cotrollers

[brokereef]

What is the best controller for lights,ph,ect. ? I have looked at the neptune is there something better?

[Andy O]

What price are you looking to spend? That may help us lead you in the right direction.

[brokereef]

500 to 700 maybe more i just want a good controller..

[jnarowe]

The customer service from Neptune is really good.

[Tyrinius]

I have the ACJr with the DC8 on my tank and it does everything I need it to do with room to spare. It is far below your budget so you could save some money or upgrade to the AC3. You won't be dissapointed with either.

[Andy O]

I also agree with any of the neptune products. I have had very good luck with my ACjr as well as tremendously quick respnosivenss to emails when I have had questions. Curt at Neptune is very helpful.

[brokereef]

What about a calcium monitor? Is there such a thing?

[brokereef]

i know you can monitor the ph but i was wondering about calcium levles in the tank it self.

[dougchambers]

I'll second the vote for Neptune Systems. Swing by their Sponsor forum and take a look at the level of support they give. It's impressive to say the least! I say this from first hand experience...

We were in your position about a month ago. The two front-runners for us were the ReefKeeper and the ACJr with DC8 and serial adapter. The ReefKeeper has some nice features and so does the ACJr, but ultimately, we purchased the ACIII and two DC8s. I can't tell you how convenient it is to monitor settings and even change program details remotely (as I did from work today). We also like the alarm features of the ACIII which page me when ever an alarm condition is reached based on our program settings. Granted I didn't appreciate the page at 2:13AM this morning telling me that my ORP was 451, but that's where I set the threshold and it told me. When we are out of town, I have two status emails automatically sent to my buddy that watches the tank and I can connect to check on the status from any web connection.

One key thing for us when looking for a controller was to stay away from X10 modules. Many people are successful with them but personally I hate them. We had no end of trouble with an X10 system on our old tank (not neptune). Direct control modules like the ones with the ReefKeeper and Neptune system are more stable in my opinion.

-Doug

[dougchambers]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8170210#post8170210 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by brokereef
i know you can monitor the ph but i was wondering about calcium levels in the tank it self. I don't know of any controllers that have the ability to monitor calcium levels. PinPoint has a stand-alone version, but most reports I've read indicate that they aren't very accurate.

I thought someone mentioned that the Aquatronics was going to have a Ca probe, but I haven't followed it much.

-Doug

[jnarowe]

good feedback Doug. Curt at Neptune is extremely helpful and has spent a great deal of time helping me with my system. I have an ACIII Pro, 4 DC4HDs, 1 DC8, 1 PX-1000m, etc. I agree the out-of-state emails are really helpful and so is remote control. I have a wireless network and the ACIII Pro communicates with Aquanotes sop that I get status,. alarms etc. in my home office on another floor of the house. It keeps me in better touch with the tank so that when I get up in the morning I can check parameters without having to run downstairs.

When I am out-of-town, I set it up to email my tank helper on his PDA too.

I sure would like to know more about how you set yours up for remote web connection. I still haven't figured that out.

[northbay-reefer]

I third the neptune AC/jr with a dc-8 will do the job just fine

[brokereef]

Thanks for all of the feed back. Is it important to have the dc8's ? Are they like working on a computer?

[ppht]

The DC8's are 8 outlets for power which the controller can turn on and off with programming. Responding to different commands and peramiters.

[dougchambers]

They also have the DC4HD which is for higher current devices. If you don't use the Direct Connect (DC) modules, you need to go with X10 devices. Personally, I HIGHLY recommend the DC modules. They cost a little more, but can save you a ton of trouble in the long run.

-Doug

[brokereef]

Ok thanks for the info.