WOW Im blown away by the response of my wife. Might need a Controller

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by christyf5

I run an aquatronica. Its super easy, you just plug everything in, set the times you want stuff to turn on and off and you're done. Double redundancy for the heater just set it and the controller deals with it, turns it on when its too cold, turns it off when its too hot. If the heater gets stuck on, the controller takes care of it. However if the heater doesn't work, you're screwed although you do get an alarm that lets you know the temp is subpar.

I think it was about $700 or so for the full setup at ocean aquatics and I recently bought a second powerbar. I also have the aquatronica dosing pump.

The profiluxes sound like great controllers too and I've seen a few basic setups for good deals. I can't remember who it was that had them though, maybe Aqua-Digital?

Ya Christy i was talking to Mike who is Aqua Digital however its still alot of money for a controller too. just trying to see what is the best route to go.

[christyf5]

you're totally right, it is pricey. have you looked to see if anyone is selling a used one around here or other boards? lots of people seem to be getting out of the hobby lately, you might have some luck there.

[loveless]

I am currently running a 60" long 180gal tank. I use an AC jr. works great! Controls lights and has programming that is good for winter and summer. I have it set up so the light begin to shut off as the temp climbs, also is you want it can control a fan and has a PH probe to control a calcium reactor. As far as a budget controller that takes care of basic needs I think it will be hard to find anything that compares at the price.

[The Grizz]

Originally Posted by asmodeus

Well Im trying to make it more and more auto for the misses its pretty much automatic now and plus she is having a grerat time taking care of it FINALLY she is starting to love this hobby..... all she has to do is feed and take the brush and wipe of the collection cup of the skimmer the timers was a fluke that the one of the timers that i have the white ones from Canadian tire. its batteries keep the times set.

OH OK NOW I SEE, I had no idea about the controlers that everyone is talking about. I might have to look into something like this too.

[don.ald]

just wondering, if everything runs off of a single controller, what happens when the controller fails, or the power goes out etc.etc.
any experiences with this senario? to me its like having everthing plugged into one GFI outlet, and when it pops yikes!

[Jason McK]

Mike Mike Mike Just go for the Best and get the Profilux. Supper easy and can control everything.
The number 1 reason I went with the profilux was because it is one of the only controllers that had a solution for my high AMP chiller.
but other than that. It can :
Control heating and Cooling
Lighting of course (dimable ballast T5 and MH)
Tunze pumps
Koralia Pumps
PH control for CA reactors
Dusk dawn simulation. even thunderstorms
with the PC software that come with the unit it can e-mail alerts
and 1000 more things

J

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by don.ald

just wondering, if everything runs off of a single controller, what happens when the controller fails, or the power goes out etc.etc.
any experiences with this senario? to me its like having everthing plugged into one GFI outlet, and when it pops yikes!

well having a controller isn't the be-all-end-all, it just makes life easier, IMO easier than a bunch of timers from crappy tire. If the power goes out then you're screwed no matter what and you need to be spending $4k on a generator that fires up the instant the power goes out (which is probably a better investment than a controller). As for a controller failing, I have no idea as I don't think I've read anything about that (not with any catastrophic results anyways, I've heard a lot of bitching about firmware updates though )

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Jason McK

Mike Mike Mike Just go for the Best and get the Profilux. Supper easy and can control everything.
The number 1 reason I went with the profilux was because it is one of the only controllers that had a solution for my high AMP chiller.
but other than that. It can :
Control heating and Cooling
Lighting of course (dimable ballast T5 and MH)
Tunze pumps
Koralia Pumps
PH control for CA reactors
Dusk dawn simulation. even thunderstorms
with the PC software that come with the unit it can e-mail alerts
and 1000 more things

J

Ya Mike, jeez if you can drop $1200 on a skimmer at the drop of a hat I'm sure you can shell out a few hundred bucks for a controller and have some peace of mind while you're away

[hillegom]

Jason, does the profilux have an internal battery, to keep its memory in case of power failure?
Thanks

[whatcaneyedo]

Originally Posted by asmodeus

Well Doug dropped over to check my tank. Thanks Doug and I get a phone call from my wife saying listen mister you best sort out that Temp problem. I'm not having my favorite Fish freeze because of you. well Now Tammy is starting to think that she own the tank ....... So I think it may be time for the wallet to open up again for a controller. and some of my timer's the batteries are zonking out too for the lights.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm. now people who are running tanks 60" with 3 MH can you chime in to explain on how easy is it to run a controller. with all your lights spread out across the room. and what did you end up spending on the controller and any hidden costs along with extra equipment that was needed

Running my Neptune ACIII has been easy. Once I set it up all I have to do is calibrate the pH probes every couple of months. Setting it up on the other hand was relatively confusing and time consuming. But now that I understand it any alterations have been simple to make.

Overall I spent about $800 on my controller, $600 for the original package and then another $200 in extras like a used additional powerbar and hardware attachment that allowed me to add some water-on-the-floor sensors and water level sensors.