controllers question

[Anonymous]

I was wondering your opinion as to which is the best bang for the money when it comes to controllers. I am considering the Neptune because it is the only one I have
ever heard of. I want it for a 180 gal reef tank and what I want to control besides monitoring pH and temp. is:

- Ca reactor solenoid for pH adjustment
- 3 400 watt MH ballast with on and off sequence
- Heaters
- surge device pump off at night
- Maybe a couple of power heads for random flow
- Occasionally skimmer off for the night when feeding phytoplankton

I know some people may be saying "you really don't need it", but what I want is input, not whether you think I need it or not. If you have one of these Neptune units, please let me know what you think of them now that you have had it for a while and whether you would buy it again or buy something different. Thanks a lot.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the Neptune, and I recommend it highly. It does everything I want. Mine has been very reliable, and I'd definitely buy it again.

I would buy the x-10 modules from a different source, because they can be found for $7 instead of $20 each. Consider buying a couple extras in case they break. The x-10 modules are not brand specific - you don't need the powerhouse ones.
http://www.smarthome.com/x10map.html

BTW - Great choices on the setup!

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http://members.xoom.com/FriscoReef/

 

[Anonymous]

Frisco: thanks for the reply. I am glad to know about the X-10 units. That is $12 cheaper each than were I saw them with the controller. Did you buy the controller as a package or did you buy the pieces independently? Do you use an ORP probe? Is it even worth the money since I won't be running ozone in anyway??

 

[Anonymous]

Frisco: I forgot. Do you keep the pH and Temp probes in the tank or in the sump?? Any benefit of one over the other??

 

[Anonymous]

I did buy it as a package, and it did come with the ORP probe. I don't use ozone either, but I watch it anyway for trends. My tank has no sump, so my probes are all in the tank. Throw them in the sump to keep them hidden from view. Pumps and probes look pretty ugly. What types of pumps will you use for internal circulation? Will you add a single surge or dual surge devices?

 

[Anonymous]

I think I may put the probes in the tank instead because with the Ca reactor dumping in the sump I don't think the pH reading will be representative of a total water pH. Same with the temp. since you loose a lot of heat in the water from circulation, then again, there is the heating of the water by the lights. Can't win them all. I plan to use an Iwaki pump for return from the sump into the tank, a couple of powerheads hidden behind the rock for random circulation in addition to the dual surge devices (LaVoie Tech-www.mich.com/~bjlavoie/surge.html) that are going to be filled by another Iwaki pump of maybe another type that is pressure rated. I don't have any of these stuff yet since I am not setting the tank up for another 2-3 months. I am moving soon and want to do that before I set up the tank.
The package I am considering doesn't come with a ORP probe and it would be an additional $50. Do you think it is worth the money getting it?? Do you have a cable connection and software to connect the controller to a PC and download trends and graphs? Is that even worth the effort and money??

 

[Anonymous]

I just looked at the LaVoie surge device and I would love to know how it works. I have built a 15 gallon version of the Carleson auto-siphon and I did not like it at all. I then built a 15 gallon toilet valve type like the one on Aquatouch's web site. It has been in operation for about 6 months. I just got a 30 gallon cone shaped tank and am going to try the fishing bobber and toliet valve style. If that doesn't work I will put the Aquatouch float assembly in it. My tank is 7' long and 4' wide so powerheads alone just don't cut it and the surge is real cool except it has a very low wife approvial factor (WAF).
My $0.02 worth.

 

[Anonymous]

Frisco-

We must have been writing at the same time. I really don't know what a regular terminal emulator program is. Also, I am not that computer literate to be able to do it on Excel unless someone was guiding me thru it step by step. A have a lap top, so I would only plug it in once a week just to download and log the data and keep track of it. To be really honest, I really don't know much of anything about ORP to make a sound judgement as to whether I think it is worth the money or not. That is why I am asking. I will look into it though.

 

[Anonymous]

I use a Neptune Aquacontroller and recommend it highly. It works very well if set up right. If you read that entire thread on the Aquacontroller clock resetting, you know the guy had his controller on the same circuit with multiple computers, etc...not good. The Aquacontroller (and any x-10 controller) react to line spikes from other devices on the circuit (stereos, blenders, etc) so need a very quiet (read as nothing else on it) circuit and it will work great. The company is really a pleasure to deal with...bought mine a couple of months ago...in the confusion, I was sent Aquacontroller I...they are switching me for the Aquacontroller II at no cost...that's great service. Aqua II has bigger, more waterproof buttons, battery rundown alarm, but otherwise the same('cept LCD smaller, but you can't have everything). Highly recommend this product. The beauty of the sytem is you will be able to set up any device you want to run when you want it or randomly. Frisco's advice on the x-10's is accurate, Radio Shack has 'em cheap. I use an alarm module to notify me if any parameter out of whack but I would get the software too, if you have a laptop.

As to ORP, I monitor it too, run ozone to jack it up, tank happy. With a controller, ozone can be limited so not dangerous (keep mine at 300-340 ORP) and makes your skimmer work very efficiently, along with other benefits. Works for me. Good luck.

Here's a link on ORP.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/redox.htm


elvis



[This message has been edited by elvisdoc (edited 26 December 1999).]

 

[Anonymous]

dimaggio-

I use an Octopus 3000 and would recommend a Neptune. Aquadyne may make a decent controller but I have have poor customer service from them in the past. My next controller will not be from Aquadyne. Besides the Aquaweb software sucks, esp. after the eval period is over. Frisco is correct about the x-10 modules... I pick mine up from Radio Shack just because of it is easy for me to do so.

You state some keen observations for not having a tank running yet

. Yes, the effluent may affect the probe readings, but if your flow rate through the sump is fast enough and/or the sump is large, it is rather mute point.

The Lavoie silent surge may be a viable option, however, it isn't on the market yet so there are no non-biased reports on its operation. Just keep this in mind.

Aquaman-
Instead of using the crappy fishing bobber setup to trigger your surge bucket, try to locate a fish marking buoy. I think you will be much happier, plus there is no water - metal contact.

Just my thoughts




------------------
Eric
customer.wcta.net/emcreef

 

[Anonymous]

I just read something about the Neptune controllers that someone e-mailed me. They say that Neptunes have a hard time keepinmg their clock set so they have to be constantly re-set almost on a daily basis. Here is what I got so you can read it as well. Has anyone had similar problems with them??

Topic: Saltwater controllers
ScottA
Member posted 12-21-99 11:41 AM
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I have the Neptune Aquacontroller. It seems that the clocks (tank and system) must be reset almost daily. While the maker says it
is due to pawer fuxuations, I have the system on a power bar/surge suppressor. The tank is located at our office where we have
dozens of computers, telecommunication equipment and audio and video equipment. None of this latter equipment needs to be
reset and monitored as this devise does. Has anyone had similar experience and a fix. Is the Octopus 3000 by Aquadine any
better?

Alan
Member posted 12-21-99 11:51 AM
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The Neptune (and my X-10 system) derive the clock timing from the 60Hz power line. Our computers use an internal crystal
oscillator, which cost about $4. So we are stuck with resetting. The interference comes in on the power lines and pushes up the
clock rate. You might try a power line filter, maybe from Radio Shack. HOWEVER, if you are controlling X-10 modules, the power
line filter will most likely prevent the signal from getting to the modules, so that might not work or work erratically.

Snailman
Member posted 12-21-99 08:24 PM
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Here is one I will get in on. I write embedded system software for a living and I am sick and tired of paying hundreds of dollars for
junk with crappy software. We bought one of the Octopus devices and it is a wonderful system and we never had to reset the clock.
The main problem with it is their programmer does not know how to debounce a signal. If you get a noise spike it will think your tank
temp went up 2 degrees in one second so it turns your chiller on and the next second it reads the right temp and so it will turn your
chiller off. I did not think much of this nor did my chiller. I asked their tech support if he had any idea if their programmer knew how
much energy it would take to raise the tank temp 2 degrees in one second and he knew that that was not possible but there was no
fix for it at the time and a year later they still have not fixed it so it seams to me like they don't care much about fixing problems.
I am sorry to hear that about the Neptune device because I think it has some cool features. We bought the Octopus because we
could download their manual and read the whole thing before we bought it and Neptune could not do this and a two page glossy just
does not tell you enough about how something works, not that the Octopus manual told us that it had noise problems.

 

[Anonymous]

You can always access the data in the controller with a regular terminal emulator program, so you really don't need their software to look the numbers over. Excel will also work. And the cables can be bought anywhere. So I didn't buy theirs. Do you actually have a computer close enough to wire it up? I still need to get around to making my 50 ft cable...

You really need to decide on the probe. Do you know what it measures and what it means? Some will argue that it's a novelty, while others argue till they're blue. I'm not so confident either way. I have one though and I look at the numbers all the time.

You better get some big internal circulation pumps in a tank that size. You probably also might want to just think about the ones that get mounted above the tank, instead of fully submersible ones. (Like the Max ones)

 

[Anonymous]

You may want to consider an
RS485 Windows PC based Aquarium Monitoring and Control System at;
http://www.automatedaquariums.com

Best Regards,
Mike O'Brien
Automated Aquarium Systems