what do you use in the way of contollers???

[uber nuber]

i am looking for something that can do multiple things, such as monitor temp, ph, and control lights, have an alerts system on it incase something it is monitoring goes outa wack. i am looking at getting the Neptune Aquacontroller Jr with a temp probe. anyone have expierence with these, do you need to purchase any other modules with it to do anything i was talking about, are there better controllers in its price range, or different suggestions all together??

-Chris

 

[Marc]

I have the Aqua Controller II, and it communicates with x-10 modules to do what you've described. I've not tried to hook it up to a serial cable and computer yet, but I'd like to try it one day.

Mine controls the heat: Turns on the heaters when the tank hits 79F, and turns them off at 79.5F; if the tank gets too hot and hits 84F it starts shutting off the lights in sequence to give me a clue. If it hits 85F, all lights are shut off.

It controls the lights, turning them on and off as scheduled. It monitors pH, temp and ORP so that I can read those settings any time I look at it. I don't use it for anything else.

I have a separate pH controller for my Calcium Reactor.

 

[Llarian]

I have an AquarController Jr and it works quite well for me. I got mine at a ridiculously cheap price (which sorta made up for how much Neptune's DC8 costs), but I still consider it a good buy regadless.

-D

 

[jezzeaepi]

I have an AC Jr and like it for the most part. I almost learned the hard way though that they should only be partially trusted. It offers a lot of control over your tank, and thats its main problem, it has a lot of control over your tank. Anything that it controls that could potentially kill your tank should have a secondary back up(Temp, calc reactor/kalk dosing, float switches).
For example:
Dont let it control your heater and chiller. Let a seperate temp controller take care of that, and have the AC jr to serve as a back up to shut power to the temp controller if it goes out of line. So if for some reason your main temp controller starts transmitting a faulty reading due to a bad probe or what have you, then your AC jr can shut it down before your tank gets super heated or super chilled.
I dont have my circulation pumps plugged into the AC JR any longer either. Those are now plugged in to a xantrex UPS that can power them for 10 hours should the power go out(or more importantly, should your gfci trip while your out of the house).

I am in the beginning stages of planning a bigger tank. My ac jr wont be the main controller for my temp, ATO, PH or my main circulation pumps. But it will still play an integral role in making sure that everything stays in line.

 

[class clown]

I have a neptune aquancontroller III and love it b/c it's super flexible. They are pricey though. they are very easy to program. I can control my fish tank from essentially anywhere in the world (wiith internet connection that is). It can also e-mail me if there is a problem. I just hooked up to float switches to it this weekend too. It's pretty darn versitile. I've heard good things about a lot of other controllers too so look around and weigh your options.

 

[revance]

I have an AC Jr. with a DC8.

The DC8 eliminates the reliability problems with X10. Right now you can get both for about $225. I particularly like that you can program it to do darn near anything.

For example:
If the temperature drops too low, it turns on my heater.
If it gets a little high, it turns on the fans.
If it gets higher, it fires up the chiller.
If it continues to increase, it turns off the lights.

If my pH gets too high, it stops dosing kalk
If it gets too low, it can turn off the calcium reactor.

I am in the process of hooking mine up to my webserver to provide stats on my website and have it text message my cell phone if there is something out of whack (temp out of range, water on the floor, etc.)

I agree it is nice to have backups. I have a Ranco controller with the probe in the chiller probe well and the temp set slightly below desired temp to make sure it doesn't get stuck on or doesn't freeze up if the supply pump dies. I have a cheap temp controller on the heater to make sure the heater doesn't get stuck on. Heater and chiller are the only things I really worry about redundancy because nothing else I do can kill the tank very quickly.

 

[Detri]

I use the Aquatronica controller. I have a few customers that have the AC II and AC Jr. They like it, they say it works quite well.

 

[kendog261]

I have a reef keeper
here is the link for them

http://www.digitalaquatics.com/index.html