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mrhasan
04-24-2016, 01:38 AM
It has been quite a while since I have been using the touch controller from Aquatronica and I think I have enough insight to share with the community so that they can make any sound decision. As always, you are more than welcome to correct me if I wrote something wrong and infinite amount is questions are always appreciated :D

DISCLAIMER
I have bought this controller with my own money and have been using this on my own tank. Despite all the support and great deal on the controller, this is going to be an honest review and in no sense will be positively biased towards Aquatronica without reasoning.

OVERVIEW
I was planning to get an Apex since that was the only controller for which I wouldn't have to sell my internal organs (cough...Prolux...cough cough) and is not a glorified power bar (I am talking to you reefkeeper!). I was pretty much set to pull the trigger on an Apex (jr. with salinity) and then I saw the post from Oceanview Enterprise about aquatronica and that sparked my interest. After much research online, I couldn't find as many resources as Apex has, but whatever I found was enough to persuade me to get this. And I always like to be the black sheep when it comes to equipment.

INITIAL OPINION FROM ONLINE RESEARCH
Aquatronica was initially a part of a bigger corporation (cannot remember the name) which was involved with automobiles, aquarium business was a small part of the whole corporation. Few years ago, Aquatronica split itself and became an independent incorporation. At that time, their only controller was ACQ110 or ACQ115 (the basic controller that is available to this date) and they basically started modular controller design with those. Later on, other controllers followed their idea. Back in 2012, Aquatronica kind of stired the aquarium community with their touch screen controller, which generated quite a buzz and for good reasons, especially to geek hobbyists. This was and still is the only controller in the market that is based on linux platform which translates to unbound potential. I will talk about this in a later section.

The story was interesting enough so I started digging up reviews across the forums. I could find people writing about the old controller until 2011ish before Aquatronica went quiet and so did the forums. But whatever I read, people who were using this brand had glowing reviews about the reliability and how they never had any issues with the controller failing on them. And with so many horror stories about Apex (given that Apex has much more units on the market than Aquatronica so may not be a fair comparison), I decided to go with the Aquatronica.

MY REQUIREMENTS
My tank doesn't need a controller but I still wanted to geek up the tank and hence I had very specific expectation from the controller: internet connectivity, salinity and email alert. Rest of the functionality that I needed was kind of standard across all controllers.

IN THE BOX
Initially, I purchased the ACQ115 since it was within my budget. But later, I swapped 115 with the touch controller.

The first box contained:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1646/24943135973_7e8e50a34f_c.jpg

Later swapped the head unit, ethernet module and pc interface with the touch controller.

I got the basic package (temperature, pH, float switch) along with the salinity/density probe.

The box contained:
1. The head unit + mounting bracket + power adapter
2. 8 outlet power bar + power bar holder
3. Tempeature sensor/prob + suction cup for attaching it
4. pH prob + probe holder + pH interface
5. float switch + float switch guard + probe holder
4. density probe + density interface
6. Ethernet cable
7. Data cable (male USB ports on both end)

POWER BAR
The power bar is very well constructed, has a very noticeable weight to it and it is white!

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1533/26510259532_bf47480bf1_c.jpg

For aquatronica, everything is connected to the power bar via data cables. Each power bar can accommodate up to 6 data cables and if you ran out of ports, you will need another power bar or something called an active hub. The touch controller can support up to 15 power bars (based on the information on aquatronicastore website) which is a lot. Active hub can have up to 6 additional data bus. The temperature prob and the floatswitch does not require data connection and is a separate port on the power bar. For additional float switch, I think a separate interface will be needed but I am not too sure about that.

One thing that makes this power unit stand out is that if, for some reason, the head unit fails or turns off, the power unit still operates based on the program buffer that it is suppose to execute. So whatever program you have for the outlets are also saved within the outlets themselves. Seems like a very clever redundancy procedure. The power unit also has an internal clock but based on other reviews, the internal clock seems to loose 5 minutes or so every day. That is more acceptable than a none functioning unit.

Just like every Italian made/designed equipment, Aquatronica is no exception. The power outlets so packed so closely that two adapters or large plugs will not sit next to each other. I just bought 6 extension cords from hardware store to overcome this issue so not a big deal but it is there.

PROBES & INTERFACES
Similar to Apex's concept, Aquatronica requires separate interfaces for each probes. Each prob is connected to the interface and the interface goes to the power unit via data cable. Aquatronica comes standard with lab grade pH so that's one less decision to be made. One thing that makes the salinity/density probe of Aquatronica stand out from its competition is that the probe has built in temperature compensation and does not require additional temperature sensor for accurate reading.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1484/25997404264_afd75f76ba_c.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1446/26537157231_93e1bd3954_c.jpg

The probe holders that come with the package is functional but ugly. If you have a hidden sump, they are very much usable but since I have an AIO, they were pretty much non usable.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1478/26604189325_a637fbd132_c.jpg

THE TOUCH CONTROLLER
Now to the fun part: the controller itself. Let me tell you, its is quite large which is a good thing since it's a touch screen based controller and almost every major programming will have to be done via this. There is no PC interface for this and programming can be done via web, which I will talk about in a later section.

All the main connections (ethernet, data cable and power) goes behind the back plate of the controller so no exposed wire. On the side, there a place where you can either plug in an usb drive for firmware upgrade or a wifi module and sync the controller over wifi for around $10 (typical cost of those small wifi adapters) instead of spending significantly more over a wifi module.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1547/26602832215_06fa0c73e5_c.jpg

At the top are four function buttons which can be assigned to temporary functions like water change. Quite handy!

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1635/25997415304_68bc2626ac_c.jpg

There is also an SD card slot that can be used to update firmware. This is the suggested method since the USB drive can confuse linux and get into a boot loop. There is also a mini usb port beside the SD card slot which I am guessing can be used to access the linux kernel.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1522/26576722166_44dc69f987_c.jpg

And it comes with a swivel mounting bracket.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1569/25997413404_e0463dca0f_c.jpg

The construction feels solid but due to the size of the thing, it does looks a bit flimsy but not to the point that would make me question the construction.

Now to the interface. The whole environment is based on Linux which is a good thing. If Aquatronica stays on track with this controller, a lot can be done. The interface is pretty straight forward and does not require much research to get going.

The home screen pretty much looks like any touch screen devices with blocks showing the probe readings and the power outlet status. It has 3 pages but more can be added to incorporate more status/readouts. These blocks can be clicked to change status directly from the home screen. The touch responsive is not awful since it is a capacitive touch screen but the response can be improved.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1553/25997410994_75d9dd3cac_c.jpg

The menu is more in like with what we see for touch screen devices now-a-days: icons.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1680/26509723722_49be30bba2_c.jpg

Programming is pretty simple too. List of programs look like this:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1653/25997408794_5d0259a3bb_c.jpg

And a typical programming window looks like this:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1648/25997407954_bc102f7354_c.jpg

All the programming will need an input from the probe or one of the four function keys to execute unless the program is done based on time/length of time.

During the programming for the heater, I was having trouble of the controller not executing the program based on hysteresis and kept on turning on and off whenever there was a temperature swing of 0.1°F which was annoying. Found out that it is a bug in the firmware and works correctly for °C. Aquatronica will be releasing a new firmware that will address this issue (and few others that I will discuss later).

So, for now, I am using °C. Sensor page looks like this:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1513/26509720022_4109d8cb02_c.jpg

Via this page, you can calibrate the sensor, plot graph, change measuring unit and change name too. A typical graph looks like this:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1497/26509718772_91b2cc3161_c.jpg

Not the fanciest graph but hopefully Aquatronica will make it much more fancy down the road. Another issue that aquatronica is addressing in the new firmware is that the current one does not allow the Y-axis of the graph to change.

Overall, the interface is quite user friendly and does not have a steep learning curve. The touch screen makes this controller a lot user friendlier than reefkeeper; cannot compare it with Apex since I do not have any hands on experience with it.

ETHERNET
The controller can be connected using ethernet cable or you can get a wifi adapter and use that. Either way, the setup process is the same. I am a proponent of cabled internet and hence I have it connected to a switch which is then connected to a powerline adapter. This way, I do not have to pull wire all across the house.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1705/26537209081_cfb142d3d0_c.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1449/26537207141_99133599c4_c.jpg

The ethernet interface lets you setup the internet, setup an email address that will solely be used by Aquatronica to send email to your personal address, set personal address and setup remote access.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1583/25997405184_57ca639090_c.jpg

The controller supports SSL so you can use any email address that you want. Initially, you will have to create a new email address (mycontroller@something.com) with an email service and enter all the SMTP details in there. This is where the most annoying bug is sitting and we (oceanview, aquatronica and myself) were hitting our head trying to find out. With all the inputs correctly entered, the controller kept on giving email error and will not send the test email. Was annoying as hell but eventually, it was found that this is another bug in the controller which is being address and will be fixed in the new firmware. The email alert works perfectly fine but the test email does not work.

The last setup involved setting up the remote access. You will need to open a port dedicated to the IP address for the controller in your router. Since most of us are using auto IP, this can be issue based on when your router refreshes IP address and the IP of the controller and hence the port changes. Need to figure that one out. You will need to setup your account via controller and do a quick registration. There is also a password at the very top and that is the admin password that you will need to enter for full remote access. You can change this password to anything you want. Fairly easy process as long as you are familiar with port forwarding.

Once you have everything figured out, you can access the controller via the IP address within the network or remote access via aquatronica web page login. You can also access the controller directly using a simple trick: once you remotely log in (you must be in a different network), you can directly access the controller using that IP which appears in the web address. So this will help you skip the step of accessing remote login page from aquatronica website. This is what the page looks like:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1685/26537202591_f7dcddbe15_c.jpg

The graphics are not great for what can be done but it is very usable and clean. Although you are accessing all the data, you won't be able to do anything to the controller (change status, program, etc.) until you click on the Login at the top left corner and enter the admin password. Just a quick tip: once you type the password, don't hit enter because "cancel" is selected in default and clicking enter cancels the login; always click. Had to learn it the hard way. Once you log in using the admin password, you can change/program the controller.

Email alerts work as expected too.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
Eric from Oceanview is a wonderful person to deal with. There has been hundreds of email exchanges, thanks to my curious mind and my ability to get into troubles with bugs and he has been nothing but pleasant to deal with. He has always been quick to response and have tried sorting out all the issues in a very timely and efficient manner.

Aquatronica technical service is based out of Italy so time difference has been an issue in solving few of the things that I encountered. Alongside, it is a fairly small company with few people dealing with multitude of duties and that did reflect in my experience with them. Nonetheless, they have done a great job at answering my questions within expected time frame. I am sure with time and as the controller gains momentum, the service will get more efficient.

On the other hand, the user manual is not very informative. Unless you are familiar with previous aquatronica models, you will have trouble understanding the manual.

mrhasan
04-24-2016, 01:39 AM
CONCLUSION
Overall, I am pretty happy with the purchase. Despite the few shortcomings of the controller (lack of modules, bugs and user manual), I do not have much to complain about. The user interface is great, very easy to setup and I didn't have to go through a step by step guide to setup the internet. Once the bugs get address, more modules are available and the interface becomes snazzy, Aquatronica should be able to stand strongly in the controller market.

Hope this review gives you a good overall idea about the controller :)

Tiansho
04-24-2016, 02:59 AM
I just got my Aquacontroller today! can't wait to set it up. This post helps out a lot.

You might get lots of questions from me in the near future.

mrhasan
04-24-2016, 05:26 AM
I just got my Aquacontroller today! can't wait to set it up. This post helps out a lot.

You might get lots of questions from me in the near future.

Welcome to the club :)

Glad this post was helpful. Sure just post away the questions. :mrgreen:

Dearth
04-24-2016, 08:40 AM
Very informative Raied very good review it definitely has some pretty big advantages over apex like updating via a SD card and easier to program I'll be looking for more updates sir

mrhasan
04-24-2016, 05:58 PM
Very informative Raied very good review it definitely has some pretty big advantages over apex like updating via a SD card and easier to program I'll be looking for more updates sir

Thank you good sir :mrgreen: All the controllers definitely have their advantages and disadvantages over each other. Haven't use Apex but one thing that is for sure is that the internet setup is much more easier with Aquatronica than with Apex. I went through Apex's instruction for connectivity and oh boy that has loads of steps.

OCEANVIEW ENTERPRISE
04-25-2016, 02:53 PM
Thank you so much. I appreciate all the kind words.

I am proud to be associated with this great team in Italy who are really devoted to their products. Any responses are always appreciated as we can only grow from them.

At Interzoo in a month we will be launching some new features. I will keep CANREEF updated on the modules and software upgrade.

Please feel free to contact me if you need more information on AQUATRONICA.

Bblinks
04-25-2016, 10:18 PM
Thanks for the review bud!

mrhasan
04-26-2016, 12:00 AM
Thank you so much. I appreciate all the kind words.

I am proud to be associated with this great team in Italy who are really devoted to their products. Any responses are always appreciated as we can only grow from them.

At Interzoo in a month we will be launching some new features. I will keep CANREEF updated on the modules and software upgrade.

Please feel free to contact me if you need more information on AQUATRONICA.

You are very welcome Eric. Thanks for all your support too :)

Thanks for the review bud!

My pleasure :D

Tiansho
04-30-2016, 10:52 PM
Hey mrhasan, as per your pic all sensors are above water. Can the tempo sensor be fully submerged?

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

mrhasan
05-01-2016, 07:23 AM
Hey mrhasan, as per your pic all sensors are above water. Can the tempo sensor be fully submerged?

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

Temp sensor is not fully submersible. You will need to keep the top above water.

Myka
05-03-2016, 04:01 AM
Great review! Thanks for posting. I'd like to try out the Aquatronica, but I'm holding off until they make an auto feeder.

mrhasan
05-03-2016, 04:40 AM
Great review! Thanks for posting. I'd like to try out the Aquatronica, but I'm holding off until they make an auto feeder.

Thanks for reading :)

They will be unveiling some new modules in next few weeks but auto feeder will probably not be one of them.

Myka
05-03-2016, 01:24 PM
Thanks for reading :)

They will be unveiling some new modules in next few weeks but auto feeder will probably not be one of them.

Yeah, I've already been asking about the auto feeder. :) I was even hoping that maybe it would control the Apex auto feeder, but I haven't been able to find that out yet.

mrhasan
05-03-2016, 01:48 PM
Yeah, I've already been asking about the auto feeder. :) I was even hoping that maybe it would control the Apex auto feeder, but I haven't been able to find that out yet.

Since its a linux based platform and apex autofeeder just requires the trigger, I am pretty sure if someone with the right geeky-ness look into it, he/she will be able to mod the controller fairly easy. Given that aquatronica becomes popular enough.

fishmanty
05-03-2016, 04:14 PM
Temp sensor is not fully submersible. You will need to keep the top above water.

I did not know this... I have nearly the identical set-up as you. I have had mine submerged for 2 months nearly and it still works fine? Any chance that they have just told you its not submersible for liability reasons?

mrhasan
05-03-2016, 04:25 PM
I did not know this... I have nearly the identical set-up as you. I have had mine submerged for 2 months nearly and it still works fine? Any chance that they have just told you its not submersible for liability reasons?

Very much possible. The seal on the top does look like they are sealed to be submerged, at least temporarily, but since their website says not to submerge the probes, it is better not to do that for warranty issues.

This is kind of like ranco probe, some used it submerged for years but the manufacturer suggests not to do that.

Tiansho
05-05-2016, 03:14 AM
Mrhasan how do you have your port forwarding set up? I currently have Telus internet, by following the steps withing the controller, i am able to see my controller only within my network. Not anywhere else. Do you or anybody else experiencing this issue?

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

mrhasan
05-05-2016, 03:48 AM
Mrhasan how do you have your port forwarding set up? I currently have Telus internet, by following the steps withing the controller, i am able to see my controller only within my network. Not anywhere else. Do you or anybody else experiencing this issue?

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

First, you have to access router via webpage. There should an IP address written on the router, type that and it will take you to router's login page. You will have to login using the username and password written on the router unless it has been changed. Once you are in, go to firewall. Then on the left, click port forwarding. Select the IP that belongs to your controller from the drop down menu. For external port (both start and end), put in the port that you are using for the controller. For internal port (both start and end), use 80. Then save and let the router restart. Once done, you should be able to access the remote access using the aquatronica webpage and the user/pass that you created in the controller. You won't be able to remote access the controller unless you are in a different network. If you have data connection in your cellphone, try using that and you should be able to login.

Aquattro
05-05-2016, 05:02 AM
Great write up. Glad to have members here that put this level of effort into the hobby.

mrhasan
05-05-2016, 05:33 AM
Great write up. Glad to have members here that put this level of effort into the hobby.

Thanks Brad :) Happy to put effort into the hobby!

robbyG
05-05-2016, 09:13 PM
Temp sensor is not fully submersible. You will need to keep the top above water.

Hi mrhassan

I like your review, but the Temperature probe is completely submersible. I have two that have been under 2 ft of water for 11 Years. If you look at the top of the probe you will see two yellow Gaskets that are compression sealed tightly around the probes cord.

Robbyg

mrhasan
05-05-2016, 09:23 PM
Hi mrhassan

I like your review, but the Temperature probe is completely submersible. I have two that have been under 2 ft of water for 11 Years. If you look at the top of the probe you will see two yellow Gaskets that are compression sealed tightly around the probes cord.

Robbyg

Hey Robby,

Thanks for your comment :) I had my doubts because of those two gaskets while the FAQ section saying none of the probes are submersible so assumed those gaskets can protect the sensor from temporary submersion only. I guess it is just a liability issue that Aquatronica would like to stay clear off. Thanks for confirming that :) And welcome to Canreef!

robbyG
05-05-2016, 11:18 PM
Hey Robby,

Thanks for your comment :) I had my doubts because of those two gaskets while the FAQ section saying none of the probes are submersible so assumed those gaskets can protect the sensor from temporary submersion only. I guess it is just a liability issue that Aquatronica would like to stay clear off. Thanks for confirming that :) And welcome to Canreef!

Thanks mrhasan, I look forward to exchanging ideas with you. Aquatronica controllers are the ultimate controllers. The older ACQ115 have absolutely no bugs or issues. I have had one running non stop for many many years and it never locks up or does anything unexpected. The Touch controller is very close to that same level of perfection. I am eagerly awaiting the release of the new firmware that should fix a few niggling visual problems like the Fat lines in the Graphs and the auto scaling not always working.
I also am in the process of doing a review on Reefcentral and I will try to carry over some of my observations to this forum.

all the best
Robbyg

mrhasan
05-06-2016, 04:55 AM
Thanks mrhasan, I look forward to exchanging ideas with you. Aquatronica controllers are the ultimate controllers. The older ACQ115 have absolutely no bugs or issues. I have had one running non stop for many many years and it never locks up or does anything unexpected. The Touch controller is very close to that same level of perfection. I am eagerly awaiting the release of the new firmware that should fix a few niggling visual problems like the Fat lines in the Graphs and the auto scaling not always working.
I also am in the process of doing a review on Reefcentral and I will try to carry over some of my observations to this forum.

all the best
Robbyg

Likewise :)

I was able to dig the following bugs:
1. Fahrenheit doesn't work for hysteresis.
2. Email test function doesn't work.
3. The controller doesn't show/store data for SG unit while other units for density works fine.

robbyG
05-07-2016, 06:41 PM
Likewise :)

I was able to dig the following bugs:
1. Fahrenheit doesn't work for hysteresis.
2. Email test function doesn't work.
3. The controller doesn't show/store data for SG unit while other units for density works fine.

Yes there certainly was a EU focus factor when Aquatronica worked on the units of measurement. They first made sure the most common units used in the EU worked properly.

As for the email I actually had no problem with the Test function, but I know others have, it seems to depend on which ISP you use. I am pretty sure it's a simple fix since the email itself works properly.

They had these same kind of bugs when the ACQ110 first came out. Aquatronica always focuses on the Core functions first and foremost. They absolutely do not want your controller to crash or lockup or turn on something when it should not be turned on. Once they have that in place they fix these kinds of problems. We are at the point where they are fixing these remaining small issues. Next comes the fun part when they ask for requests for new features. They pretty much gave us everything we requested for the ACQ110 and ACQ115.

The new version of firmware for the Touch is supposedly coming out at the end of this month and should fix those problems. I did point them out to Massimo a couple of months ago and he said they were being fixed.

The SG unit problem you are having is strange because I am not having that issue at all. As you might have seen in my review on Reefcentral the SG is right there on screen #1

It also stores the Data and Graphs it. The only problem is that the Graph auto scaling is not working properly, so you cannot see small changes for example from 1.024 to 1.025 on the graph. That is something that they say will be fixed.

The FAT lines on the graphs are also a major issue that I was assured would be fixed.

Also Graphing Data is stored on internal memory, I asked them about having it moved to external memory so that we could just stick a USB key or SD card into the PC to archive it.

smokinreefer
05-08-2016, 06:46 PM
Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with this controller, it's quite informative.

I have no experience with controllers and my research has been minimal, but Atleast now I can comfortably consider this for my next display tank.

Sounds like a reliable product with great potential.

Tiansho
05-08-2016, 07:30 PM
I recently bought mine and I am loving it. My aquarium is balanced n you can actually see in the corals. It was worth the $$$. Now juat trying to figure out what lights to use for my upgrade.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

mrhasan
05-09-2016, 12:32 AM
Yes there certainly was a EU focus factor when Aquatronica worked on the units of measurement. They first made sure the most common units used in the EU worked properly.

As for the email I actually had no problem with the Test function, but I know others have, it seems to depend on which ISP you use. I am pretty sure it's a simple fix since the email itself works properly.

They had these same kind of bugs when the ACQ110 first came out. Aquatronica always focuses on the Core functions first and foremost. They absolutely do not want your controller to crash or lockup or turn on something when it should not be turned on. Once they have that in place they fix these kinds of problems. We are at the point where they are fixing these remaining small issues. Next comes the fun part when they ask for requests for new features. They pretty much gave us everything we requested for the ACQ110 and ACQ115.

The new version of firmware for the Touch is supposedly coming out at the end of this month and should fix those problems. I did point them out to Massimo a couple of months ago and he said they were being fixed.

The SG unit problem you are having is strange because I am not having that issue at all. As you might have seen in my review on Reefcentral the SG is right there on screen #1

It also stores the Data and Graphs it. The only problem is that the Graph auto scaling is not working properly, so you cannot see small changes for example from 1.024 to 1.025 on the graph. That is something that they say will be fixed.

The FAT lines on the graphs are also a major issue that I was assured would be fixed.

Also Graphing Data is stored on internal memory, I asked them about having it moved to external memory so that we could just stick a USB key or SD card into the PC to archive it.

Yah hopefully the new firmware addresses all those issues. Not a deal breaker but definitely should be looked into.

Regarding the SG issue, the controller shows the graph fine in SG but it is over the web and the excel export that shows error in the rows. Other units work fine and exports properly. Probably another isolated issue and something to do with our ISP here.

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with this controller, it's quite informative.

I have no experience with controllers and my research has been minimal, but Atleast now I can comfortably consider this for my next display tank.

Sounds like a reliable product with great potential.

Glad that it was helpful. Definitely a reliable product with great potential but in this hobby, there's always the personal decision component that you will have to make before making a purchase. Lots of options out there and every controller in the market has their pros and cons. I like trying new stuffs and so far, I am pleased.

Tiansho
05-09-2016, 03:56 AM
I love my aquatronica controller. I just ordered their dosing pumps as well. Im really pumped. Hehehehe

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

robbyG
05-09-2016, 06:13 AM
I recently bought mine and I am loving it. My aquarium is balanced n you can actually see in the corals. It was worth the $$$. Now juat trying to figure out what lights to use for my upgrade.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

If your using the Touch controller you might want to look at the Aquatronica LED lighting systems. They have 9 models some for FW and some for SW all in various sizes and power levels. The best part is that you have full programability via the AQT and can incorporate them into other programs.

They can also work independently. Just download the PC software and hook up a USB cable to a port on the module and connect via a laptop. You can program all your daily settings and then disconnect the Laptop and the lights will work on their own.

The two other things that I like about them is that they use top of the line CREE LEDs and they have beefy aluminum heatsinks that don't require fans. IMHO while I like Echotech Radion LEDS I think they are always going to be plagued by Fan issues. I have never had a computer type fan last longer than 1-2 years when exposed to salty air. I even bought $40 industrial chemical Fan that is internally coated against corrosive gas and it also failed within 3 years. When those fans fail and you don't realize it for a few days, it will really heats up the LEDs and shortens their life.

Tiansho
05-09-2016, 01:35 PM
I will see if they sell them on the website. I did see them in their european store. I guess i need to shoot another e-mail to Eric from aquatronica.

Thank you...

I talked to aquarium concepts and they recommended the new Kessils AP700.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

mrhasan
08-07-2016, 04:21 AM
So this is going to be a rant update.

The new firmware of the touch controller still has LOADS, and I mean LOADS, of work to be done to make it a reliable controller. The two primary issues that I have faced with the new firmware:

1. My ATO is programmed such that if the reservoir is low (via float switch), the ATO turns off and I get an email notification to refill. The ATO has turned off for no apparent reason, twice until now, despite the water level is above the sensor and the sensor reading ok. To start the ATO, I had to revisit the programming, go through all the steps once again (no editing; just Next Next Next...) and save the program to reset and turn on the ATO.

2. The display froze again! The other day, I noticed that despite the temperature being high, I didn't get an email notification. When I tapped on the screen, all the tabs went grey and froze. Had to restart the controller to get everything running. The controller was showing the right time so it froze when I clicked on it. After restarting it, things went back to being normal and I got the temperature notification.

My verdict: Not happy with the controller; wish I saved my money for an Apex or the new Vertex.

Myka
08-07-2016, 05:00 AM
Bummer. Hopefully there is some sort of fix. It sounds like a promising product.

mrhasan
08-07-2016, 05:03 AM
Bummer. Hopefully there is some sort of fix. It sounds like a promising product.

It is but they need to put in more effort; it is not a brand new product and they have selling it for couple of years now. But unfortunately, it still behaves like a beta release.

robbyG
08-08-2016, 04:07 AM
So this is going to be a rant update.

The new firmware of the touch controller still has LOADS, and I mean LOADS, of work to be done to make it a reliable controller. The two primary issues that I have faced with the new firmware:

1. My ATO is programmed such that if the reservoir is low (via float switch), the ATO turns off and I get an email notification to refill. The ATO has turned off for no apparent reason, twice until now, despite the water level is above the sensor and the sensor reading ok. To start the ATO, I had to revisit the programming, go through all the steps once again (no editing; just Next Next Next...) and save the program to reset and turn on the ATO.

2. The display froze again! The other day, I noticed that despite the temperature being high, I didn't get an email notification. When I tapped on the screen, all the tabs went grey and froze. Had to restart the controller to get everything running. The controller was showing the right time so it froze when I clicked on it. After restarting it, things went back to being normal and I got the temperature notification.

My verdict: Not happy with the controller; wish I saved my money for an Apex or the new Vertex.


When you say new firmware are you talking about the Beta version that they are now finalizing or are you talking about Ver 4.0.B which has been out for awhile? I have not had a freezing issue since I turned off the screen saver and thats with both 4.0.B and the Beta. I wonder if something else is causing the problem?

I agree with you that they need to get their act together on fixing the issues, but keep in Mind the Apex also freezes and they have never seemed to rectify that problem. So far I know that the ACQ115 can run for years without ever freezing. My tank went for at least 4 years on complete auto pilot. I don't trust the ACQ140 enough yet to do the same but I keep monitoring it and so far it has not frozen or misbehaved.

I suggested you take a second look at your ATO program and make sure it is not conflicting with another program.