Controllers, Are they really worth it?

[DAN-O]

Are controllers really worth the money. If so, which one is the best one for the price and the easiest to operate

 

[bad coffee]

I have a ACJr. I bought it on sale, and it was cheaper than the temp controller and the 5 lighting timers I was going to buy.

And it's really worth it. Knowing my lights will kick off if my chiller fails and the tank goes above 84 degrees is great.

Programing it was easy once I understood how it worked. (simple If:Then statments.)

B

 

[Sean]

What do you want to control?

 

[DAN-O]

not sure. in addition to the lights, chiller & heater what else do they normally control

 

[Killerdrgn]

fans, can control an ATO, basically any equipment that needs to be plugged into an outlet. You can use them as simply as just a fancy timer, to getting the probes and then have them as reactionary measure. I.E. if your tank gets hot you can turn on the fans, even hotter it'll turn off the lights and heaters.

 

[KathyC]

The ACJr. can also control powerheads, fans, mine also gives me the temp reading & PH reading in the tank. Some have the serial port option that allows you to program it through your computer (or on the unit itself), and they can be set up to email you an alarm if certain things (you tell it what you want to know) occur on your tank.

Personally I like the fact that with the DC8 attached to it..it only takes up 2 receptacles, but the DC8 part can accept 8 plugs.. That saves a lot of space!

 

[meschaefer]

Simple answer yes. I have an AC Jr. and absolutely love it, I would never run a reef again without using controllers of one sort or another.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I have the Reefkeeper 2 and I love it. It's my lighting timer, turns off my lights and heater if the temp gets too high and also turns on a fan to help cooling. It's my wave maker and my PH meter, it also has soft start in the event of a power outage it waits 1 hour before turning on the power to the lights toi allow for the bulb and ballast to cool down as not to damage them in the event of a small outage.

 

[DaddyReefer13]

I have a ACJr. I bought it on sale, and it was cheaper than the temp controller and the 5 lighting timers I was going to buy.

B

Ditto on this . . . I had a few timers and a cluttered Surge protector outlet, before I got my RK2.

It's not a necessity per se, but definitely assist in managing the hobby.

 

[iconoclast]

I'm more comfortable using an independent temperature controllers such as the ranco etc-111000. It's a reliable, professional grade piece of equipment. You can even hook up your lights to one if so desired.
Part of my concern is the quality of controllers built for a hobby.
Also as you plug more devices (heaters, lights, chiller, ozone, top off, wavemaker or some such combination) through one controller the probability that it will fail or malfunction increases. Id also be concerned about multiple devices turning on and the combined LRA.
When many of these devices are critical do you want them routed through a single controller?

 

[bad coffee]

Also as you plug more devices (heaters, lights, chiller, ozone, top off, wavemaker or some such combination) through one controller the probability that it will fail or malfunction increases. Id also be concerned about multiple devices turning on and the combined LRA.

Other than common sense of 'the more things you have the more things can break' can you explain your statement?

Also, can you explain the "LRA" for the electrically uneducated? ( I only have one of my lights turn on at a time for this reason)

B

 

[Bob 1000]

Sorry to be a little late but "Hell yes"... Not having to worry about the temp alone is one of the main selling points for me..

 

[iconoclast]

Well if a heater malfunctions and destroys the controller or temporarily knocks it out of service all the other items connected to that controller will be interrupted too.

I'm not claiming to be electrically educated myself but as far as I understand it, it refers the amps an item uses during start up as opposed to normal operation.
Have you ever noticed the lights flicker when a fridge kicks on?

 

[Bob 1000]

Well if a heater malfunctions and destroys the controller or temporarily knocks it out of service all the other items connected to that controller will be interrupted too.

I'm not claiming to be electrically educated myself but as far as I understand it, it refers the amps an item uses during start up as opposed to normal operation.
Have you ever noticed the lights flicker when a fridge kicks on?

What controller have you used???? That sounds logical and far fetched @ the same time... If the heater goes the heater goes... I have had a heater go connected to my RK2 with no problems.. No offense..

 

[iconoclast]

I once had a heater blow up (the glass sheath only cracked) and tripped the fuse. I'm not saying that it'd have gone differently but that electrical equipment malfunctions and can potentially knock out equipment it's connected to.

I did a fair amount of reading about going with hobby controllers or professional hvac equipment adjusted for our uses.


obviously controllers for PH, ozone and such fall outside this particular discussion. the next step up from hobby controllers for those would probably be science lab equipment (which would just be cost prohibitive i imagine).

 

[Bob 1000]

Sounds good, but ditch the Glass heaters unless your perfect... I used to break one every month...lol

 

[iconoclast]

Bob, haha how did you break them so often? thats crazy.
I've only bought the stealth heaters since.

 

[Bob 1000]

Didn't really look into stealth's until a number of Damn's and Aw S%^t$...lol