Controllers - Why did you buy one? Why should I?

[Smotz]

I have both the Apex JR and the Reef Angel. I prefer the Reef Angel. So much more control. Granted, I am a techie and I am good with coding. The Reef Angel out of the box will do everything the other guys will do without coding but if you really want to get granular you can edit the code.
For instance, I put an 'emergency shut off' sub routine that turns all pumps off and lights on if the sump level gets below 20%
I set different custom waves throughout the day with my 2 jebao wavemakers.
I set feeding mode at 7:30 am for 15 minutes where it turns the return pump off, sets my wavemakers to 33%, and turns on the feeder at 7:33am and 7:35am.

 

[lefkonj]

Apex all the way. I have it doing so many different things. I second the UPS for your system as well regardless. Nothing worse for pumps and such than the brown outs that happen all the time. If you have a controller you can see the power outage and turn select things off to run on just the battery. My tank shuts things off like lights, skimmer, chiller, but leaves on 1 vortech and 1 return pump to keep water moving. I can stay for about 45 minutes this way.