So, how many reefers run controllers?

[krzyphsygy]

I have been debating this purchase for 4 months now. I have 125gl sps tank. I am fully invested in this hobby. Been keeping tanks off and on for 9 years. I love it!

What's holding me back? I guess its just wondering if its worth it. Plus I hear some bad things happening with them loosing communication and shutting the system down for no reason at all. I know there are ways around this. But is it worth it?

How many of you are running them and what are your thoughts.

Appreciate the help.

[johnike]

Old AC Jr here just for the chiller and heater. I look at the temp and PH on occasion on the display.
The lights are on cheapo timers.

[RVANANO]

I absolutely loved my controller on the 120 and couldn't imagine not having one now.

[markalex]

love my aquatronica too,being able to check stuff online comes in handy

[hdking]

Love my apex gold on a 180

[myram]

Reef Angel here..........works great and nice to monitor everything in one location.

[Pife]

Apex. Not needed but nice to have the security.

[Mark Bianco]

There is nothing you can not do for yourself that a controller can do for you. With that being said I have a controlling everything in my display system as well as my frag system. For me being a service engineer and being away a lot it is so nice especially the fact is if one of the parameters get out of wack I get both an email and a text message alerting me. From there I can use my smartphone or any internet connection to change programming and I if is something I can not fix. I can call my LFS whom I have set up an account and they will go over to correct the situation. I ran tanks before and it took a lot of manual intervention. Now with the controller it handles the tasks such as ATO and water changes. Plus I can chart all parameters to see any trends good or bad.

Mark

[edsbeaker]

I have used neptune controllers for years, 1st with an aqua controller 3, and now the apex lite. Is it necessary, well….no. Is it worth it? Every single minute of the day!!! I don't think I would ever go without a controller again. It makes everything from water changes, to controlling temperature, dosing chemicals, turning off things as needed for feeding, maintenance…etc. etc. etc. easy as pie.

[Reef or Die]

I got rid of my reef keeper 2 a while back and I really miss having not one.. Definitely a strong piece of equipment for any serious reef keeper. I had mine with ph probe, temp probe light control and fan control. For those 4 things alone it is highly worth it. I'll be purchasing an apex for my new build within the next month.

[cloak]

Other than your run of the mill timers, no. So far so good though...

[jimmy n]

Proflux. Takes a bit off getting used to but once you grasp it, it becomes very valuable.

[ca1ore]

It's a pretty pricey piece of kit, more a nice-to-have then a must-have, so I suspect only a minority of reefers use one. Estimating the universe of reefers beyond RC, I'd say 10% .... maybe 15%.

[Boostable]

On my third unit of the controller evolution and honestly its at the top of my list in planning a setup. Could I live without it? Sure, do I want to... NO!! I find more and more to control, manage, adjust, or monitor with them. I am currently using an Apex now and control pump, lighting, temp, feeding, Calk Reactor, ATO, and currently working on automatic water changes. Other things I think about is using the auto feeders, not as a feeder, but as a way to maybe add a buffering compound or something along those lines. Always turning the wheels. Remote monitoring, alerts, it REALLY makes this hobby more enjoyable...

Just my .02

[krzyphsygy]

Has anyone ever experienced this communication failure thing that has crashed tanks supposedly?

What fail safes do you have in place against the controller causing problems?

[sirreal63]

A controller can kill a tank, it does happen but is somewhat rare, here is a recent one but there are many more through the years. One look at any of the forums for controller manufacturers will show numerous problems.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2398023

[ca1ore]

Originally Posted by krzyphsygy

Has anyone ever experienced this communication failure thing that has crashed tanks supposedly?

What fail safes do you have in place against the controller causing problems?

Controller can fail like any other piece of equipment. Trick is to try to anticipate the most damaging form of failure, and mitigate. For example, use the internal thermostats in your heaters to shut off in the event the controller gets stuck on. Limit your ATO reservoir to 7 days of top-offs.

[radobahn]

An Apex is running my mixed 180 along with webcams, it's nice to be able to control and/or check on things when away from home. It was spendy and I was hesitant on the purchase at first.. but now that its all dialed in I'm happy with it.

[Boostable]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

A controller can kill a tank, it does happen but is somewhat rare..
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2398023

A controller can kill a tank, yes no doubt about. However, so can almost everything else we deal with in this hobby, chem, heat, bad water, hell even a penny can ruin your day..

In fact the name "Controller" implies just that, control, when in fact its a tool to help control. A controller doesn't mitigate the responsibility of reef keeping, but does add another tool to your arsenal to simplify many things and that's probably the way it should be considered.

Other things to consider as said before.. Webcam, and remote remote are great to have as well.

Jack

[thegrun]

I ran tanks for years without a controller, but I'm a true believer in them now. They offer you a lot more safety despite the rare malfunction, and give you the ability to help solve issues if they arise when you are away from home on vacation or at work.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The only thing I use a "controller" for is temperature. I have two dyna-sense temperature controllers, both for heat in winter and one for circulated cold tap water cooling in summer.

For most other operations, a simple timer or float switch is as much control as I'm willing to give up to machines. Ever see Terminator?

[Allmost]

only use it to control part of heater. [ I have back ups on it]

everything else, its just a monitor ... and I only look at it when I have a none reefer over and wanna look cool .lol

[Palting]

How about another devil's advocate? No controller here, a 200 gallon SPS dominated system, running for over 4 years now. For the amount of money I have sunk into this system, literally sunk into it, the cost of a controller would be a drop in the bucket. Still not worth it, IMO.

I was considering getting a controller 3 years ago. I looked where I would NEED it. Lights run on simple timers. Room temp is a relatively constant 72, so the tank runs about 76-80 and the heater doesn't even come on. I don't follow pH, nobody should be chasing that, so why bother monitoring it? Now, if a controller has probes that can monitor and control alk, calcium, magnesium and salinity, then I would buy one. Since there is none that can monitor and control those parameters for this hobby, IMO controllers are a waste of money. You are better off putting your money on other things more useful. Instead, I check those parameters once a month, tweak my doser, and that's it.

[sirreal63]

Any piece of equipment can fail, that is our reality. The issue is plugging all of your life support equipment into a single point of failure, one device has an issue and it effects all devices plugged into it. That is the danger that can be avoided.

As a monitoring device they can be fantastic but hazardous for controlling. If you have 6 devices plugged into the controller, any one of them can fail and probably not take out the rest, or the tank, but if those 6 devices are plugged into one device, and that device fails, it takes out all 6 that are plugged into it and if those 6 items are life support items, the chances of disaster just got compounded. How can that be a wise thing to do, especially when you have a choice?

I would not tell anyone not to use a controller, but instead understand what you are doing and understand that they can and do have issues, and you have control over how you use it. Just because you can plug it into a controller doesn't mean you have to.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Now, if a controller has probes that can monitor and control alk, calcium, magnesium and salinity, then I would buy one. Since there is none that can monitor and control those parameters for this hobby, IMO controllers are a waste of money.

FWIW, a monitor can easily measure and control salinity.