Controllers confuse me.

[tidus10]

Do i need controllers? Can i just get monitors instead so i can see where my levels are. I only like the thermostat idea of it, but I'm not sure how aquarium heaters react to their power being dimmed or "on/off" type of thermostats work best.

Im not looking for "it saved me tank" stories but more like a good pros/cons of controllers. keep in mind ive never done anything like this, i dont know what dosing pumps are or even how to set that stuff up so I'm just looking for something to tell me "your PH is high; your ammonia is above normal; your salinity is jacked up yO" just the normal stuff.

 

[cdness]

My APEX can email and text me when there as parameters out of whack. This would assume the probe is installed so I am currently only monitoring PH and Temp. However there are ORP, Conductivity, and other probes available for the APEX to test other things.

A controller does go well beyond just monitoring values in the tank though. Mine maintains the calcium and alkalinity levels via BRS Drew's Dosing Pumps. It controls my lighting schedule as well as controls the temperature in the tank. I have a fan for cooling and 200W heater for heating. The controller turns on only what is needed with no damage to equipment. Plus a controller thermostat is a heck of a lot more accurate and reliable than a tiny one in the heater itself.

If you are just looking for something to monitor, a controller may be way too much for you. Have you looked at the following products though:

Digital Aquatics Lifeguard: Lifeguard Monitoring System

Seneye Reef Monitor: Aquarium monitor system - Fish Tank water sensor - seneye

They are both non-controlling monitors with different capabilities. They may just fit your needs without jumping head first into a controller setup.

 

[Ecvernon]

Every tank does not need a Controller. What type of system do you have? Lights, corals, pumps, skimmers,ATO.....

 

[tidus10]

a lot of my stuff is just to get up and running, im sure ill upgrade and switch out stuff as times come. it will be a 66gal tank, 24" marineland (already looking for a replacement) no corals yet as im just setting up the tank two ebay 800gph powerheads and a SC skimmer..no ATO

 

[Ecvernon]

It sounds like you are at the point where everything is manageable. IMO you should concentrate on getting your basic equipment setup and when you have more sensitive livestock you can use a controller as a tool to maintain your tank. A controller really started to benefit me when it was able to take over daily tasks in one convenient interface.

 

[vbsaltydog]

Two approaches apply here.


(1) More cost up front, MUCH cheaper in the long run.

Buy proper, albeit expensive, equipment up front and avoid killing thousands in fish/corals.

(2) Low up front cost, MUCH more expensive in the long run.

Buy low end equipment and have an unstable ecosystem that cant support the life that you are trying to host.

I am not saying that you need a controller but looking at a key piece of equipment such as a protein skimmer, using a SC skimmer to save ~100.00 vs buying an SWC/SRO etc means that you will not be skimming effectively which means that your water quality will degrade over a short period of time and you will have algae breakouts as well as livestock deaths.

You will be asking why am I having problems while thinking "I have a protein skimmer" when in reality, you really dont. The money that you lost on your fish will quickly add up to the ~100.00 that you "saved" by getting the SC skimmer and you will still need to buy a proper skimmer so you are out the money for the livestock and the cost of the SC and you will still have to buy a proper skimmer meaning that now your skimmer will end up costing +~100.00 (dead livestock) + 100.00 (SC) + 250.00 (proper skimmer) = $450.00 vs buying the 250.00 skimmer in the fist place and avoid killing livestock in the process.

The same logic applies to any key piece of life support. Buy cheap, buy twice. Do yourself a favor and buy quality the first time. You can get a used, but good quality skimmer, in the for sale forum for ~250.00 shipped.

I dont think you need a controller at this point, especially since they cant monitor nitrates/nitrites/calcium/alk/phosphate but I would watch Ammonia and pH at your stage of the game (no corals) as those are your biggest threats.

If you dont know what dosing pumps are then I strongly discourage you from getting into corals (especially SPS) until you know more. You dont need dosing pumps, per say, buy without them you will need to test / manually dose VERY often to avoid killing corals as they are very sensitive to ALK swings.

Good luck.

 

[Samoyedlover]

That seneye system looks awesome. I think I will have to get that. It doesn't look overwhelming and is a nice price. Good thread thank you.


Sent Via the R2R Forum APP