Aquarium Controller or Nah for your reef?

[BR260354]

I have a combination of products. Red Sea Doser 4, ReefRun returns. Helio control for the heaters. Hydros - 10 devices (Kraken to power the Red Sea equipment and others), ATO, Minnow, etc. This is for my main display.

I have Hydros Launch and WELe for my 53g display in my bedroom.

I also have some TP-Link wifi strips.

I'm a bit of a gearhead.... ;-)

 

[chapter7]

In simple terms .... YES to automation and anything that reduces maintenance time!

As a returning hobbyist and first-time reefer, reflecting back on why I left the hobby so many times only to return, the answer was glaringly obvious - it became a PITA to maintain, each and every time. Life changes and gets in the way and you only have so much time, so I didn't want to return only to leave again in 6-12 months UNLESS I was sure I would stay for the long haul this time.

All hail HYDROS!

 

[vetteguy53081]

A must have for me. Its like having a tank attendant

 

[BillyW]

Being in the army and leaving for training, or rotations or whatever, I have to have something so I can see what’s going on with the tank to have my wife make the corrections.
I have an Apex and tons of outlets for it to turn everything on or off. Looking at the stuff Hydros is putting out I figured it would make Neptune step their game up but that hasn’t happened. Too much invested to change at this point for this tank, but maybe will try Hydros for the next.

 

[SaltyinNJ]

It's been a while so let's ask it again!

Do you use an aquarium controller on your reef tank?

Why or why not?

Which one are you using?

Still rocking a Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Elite on one tank. Have Hydros running on my newer tank. I just love the automation, redundancy, and safety benefits. I am also a gear junky, so I love playing with the tech.

 

[joanropi17]

I use Kasa smart power strips, not exactly a controller but makes it easy to power on/off equipment and schedule some equipment to only run at certain times.

I used the same thing. It is actually pretty good for less money.

 

[Lasse]

GHL Profilux and its needed for me with a full mature tank. I will never remember - dose 2 ml of that. 3 ml of this ant 5 drops of whats ever by myself. The P4 does this.

Today may temperature probe decide that 8 years was enough and broke. Because it report 0 degree - my heater would have worked overtime if it was not order to not tun during a general alarm. A external controler of some type for heaters is a must for me. All heaters with internal on/off switches have the same weakness - IMO - they break sooner or later.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Ef4life]

I have an apex and hydros on 2 separate systems, they both work fine but are absolutely 100% unnecessary to have a beautiful successful reef tank.

My apex is not even connected to the internet, and it does little more than control the temperature and I use the wired control panel to turn a few things on and off when I do maintenance instead of unplugging them.

My hydros is a little more set up in that it directly controls the ato, pumps are directly driven by the wave engine, and it controls the heater. Again nothing really extraordinary or required to run a reef, I do like the hydros system in that it can reduce the amount of power packs and cords and pump controllers which can really simplify things and clean up the display

 

[40yreefer]

After doing this for 45 years, we recently bought a new house and set up an IM 200 gal. reef tank. I went full Hydros with 6 controllers and absolutely love it. Still setting up the logic to my likings, but have had no issues so far.

 

[cypherljk]

It's been a while so let's ask it again!

Do you use an aquarium controller on your reef tank?

Why or why not?

Which one are you using?

I have run an Apex since the classic controllers. It give me.peace of mind, constant trackability and good automation even when things don't work 100% all the time. Nothing does but it's the best out there..

 

[CHSUB]

Got my first Neptune System Aquacontroller in 2001, not having a tank without it.

 

[FishLvR]

Red sea and smart plugs. Ghetto fab.

 

[Marty.h]

Full Apex system, 4 x DOS, Trident, Trident NP WXM controls MP40's and Radions rest controlled via power bar. Would not be without it

 

[shakemandril]

I recently setup my Cade 1500 and started off with Hydros X4/X8 pro pack and then added in an X3-S for salinity. I'm currently running both my skimmer and main pumps on 0-10V along with PH, Salinity, Temp and Leak monitoring for the sump and area beneath the tank I also run Hydros on my RODI station with a TDS and level sensor setup/solenoid setup to shut off when full. Been loving the Hydros so far! I also picked up a Mastertronic Essential since Coralvue is having such a delay with Maven. Starting to think I should have waited lol!

 

[HackBetty]

How do we officially define controllers? Having a full apex setup? Hydros?

I have a ph monitor from Milwaukee and I autodose kalk and AFR on a dosing pump.

I don't like that there are basically 2 options out there for full automation. I want to see more older well known companies bring more innovative options. It may not be cost effective for Eshopps or Tunze to produce an apex type product, though. Still, I'd like to see the big outfits give us some more options.

I’m planning to put together a “for dummies” guide for the RoboTank and AquaPi controllers. The interface boards themselves can be had for around $60-90, but the current documentation is pretty minimal.

From what I’ve seen, the devs are trying to keep these projects open source while also finding ways to monetize them. The downside is there’s no real handholding guide or clear breakdown of features and costs, which makes it harder for newcomers to jump in.

The projects can seem a bit daunting, but I think better documentation would go a long way toward wider adoption. Right now, it almost feels like the lack of detailed guides nudges people toward buying the pre-assembled units, which probably limits how many DIY folks get involved.

Ive been very hestitant to take the controller plunge for this very reason. A guide would make this a go for me.

 

[tigre44]

It's been a while so let's ask it again!

Do you use an aquarium controller on your reef tank?

Why or why not?

Which one are you using?

No limited knowledge programming

 

[oxo]

i like the idea of full automation but i don't think i need all that much in my tanks tbh. i bought a used apex classic locally (no display) and had such a hard time trying to just get it to connect to my network that I just bought a standard "smart" powerstrip with individual switches and app control from best buy to use instead

 

[patrck17]

First tank is a 21.4g Tideline AIO, but right after that one cycled I bought a 150g from a community member which came with an Apex. I like being able to control it remote, but the AIO doesn't, and probably will not ever, get a controller.

 

[ReefOC]

Working under the sea today on my RedSea Reefer 750XXL! My Hydros controllers are the only way I would go.

 

[LunkerPunker]

Apex