Can anyone give me any feedback on the LightHouse Aquarium Controller

[will_w]

I am trying to figure out which controller I would like to use in conjunction with my new calc reactor. I saw the LightHouse Aquarium Controller but have been unable to find any feedback from people that are using it. Does anyone have any experience with it?

[ewatson]

I have the same question.......need some feedback.

[will_w]

Anyone?...... Maybe Premium Aquatics should give me a unit at a greatly reduced price to become an unbiased beta tester...:) ;)

[Jeremy B.]

Hey Will, shoot me an email when you get time!

jeremy@premiumaquatics.com

[jasonfrey]

HI,

I use the Lighthouse on my home tank, but it's last year's version without the Ethernet port. I use the Lighthouse to control my heater, and turn on my daylight VHO's and actinic VHo's and I have a stream 6060 that I have setup to run 4 hours day with the lighthouse. I monitor Ph and temp also.

So i'm using pretty basic features, but that was what i wanted, was just a good basic controller. So just depends on what you are looking for.

[will_w]

Jeremy, I sent over an email.

[MK Reefer]

Well I just agreed to be a test subject, as this is one cool controller for monitoring your tank from the web. This is my dream come true and I still have some money in my wallet..

Can't wait to get my hands on this bad boy.... Now I can monitor my tank when I travel or am bored at work :) ehheeh

Mike

[Illusion]

Hey Jeremy.. Its James... If you do Find that you need someone else to Test you know how to get a hold of me...

Thanks again,
James

PS it was a pleasure talking with ya..

[Jeremy B.]

Thanks James, I will definitely keep you in mind!

[pangea]

Any updates on this unit? Looks like what I need for my 125

[jasonfrey]

Hi,

Yes, this unit is now on Version 2.0. Most recently updated items was heater or chiller control and fan control.

[pangea]

Jason,
Any more insight would be great. Is this wireless like Wi-Fi as in Linksis (sp?) samre as my computer? So stand alone web access and PC programmable or just acces from net?

PM me with ph,orp probes and "package"

[jasonfrey]

HI, It has a built in ethernet port, so you can either plug it into a wired hub network, or you could plug in a little wireless adaptor and connect that way. That's about the extent of my knowledge on the network part. I have the first model that doesn't have the web access. I really like all the other features.

If you want to email sales@premiumaquatics.com we can put a package together for you.

thanks

[plaz]

Any chance you will be doing a group buy or larger test group for feedback on this one?

Also, how many amps total will the outlet strip take?

Thanks!

[jasonfrey]

HI,

I don't think we would have a group buy for a while since production is low right now, plus we have them discounted at 299 right now to get them out there.

ON the amps, you can run 8 amps per outlet, 950watts. So you can really add some major lighting on these.

jason
sales@premiumaquatics.com

[plaz]

Oh well, Thanks anyway Jason!
Still stuck on the fence between controllers. The seasonal changes of Neptune seem really neat (but I don't know how beneficial it is - other than the moon cycle). You can't add a second control strip to LH - so we would have to leave chiller on the Aqua Logic. Do you know if the chiller outlet can be used for ORP on the Lighthouse (to leave 3 for lights)?

[MK Reefer]

I have the lighthouse controler and am overal happy with it..

I got mine 2-3 weeks before it was upgraded and now I have to send my whole unit back to get the latest version which is sorta a pain in the rear as its managing my whole system.

The webserver is amazing and I love it...

Problems so far are one of my light timers went, as I think the relay is stuck open. Not good.. and not what I expect from an expensive controller..

The pH and ORP control and graphing systems are great.

My one biggest complain is that you can't do BOTH a heater and a chiller.

Other then that I am very happy with it, and would highly recommend the unit.. Hopefully my timer incident was isolated.

Feel free to post any questions you may have an I will try to answer them for you.

Mike

[plaz]

I noticed that about the heater or chiller (probably something they should fix in the next version). The light sticking on can be really, really bad! At least with the heater you have a back up for it to shut down!

One more question - Does it have any alarm features? Mainly, can you call a cell phone from the web server to alert you if something is wrong (I know you would just hear beeps - but at least you would know something was up)?

Thanks again!!

[joejvj]

Hi folks. I am the design engineer of the Lighthouse Controller and will try and answer your question.

There is no alarm or cell phone calling feature as you describe. However, in Version 2.0 you can access a raw data dump of every parameter in the controller like current ph, light status, history, etc. If you have your own server or are internet savvy, you could write a server-side script to get this data and do anything you need to do with it (like send emails out on certain values, dial phone numbers, or whatever).

[eliran]

hi,
has the ability to buy the controller in 220v?
i'm from israel and i also want to enjoy from this conroller...

[joejvj]

No, sorry. We only have the 120V U.S. model right now.

[Capt. Nemo]

Hi Joe,

I have a couple of questions that I had for Jeremy from a thread that I started "sump for my 55 gal". It doesnt seem that he's around at this time so I was hoping you could answer my questions and provide me with some info. Thanks.

[joejvj]

Sorry, I don't work for PA. I work for the company that supplies the Lighthouse Controller to PA, so I'm not qualified to answer your questions on the sump issues.

joe

[atreis]

I'm also very curious about this controller, and am currently looking for such a device. Here's what I understand from the PA website, and comments in here: It will control three lighting zones. (That would be great for me, as that's what I have.) It will turn off at least one of those when the temperature gets too high. It has a single-stage heater/chiller controller built-in, but not two-stage (which is unfortunate).

So questions:

What are the remaining two outlets used for, if anything?

Are there plans to create a v3.0 that includes a two-stage chiller/heater controller so that one can use it to control both the chiller and the heaters? (To me, this is a big downside to this controller right now.)

When it detects temperature too high, does it turn off all of the light zones, or just one of them?

Are all three light zones independently programmable? (i.e. one of them appears to be labeled regugium, which generally means that it's on when the others are off. I leave my fuge lights on all the time, but have three light zones over the display tank that I would like to control indepdently. Currently I do this using three light timers, but that's a pain because I have to sync up the timers constantly. So, will this do what I want it to do?)

Are all of the temp settings programmable? (i.e. turn heaters on when temp falls below X. Turn lights off when temp goes above Y. Where X and Y can be set by me?)

Thanks for any info.

[joejvj]

(1) The 6 outlets consist of three for the lighting zones, one for the heater/chiller, and the other two are "always on".

(2) There are no plans at the moment for a new version having the features you describe.

(3) Each lighting zone is independently programmed. The names "Daylight", "Actinic", and "Refugium" are just labels and the outlets can be used for anything including lighting, pumps, etc.

(4) The "Daylight" outlet ONLY has a secondary control feature that can optionally be set to turn off at a specific temperature, independent of the heater/chiller temperature setting. It is intended to turn off MH lighting when the chiller or sump fans cannot keep up with a rise in temperature.

[MadTownMax]

I'm not trying to be a PITA - but in the description it states that it has the capability to control both pH and ORP

which would mean that two of the outlets would be needed to control
1. a solenoid valve on a calcium reactor (pH)
2. a ozone generator (ORP)

Is that what the other two outlets are for?

I am looking at getting a controller due to it being the most cost-effective way of running a tank (a temperature controller, pH monitor, and ORP monitor would cost $300 alone, controllers much more) while the timers and web-interface are very nice additions to have.

Can you change settings from the web?

I know you said no new versions were on the horizon, but FWIW
Almost all reef-keepers agree though that both controls for a heater and chiller (dual-stage) would be an incredible add-on. The feature for turning off the main lights basically takes care of worries of cooking the tank, but for the summer months, a chiller (or a small fan) can really help keep a tank running just cool enough to keep corals happy

- and a few more outlets never hurt ;)

Really though, I think you have made a great product Thank you!

[joejvj]

The Refugium outlet is shared between fuge lighting, ph control, and orp control. So you can't control both an ozone generator and a CO2 solenoid at the same time.

Settings cannot be changed from the web interface. This was done for security reasons (i.e., wouldn't want a hacker setting your heater temp to 120 Deg).

Actually, you can control both a heater and chiller at the same time. The "Daylight Cutoff" feature can be used with a heater instead of lights, and will turn off the outlet at a preset temperature, while the chiller can be plugged into the htr/chiller outlet at the same time.

Yes, more outlets and other goodies would be nice, but it's hard to keep the price where it is while adding more things.

[joejvj]

BTW, there is an updated FAQ on the Lighthouse at:

http://mcuresearch.com/faq.html

[pangea]

If I give up lighting control outlets, will the Lighthouse contol PH and ORP?

[MadTownMax]

Thanks for the reply joejvj - all very good points, I have to agree all around -

[druluv]

Feedback Analysis - on Premium Aquatics Lighthouse Aquarium Controller
I have using this controller for three days. The controller is very easy to use and to set up. The controller monitors PH, ORP, and Temperature. It also turn your reef lighting off and on. The controller has three controllable lighting zones. It has Daylight, Actinic, Refugium lighting. The lighting names are arbitrary; they should of called it timer outlets. These three outlets can run anything you want on a timer. Another good feature is the "Daylight Cutoff" feature, it allows you to set a temperature that will turn off the Daylight. In addition to this, you can view min/max values over 24 hours (PH, ORP, Temp). This is a good feature because you can see how stable your tank is operating. This controller has the capability to access data through the internet. Using proper networking equipment, you can check the conditions of your aquarium from anywhere in the world.
This controller doesn’t use x-10 modules. Some aquarium controllers provide lighting/heating control by using X-10 modules. Some people don't like the X-10 modules because they are affected by electrical noise generated from electronic ballasts and are unreliable long-term. The bottom line is that sometimes do not turn on or off when they should. They are also sensitive to computers, televisions, and most other electronic equipment, especially when plugged into the same breaker circuit.

Even though this is a solid product, I was disappointed because you can only control ORP or PH and not both. If you decide to control ORP or PH, you also lose one of your lighting zones. I am using a dual ballast and a VHO ballast so I’m using all three lighting zone. Now that I want to add ozone to my tank, I lose one of the lighting outlets, the PH/ORP controller outlet is share with one of the lighting outlets. So I still have to use those bulky timers for my other lights.

In addition, You can only control a heater or a chiller and not both. The controller can only handle up to a 1/3 HP chiller. A bummer if you have a large reef.

Final word-

This controller is rock solid. Very easy to use. I would not recommend this controller for large tanks though. If you are a real reef-tech, you probably would go for this controller either because of the minimum features. But this controller is good for smaller tanks where the core features are enough to handle the tanks issues.

[MadTownMax]

all good points - but IMO - controlling ORP and pH is not a good decision in the long run - controlling both manually; either by putting them on separate timers (to have a Calcium reactor on during the day only to minimize pH swings, and Ozone dosing at extremely low amounts) is a more reliable way to make sure your tank stays stable.

Controlling either solely using an electronic device is asking for problems - using the controller as a back-up, and setting your Ozone and CO2 dosing at appropriate levels is a more ideal situation - but hey, for the price, I think the controller is a great deal.

[Fliger]

Glad I found this thread. Mine comes in early next week. Great reviews and thanks Joe for popping in. I've used quite a few controllers and its hard to complain considering the price of under $350 with a PH probe and built-in webserver with dedicated a IP. It does seem like an inexpensive improvement would be to have the "always" on be timed applications.

The Daylight/temp cut-off is a very cool feature.

Now I need to find someone computer savvy to come to my house and do what Joe says regarding calling/paging if values are exceeded.

[greg10]

I'm interested in this controller. have there been any softare updates for it recently? I'd really like to be able to change settings from a web browser. Any chance of adding scripting abilities?

[p0rkch0p]

I just got this controller in last week, for me it is just what I needed. I am doing a 95 gallon reef tank, and was having trouble regulating heat. The graphing for temp is cool, and the ph probe is on the way so I will be able to do that as well.

What I did is used the heater/chiller outlet for my fan (in the sump, that seems to keep it cool enough so far), you just set the temp on temp lower than the off in the heater setup, then it knows its a chiller. Then I attached the heaters to the daylight outlet, and set a cutoff temp. This shuts it down at whatever preset you want, in my case I set that at 78.5. So far the temp varies in my tank about a degree, it wanders between 78 and 79. I probably need to do a little more on mitigating the heat from the lights (at least in the summer). Then I used the refugium light outlet for my normal lighting, and the actinic outlet for my actinics, naturally.

For the networking, I ended up with the powerline ethernet converters, for me it was too much of a hassle to get the wireless working with my network (using some basic security, etc) so I wanted to keep it simple as possible. I then poked a hole in my router so it will forward the traffic, and I can check my aquarium stats from anywhere on the internet. That part is pretty cool, in a geeky sort of way...:lol: The web server only is monitoring though, they have not added any sort of control over the network. IMO, I like that better anyway, it keeps things as simple as possible, which is a good thing for an aquarium.

My opinion on this controller, I think its great as a basic, first controller. Its really easy to setup, I did it in minutes, almost without the instructions. The front panel displays current temp, ph, orp if you use (I don't), time, and functions active (ie: heater/chiller on, lighting outlets on, etc), with a screensaver to turn it off at night. The price is good, I did a bunch of looking before I bought. Really serious reefers with big tanks will probably want to do more (waves, more chiller, etc) but for me, it was perfect. It came quickly, and complete too, very happy with it.

[greg10]

I am glad to hear that it works well for you.

[dclark]

If you all want to set it up to email you based off parameters buy a book on php in the computer section of Barnes & Noble. I have it setup to email me if the pH or temp gets out of range by using php and you can run it on any piece of junk pc you have laying around. I have been on the road for work ever since I did it so no access to send you info now. Hopefully I will be home over July 4th and can maybe give you all some direction, but most of the php books have several examples and instructions that could probably get you there in a few days like me.