Greybeard
2500 Club Member
Yeah... loooong post. I tend to ramble :)
I’m writing this because I’ve answered questions from people who have never owned an aquarium controller, on what, exactly, you do with one, why they should buy one, and which one to get. It’s a fairly complex subject, and I thought perhaps my writing about my experience might help some aquarists make up their minds.
About me: I’m an industrial controls software engineer. I design and implement control systems with several thousand inputs and outputs, using state of the art equipment, running massive facilities, costing millions of dollars. I’ve been an aquarium hobbyist since the early 1980’s, and a reefer since the early 90’s, taking a decade off in the middle.
I resisted getting an aquarium controller for several reasons:
1) I never needed one before.
2) They’re expensive.
3) Compared to the equipment I use professionally, they’re toys.
4) I don’t really want to bring my work into my hobby.
As I was setting up my new tank, a year ago, now, I watched BRS’s video on using the DA Reefkeeper Lite as a heater controller, and their justification of it’s cost, as contrasting to a heater controller, a couple of decent light timers, and a good power strip. They’re right… it cost less than what I was going to need to buy if I didn’t get the controller, so I bought one.
So, I got my Reefkeeper, set it up as a heater controller, using a heater without its own thermostat, and used it to turn my blue and white T5 lights on and off, and added my refugium light, as well. Worked fine. I decided to expand the functionality a bit and use my controller to auto fill my ATO reservoir. Bought a 120VAC solenoid valve, and a 2nd 4 outlet power bar for the Reefkeeper. Simple setup, the ATO reservoir had a line running to it from my RO/DI system, to a mechanical float valve in the reservoir. All I did with the controller was to open the solenoid every other day, for 3 hours. Took the place of me manually opening a valve every other day. Simple, easy, and it worked. For a while.
The Reefkeper had been in service for about 6 months. I’m watching TV one night, and realize, hey… it’s after 8PM, and my white lights are still on. Should have gone off at 6:30. What’s up? I take a closer look at the tank, and realize my temp is at 88f when it’s set for 78f. The heater is stuck on. I quickly unplug the heater and find that one of my Reefkeeper power bars have blinky lights. It’s not communicating with the base. I reset it, and it started working again. Ok, now I’ve got to keep a closer eye on things. Over the next couple of weeks, various weirdness ensued. Power bars not communicating, devices stuck on… something’s gotta change.
I tried to contact DA for support. Hm. There is NO PHONE NUMBER on their website, anywhere. There is a support email address, I tried that, and the email was returned as undeliverable. There is also an online support forum, you must request to join, which I did, and never got a response. There is NO SUPPORT from DA on their products. I later found that the email address had a typo in it… on their own webpage? Yeah, that inspires confidence. Sorry, DA, but you’ve lost a customer.
So… what to replace it with? I’m just done with the DA line. Apex is the big dog, in the US at least. I took a look at the ReefAngel, GHL Profilux, Vertex Cerebra, even seriously considered a DIY controller, based either on Raspberry PI or on an inexpensive industrial controller. I really don’t want to spend the time to DIY, I want something well supported, in the USA, which leaves some of the European designs out. I don’t need, or want to pay for, seriously high end… The popularity of the Apex line seems like the obvious choice. So… which model? Apex Jr is cheap enough, but only provides four controlled outlets. I’m using more than that on my Reefkeeper. Seems pointless to buy something _less_ capable than what I’m replacing. The 2016 Apex, to the best of my knowledge, has just three things going for it that the classic doesn’t have. Measurable amperage readings on each outlet, rather than the entire power block, built in wireless ethernet, and the ability to use the yet to be released Trident Alk/Calc/Mg monitor/controller. None of those seem worth the $250 premium to me.
I bought an Apex Classic. BRS provided their usual quick shipping. Took me about 3 hours to pull the Reefkeeper out, mount the Apex, and get back the same functionality that I’d already had. Plus… email alerts. Nice feature, really… would have been nice if the Reefkeeper had let me know something was wrong <insert grumbling noise here>.
Over the next few months, I tweaked and expanded my use of the Apex. One of the things I wanted to do was to better utilize my RO/DI system. Get it off of a timer and refill my ATO reservoir on demand. In the Apex world, if you want to hook up external sensors, you need what they call a breakout box. Apex sells one, but I really dislike their design. Screw terminals, with a common ground terminal. If you use all the input channels, you’d have six wires all wrapped around a single screw terminal. A quick poke around the internet gave me the pinout for the mini-DIN connector on the Apex. A few bucks at Amazon, and I built my own breakout box. Saved a few bucks, and got a much more user-friendly device, with spring terminals, each channel having its own ground terminal.
So, my ATO reservoir. It’s a 5g box from Eshopps. I mounted a ‘low’ level switch, and a ‘full’ level switch, and left the existing mechanical float valve in place. Wired the low and full switches to my nifty new breakout box and did some simple Apex programming. When the low sensor is tripped, I turn on my RO/DI solenoid. When the full sensor is tripped, I turn the solenoid off. If the solenoid is on for longer than 4 hours, I turn it off, and send an email alert… something is wrong. The mechanical float valve is a backup and should turn the water off if all else goes south. Perfect. I never have to look at my ATO reservoir, it gets filled as needed. Oh, and I set up data logging on the output that controls the solenoid… now I can see, in a chart, how often I’m refilling my five gallon reservoir. This gives me a broader picture, I can see evaporation rates over time. A helpful metric.
I continued expanding. Bought a 2nd EB8, giving me 8 more controlled outlets. Now, virtually everything in my tank is plugged into the Apex. Why? Why not! I set up a water change mode, turns off everything I need disabled when I do a water change. I can see amperage draw for the entire system, in a chart. I added a level sensor and float valve to my water change barrel… with the flick of a switch (on my phone!), I can start making up water for a water change, knowing that it’ll stop when it’s full. Plugged my under-cabinet display lights into the controller as a timer… you get the idea.
At this point, I have the following devices connected to my APEX:
1) BlueLight Four outside T5 lights, dawn/dusk.
2) WhiteLight Four inside T5 lights, daylight.
3) Reflight 2x24” T5’s on refugium, inverse lighting schedule.
4) Heater
5) Skimmer Level sensor in sump shuts it off if sump level is higher than normal.
6) ATOReservoir Refill solenoid, as above.
7) Powerhead1 Timer for wave pump 1.
8) Powerhead2 Timer for wave pump 2.
9) Returnpump Can disable for water changes.
10) Reactor BRS dual GAC/GFO, only used as needed.
11) DosingPump Inexpensive 4 head pump, turns off if pH varies outside of range.
12) CabinetLight Under tank bookshelf decorative light timer.
13) ClosetLight Turns on/off my sump closet light when I open the door.
14) MixingPump Turns on the pump to mix saltwater and pump it to the tank.
15) TunzeATO Can disable for water changes, etc.
16) MixingStation Solenoid to fill mixing barrel for water changes.
Honestly, I will never again own an aquarium without a controller. So far, I’m quite happy with the Apex. I hear the same horror stories everyone else hears. Some of that is real, I’m sure, and some of it is from people who don’t really understand automation. When you automate something, you have to EXPECT it to fail, and plan for what happens when it does. For example, my ATO refill system, something I’ve talked about quite a bit. If the high-level sensor fails, I’ve got a mechanical float valve that should stop it from overflowing. I’ve also got a timer, that would limit the damage if the float valve also failed… and, I’ve got a battery powered water alarm in the floor next to it in case everything else fails. Its as safe a system as I know how to design, requiring multiple failures before any damage would occur.
Having this controller allows me to enjoy my hobby more. I spend less time refilling RO/DI containers, plugging and unplugging equipment for water changes, etc. I don't worry about forgetting to turn off my RO/DO and flooding my floor. I don’t get flooded skimmer cups because the power came back on, and my sump level was too high when the skimmer started back up. I get email alerts if my pH or Temperature go out of the range I’ve set for them. I can log on to Apex Fusion from my phone, or any computer, anywhere, and see that things are running as they should. I can pull up charts showing pH, Temp, refill cycles… I can even see if my RO/DI is running slow, because I can see how long it takes to fill my reservoir.
There are a great many things that the controller could do, if I wanted to, but it is doing what I need it to do, eliminating a great deal of daily monitoring worry, and repetitive tasks that I would otherwise have.
Most reefers spend big money on these wonderful bits of reef in our homes. In my humble opinion, having a stable controller, set up to monitor and maintain the systems YOU need on YOUR system is well worth the price. That said, I am an industrial programmer, and I can assure you, compared to modern industrial automation equipment, these things are, in fact, little more than cheap toys. I sincerely hope to see the technology continue to grow in time.
Greybeard
I’m writing this because I’ve answered questions from people who have never owned an aquarium controller, on what, exactly, you do with one, why they should buy one, and which one to get. It’s a fairly complex subject, and I thought perhaps my writing about my experience might help some aquarists make up their minds.
About me: I’m an industrial controls software engineer. I design and implement control systems with several thousand inputs and outputs, using state of the art equipment, running massive facilities, costing millions of dollars. I’ve been an aquarium hobbyist since the early 1980’s, and a reefer since the early 90’s, taking a decade off in the middle.
I resisted getting an aquarium controller for several reasons:
1) I never needed one before.
2) They’re expensive.
3) Compared to the equipment I use professionally, they’re toys.
4) I don’t really want to bring my work into my hobby.
As I was setting up my new tank, a year ago, now, I watched BRS’s video on using the DA Reefkeeper Lite as a heater controller, and their justification of it’s cost, as contrasting to a heater controller, a couple of decent light timers, and a good power strip. They’re right… it cost less than what I was going to need to buy if I didn’t get the controller, so I bought one.
So, I got my Reefkeeper, set it up as a heater controller, using a heater without its own thermostat, and used it to turn my blue and white T5 lights on and off, and added my refugium light, as well. Worked fine. I decided to expand the functionality a bit and use my controller to auto fill my ATO reservoir. Bought a 120VAC solenoid valve, and a 2nd 4 outlet power bar for the Reefkeeper. Simple setup, the ATO reservoir had a line running to it from my RO/DI system, to a mechanical float valve in the reservoir. All I did with the controller was to open the solenoid every other day, for 3 hours. Took the place of me manually opening a valve every other day. Simple, easy, and it worked. For a while.
The Reefkeper had been in service for about 6 months. I’m watching TV one night, and realize, hey… it’s after 8PM, and my white lights are still on. Should have gone off at 6:30. What’s up? I take a closer look at the tank, and realize my temp is at 88f when it’s set for 78f. The heater is stuck on. I quickly unplug the heater and find that one of my Reefkeeper power bars have blinky lights. It’s not communicating with the base. I reset it, and it started working again. Ok, now I’ve got to keep a closer eye on things. Over the next couple of weeks, various weirdness ensued. Power bars not communicating, devices stuck on… something’s gotta change.
I tried to contact DA for support. Hm. There is NO PHONE NUMBER on their website, anywhere. There is a support email address, I tried that, and the email was returned as undeliverable. There is also an online support forum, you must request to join, which I did, and never got a response. There is NO SUPPORT from DA on their products. I later found that the email address had a typo in it… on their own webpage? Yeah, that inspires confidence. Sorry, DA, but you’ve lost a customer.
So… what to replace it with? I’m just done with the DA line. Apex is the big dog, in the US at least. I took a look at the ReefAngel, GHL Profilux, Vertex Cerebra, even seriously considered a DIY controller, based either on Raspberry PI or on an inexpensive industrial controller. I really don’t want to spend the time to DIY, I want something well supported, in the USA, which leaves some of the European designs out. I don’t need, or want to pay for, seriously high end… The popularity of the Apex line seems like the obvious choice. So… which model? Apex Jr is cheap enough, but only provides four controlled outlets. I’m using more than that on my Reefkeeper. Seems pointless to buy something _less_ capable than what I’m replacing. The 2016 Apex, to the best of my knowledge, has just three things going for it that the classic doesn’t have. Measurable amperage readings on each outlet, rather than the entire power block, built in wireless ethernet, and the ability to use the yet to be released Trident Alk/Calc/Mg monitor/controller. None of those seem worth the $250 premium to me.
I bought an Apex Classic. BRS provided their usual quick shipping. Took me about 3 hours to pull the Reefkeeper out, mount the Apex, and get back the same functionality that I’d already had. Plus… email alerts. Nice feature, really… would have been nice if the Reefkeeper had let me know something was wrong <insert grumbling noise here>.
Over the next few months, I tweaked and expanded my use of the Apex. One of the things I wanted to do was to better utilize my RO/DI system. Get it off of a timer and refill my ATO reservoir on demand. In the Apex world, if you want to hook up external sensors, you need what they call a breakout box. Apex sells one, but I really dislike their design. Screw terminals, with a common ground terminal. If you use all the input channels, you’d have six wires all wrapped around a single screw terminal. A quick poke around the internet gave me the pinout for the mini-DIN connector on the Apex. A few bucks at Amazon, and I built my own breakout box. Saved a few bucks, and got a much more user-friendly device, with spring terminals, each channel having its own ground terminal.
So, my ATO reservoir. It’s a 5g box from Eshopps. I mounted a ‘low’ level switch, and a ‘full’ level switch, and left the existing mechanical float valve in place. Wired the low and full switches to my nifty new breakout box and did some simple Apex programming. When the low sensor is tripped, I turn on my RO/DI solenoid. When the full sensor is tripped, I turn the solenoid off. If the solenoid is on for longer than 4 hours, I turn it off, and send an email alert… something is wrong. The mechanical float valve is a backup and should turn the water off if all else goes south. Perfect. I never have to look at my ATO reservoir, it gets filled as needed. Oh, and I set up data logging on the output that controls the solenoid… now I can see, in a chart, how often I’m refilling my five gallon reservoir. This gives me a broader picture, I can see evaporation rates over time. A helpful metric.
I continued expanding. Bought a 2nd EB8, giving me 8 more controlled outlets. Now, virtually everything in my tank is plugged into the Apex. Why? Why not! I set up a water change mode, turns off everything I need disabled when I do a water change. I can see amperage draw for the entire system, in a chart. I added a level sensor and float valve to my water change barrel… with the flick of a switch (on my phone!), I can start making up water for a water change, knowing that it’ll stop when it’s full. Plugged my under-cabinet display lights into the controller as a timer… you get the idea.
At this point, I have the following devices connected to my APEX:
1) BlueLight Four outside T5 lights, dawn/dusk.
2) WhiteLight Four inside T5 lights, daylight.
3) Reflight 2x24” T5’s on refugium, inverse lighting schedule.
4) Heater
5) Skimmer Level sensor in sump shuts it off if sump level is higher than normal.
6) ATOReservoir Refill solenoid, as above.
7) Powerhead1 Timer for wave pump 1.
8) Powerhead2 Timer for wave pump 2.
9) Returnpump Can disable for water changes.
10) Reactor BRS dual GAC/GFO, only used as needed.
11) DosingPump Inexpensive 4 head pump, turns off if pH varies outside of range.
12) CabinetLight Under tank bookshelf decorative light timer.
13) ClosetLight Turns on/off my sump closet light when I open the door.
14) MixingPump Turns on the pump to mix saltwater and pump it to the tank.
15) TunzeATO Can disable for water changes, etc.
16) MixingStation Solenoid to fill mixing barrel for water changes.
Honestly, I will never again own an aquarium without a controller. So far, I’m quite happy with the Apex. I hear the same horror stories everyone else hears. Some of that is real, I’m sure, and some of it is from people who don’t really understand automation. When you automate something, you have to EXPECT it to fail, and plan for what happens when it does. For example, my ATO refill system, something I’ve talked about quite a bit. If the high-level sensor fails, I’ve got a mechanical float valve that should stop it from overflowing. I’ve also got a timer, that would limit the damage if the float valve also failed… and, I’ve got a battery powered water alarm in the floor next to it in case everything else fails. Its as safe a system as I know how to design, requiring multiple failures before any damage would occur.
Having this controller allows me to enjoy my hobby more. I spend less time refilling RO/DI containers, plugging and unplugging equipment for water changes, etc. I don't worry about forgetting to turn off my RO/DO and flooding my floor. I don’t get flooded skimmer cups because the power came back on, and my sump level was too high when the skimmer started back up. I get email alerts if my pH or Temperature go out of the range I’ve set for them. I can log on to Apex Fusion from my phone, or any computer, anywhere, and see that things are running as they should. I can pull up charts showing pH, Temp, refill cycles… I can even see if my RO/DI is running slow, because I can see how long it takes to fill my reservoir.
There are a great many things that the controller could do, if I wanted to, but it is doing what I need it to do, eliminating a great deal of daily monitoring worry, and repetitive tasks that I would otherwise have.
Most reefers spend big money on these wonderful bits of reef in our homes. In my humble opinion, having a stable controller, set up to monitor and maintain the systems YOU need on YOUR system is well worth the price. That said, I am an industrial programmer, and I can assure you, compared to modern industrial automation equipment, these things are, in fact, little more than cheap toys. I sincerely hope to see the technology continue to grow in time.
Greybeard
