AquaController Jr Vs. Reefkeeper

[Trickman2]

Ok So I have been doing some looking around at controllers and see Their is a Aquacontroller Jr. now. Can you tell me what makes your product better? They both look like good products. Doing some research into different units and Figured you would know best. Thanks

[digitalaquatics.com]

First, our price. We are currently have a summer sale that prices ours at 219.00 with free shipping. We also include a backlight standard in our unit. Our unit does not currently support pH as does the Jr., but to get that functionality you would need to purchase there probe. That will drive the total cost of there unit to about $300.00.

We offer all the basics with the ReefKeeper without all the extras that are rarely used. This helps us keep cost down and functionality simple. Over all the ReefKeeper is a great value for the price. you can download a manual from our website prior to purchasing. Email us through our website if you have more questions.

www.digitalaquatics.com

Scott B.
Digital Aquatics LLC

[kattner]

I would also download the Aquacontroller Jr. manual and check it out too. Some of the adidtional features for the Aquacontroller Jr. include:

(1) Shut off lights if temperature gets to high.

(2) Not only can you monitor the pH but you can control it too and monitor a calcium reactor.

(3) It's expandable to control up to 12 devices.

(4) You can implement seasonal temperature variations when controlling the temperature.

(5) You can also implement seasonal lighting variations so the lights go on and off based on the seasonal sunrise and sunset times.

(6) The Moon cycle can be simulated so you can control moon lights based on the moonrise and moonset times.

(7) It works with all ballasts (does not reset with T5 & icecap ballasts).

(8) It will keep a data log of temp and pH readings so you can go back and watch trends and exceptions.

(9) You can set up alarms to notify you if a temperature or pH condition strays outside of preset conditions.

(10) The display can be locked with password protection.

(11) You can also do firmware upgrades without sending the unit back to the manufacturer.

At $249, it's about the same price (only about $30 more than the reefkeeper) and you can add the pH probe later if you want to expand into that functionality.

See this link for the features

http://www.neptunesys.com/aquaControllerJr.htm

Hope this helps.

[Trickman2]

thanks for the info

[mattseattle]

I own the ReefKeeper and I would definitely go with the AquaController Jr. now and wished I had. I love the ReefKeeper but the AquaController Jr. has so many more features as well as it's easily upgradable without sending the unit back.

One of the drawbacks is being limited to only 8 outlets. I'm already over the 8 outlets and no way to upgrade it without buying another unit.

[anthony34]

the AquaController Jr is great I order mine from premium aquatics They are running a special for Reef Central members it was only
$139.95 and comes with the temp probe, arrived Monday.

[PrangeWay]

Yeah it's actually amazing what a little competition has done to the neptune products/pricing. Before they where marking up prices big-time (remember even the jr was 300 bucks for just the box). People start buying rk and suddnely the come out with dc8's, cut the price of jr's in half, add more options. Capitalism at it's best.

I love my RK, no problems, very handy for 5 months.


PW


Side Note: I do worry that they only cut prices to put the squeeze on DA hoping to close them up, so they can double their prices again. (which is also capitalism at it's best)

[digitalaquatics.com]

PrangeWay,

You pretty much summed it up. When you have a great product like the ReefKeeper, competition always follows. We knew it was only a matter of time before this happened. But we aren't going anywhere, there are more things brewing from Digital Aquatics, and it will mean more benefit to customers. I too like competition and capitalism, it is always best for customers.

I would like to point out that the ReefKeeper is still a very impressive device next to the competition when you make a price/performance comparison. There are many features that other products have that are nice but not super useful in the scheme of things. The whole point of the ReefKeeper was to do many of the things that NEED to happen in a reef tank. That being said, we know that there are many users that like more features and we hope to fill those needs in the future.

Happy reef keeping to all of you,

Nick

[Trickman2]

I like your response digital aquatics. How soon may we see some of these improvements?

[chadfarmer]

a dual stage controller cost me 180.00 bones why not spend a little more and get a controller

[oceanjumper]

Thanks for all the info. What is still unclear to me, the RK comes with 8 controllable outlets whereas with the AC Jr one needs to buy the DC8 @ $175. This would increase the cost signifcantly. What am I missing??

[Trickman2]

check their site

[oceanjumper]

Uh... ok... I think I did. I concluded it would raise the cost significantly. My question is, am I wrong in my understanding?

[Trickman2]

The answer to your question was no, that is why I told you to check the site.

http://www.neptunesys.com/aquaControllerJr.htm

Now bundled with the DC8 at the amazing price of $249.95!

[anthony34]

and If you catch it at the right price like 249.00 with includs the DC8, and temp probe you would get a much better unit which would be a better investment, not knocking the RK to which I think is a good option as well but the Jr. is a much better with more options and the ability to expand.

[oceanjumper]

Thanks. Now it makes sense to me. I never saw the combo price. Much better!