looking for controller

[e46er]

hey
I was always under the impression the entry level controllers were around the $400 mark
Im sick of cheep heaters sticking, not working ect
was surfing around on JLs and came across the reefkeeper lite level 1 for $130 seems perfect for what Im looking for

the temp control being the main thing
the feed mode would be convienent
wave make modes would be nice
the alarms well i cant see a downside to those!

it says the pc4 power bar has 4 outlets and can add up to 4 modules so if i needed i could grab a second powerbar- does this plug into the head unit or 1 of the outlets off the first powerbar?
basically Is this a decent unit? Im not into spending huge $$ on a controller.

thanks for any thoughts

[toytech]

Im in the same boat , ive had too many heaters fail and wanted a wave maker to run some koralia evo powerheads . And bang for buck the reefkeeper lite looks good to me . Im actualy going to buy one next week once i get some money people own me.And the power bars plug into the head unit so you can contol each individual socket.

[blacknife]

Seriously looking at the reef angel myself

[tim the toolman]

I run the reef keeper lite with an extra pc4 and I love it. It also included a ph probe which is also a nice feature. The pc4 runs inline with one another using a connector cable included and more can be daisied inline with the others. They do all require an independent wall plug in.
Great system at a great price. Many add ons and upgrades available.

[Snaz]

Has anyone built or seen a DIY controller yet?
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&sa=X&ei=0Ll4T_OKGKPiiAL02f2nDg&ved=0CCUQvwUoAQ&q=arduino+reef+controller&spell=1&biw=360&bih=592

[e46er]

so would I set a heater at like full on 90* and the controller gets set at say 77* heater plug on and and 80* heater plug off?

becuase the thermometers in the heaters are crappy if the controller gives the plug power at 77* and the stupid cheep heater says its fine it wont come on and tank keeps getting cooler...................... it would make sense to keep the ehater at a high enough temperature to make sure it would always turn on when the controller plug outlet gets power

[gregzz4]

so would I set a heater at like full on 90* and the controller gets set at say 77* heater plug on and and 80* heater plug off?

becuase the thermometers in the heaters are crappy if the controller gives the plug power at 77* and the stupid cheep heater says its fine it wont come on and tank keeps getting cooler...................... it would make sense to keep the ehater at a high enough temperature to make sure it would always turn on when the controller plug outlet gets power
The controller is pretty sensitive. In a live rock rubbermaid my RKL is set for 81 and the heater for 83.
It turns on @ 80.9 and off @ 81.1
There is a 'hysterisis' you can set as well. This tells the controller how sensitive to be.
You can program the controller to have a PC4's particular outlet either 'on' or 'off' in the case of a loss of communication ( if say a com cable was to get damaged ).
So you can see the concern if in your case you were to set your heater to 90 with the PC4 to 'on' :microwav:

[e46er]

oh ok thanks!
Im going to order one i think

[gregzz4]

basically Is this a decent unit? Im not into spending huge $$ on a controller.
There are lots of opinions out there on the DA products, but I'd say it's a decent unit for the price.
If that's the price range you are happy with, then either the RKL or just a Ranco temp controller would suit you fine.
I thought about both for months.
I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket in case of a controller failure causing a system-wide crash, but decided to buy one anyway.
With enough redundancy, and setting the PC4s to either 'on' or 'off', you can make it fairly safe.
For instance, I am setting my system to have both the Heaters and the Chiller 'on'
I bought a Ranco cheap and it's not connected to the RKL. It has heaters that are set just a little lower than the main ones.

[e46er]

thanks for your replys

ethernet would be nice but not worth an additonal $300 + to me

i figure worst case senerio if I grab this and decide i need more options i can sell it for 50-75 bucks or use as temp control on a QT / hosptial tank and grab a much more advanced controller

[gregzz4]

oh ok thanks!
Im going to order one i think
Before you buy one, think about what you might connect to it down the road. The RKL is limited to 4 modules but the RKE can handle 63 ( I think ).
I have a 75g with 110g total.
I bought the RKL @ Christmas, and by mid-Feb I started looking @ the RKE because I wanted more than 4 modules. It started when I wanted to have more than 2 PC4s and thought one Moonlight controller may not be enough if I wanted to have all 3 colors and enough intensity. Then I started thinking about connecting everything to it. My current hardware list is fairly large;
Eheim 1262 x 2
Skimmer
UV
Heaters
Chiller
Chaeto light
Lighting fans
Lights x 4
I currently have 3 PC4s, an SL1 and a Moonlight controller ( plus a hub for ease of connections, but it doesn't count as a module ).
I have future plans for more modules, but you get the idea.

[gregzz4]

i figure worst case senerio if I grab this and decide i need more options i can sell it for 50-75 bucks or use as temp control on a QT / hosptial tank and grab a much more advanced controller
Exactly what I am ending up doing, once the live rock is cured.

[Madmak]

I just ordered an Apex with 2 8 outlet bars and 1 4 outlet bar, all the regular probes, switches, and floats as well for my 200G build.

I try to buy things once, upgrades are expensive, and I know I will want to upgrade sooner or later, I always do.

Without even much thought the tally of items adds up pretty quick...

8 outlet #1
Return pump
Closed loop pump
Refugium feed pump
Refugium lights
Sump heater 1
Sump heater 2
Protein skimmer
Sump/cabinet light

8 outlet #2
Lights 1??
Lights 2??
Lights 3??
Moon lights
Only 4 spare to start...

What about:
ATO??
UV??
Dosers??
Reactors??
Auto-Feeder??
Additional power heads??
Yet to be invented must haves??


4 outlet (mixing station)
Mixing/water change pump
Heater
RO/DI
Only 1 spare to start...

Already at 3 15A circuits as well...

[e46er]

i see your points but my way of thinking is

module 1 heaters
module 2 return and CL pumps
module 3 powerheads for wave actions
dont run UV, ATO,auto feeds, electronic reactors
i see no reason for my dosing pump skimmer, cabinet light to run thru a controller unless it was connected to the internet which in turn to my pho ne..........unless im missing something but that to ne isnt worth the extra few hundred bux
i can plug a power bar into an outlet for 2 heaters controlled together
powerbar for pumps controlled together
my mixing station is nowhere near the tank so they would never get plugged into it

i still have an extra module left

[Madmak]

Ya, I hear ya. There are many ways to set up a tank. I'm looking forward to the history log and safe guard alarms that you can do if everything is tied in to the controller.

[e46er]

true

thanks for your input

Im gonna order it and see how I like it and if I decide id like more options with a controller Im only out $130 on this 1 and I can spend the difference on livestock!

[gregzz4]

true

thanks for your input

Im gonna order it and see how I like it and if I decide id like more options with a controller Im only out $130 on this 1 and I can spend the difference on livestock!
True enough, that's a good way to look at it

[gregzz4]

I'm looking forward to the history log that you can do if everything is tied in to the controller.
This you don't get with the DA stuff e46er, just so you know
The Apex units are more advanced
I went with DA as the Apex units didn't suit my desires, but I still spent almost as much

[e46er]

The RKL has data log which shows min max and avg....... What else for history would u want?

[gregzz4]

It doesn't log for as long as the Apex is all I meant
Me thinks you only get an hour with the DA
Either way, it wasn't on my list

[e46er]

Ohhhh ok gotcha
Now hmmmmmmmm

[gregzz4]

I did lots of reading before I made my mind up. There are differences for sure. What made my mind up in the end was the layout of the PC4 bar vs the Energy8 bar, the light controllers, and a couple other things. Don't remember right now.
I'm just trying to help you become more informed.
You won't hate the RKL, or the RKE.
Many would bash me for not selling you on an Apex.
It's a great unit too. I didn't like the fact that the starter unit was over $300.
There are others too, such as Profilux and another that isn't coming to mind.
$130 is a great starter price, but inform yourself first.
And keep in mind that I didn't cheap out, I just bought what I liked. It still cost me over $500 for my RKE with some other goodies, and I started with the same thought you have.

http://www.ghl-direct.com/

http://www.neptunesys.com/

http://www.digitalaquatics.com/

[Mike-fish]

if i were to start with the RKL and down the road want to up grade to the RKE would all the addons still work fine

[gregzz4]

if i were to start with the RKL and down the road want to up grade to the RKE would all the addons still work fine
Mostly, except for the iTemp, which comes with all RKLs, and what I mention near the end.
The RKE comes with a different probe, just called Temp, that has a different connector.
The RKE can also use the newer SL2 while the RKL can only use the SL1.
The SL1 is compatible with both and has connections for 2 switches, a Temp probe and an ORP probe, plus 2 com connectors.
The SL2 has removed the OPR port and replaced it with a Salinity port.

You should double-check on the DA site though as I am not 100% sure about the Advanced Light controller, and I believe the Net module only works on the RKE.
Sorry if I missed anything. I'm still new to these controllers.