I had the gen 1 and upgraded to the gen 2 for $75 when it came out. It's a wireless controller that you can synch multiple Vortecs together for some cool currents. I only have the one controller though. It has some cool modes and also a feeding mode. I thing the actual pump is the same. I will say the Vortec is the best investment I ever made for my tank. One pump in a 90 gallon replaced 4 maxijets and I only run it about 3/4 of the max speed.