ProfiLux PC control saves my tank - for real

[Aqua-Digital]

So before heading off on my travels I did what i always do

water change
Dose with ProdiBio
set up neighbour with food for each day carefully divvied out
clean glass
test all parameters
connect profiLux to router
Ask Chris (Boboxx) to make sure it is being seen
write down IP address
set passwords

All sounds good! Yer unless you forget one thing like the idiot I was this time!

Arrived in the UK on Tuesday and realised I forgot to bring IP address with me, no IP address, no access! Oh well thought I nothing in 18 months has gone wrong (forgetting new batch of snails in sump) so no need to monitor tank it will send me an email anyway.

Checked emails of course each day, other than Friday and Saturday, woke on Sunday to finally look at emails and there is an alarm! And a panicked email from my neighbour!

leakage detection
Low temp!

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spent half an hour trying to locate IP address, so long shot sent MSN message to Chris who by miracle of fate was not only online at some unearthly hour back in Canada but also had the IP address!

Quickly load the PLC to parents pc and log on, and I am greeted with a tank temp of 21 degrees C and low sump level alert which had turned off the main pump!

Now this is where Profilux saved the tank from a complete crash -

Now take into account I am 3,500 miles away and have no view of the tank.

First thing is there water actually in the sump or has it burst?

All probes reading water values, the probes sit high in the sump so if the sump was dry the salinity would be low and the redox low too, Ph was as expected. Ok so we have no actual leak, mind suddenly goes to new harvest of snails in sump and my leakage sensor being a float which I have been meaning to switch to optical for about, well 18 months really.

So disable leakage sensor thus turning main pump back on and watch the auto top off running from my RO unit fire back up, but of course trips after 30 seconds due to on time going above max on time set.

Adjust max on time to 10 minutes - 10 mins later trips again, ok this tank has been off a while! After 20 minutes approx ATO switches off, so time to test the leakage sensor. Set it back up, seems snail has moved on from its dirty deed and the tank is back under full control.

5 hours later friend checks tank, all is running well, other than signs the corals are suffering. Tank now back at 26 degrees.

Losses so far ironically are all the corals that never coloured and not overly upset at their loss, although that I guess is harsh as any coral death is a sad day.

So the moral here is, when going away make sure your profi is online and you have your log in details! If it was not for ProfiLux control software and the ability to control my system as if I was sitting next to it I would have returned to a dead tank for sure including fish as canada is not overly warm this time of year and the house had no heating on.

I am a huge fan of PLC over web based control as profiLux has over 8,000 and climbing variables, there is no web application for any controller that can handle all those command lines, and PLC is critical if you want complete control if everything fails.

Next step - web cam!