They look a bit clunky, do they cover the second outlet when you plug them in?

There's some much cooler stuff available these days with regard to home automation, outlets, switches etc. Controllable via smart phone, tablet & I would think any PC or notebook as well. Some light bulbs now have built in wifi,.... speakers even. Paired with your router you can control them when you're away. Kind of makes some of the features provided by aquarium controllers redundant.

It's still a bit pricey, but I'm sure that will change given a bit of time. The ball is only now really starting to roll with this stuff. I'll hold out a little longer before jumping on the bandwagon. Outlets are now available to replace your regular jobs in wall, similar to installing a gfci.

https://www.ubnt.com/mfi/inwall/

http://www.lifx.com/

Default to "OFF" is no good! :(

Good call Mike. There is really no limit to options these days.

This is what I use for water changes, same concept but designed for outdoor use (hopefully a greater resistance to water than a standard device).

http://www.amazon.ca/Woods-32555-Wea...+remote+outlet

Default to off for temporary use devices like this may well be mandatory due to code/safety requirements. Similar idea to GFCI. Permanently installed in wall GFCI outlets will be live when power is restored after an outage whereas a GFCI power bar will need to be reset. All well & good provided you know how your chosen device functions so you are aware of consequence for your application.

I use a similar device for my RO Buddy (smart booster pump/controller on RODI) and does a good job, dont have to walk outside and in the shed to shut it off.