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#1
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looking for controller
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
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250G DD LED SPS R.I.P. 180G LED SPS 80"x36". 300G custom build Owner of Mountain Ridge Heating and Gas Class A gas fitter, HVAC |
#2
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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.
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#3
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Seriously looking at the reef angel myself
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#4
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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. |
#5
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Has anyone built or seen a DIY controller yet?
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&sa...iw=360&bih=592 |
#6
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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
__________________
250G DD LED SPS R.I.P. 180G LED SPS 80"x36". 300G custom build Owner of Mountain Ridge Heating and Gas Class A gas fitter, HVAC |
#7
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Quote:
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' |
#8
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Quote:
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. |
#9
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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
__________________
250G DD LED SPS R.I.P. 180G LED SPS 80"x36". 300G custom build Owner of Mountain Ridge Heating and Gas Class A gas fitter, HVAC |
#10
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Exactly what I am ending up doing, once the live rock is cured.
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