Timer Recommendations

Eric55 · 12/16/2006, 02:57 PM

Hi everyone,

Can someone recommend a timer for controlling multiple lights?

Thanks,

Eric

Blown 346 · 12/16/2006, 04:00 PM

I have the Coralife timer, it has worked flawlesy for over a year without any problems. I would recommend it.

Here is the link.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113351

firebirdbandit · 12/16/2006, 04:59 PM

The best way I found is by usine x10 modules and setting up multiple timers through your computer. I have 8 modules on my 65 gallon reef tank. One for each 96watt PC light I have (I have 2 10,000k and 2 atinics) I also have one for the refugium, one for the moon light, one for the fans and one on all the pumps. Besides having timers I also have a remote control and can control everything from that remote. It makes shutting off the pumps for waterchanges and cleaning the protein skimmer very easy. A system like this can cost $100 for the unit + 5 modulues. You can get a cheaper system but more than likely you'll find a lot of uses for this system beyond your fish tank. visit www.x10.com. Once you get through all the advertisment crap you'll actually realize that there is good use for a system like this. Well enjoy. Brad

jim293 · 12/16/2006, 05:59 PM

Coralife works great.

onano · 12/16/2006, 11:35 PM

I've got the coralife on my nano. Works like a charm.

rkelman · 12/17/2006, 04:57 AM

I have a coralife and it eats batteries. I replace the battery every 2 months. They are like $5 too.

crumbletop · 12/17/2006, 05:38 AM

If you do a search on RC on the coralife, you'll see that it has been associated with fires.

here is a thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=584645

Personally, my bet is that some salt water got into it -- a little bit here and there -- so whatever you use, make sure you never get any in there. That means never messing with it when your hands have just recently been wet with tank water, or having it someplace like in the stand where a sump/fuge is in there too.

I think individual timers like the one from marineland work well:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...riumlighttimer

You can get similar individual timers from home depot. Also, from home depot you can use individual digital timers like the ones here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...35#post7887835

If you want something more sophisticated, look into something like the AquaController Jr. from Neptune Systems:
http://www.neptunesys.com/

You can use it as a temp controller, light controller, wavemaker, pH monitor, etc. It is pretty cost effective if you are trying to control multiple things. I had a heater stick on once that almost cooked my tank. I got an AC Jr. to control everything and my temp program toggles the heater around a set temp, if the temp climbs it cuts on my canopy fans, if it climbs further it cuts my lights one by one. My lights are also individually controlled for dawn/midday/dusk.

FWIW, I used a coralife powercenter for a while and then switched to an AC Jr.

wardworld · 12/17/2006, 07:06 AM

Just a plug for the RKII found here:
ReefKeeper II

michaeldaly · 12/17/2006, 07:48 AM

Just buy a few of those mechanical dial timers, they are accurate and reliable.

DaBenzsta08 · 12/17/2006, 08:00 AM

I agree mechanical dial timers cheap from home depot, you can just plug a power strip into them for multiple outlets (all light plugs), has worked perfectly for me!

rkelman · 12/17/2006, 02:13 PM

Just a note about the coralife timers.. They are made for Coralife by Intermatic who makes the majority of timers on the market. So if the "Coralife" ones aren't safe then I would assume any of the Intermatic products would be questionable. I personally think fire issues are caused by the user not the product. Just my 2c for what its worth.

crumbletop · 12/17/2006, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rkelman
Just a note about the coralife timers.. They are made for Coralife by Intermatic who makes the majority of timers on the market. So if the "Coralife" ones aren't safe then I would assume any of the Intermatic products would be questionable. I personally think fire issues are caused by the user not the product. Just my 2c for what its worth.

I wouldn't make that assumption. The timer is different than the construction of the rest of the unit. The whole package -- wiring up 2 day channels, 2 night channels, and 4 always on channels when combined with a timer may be a setup for trouble. Even if it was user error (i.e. salt did get in there), it is very concerning to me that the item didn't short in such a way as to trip the breaker -- rather it caught fire and likely would have burned the entire house down if the tank hadn't broken and doused it with water before it spread too far...

Nano Chris · 12/17/2006, 03:50 PM

I use these for now:

http://www.intermatic.com/Default.as...cid=44&sid=116
Got them at HD for $20 each. Works well imo no problems with them, they use a AA backup battery to keep the time if the power goes out.

Plus they are rated at 15 amps so good for lighting.

rkelman · 12/19/2006, 08:03 PM

I'm not assuming Intermatic makes the whole thing. I know they do. I've seen them marketed on Ebay under the Intermatic name. Being sold as timers for aquariums.

crumbletop · 12/19/2006, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rkelman
So if the "Coralife" ones aren't safe then I would assume any of the Intermatic products would be questionable.

I wouldn't assume that any timer they make is questionable. The timer may be fine, the rest of the wiring in the day/night multi-outlet thing may not be. That was my point...

Waxxiemann · 12/19/2006, 09:37 PM

I'm with Crumbletop on this one. The fish stores in my area have stoped selling the Coralife timers due to fires. I would go with somthing else.

old salty · 12/19/2006, 11:07 PM

I use the same ones as criminal does. I have a total of four of them for all of my tanks, and have only had 1 fail after a year. Fortunately, they use solid state relays; if it fails, the power just goes off. The battery backup is a nice touch as quick power outages happen more often than you think!! It maintains the clock and the schedule that you program.

rkelman · 12/20/2006, 06:56 PM

I'm not of the opinion there is a fire problem at all with the timers. I'm not saying there isn't either. I don't think I'm qualified to make that determination. What I was stating is that if a company were to make 1 product that is dangerous / poorly made the chances are there are others in their product line. They make many items with similar functions so why aren't they catching on fire? My opinion is that no one is dripping salt water into them. Breakers are great but they are not the end all to safety. (how many computers get fried each year that are hooked to a power supply with a breaker yet the voltage spikes enough to actually burn components?) A soaking wet breaker or one corroded from salt water isn't going to function properly either.

12/16/2006, 02:57 PM	#1
Eric55 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Western Massachusetts Posts: 490	Timer Recommendations Hi everyone, Can someone recommend a timer for controlling multiple lights? Thanks, Eric

12/16/2006, 04:59 PM	#3
firebirdbandit Registered Member. Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 132	The best way I found is by usine x10 modules and setting up multiple timers through your computer. I have 8 modules on my 65 gallon reef tank. One for each 96watt PC light I have (I have 2 10,000k and 2 atinics) I also have one for the refugium, one for the moon light, one for the fans and one on all the pumps. Besides having timers I also have a remote control and can control everything from that remote. It makes shutting off the pumps for waterchanges and cleaning the protein skimmer very easy. A system like this can cost $100 for the unit + 5 modulues. You can get a cheaper system but more than likely you'll find a lot of uses for this system beyond your fish tank. visit www.x10.com. Once you get through all the advertisment crap you'll actually realize that there is good use for a system like this. Well enjoy. Brad __________________ ===================== Current Tank Info: 65 Gallon Reef Tank with Tidepool II sump and a 20 Gallon refugium connected to it. 2 x 150watt 10,000K HQI Metal Halide and 2x T5 HO Atinics. 28 watt PC for Refugium

12/16/2006, 05:59 PM	#4
jim293 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 169	Coralife works great. __________________ Jim293 110 gallon reef tank Current Tank Info: 72 Gallon bow front/ 110 Gallon Reef Tanks

12/17/2006, 05:38 AM	#7
crumbletop Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 4,718	If you do a search on RC on the coralife, you'll see that it has been associated with fires. here is a thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=584645 Personally, my bet is that some salt water got into it -- a little bit here and there -- so whatever you use, make sure you never get any in there. That means never messing with it when your hands have just recently been wet with tank water, or having it someplace like in the stand where a sump/fuge is in there too. I think individual timers like the one from marineland work well: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...riumlighttimer You can get similar individual timers from home depot. Also, from home depot you can use individual digital timers like the ones here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...35#post7887835 If you want something more sophisticated, look into something like the AquaController Jr. from Neptune Systems: http://www.neptunesys.com/ You can use it as a temp controller, light controller, wavemaker, pH monitor, etc. It is pretty cost effective if you are trying to control multiple things. I had a heater stick on once that almost cooked my tank. I got an AC Jr. to control everything and my temp program toggles the heater around a set temp, if the temp climbs it cuts on my canopy fans, if it climbs further it cuts my lights one by one. My lights are also individually controlled for dawn/midday/dusk. FWIW, I used a coralife powercenter for a while and then switched to an AC Jr. __________________ "Misers get up early in the morning; and burglars, I am informed, get up the night before." - GK Chesterton Current Tank Info: 90 gallon AGA RR. 20 gal sump. 6x54W T5. AquaController Jr.

12/17/2006, 07:06 AM	#8
wardworld Gonna Need A Bigger Tank Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Lakeland, FL Posts: 1,398	Just a plug for the RKII found here: ReefKeeper II __________________ -Daryl Current Tank Info: 180 gallon / 100 gallon rubbermaid sump / 40 gallon fuge / I-Tech 200 skimmer

12/16/2006, 04:00 PM	#2
Blown 346 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rockford, Illinois Posts: 6,596	I have the Coralife timer, it has worked flawlesy for over a year without any problems. I would recommend it. Here is the link. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113351

12/16/2006, 11:35 PM	#5
onano Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 425	I've got the coralife on my nano. Works like a charm.

12/17/2006, 04:57 AM	#6
rkelman Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Belleville, Ontario Canada Posts: 3,438	I have a coralife and it eats batteries. I replace the battery every 2 months. They are like $5 too.

12/17/2006, 07:48 AM	#9
michaeldaly Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Earth Posts: 2,009	Just buy a few of those mechanical dial timers, they are accurate and reliable.

12/17/2006, 08:00 AM	#10
DaBenzsta08 Moved On Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Storrs, Connecticut Posts: 254	I agree mechanical dial timers cheap from home depot, you can just plug a power strip into them for multiple outlets (all light plugs), has worked perfectly for me!

12/17/2006, 02:13 PM	#11
rkelman Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Belleville, Ontario Canada Posts: 3,438	Just a note about the coralife timers.. They are made for Coralife by Intermatic who makes the majority of timers on the market. So if the "Coralife" ones aren't safe then I would assume any of the Intermatic products would be questionable. I personally think fire issues are caused by the user not the product. Just my 2c for what its worth.

12/17/2006, 03:50 PM	#13
Nano Chris Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 2,758	I use these for now: http://www.intermatic.com/Default.as...cid=44&sid=116 Got them at HD for $20 each. Works well imo no problems with them, they use a AA backup battery to keep the time if the power goes out. Plus they are rated at 15 amps so good for lighting. __________________ Chris ------- 34 Gallon Red Sea Max 130! Setup (Just got back into the hobby) Current Tank Info: 34 Gallon RedSeaMax!

12/19/2006, 08:03 PM	#14
rkelman Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Belleville, Ontario Canada Posts: 3,438	I'm not assuming Intermatic makes the whole thing. I know they do. I've seen them marketed on Ebay under the Intermatic name. Being sold as timers for aquariums.

12/19/2006, 09:37 PM	#16
Waxxiemann Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 2,364	I'm with Crumbletop on this one. The fish stores in my area have stoped selling the Coralife timers due to fires. I would go with somthing else. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." Albert Einstein

12/19/2006, 11:07 PM	#17
old salty Genius Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The Island of Misfit Toys Posts: 3,131	I use the same ones as criminal does. I have a total of four of them for all of my tanks, and have only had 1 fail after a year. Fortunately, they use solid state relays; if it fails, the power just goes off. The battery backup is a nice touch as quick power outages happen more often than you think!! It maintains the clock and the schedule that you program. __________________ "The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers." Thomas Jefferson Current Tank Info: Out of the marine aquarium hobby

12/20/2006, 06:56 PM	#18
rkelman Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Belleville, Ontario Canada Posts: 3,438	I'm not of the opinion there is a fire problem at all with the timers. I'm not saying there isn't either. I don't think I'm qualified to make that determination. What I was stating is that if a company were to make 1 product that is dangerous / poorly made the chances are there are others in their product line. They make many items with similar functions so why aren't they catching on fire? My opinion is that no one is dripping salt water into them. Breakers are great but they are not the end all to safety. (how many computers get fried each year that are hooked to a power supply with a breaker yet the voltage spikes enough to actually burn components?) A soaking wet breaker or one corroded from salt water isn't going to function properly either.