Quote:
Originally Posted by garwood
Im new to the reef scene and i dont understand why the need. My lights are fully programmable, my wavemakers are synced with controllers, my return pump /skimmer stay on 24/7. truthfully the only thing i can see to need a controller for is the heaters and that would be for safety incase heaters break down. I have had tanks all my life and never needed a email to tell me how my tank is doin...pls what am i missing?
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My heaters have a controller on them too. I have one set at 78 and then a back up set at 76 that has never come on. According to my thermometer my tank never varies by more than about 1/2 a degree. A controller comes in handy if you are controlling PH or doing something that effects it. An email saying that there is water on the floor or the power has gone out is nice to have as well. Turning off all the pumps for feeding with one button is handy but I have all my pumps on a single power bar so I can do this already without a controller. Being able to see all your tank parameters at once and log any rise and fall cycles can be done with a controller although this also leads to a lot of people constantly messing around with their tanks every time they see a change which can be bad as well. Some people have set up automatic water changes with their controllers as well. So I wouldn't say a controller is a requirement as all the equipment you buy is designed to run just fine by itself but some people just need it for peace of mind and if a hobby isn't relaxing what's the point?