I just realized I might not have answered your primary question.
Yes everything can be done from the ACQ115 control unit. As a matter of fact I never created any of my programs from anything but the control unit.
I like to be able to see and hear what is happening as soon as I finish a program and also I want to test and make sure it works and does not have any conflicts with other programs.
With the ACQ115 you can buy the USB module and plug it into a Laptop and that makes everything available via the PC when you run the aquatronica windows PC software for the ACQ115. (I mean everything!)
You can also buy the Ethernet module and monitor everything including getting really nice looking graphs of your data and see your current status.
If you have an iPhone or iPad you might want to look at Aquamonitor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ORdRqucVA
He is porting it over to the Touch controller, but the current version works great with the ACQ115 on any iPhone or iPad. so long as you have the Ethernet module and are wired to your home network
You cannot program the ACQ115 via Ethernet like you can with the ACQ140 (touch) but you can turn plugs On or Off or set them to Auto from anywhere in the world.
Rob