How can a controller help in the hobby? Is it worth it?

Chetrod

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Just started adding Corals and I understand stability is key to being successful. With that being said, How is a controller better than just staying on top of your aquarium?

Currently running a 125G aquarium drilled with two overflows. 55G sump/refugium. In the sump a Reef Octopus Diablo xs200 with Sicce pump. Reef Flo dart,snapper pump running the returns, chiller and DIY reactor. In the aquarium two Tunze 6105's with a Tunze 7092 controller. The chiller is a 1/4h aquanetics on a Ranco controller. No heaters needed in Fl. Lighting is inexpensive, cheap, Reef Evolution 72" 3w lights x 2 Lighting specs listed. Also Odessey 48 T5 fixture with actinics. Had two one burned up. Planning on upgrading all lights soon I hope. JBJ ATO attached to the Sump and a 35G reservoir that I use for fresh water RODI and when Mixing salt I use the same barrel. Just wash it out when done with water changes. Lights are non-dimmable. Night lights are regular LED light bulbs that are very dim. I have 4 timers running the lights. Wondering it it will be a good investment in the future.




Fixture Size: 70.50" x 5.00" x 1.00" (Add 0.65" in height with bracket installed)

LEDs Count: 52
7020 Lumens
Super energy efficient 3 watt high output LEDs
40x 10,000K LED
12x Actinic 460nm LED
Use 156 watts

 

Jimbo662

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I have my apex monitor the water temp to turn eithe the heaters on or a fan to keep it in a 2 degree window. For feeding it turns off my return pump, gfo pump and skimmer. When the feed time is over it delays turning on the skimmer and gfo pump by 1 min to help eliminate an overflow on the skimmer. I've got two kessil's and program them with it also. This morning I logged into Fusion and in less than a minute was able to update my programming to shorten the duration time on my ramp up / down. The key to successful tanks is stability. A controller helps make that happen much easier.
 

revhtree

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One of the main things is being able to control and check up on your tank from anywhere in the world.
 

Windy

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I have been in the hobby 16 years and a controller isn't necessary for a successful setup. There are all sorts of items such as timers, temperature controllers, and meters that can be used to run a very stable tank. That being said, I travel a lot and have been gone for up to two weeks. Everyday I can see my fish room online and I can also manage it with apex fusion. I have a plumber I call if I have a problem and with the camera and a cell phone I can give him detailed instructions if something goes wrong. So far I have not had to call for help when gone, but I do a lot of prep prior to leaving.
 
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Chetrod

Chetrod

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So from what I've been reading on them I see you have great control of LED lighting allowing for a realistic dusk till dawn effect. You can control heating and cooling equipment. With the Tunze 6105 you can recreate different types of waves and water flow etc. Monitor some of the chemistry and create reports to follow. Set feeding times and delay skimmer start to avoid overflowing of the skimmer cup, you can add cameras that you can view from anywhere. I've also read that it helps with ATO's and keeping the pumps from running to long or going dry. Interesting stuff. The amount of tech has definitely increased ALOT in the past few years.
 

Daniel@R2R

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But couldn't most of this stuff be done with stand-alone systems? For example, radions have controlability without needing an Apex (or other reef controller), dosing pumps like the BM-T01 and new Jebao are fully controllable, a simple digital temp controller will monitor and control your heaters. Random flow powerheads (Vortechs, Tunzes, or Jebao) have all the random flow that's needed without a controller. Am I missing something? I know I could check on the tank from anywhere, but the cost of a controller seems pretty steep if all it does is monitor... I keep trying to talk myself into a controller, and I only seem to talk myself out of it...
 

hybridazn

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But couldn't most of this stuff be done with stand-alone systems? For example, radions have controlability without needing an Apex (or other reef controller), dosing pumps like the BM-T01 and new Jebao are fully controllable, a simple digital temp controller will monitor and control your heaters. Random flow powerheads (Vortechs, Tunzes, or Jebao) have all the random flow that's needed without a controller. Am I missing something? I know I could check on the tank from anywhere, but the cost of a controller seems pretty steep if all it does is monitor... I keep trying to talk myself into a controller, and I only seem to talk myself out of it...

While you are correct in your statement, it's only to a point. Yes things such as radions, vortechs and so on are programmable without a controller, but that's it. Its only programmable, you really don't have any type of control with them without having to either hook up a laptop or using their supplied controller. While with a controller like an apex you can program AND control all aspects with your tank. You can program the lights and pumps to do whatever you want from wherever you are as long as it's hooked up via the internet. You can set up certain points to shut things down. Say if your running t5 or halides, you can program it so that if the tank Water gets too hot it will shut down the lights until it cools down to the desired temp. Also with controllers they are expandable. So you can jut buy the one main system and just expand it to run and monitor multiple systems.

I can go on and on what a controller can do. Its honestly been the best investment I have made for my tank.
 

Daniel@R2R

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While you are correct in your statement, it's only to a point. Yes things such as radions, vortechs and so on are programmable without a controller, but that's it. Its only programmable, you really don't have any type of control with them without having to either hook up a laptop or using their supplied controller. While with a controller like an apex you can program AND control all aspects with your tank. You can program the lights and pumps to do whatever you want from wherever you are as long as it's hooked up via the internet. You can set up certain points to shut things down. Say if your running t5 or halides, you can program it so that if the tank Water gets too hot it will shut down the lights until it cools down to the desired temp. Also with controllers they are expandable. So you can jut buy the one main system and just expand it to run and monitor multiple systems.

I can go on and on what a controller can do. Its honestly been the best investment I have made for my tank.

We need to talk controllers bc I do think probably I'm just not getting the advantage. I will say that the ability to monitor the reef isn't that huge a deal to me bc I don't deal with heat issues or too much fluctuation.
 

Windy

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If you add up the costs of a temperature controller, ph meter, salinity meter, light controls, pump controls and such, it is not that much more to go to a good controller. Also, I have 5 frag tanks, and two pair of clowns that are set up in breeding tanks. Just feeding the different tanks the right food and amounts can be time consuming. The controller also records your data so it can be viewed as a trend. This is the most helpful for me. I can look at ORP and see the direction my water quality is going.
 

sailfish

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I recently got back in the hobby after a few years out. I really liked having a controller back then but I am less inclined to buy one this time. I no longer need a timer for my lights, I am not running MH so temperature is not much of an issue & I have no calcium reactor to control. Since my setup is much simpler I have less to control & monitor. I may get one but it is not as critical or cost effective. Before I could easily justify the cost but seems I need less control then before. Now if I skip monitoring PH, all I really need is a 2 part doser & ATO. I still would prefer having an alarm in case my house AC fails but not sure if that will help me save my tank or not.
 
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pickupman66

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For me, the most important thing about my controller is centralized scheduling. I have to set the time once... I use 1 interface to set the timer for the 6 channels of lighting (in previous tank it controlled the ramping). I have 1 interface that I set the timing of pumps. it controls my heater and reports this information to me. It has fail safe built in so my ATO cannot overflow my tank. I will alert me to a drastic change in my system should one arise.

BUT, I can also use it to see trends for my system. I know by simply seeing a graph how my PH undulates daily. I know my KH is in the correct range because of the width of these undulations. I know how often my heater kicks on and for how long and that it takes my tank about 3 hours to cool from 79° to 78°.

Can you run a successful reef tank without one. YES> but it is much easier in my opinion to have one.

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abinder

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I'm just knew in this hobby, but I like my ReefKeeper Lite controller. I have my T5 lights/moonlight fixture controlled my it. I'm able to set precise times for the lights to turn on and off. My Tunze powerheads are controlled by it. I have it set so they rotate in 6 hour increments (one is on for six hours. Then it shuts off and the other turns on for 6 hours.) My return pumps are controlled by it as well. The standby mode is nice as well. I have it set so that the pumps all turn off for a set amount of time when feeding the fish. After a set amount of time being off, the Tunze powerheads then restart their cycling and then after another set amount of time, my return pumps start back up. It's great and less chance of mistakenly forgetting to turn the pumps back on after a feeding. It's going to make it much easier for someone else to care for my tank whenever I go away for a vacation.

Also, being able to monitor the temp and ph of the tank remotely is really nice. And like someone else stated, if the heat in the tank starts getting too high, then I can have the controller shut off the lights. I have a chiller installed so that isn't much of a worry, just another backup in case.

I'm also going to be hooking up my ATO to it as well. This past weekend, I was stupid and forgot to turn off my ATO pump when I was doing a water change. Needless to say, too much RO water was put into my tank. The salinity is a little low, but not bad. Having the ATO setup to turn off in the standby mode would eliminate this possible error from happening again.

There are times that I wish that I had gotten the Apex system instead, but just starting out in this hobby, the ReefKeeper had a much more attractive price.


Allen
 

Preyou

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My Apex saved my display on a recent trip out of state. It was the best money I ever spent. The first day I was gone on a seven day trip, my Apex paged me with a temperature issue. After logging into the Apex and viewing my webcam I found that my return pump had stopped running. I was able to contact a fellow reefer and he came over to the house and swapped my return pump with my spare. The display was left uncirculated for four hours. It is likely that I would have come home to nothing had it not been for the Apex.

I have also had at least one heater failure that was detected by the Apex. Since the Apex controls the heater, there is not a chance of the heater being stuck on and cooking my corals. The only thing that it can do is go out completely and you can be notified when it reaches a certain level.

My Apex replaced the following equipment entirely:
1. Display Temperature Gauge
2. Sump Temperature Gauge
3. Auto Top Off
4. Salinity Probe
5. pH Probe
6. Lighting Controller
7. Ammeter (Current draw for pumps, lights, etc.)
8. Moonlight Controller (with moon phases)

I also have it monitoring my skimmate collection container and it will shut down my skimmer in the case of an overflow. It monitors the water level in my sump and will page me if it exceeds or does not meet predetermined levels.

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SCMatt

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After reading this thread, and being on the fence for so long, I think my next purchase (next paycheck) will be an Apex controller. I run a small system that is easy to care for as is, but all of my components would easily fit on an upgraded system down the line, controller included. I think it would be a wise investment seeing as how upgrades are inevitable in this hobby and it could save my system.
 

pickupman66

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Abinder,

mine is a Reefkeeper elite. ive had it for about 3 years and have slowly expanded it over that time. at one point I had 4 x PC4, PC1, Sl1, Sl2, Hub, Net, and the ALC module on it. i have paired it down since the move but still love it. IMO, the APex is a better overall system but im pretty ingrained in my reefkeeper.
 

abinder

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Abinder,

mine is a Reefkeeper elite. ive had it for about 3 years and have slowly expanded it over that time. at one point I had 4 x PC4, PC1, Sl1, Sl2, Hub, Net, and the ALC module on it. i have paired it down since the move but still love it. IMO, the APex is a better overall system but im pretty ingrained in my reefkeeper.

Nice!

I have yet to explore all of the possibilities of my ReefKeeper Lite. I'm wondering if I should of gotten the Elite instead. I have the main control unit, 2 PC4 modules, and a SL1 module. I should have the NET module in a couple of days. Did you have any problem setting up the NET module? I've read a few reviews and it seems like some people can't get it to work for them.


Allen
 

pickupman66

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It can be intimidating... but I have a computer background so it was fairly easy for me. Having a good router helps too.
 

abinder

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It can be intimidating... but I have a computer background so it was fairly easy for me. Having a good router helps too.

That's good. I'm pretty good with computers.

I have 100M download speed on my TimeWarner cable modem (I've run speakeasy.net speed test on it and it holds up to what it's suppose to be.)

Can any of the adjustments on the ReefKeeper system be done remotely or do I have to connect it to a computer?

Thanks.


Allen
 

pickupman66

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(For any system with net access)

you need to have your own router behind the cable modem. so you can run Dyndns or another dynamic service since you home IP is dynamic. I use DynDns.org. you need to pay for it annually now. then you need to map a port in your firewall to open it so outside traffic can get inside and direct that port to the Statically set IP of your Net module. Since Comcast blocks all of the standard ports unless you pay $$ (they don't tell you this), I use a non standard port # or my system. I arbitrrily use 7901 because I wanted to keep secure web ports for router access

(reef-keeper specific info here)
once you get that setup, then you can do some programming of the system from the web. You can control each channel From the web, setup logging and RSS feeds, but you Cannot adjust the time or timers or alarms. You MUST enable net control on the head unit.

there is good info on the Digital aquatics forums. I pass thru there regularly.


OK. sorry about the side bar.. back to the OP and how a controller can help you with your tank....
 

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