Ph controller, yes or no?

[Acronuts1]

Hey all,
Just wanted to know if those of you out there using ca/ reactors are also using ph controllers to control the co2 in their systems.
I am slowly trying to put all the pieces of the ca/reactor puzzle and this one leaves me thinking.
American Marine seems to think that it is important to control the the Co2 and their website says we should have one in order to control the Co2 so that if it is needed it turns on if it is not needed it turns it off.
Sounds good to me.

Or should I be thinking about a total aquarium controller?
What are your thoughts?

 

[Anonymous]

I used a Milwaukee SM122 controller. Cheap, easy and reliable.

I've never ponied up the cash for a whole tank controller. It would be nice to have and if you're buying everything from scratch it doesn't cost that much more than the usual array of stuff. Once you buy an SM122 and a few decent timers you're already above $200. You can hop into a budget range controller or a used Neptune Pro for not much more.

There is a handy comparison chart here:
http://www.aquariumcontrollers.com/aqua ... risons.php

 

[Anonymous]

Well what do you "need" controlled in your tank. If you run a Ca reactor, IMO a pH controller is a must, no ifs ands or buts. Now do you need a whole aquarium controller, probably not. But you have to ask what stuff do you want automated.

Do you run a chiller, or fans to keep the tank cool? That's a temp controller
Do you run ozone? that's an orp controller
How do you lights come on? That's a very cheap timer
CA reactor, that's a pH controller
Would you like to monitor the aquarium's condition over time? That's what some controllers can do.

So, yeah, there's a lot of stuff that's useful for a whole aquarium controller, but think about what you need.

 

[Len]

A lot of these aquarium controllers (AC Jr, RK lite) are really cheap these days, so I'd opt for them over standalone controllers.