General equip advice: putting it all together as a SYSTEM

[jonwright]

So I'm planning a tank - around 180 gallons or SO. I do want a 6' tank for sure.

In putting together everything for the tank I'm attempting to take a systems approach rather than kluging a bunch of disparate stuff together.

My goal is to have a somewhat automated system but I do realize that a Rube Goldberg system where your devices wind up running you is not what I'm looking for.

That being said my initial take is to examine the Neptune system and build out around that (even though I may not START my tank with one). Where this gets interesting is the intersection of lighting and tank controllers.

My purpose is to buy good stuff and do it once and be done.

LED lighting options there is a lot of overlap with what a controller like the Neptune can do and what's built in. And if I'm looking at Radions (for example) the Neptune seems to be redundant for controlling lights.

So what's the trade-offs?

I don't know what I want as far as detailed livestock, but I do want the capacity to do SPS in a few years without yet another upgrade and going through all of this again.

I'm attracted by being able to control/change the intensity and light spectrum depending upon what I may have in the tank - I'd like to do it from one place, natch, or without wasting money on products with signifcant overlap.

I'm rather intrigued with BuildmyLED, but I really don't know exactly what I want - flexibility with full lights is what I want.

Thoughts?

I've been looking at each product but you almost have to be an expert user to really examine how things will piece together.

Surely someone has already done that here.

[h2hiero]

First off if you want it really really easy. Get a new stand and canopy made. Stand make it atleast 35 inchs on the inside and you will thank me later. You will have plenty of room to work in there and not get ****ed off that you cant work in there easily. A bigger canopy helps to. Not to mention Having a 40 inch stand makes your tank look like a boss. Instead of bending over looking down into it you look at it and maybe even up into it. Mines 38 inchs on the inside and its almost perfect. Apex system is what everyone I know has.

[Fizz71]

IMO "kluging a bunch of disparate stuff together" is the nature of the hobby. We're constantly adding and upgrading as we go which is why I really don't like those "reef kit" type setups out there.

Based on your post I'd say the only thing you're really concerned about is having your lighting controller integrated with your eventual overall controller knowing you want LED light control flexibility.

Let me just say this...my lights going on and off are really the most uneventful actions of all my system's controlled features. H*ll...right now I have them on plain old timers. Eventually I'll integrate them into my RKL (or RK when I upgrade in a few years) but right now I want my RKL dealing with my CR, heater and more critical hardware (in terms of being controlled) and I have a limited number of ports.

I guess my point is...you're not going to need to adjust your lighting levels on a daily basis, nor will you need constant internet/cloud feedback on their lighting levels, etc. or all that other BS. IMO all I care about is if they're on or off. But maybe that's just me...and I'm a techno-geek so it's not like I'm "old school" or something.