Automation and controller

[Rmckoy]

Automation is a huge advantage in this hobby. Its like having a butler to turn your lights on and off, reporting an issue, monitor your temperature, ph and other levels and more.
HOW MANY OF YOU ARE USING CONTROLLERS AND WHAT KIND?
Which is your Favorite?
What do you like and dislike about your controller ?

For years I used ReefKeeper elite and it was ALWAYS trustworthy and trouble Free. I would not be afraid to buy another one.
I was scared of Apex as it looked complicated. I finally found one at a price I could not refuse and took my chance. I have used Apex since and still do.

My Favorite will be Reef Keeper despite being gone from the market. These were Too easy to set up.

Apex:
Like: The look, the plug layout, the amount of modules and abilities to monitor levels, leaks, dose, trident and ATO control.

Dislike: False reading with Salinity and Trident readings

I cant justify buying this unit for $800 and having to go out and get Hanna kits and a salinity tester because I cant rely on the saltwater probe which is over $200

Other than a simple pin style timer for lights I have never used any type of controller .
I’ve posted many times questioning them and curious if I would ever use it or benefit from it

my reef is simple . I enjoy thr hands on part of testing but ….
with the larger system I would consider the option of a auto water change and possibly even look into adding a uv , ozone or filing up my dosing containers to go with the dosing pump .
I haven’t need it as I lost most of my corals almost 3 years ago

 

[vetteguy53081]

Other than a simple pin style timer for lights I have never used any type of controller .
I’ve posted many times questioning them and curious if I would ever use it or benefit from it

my reef is simple . I enjoy thr hands on part of testing but ….
with the larger system I would consider the option of a auto water change and possibly even look into adding a uv , ozone or filing up my dosing containers to go with the dosing pump .
I haven’t need it as I lost most of my corals almost 3 years ago

Its a lifeline for me especially when traveling. I have many components that are used or controlled by automation and leaves me at a point I literally have to feed frozen meals daily- Controller does the rest and has been nothing but dependable and convenient.

 

[Rmckoy]

Its a lifeline for me especially when traveling. I have many components that are used or controlled by automation and leaves me at a point I literally have to feed frozen meals daily- Controller does the rest and has been nothing but dependable and convenient.

I believe the best part of this hobby is the hands on part and not putting all your eggs in one basket relying on controllers
But …. One day I might find a great deal to slowly automate some parts . Water changes are the biggest pain and curious how to automate that in the small space I have .
Once I move to a larger place it might work better

 

[vetteguy53081]

I believe the best part of this hobby is the hands on part and not putting all your eggs in one basket relying on controllers
But …. One day I might find a great deal to slowly automate some parts . Water changes are the biggest pain and curious how to automate that in the small space I have .
Once I move to a larger place it might work better

Auto water changer is the easiest but a good doser pump such as Kamoer can help accomplish the auto change.

 

[Rmckoy]

Auto water changer is the easiest but a good doser pump such as Kamoer can help accomplish the auto change.

I have a jeabo that’s not being used. .
Issue is to take from my tank I don’t have a drain close . And don’t have storage for new water close to my tank
Water changes mean filling 25 gallons at the kitchen sink from rodi and dragging that brute can to the main room where the tank is.
Doing the water change by filling 5 gal salt buckets from the dt and carrying them to the bathroom to empty .

 

[Saltysav96]

within the past month i have snatched all my GHL stuff off my tank and got the hydros x4 pro pack. so far i love it , the app is great, programing seems easy. i have since then ordered about $200 more in hydros accessories to add to it. and plan to add the kracken when it drops. cant wait to see what all hydro's comes out with over the next few years.
and all the hydro's gear seem to be affordable compared to apex and GHL.

 

[n2585722]

I have a jeabo that’s not being used. .
Issue is to take from my tank I don’t have a drain close . And don’t have storage for new water close to my tank
Water changes mean filling 25 gallons at the kitchen sink from rodi and dragging that brute can to the main room where the tank is.
Doing the water change by filling 5 gal salt buckets from the dt and carrying them to the bathroom to empty .

I use auto water change regimen on the Hydros and that output controls my ATO, drain pump and fill pump. All are dosing pumps. I change about 1200ml a day in three water changes. It is all automated. To do that you would need three dosing pumps that run when powered,Three drive ports which you can get on the XD controller. You would also need some sense ports for the water level sensor and also sensors in your fresh saltwater supply and if you drain into a container one there. So that is at least three sense ports. The XS has 4 of those. You would also need a control buss cable. They come in different lengths. You would need at least one terminator. The XD can power itself and the XS so you can get the XD and the controller only version of the XS unless you want to do more with it. Get three of the Hydros dosing pumps since the connect directly to the drive ports. They run at 43ml a minute so unless you are changing a lot of water during the day that should work. The alternative would be using an XP8 instead of the XD. It has 8 AC outlets you can use to power any dosing pump that will run on AC power such as the Intllab pumps. I use two of those for water change and a Hydros for ATO. The three pumps in the bottom shelving assembly are my ATO and AWC pumps. They are in the garage 35ft from the tank. The storage containers are under the workbench. The tubing to and from the tank go up through the attic in insulated PVC conduit. There is also tubing running to and from under the kitchen sink the same way. So the drain pump pulls from the sump through the attic to the pump then back up through the attic and down under the kitchen sink to the drain. The RODI unit in the garage gets its tap water from the cold water at the kitchen sink and the waste water from the RODI also empty to the kitchen sink drain. I have been using this for the 7 years the tank has been setup. It was originally controlled with an Archon controller but I switched to the Hydros when it came out a little over two years ago. The first things I converted over to the Hydros was ATO and AWC.

 

[Alfie]

i run apex, couple of dos. Trident wih the new filter which has made a massive difference on accuracy. I only have a tank now because of automation, for 3 years up unil the beginning of April this year i worked away with either 1 or 2 days a week at home 52 weeks a year The amount of times it has alerted me to an issue and allowed me to call the missus to check or sort the tank are numerous. Personally, I wouldnt be without an apex or ghl now

 

[Orion9]

I recently upgraded aquariums after 25 years and moved from a DIY programable logic controller to Apex. Its not much of a comparison but I'm thrilled to see commercially available products dedicated to the hobby. I purchased all of my Apex gear used on Reef2Reef, except for a Trident, and not sure I would have if retail pricing was the only option.

1997 - 2022

2022 - ?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

No controller, just a ato and one doser for ALK. Everything else manual.

 

[tmccaff]

Apex all the way. The Trident is fairly reliable if you calibrate it manually based on your testing kits, clean the cuvette every 4-6 months and recalibrate after switching reagents.

Hydros the way as it gets better all the time. Apex I had and GHL. GHL the hardware is better built but software wise Apex. Hydros so easy. I am sure Hydros they will come out with own version of Automated water testing. Mastertronic Is discontinued I heard. KH Carer can be used for Alk and heard it's better than Alkatronic. GHL KH Director I had was ok. The good thing about the Hydros each one has it's own brain unlike other controllers. Example if Apex brain goes out you're in trouble nothing will work.

 

[Tcook]

I use an Apex to run and monitor almost everything. Really happy with it. The Trident hasn’t really hit the mark. It is consistently off so with other tests clyou can tell where you are. One thing my LFS told me was to reduce the Trident head pressure to as close to zero as possible. This has definitely closed the accuracy gap for me.

 

[blaxsun]

Hydros the way as it gets better all the time. Apex I had and GHL. GHL the hardware is better built but software wise Apex. Hydros so easy. I am sure Hydros they will come out with own version of Automated water testing. Mastertronic Is discontinued I heard. KH Carer can be used for Alk and heard it's better than Alkatronic. GHL KH Director I had was ok. The good thing about the Hydros each one has it's own brain unlike other controllers. Example if Apex brain goes out you're in trouble nothing will work.

Each to their own. Apex is more "plug and forget".

 

[vetteguy53081]

Automatic comes with preference and budget
Even a timer works for others.

 

[nursingcoral]

Automation is a huge advantage in this hobby. Its like having a butler to turn your lights on and off, reporting an issue, monitor your temperature, ph and other levels and more.
HOW MANY OF YOU ARE USING CONTROLLERS AND WHAT KIND?
Which is your Favorite?
What do you like and dislike about your controller ?

For years I used ReefKeeper elite and it was ALWAYS trustworthy and trouble Free. I would not be afraid to buy another one.
I was scared of Apex as it looked complicated. I finally found one at a price I could not refuse and took my chance. I have used Apex since and still do.

My Favorite will be Reef Keeper despite being gone from the market. These were Too easy to set up.

Apex:
Like: The look, the plug layout, the amount of modules and abilities to monitor levels, leaks, dose, trident and ATO control.

Dislike: False reading with Salinity and Trident readings

I cant justify buying this unit for $800 and having to go out and get Hanna kits and a salinity tester because I cant rely on the saltwater probe which is over $200

I have an Apex controller primarily for lights , and I use the DOS for automatic water changes.

 

[Redemptioner]

Have Apex and Hydros and Apex is miles ahead of hydros be it the UI, the products or the pricing.

If you want to risk burning your house down then a unmodified hydros X8 is the way to go.....

 

[tmccaff]

How do you say Apex is miles ahead of Hydros? Apex been out a lot longer but Apex brain goes all the modules wont work your tank controller done.

 

[Troylee]

Have Apex and Hydros and Apex is miles ahead of hydros be it the UI, the products or the pricing.

If you want to risk burning your house down then an unmodified hydros X8 is the way to go.....

I’m sorry to say you’re incorrect… apex is not Ul certified or listed.. they just recently got a etl sticker on their on eb832 “intertek sticker” which is good! But still doesn’t meet Ul certifications. I deal with this daily for my day job lol… my shop builds ul certified products and it’s a process and you have to hold a license…

 

[StatelineReefer]

I’m sorry to say you’re incorrect… apex is not Ul certified or listed.. they just recently got a etl sticker on their on eb832 “intertek sticker” which is good! But still doesn’t meet Ul certifications. I deal with this daily for my day job lol… my shop builds ul certified products and it’s a process and you have to hold a license…

In this instance, UI refers to User Interface, I believe.

 

[Troylee]

In this instance, UI refers to User Interface, I believe.

I kinda thought that myself but he went on to say how hydros will burn your house down so I’m almost positive he meant UL “underwriters laboratories” but who knows haha!