Why a controller?

[Scooter90254]

In another read someone asks what’s the best piece of equipment you have ever purchased.

A bunch of people respond with an APEX.

Help me understand what I’m missing with these things. They are a fortune and the best I can tell you get to monitor your PH and Temp on your phone. Cool but......

I almost want to by one just to see if I really like I that much.

 

[Skep18]

Fail safe functions to alert you and/or automatically remedy situations which would otherwise kill everything inside your tank. Literally.

I'm gonna guess that's the main reason. A secondary reason may be that you can really see whats going on in your tank over time. This will help you dial things in to hit the right numbers and/or maintain true consistency.

 

[trido]

I have 48 outlets on my elaborate system. I can monitor and control it all with my phone. My fish tank texts me when I screw up and leave something on or if parameters aren’t perfect.

 

[Scooter90254]

I have 48 outlets on my elaborate system. I can monitor and control it all with my phone. My fish tank texts me when I screw up and leave something on or if parameters aren’t perfect.

Wow 48 outlets. That I understand.

Maybe the simplicity of my tanks minimizes my need. What parameter are you monitoring with the controller?

 

[BoomCorals]

Temp control alone is worth it in my view. Especially with sps. Controllers can keep temps within about a tenth of a degree.

 

[leepink23]

I control my lights, powerheads, auto top off, feed my aquarium, leak detection monitoring that shuts pumps down if needed, control my algae scrubber lights, control my return pump and much more

 

[trido]

I can keep track of temp, Ph, salinity, Orp, float switches, lights, pumps, monitor electrical consumption of specific pumps and reactors and so much more. My tank sends me a text every day, just to let me know that it can still send me a text. Also at 4;30 when I get the text its time to leave work.

 

[TonyNguyen]

If you like to go on vacation or want to go on vacation it is a must have.... You can turn off stuff from across the world....

 

[Mark Gray]

I used to say the same thing till I bought one, now I will not run a tank without one. They will tell me if I have a problem when I am away, yes like temp, but also you can see your pumps they can feed for you they can top of your tank dose and flow control. in my opinion they are well worth the money and Neptune customer service is top notch

 

[manilaboy1vic]

I use apex to note every change i make, so i can go back and see where i messed up..
i use the apex to cut off my heaters, dont wanna chance it with the heaters own thermometer..

if temp > 77.9 then heater off
if temp < 77.7 then heater on
if temp > 80 then fans on

temp probe in the DT, if i see a huge drop in temp.. time to check your return pump.

my gf txts me.. "tank is beeping".. its the smartATO, its either dirty or low on water.. i can toggle it off from work no problem without her pulling the wrong plug out..

if ph > 8.5 then doser off

do you trust a doser to turn off all the time, 365 days a year?

once you get one you will see how useful it is.

i cant set my dos schedule from my pc and not breaking my back in the sump area.. stuff like that..

 

[Punchanello]

When automation is mentioned people's minds go straight to the Apex Neptune or GHL Profilux. There are some really good 'lite' options as well. As a newbie I like these because I want to learn and do as many things as I can manually while leaving other tasks to the controller.

I went with the Tunze Smartcontroller. It runs all my pumps and powerheads + fuge and quarantine tank lighting. It keeps my water temp within .2 degrees Celsius. I can get a readout on my pH and temp history and I'll control a calcium reactor with it down the track. It certainly doesn't have all the flexibility or upgradeability of an Apex but it suits my needs and my stage of learning and helps with stability.

 

[trido]

I want to learn and do as many things as I can manually.

The problem with this is that too many daily chores is just that. Daily chores that take the fun out of the hobby and take away from your free time to enjoy the tank. Too many chores drives alot of people out of the hobby.

 

[clsanchez77]

In another read someone asks what’s the best piece of equipment you have ever purchased.

A bunch of people respond with an APEX.

Help me understand what I’m missing with these things. They are a fortune and the best I can tell you get to monitor your PH and Temp on your phone. Cool but......

I almost want to by one just to see if I really like I that much.

Absolutely expensive and totally not needed...but I really like having mine. Allows me to automate tasks and set up reminders. I have a busy life with kids and all and this allows me to keep the aquarium running when I am not around to keep the aquarium running. I get notifications when the skimmer overflows or if the tank GFCI trips. Remote monitoring of tank temp, pH, OPR and Conductivity all show everything is working well. I even have a conductivity on my kalk reactor to make sure it is topped off and working properly and an extra temp probe in my canopy above the lights to ensure my fans are all working. I have all dosing and feeding (liquid foods) all automated. I also have some really neat lighting and vortech control routines, but this is not what justified the purchase, rather just another feature to play with.

 

[Punchanello]

The problem with this is that too many daily chores is just that. Daily chores that take the fun out of the hobby and take away from your free time to enjoy the tank. Too many chores drives alot of people out of the hobby.

I'm sure the day will come when I'll be sick of chores and want to automate. For now though I'm happy to learn.

 

[Ash321]

Im in the same boat with these controllers all the marine shop round my way say they are good but a waste of money. Nearly £1000 over here for the new one. Thats twice the price of my tank cost second hand. Although they look amazing its just a fancy way to conrtol the tank from a distance. Il probally never afford one or my mrs would probs kill me if i spent a £1000 on something like that!

 

[Montiman]

I bought my controller after my gfci tripped and for whatever reason I had bumped the charging cord out of my battery back up. I was at home but it happened right as I went to bed. I lost over $500 in fish and was devastated. If I had just known the power was out I could have fixed the issue. You may feel a controller is expensive but when you can buy an apex classic for the price of one stupid mistake it starts to make sense.

I personally would sum up a controllers purpose to 2 things redundancy and notifications. I don’t want my controller to control anything essential. I just want it to turn off my dosed if it over doses kalk and alert me if there is a power outage or other problem. Many of the problems I see are when people have controllers control essential equipment such as dosing pumps or all water flow. If it is essential then no one thing should lead to failure.

 

[Ranjib]

I won't say the controller is the best equipment one can buy though. A good powerhead (like gyre or an mp40), a good light (like kessil or radion) are all better and first choice from my view.

You can use a controller, but even then its really depends upon your personal preferences. You can approach the requirement from either reliability or automation perspective. For example, heater related failures are number one reason for tank crash. A temperature controller can save your day on this regard. Which also means a 100$ inkbird temperature controller can mitigate this risk, and arguably a better choice if this is what you need than a full blown controller. The same goes for automatic top off and dosing regiment.

A controller gives you a single control pane for all of that, but it also comes at elevated risk (if you browse through the number of controller related failures, you'll get a sense of what I am saying) and cost.

I think at the end, this is very much like our tank setup (things like rockscape, livestock choices, equipment choices, sand bed or bare bottom etc) and vary person to person. A somewhat better answer can only be obtained if you can list down your specific goals. Otherwise its just lots and lots of opinions.

 

[vetteguy53081]

If you work a regular job, its like having a butler. Same applies to vacation and Especially summer where we are rarely home.
MOST IMPORTANT AS WE ALWAYS HEAR : S T A B I L I T Y !!!! What better way to be consistent with flow, lighting, monitoring and feeding than auutomation which a controller provides ! Too many goods and pros to having a controller.

 

[Ranjib]

If you work a regular job, its like having a butler. Same applies to vacation and Especially summer where we are rarely home.
MOST IMPORTANT AS WE ALWAYS HEAR : S T A B I L I T Y !!!! What better way to be consistent with flow, lighting, monitoring and feeding that automation which a controller provides ! Too many goods and pros to having a controller.

Almost all good power head and light ships with its own controller.

 

[ca1ore]

I wouldn't even put a controller in my top 10 best equipment purchases. I ran reef tanks for almost 25 years before getting one. It's a nice-to-have, I'll grant that, but hardly a must-have. I'm a big proponent of redundancy, and a controller inherently adds a MAJOR single point of failure. Sure, one could carry on for years without an problem, but if the thing goes ..... well, problem. I also mostly use mine as a monitoring and alerting device, rather than an actual controller. Even basics like heat and top off I don't consign exclusively to my apex.

Although I increasingly try to avoid giving advice, preferring to just share my experience, when pressed I will always tell folks to invest in the important stuff like a reliable pump, good lights and flow before getting a controller. I also wonder whether being too reliant on 'data' somehow erodes the ability to 'see' when something is wrong.