What's the most valuable feature of a controller?

[Biglew11]

Wait. What?

Somebody let the mods know that webslinger's account has clearly been hijacked.

Spending $600 to test Mg four times a day is not the webslinger I know and love.

Not to mention having to buy the controller for it to work

 

[Webslinger]

Yeah the Apex trident!!

 

[Andy69]

This thread makes me thank the person who came up with the “Ignore” feature here on R2R.... ;Troll;Troll;Troll

Thank you for pointing this out!

 

[ca1ore]

If a seam breaks, a controller isn't going to help you, either is an alert. haha

Nor if your house burns down or gets hit by a meteor. Surprisingly though, there are a lot of little things that go awry with a reef tank that monitoring/alerting CAN help with. Limited only by ones imagination I suppose.

I got a controller (and a standby generator) as a form of peace of mind because I travel a lot for my job ..... well, did travel. Probably will again.

 

[robbyg]

Apologies to the community at large for engaging the troll. I think the most valuable feature of a controller is the ability to be notified, particularly when you are away so you can make a rational decision regarding response. If any.

I agree 100% with your statement. At first I was monitoring a lot of stuff and making sure I got as many parameters being monitored as possible.

Once I got all my programs pretty much perfected I stopped looking at parameters very often. Now I just listen out for alarms or alerts on my phone. Once a month maintenance and cleaning the glass are now my main chores. Feeding the fish and corals and watching the interactions are now my reward.

 

[Webslinger]

Yeah, I did the same but without the monitoring. My corals tell me if there is an issue. I don't travel for work so a controller is all I need.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I'm a big fan of the monitoring and also the ability to automate various tasks. I wouldn't own a tank without a controller anymore.

 

[Webslinger]

I wouldn't own one either without the $20 controllers.

 

[slojim]

I have never had a controller. But I'm at the point where my tank is older, and my floors are newer. I currently control most items with a wifi pwer strip and a bayite. But I have been planning to add a controller mostly for leak detection and response. I don't have $thousands in livestock, but I know a few people who have had thousands in floor damage. I'm also thinking about something like the Phyn water leak detector for the house. I have pretty easy access to install it.
So for me, damage to the house I suppose is my biggest priority. Along with some basic error-proofing/operational control while I'm away for a few days.

 

[weamdog]

Most important feature of any controller is communication to let you know when something is wrong.

For inst I just recently hooked up a Trident and my solution A just ran out (well almost) and testing had stopped for over 24hrs. Did I get a msg? Heck no, I only discovered by chance going into the app. That's a fail for me. These things can work seamlessly for days, weeks, months, but if they don't keep you informed of issues then they are worthless.

 

[Haberdasher]

Reliability. It has to be reliable. Which my Apex was not. It rotted from the inside out. I threw it in the trash. Will never invest in one again.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Reliability. It has to be reliable. Which my Apex was not. It rotted from the inside out. I threw it in the trash. Will never invest in one again.

Any device in a high moisture area could do that without some sort of protection or prevention of it. Maybe need to be moved to another location

 

[robbyg]

Reliability. It has to be reliable. Which my Apex was not. It rotted from the inside out. I threw it in the trash. Will never invest in one again.

I guess it's well known that I am not a fan of the Apex reliability factor but I am using one just to run the Trident. I guess having the Heartbeat function is a semi good backup to my SMS texting module on my other controller and it does not hurt to have an extra Temp and pH probe although I have not yet installed them. To your point, reliability is everything! You need a controller than can go for years and years without any glitches or strange readings.

 

[vetteguy53081]

For me: Control of outlets and ability to monitor temp-PH-salinity and water flow control via WAV pump
Have a DOS on the way and will be dosing from controller .

 

[Rich Klein]

My opinion is temperature monitoring/alerts and control. What’s yours?

In addition to monitoring 2 temp probes (sump and display) I also have low-level and high-level optical sensors in my sump to warn me if my return pump fails or there is a leak (high-level), or my ATO automation fails (low-level). I also have 2 strategically placed water sensors. My Apex will text me if there is an alarm, but I have also wired-in an 110v school bell that will wake the dead for these key alarms. I also have a separate iSocket device that monitors power and temp which is connected to the cellular network. This protects me against a power outage or if my Apex fails. Can't have too much redundancy IMO.