what good is your ac jr?

[cj7eagle]

I have read all of the things you can do with an ac jr. What i am wondering is what people actually use them for. Is it basicly just a glorified timer? is there anything you dont like about it? Can you eliminate all your other timers on your tank?

I am thinking of getting one, but i am fearful of spending all that money on something i am not exactly sure what good it is.

[crab0000]

It is a great timer, but I use mine to control temp as well. You can set it to turn off lights etc. if the temp goes over a preset point. It can also use it as a pH controller for a calcium reactor. I really like mine! You can set it so the lighting duration follows that of around the equator.

[cj7eagle]

how simple is all of this to do?

[Nick A]

Not that hard actually. Just gotta get used to the programming language and you're good. I would like to use that sunset/evening timers that vary during each month, but I look at my tank the most late in the evening.

[cj7eagle]

It seems you can buy them base model, and then add extras. are there any extras that i dont really need.

Also, are the upgraded probes worth the extra money?

[oct2274]

Here is what I use mine for.........far beyond a timer ;)

1. Controls T5's - lighting schedule
2. Controls Halides - lighting schedule
3. Controls Pumps - for feeding
4. Controls Heater - on and off at my parameters
5. Monitors pH
6. Monitors Temp
7. Looks at temperature and shuts off lights, = 4 sets, one set at a time if temperature gets above each specified value.
8. Looks at temperature and shuts off pumps at values higher than the lighting values incase shutting off the lights wasn't enough
9. Controls fans by designated values. If temps are ok the fans are off, which keeps evaporation down. If temps get hot they kick on and stay on till temperatures fall to a specified value.

Soon to come........
10. I will be hooking my pc to the AC Jr for email alerts when things are out of specifications.
11. Using it to control my daily Kalk requirements. Currently trying to figure out how long to run the dosing pump to meet my tank's needs. You can also set it to shut off or not run if the pH is already at the desired level so that it doesn't overdose.


Seriously, there are so many things you can do with an AC Jr you'll never use all it's capabilities most likely.

[cj7eagle]

thanks oct, thats really an answer i was looking for.

[goreefer]

They are more than a glorified timer in my humble opinion. Yes I do use it to control the lights, but like the other posters I also control the heater, cooling fans, the auto topoff,etc.
I can also look at my tank parameters when I am out of town for extended periods of time.

[GSMguy]

the best price is the packages witht he dc8 included.

if you have a pc you can use it to write all the programing or like i do just put it in manually

i use mine to turn fans over my tank on and off depending on temp. and for lights, and my heater

[oct2274]

yes, make sure you get the DC8, temp and pH probes and I would recommend getting the AC Jr with the serial upgrade. They might all come with serial now, but make sure it has it if not.

[crab0000]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10543831#post10543831 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nick A
Not that hard actually. Just gotta get used to the programming language and you're good. I would like to use that sunset/evening timers that vary during each month, but I look at my tank the most late in the evening.
Couldn't you offset the clock by a couple of hours and still have it follow the yearly sunrise/sunset pattern? I haven't tried it, but don't see why it wouldn't work.

[Nick A]

Haven't tried that yet. I just connected a fan to my AC Jr and set it to turn on the fan once the temp hits 80 and off if it goes below 77.5.

[PSam]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10544486#post10544486 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crab0000
Couldn't you offset the clock by a couple of hours and still have it follow the yearly sunrise/sunset pattern? I haven't tried it, but don't see why it wouldn't work.

Yes - You can offset the clock itself, edit the sunrise/set table, or there is a command to delay X minutes (up to 120) before/after the sunrise/set. Full of options :).