Should more reefers be using a controller?

[Gumbies R Us]

I, for one, love my Apex. For me, it was a good investment due to my traveling a lot throughout the year. So being able to monitor my tank while I am not at home is a huge plus. As controllers have gotten more and more popular over the years, should everyone be using them? Are they something reefers rely too much on? Should we go back to the old school way of not having a controller? Just curious to see everyone's thoughts on this!

 

[Salman123]

I think reef controllers are awesome!

 

[backbayreef]

Yes - I love mine, can’t live without it! I look at it multiple times a day.

Btw: tank water is at 82.2F (I have an alert at 82.5F). Yes, I know — the heat wave is here in SoCal so will need to turn on the AC for the fish room…

 

[FrugalReeferJon]

I use a $40 Amazon Basics Smart Plug Power Strip that has served me well. Does this count as a controller?

 

[BryanM]

I think the user must be comfortable with using things like this, so it just depends.

 

[NeutronMan]

Almost all of my devices have some sort of controller built in so don’t see the need for something centralized.

 

[exnisstech]

I assume your talking about apex, hydros etc? I say whatever floats your boat and makes the hobby pleasurable for you. I have no need or desire. Some people need them because of travel and such. Other people enjoy tech. Me not much of either.
If I had a single tank running and it was settled in and running smoothly I might try one just for the experience and because I do enjoy trying new things. Apex programming is way over my head so it would have to be something more user friendly for a tech challenged person like myself. Having multiple tanks like I currently do it's a no for me.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

I, for one, welcome our new Apex overlords.

To be honest, the auto-testing + auto-dosing are why I went with APEX. I calibrate 1-2 times per month, but when I travel for work, having that peace of mind of being able to check whether things are OK or not at any given moment is worth it. If you want to keep acros, auto-dosing is an absolute must.

 

[Koty]

I chase numbers with Hanna checkers, but the frequency declined with time as I realized that besides me, my corals and fish don’t give about the parameters and their fluctuations. Why measure alkalinity every hour? Thus, no controller for me