL’s own Mitras LED, and the Profilux Terra trades in the pH probe for a humidity sensor so you can easily manage terrarium environments. Look out for each of the new small controllers from GHL to becoming available in August 2016 later this summer, available in black or white casing. [GHL]
