Do you use a controller??

[dgasmd]

What kind do you use? Aquadyne vs Neptune? Why did you choose it? What do you like best about it? What do you dislike about it? If you were back at day 1, would you get it again or would you get the other type or nothing at all? What safety feature do you think it gives you that you would not want to do without?

[JB NY]

I have a Neptune Systems Aquacontroller 2. I find it absolutely essential to my tank and would not even hesitate getting it again.

I find it much more than a high end timer. I do use it to turn lights and things on/off. But being able to have it react to situations is the best part of it. I few things it does for me.

I dose kalk 24/7 for all my top off water. I have safeguards in place in case too much kalk were to be added at one time. If my pH ever rises above a certain level it will shut off my pump to the kalk, only turning it back on after the pH levels has dropped to an acceptable value. Also if for some reason the pH spikes to a higher level (above 8.55). The pump is shut down and I get a page and e-mail sent to me.

If I have a problems with the temperature, too high or too low, the unit will page and e-mail me.

If the water level in the sump is too low (if the top-off pump fails or a leak happens), or too high (the top-off pump gets stuck on) the unit can shut down equipment and page me as well.

This is in addition to all the other things it can do.

The controller, as part of a series of safety equipment hooked up to my tank, allows me a tremendous piece of mind when travelling.

I have had, GFCI's trip, heaters fail, lights get stuck on and drains start to clog all while on the road. In all cases I was alerted by the tank that something was wrong and I was able to get the tank sitter to fix the problem.

A big :thumbsup: from me.

[MAS]

AquacontrollerII and Pro user here. WOuldnt touch the Octopus with a 10ft. pole. Nowhere near as flexible as the Aquacontroller, and the Octopus has been known to have odd software glitches too.

[MATTT]

How do you do that ! When some thing is wrong with your tank, you would get an email. I would love to set up a system like you have. Could you explain it in a more detail. Equipments, software.

Thanks,

Mattt.

[MAS]

Matt, the aquacontroller can be hooked up to your computer via software and a serial cable for monitoring. It also can be hooked up to a pager modem and let you know(when your away)if something is out of whack. Its not too hard to setup. The learning curve is real easy.

[JB NY]

Yup that's the basic idea. If you can program a little. You can do some other cool things. For example. When an alarm trips for what ever reason, I use the aquanotes program to kick off an external program that shuts down aquanotes, then telnets to the aquacontroller and gets an updated view of all the data. The I parse that to find out basic info to send to my pager in plain english. I also send it to a email address in case I'm at work and forgot my pager.

The page and email read:

*************
ALARM
Feb 05 14:13
Temp:77.5 pH:8.14 ORP 406
Water Alarm: OFF
Main Alarm: ON
PF:none
PR:none
Battery:OK
**************

That tells me all my basic parameters as well as if the water level is ok (water alarm), if power is on (PF=last time power failed, PR=When power was restored).

That piece took me a while to do, but now it works like a champ.

[dgasmd]

Pretty impressive. So is the cost of this beast. I went and looked at it in the marine depot site and it is not pocket change by any means:
-backlit pro unit $589
-control interface $29
-PC cables $
- all kinds of modules $$
This adds up pretty quickly!

JB NY:
So, tell me all the parts necessary aside from what comes with the combo or kit that one would need to set this up like yours. I am curious for one. By the way, do you know if these still ahve compatibility and noise issues with the electronic ballasts like Blueline? They used to at one point for what I remember reading.

Alberto

[ri]

Don't forget the software... $140

Although the unit can be used without the software, it make life MUCH easier.

I don't use a controller. Tried one for a few days but decided not to trust my tank to X10 technology. But that's just me...

ri

[JB NY]

Originally posted by ri
Tried one for a few days but decided not to trust my tank to X10 technology. But that's just me...

ri

I have two of these

direct connect 4 (http://www.neptunesys.com/modules.htm#DC4)

It's hard wired but responds to X-10 commands that are sent to it via a wire. My lights, chiller and heaters are on them.

I have no issues with my ballasts but then again they are hardwired so there can be no interference.

Mine is also hooked into a laptop 24/7 as well.

[MAS]

I don't use a controller. Tried one for a few days but decided not to trust my tank to X10 technology. But that's just me...

Actually the Aquacontrollers have a hardwire option in the direct connect acessory. It bypass's the x10 interference problems. Basically its a hard wired interface. I use em on all my critical components. Never one single glitch.

[dgasmd]

Let me see if I get it right. So each one of those in the link from JB NY plug another 4 pieces of equipment. That entire thing plugs into the wall and the aquacontroller send signals that get read by each indicidual plug in in the strip. Is that right?

By the way, how did you "hardwire" the ballasts and how does it get rid of the interference? Do you run blueline ballasts? Sorry for all the simple questions, but I am very new and green when it comes to this stuff.

[JB NY]

I've never have any interference. I think maybe the people who do are not properly grounding their ballast.

Anyway, when I wrote hardwired I meant hardwired into a controller, so it in unaffected by stray noises that interfere with the X10 signal.

Your thoughts on the DC4 are correct. You plug the unit into the wall for power, each socket on the DC4 can be controlled by the AQ2 individually.

[AuroraDave]

Joe--Should I be doing something special to ground my Champion, Blueline ballast?
I am plugging the 3-prong cord into a grounded outlet. Is there another ground that I need to connect?

[AcroSteve]

Originally posted by JB NY
I use the aquanotes program to kick off an external program that shuts down aquanotes, then telnets to the aquacontroller and gets an updated view of all the data. The I parse that to find out basic info to send to my pager in plain english. I also send it to a email address in case I'm at work and forgot my pager.

That is really nice.
What program did you use?

[MAS]

He uses Aquanotes

[AcroSteve]

Originally posted by MAS
He uses Aquanotes

Read a little closer please.;) Maybe my ? was a llittle vague.

Originally posted by JB NY
I use the aquanotes program to kick off an external program that shuts down aquanotes, then telnets to the aquacontroller and gets an updated view of all the data. The I parse that to find out basic info to send to my pager in plain english. I also send it to a email address in case I'm at work and forgot my pager.


In addition to the aquanotes, what program(s) did you use?.

[JB NY]

I use a program called Macro Scheduler http://www.mjtnet.com/ to do most of the paging and parsing of the information. It also lets you add VBScript (which I added) into your macros.

I also use a dll from ActiveXperts http://www.activexperts.com called ActiveComport that lets me easily telnet into a COM port using vbscript. I found it much easier than using the built in hypertermal in windows and more reliable.

[MAS]

DOH! Sometimes when I browse other threads my retina's leave out important info! =P

[adidaswood]

what do you mean by pager a pager or a cell phone with a pager functions, would it work with a cell phone ?

[JB NY]

An alpha pager, I've had one for the past 8 years. Then I changed it so it goes to the pager function of my cell phone.

[adidaswood]

Nice I am gonna get rolling on this. do you use a serperate server to ftp your stats to your web page.....or do you just use IIS in windows to go grab it off the network from your laptop???

[JB NY]

FTP'd to a separate server.

[Mandoman]

Can someone tell me the difference between an Aquatroller II and an Aquatroller Pro??

[tomason]

For my 210 gallon tank, I've developed my own controller because I think the current automation offerings are quite over-priced. My controller is PC-based (so it can do a lot of stuff) and uses a USB device (www.labjack.com) to read probes and switches and turn AC outlets on and off. It uses solid state relays instead of X10 to avoid the problems of X10. Even if you had to buy a new PC (low system requirements) to run 24/7, the cost of materials is still less than an Aquacontroller.

For example, a unit to monitor temp, pH, and ORP (including probes), control 8 appliances, and read several float and other kinds of switches (in the case of 8 appliances, there can be 11 switches) costs around $400 (switches not included).

In addition to reading inputs and controlling appliances, the software also includes a database for livestock and equipment, including a picture gallery, as well as scheduling maintenance tasks and email reminders. It can also sound an alarm and send email alerts (pages/voicemails too someday).

Once my tank is set up and running and can be the first guinea pig, I'd be willing to start helping people build them if anyone's interested.

-Tom

[JB NY]

Originally posted by Mandoman
Can someone tell me the difference between an Aquatroller II and an Aquatroller Pro??

The Pro also measures and controls conductivity and dissolved oxygen. An extra external switch input, a larger display and a RS485 in addition to the RS232 Serial Port.

I think that's it.

[JB NY]

tomason,

I've looked at the labjack stuff before. It looks pretty cool. Although at 8 appliances, that's 12 less than the AQ2. FWIW I am using 17 right now.

[AcroSteve]

Tomason, do you have a thread started on that? Sounds great.

So what are you saving? $200-$300. or more?

[AcroSteve]

Originally posted by JB NY
FWIW I am using 17 right now.

:eek2:

[JB NY]

I lied... 18!!

Left MH Lamp
Center MH Lamp
Right MH Lamp
VHO
Moonlights
Ozone
Topoff
Phytoplankton lights
Refugium Lights
Propagation tank MH
Kalk Stirbar
Calcium Reactor
Powerheads
Cooling Fan
Heaters
Chiller
Water Level alarm
Main Alarm

[tomason]

JB NY,

8 was just an example for the price estimate. The labjack has 20 digital I/O channels, so it can control up to that many appliances. With 8 analog inputs, 3 of which are used for temp, pH, and ORP, it can also still have 5 float switches. More appliances means more relays, which is more money.

17 is a lot! Based on my current plans, I will have 16:

- Halides
- Actinics
- Moon/night viewing lights
- Refugium lights
- Heaters
- Sump fans for cooling
- Canopy fans for cooling
- Top-off pump
- RO/DI solenoid
- 3 pumps for water changes (1 for pumping freshwater into saltwater reservoir, 1 for pumping water out of sump into drain, and 1 for pumping saltwater into sump)
- 1 more for heater and circulation pump for saltwater reservoir
- Valve for kalk reactor (gravity fed from freshwater reservoir)
- Valve for calcium reactor CO2 (once I need one)
- Valve for feeding phyto/rotifers/possibly brine shrimp

Now I'm curious what all of you guys control! JB NY, what does your 17 consist of? Anyone else?

-Tom

[tomason]

Thanks, JB NY! It took me a while to type all that! =)

[tomason]

Kalk stirbar & phyto lights & prop tank lights....I forgot about those.....hehe. I'll probably have to put a couple things on "old-fashioned" light timers to avoid having to buy another labjack.

The RODI/top-off/kalk dosing/water change system I have needs to be run by the controller because of all the float switches, pumps and valves. It's also nice to have the tank lights on it to easily change the photoperiod and turn off the halides if things get too hot. After all the problems I've had with heaters on my 45 gallon tank, there's no way I'd trust temperature control on a large, expensive tank to anything but a separate controller.

[tomason]

Oh, and stranglehold....

It's probably costing me closer to $600 to do everything I mentioned above. I already have a PC to run it, so that's nothing more.

I haven't started a thread on it yet, because I'm still getting it all set up. I've already written the software and wired things up to the labjack and tested all the basic functionality, but I don't have all of it running the tank yet "for reals". =) Once I do, I plan on taking pictures and starting a thread with more info.

-Tom

[AcroSteve]

So, Joe,

In addition to those outputs, your inputs are?

Orp
PH
Tank water temp


Are you monitoring any other inputs? Are you able to tell if your pumps are actually on when they get the signal? Do you have any flow switches set up on inputs?

That is a concern I have right now, that I have not yet addressed. I measure tank temp in my sump. But if the return pump fails, no tank water is being circulated through my chiller, so I do not have any controls based on the water temp in the tank or actual flow.

[tomason]

Steve,

I've been looking for a solution to that problem too. There are devices for detecting current which you can use to determine if your return pump is actually drawing current. If you can find one that produces a DC voltage (normally closed/open doesn't matter), then I would be very interested in looking at it too! =)

-Tom

[dgasmd]

Crap, you guys left me behind at "yes, I use a controller". What is it you are talking about? I really don't understand most of what you guys are talking about here. Please eduquificate me.

[tomason]

Steve was just wondering if a controller can tell if your return pump is actually running. In case the pump fails (like it overheats and shuts down like mine has), it'd be nice to know that it's not running. Unless the controller has a way of detecting whether the pump is actually drawing current and doing something, it only knows that the pump is "supposed to be on" because it has power.

-Tom

[AcroSteve]

If the pump was locked up, or there was an obstruction in the line, you would still "see" the current draw. Flow switch is probably the most reliable. Possibly, a non-mechanical electronic sensor of some sort. But that could get complicated. Oops... too late.

I try to keep everything possible on or at the sump, rather than the tank. But another level switch at the tank would indicate if the pumps were not getting water back to the tank. Could also be integrated to show if an overflow was obstructed and the tank was about to overflow.

[tomason]

That's a good point!

[vmiller]

I have an Aquacontroller Pro that controlls a 180 and 125 combined in one system.

I chose Neptune over Octopus because Neptune had more features and more happy customers. I chose the Pro over the II to track Conductivity (Salinity). Dissolved O2 would be nice, but I can't justify the price of the probe.

The nicest thing for me about the controller is that I'm a programmer and wrote my own software to control my system. I made a web page to view tank/equipment conditions and administer the settings that control the equipment. Each piece of equipment can be controlled by time, temp, ph, orp, and/or cond. All equipment changes (on/off) are logged. I also have a notification piece that will email me and my cell phone if tank conditions are outside of the boundaries that I specify.

I know the Aquacontroller's internal language can do all this, but my software does it better :) It's nice being able to make it all work the way I want it to.

Not only has it made my maintenance life a lot easier and contributed to the health of my system, but it has also been a fun project. I will say though that X10 can be a female dog to debug.

Vin

[JB NY]

Vin,

Now I'm going to hit you with a bunch of question.

How do you do things like set the time on the AQ2?

Check status without viewing everything?

Change the target temperature?

I haven't been able to do much other than the standard command of l c d and onXXX offXXX when telneting to the com port.

[vmiller]

Originally posted by JB NY


How do you do things like set the time on the AQ2?



In my software, I use the time on the pc running it so the Aquacontroller time is of no use to me.



Check status without viewing everything?



What do you mean by 'everything'?

My software issues the the serial port command to the Aquacontroller that returns the status string. I parse all the information I want out of this string.



Change the target temperature?



I'm not sure what you mean by target temperature. I have a min and max value that I can set for each measured parameter. If the actual value read from the Aquacontroller is not within this range, the peice of equipment that the range is specified for will be turned off until the parameter is within range again. Again, this is all done outside of the Aquacontroller.



I haven't been able to do much other than the standard command of l c d and onXXX offXXX when telneting to the com port.

Yeah, the Aquacontroller doesn't have much of an interface. The c is what gives you the status, right? If so, that's the command I was talking about above that my software uses to get the data.

Based on your last question, I think I understand now why I wasn't understanding your questions. I don't use the Aquacontroller for X10 control. I have my software do it. That's why I'm able to control the system any way I want to. I only use the Aquacontroller for it's ability to read tank parameters and send them to my pc.

Vin

[JB NY]

I gottcha. One of the things I do like about the AQ2 is it will run without the PC hooked to it. So if for some odd reason my PC locks up or I need to do software upgrades, the AQ2 still controls everything.

[vmiller]

Those are good reasons for using the AQ instead of my way. Luckily I've been running for almost a year with minimal problems.

I don't use Windows, so locking up is not a problem. :)

I have a pc dedicated just to this purpose, so no need for upgrades unless there's something I want to add to the software that requires it.

[tomason]

Originally posted by vmiller
I don't use Windows, so locking up is not a problem. :)

I have a pc dedicated just to this purpose, so no need for upgrades unless there's something I want to add to the software that requires it.

That last part is the key to not locking up the PC. No upgrading plus no installing crap software you download off the internet will keep a machine running long and happy....even Windows! :)

[JB NY]

I run windows server on the PC connected to the AQ. I haven't had a lockup in over two years. But I have shut it down remotely twice by accident.

[AcroSteve]

So Vin, your aquacontroller is just functioning strictly as an interface to the probes in the tank, and all the processing is done on the PC?

Isn't that an expensinve way to go? Or is it like getting 20%-40% of the work done already?

[vmiller]

Originally posted by stranglehold
So Vin, your aquacontroller is just functioning strictly as an interface to the probes in the tank, and all the processing is done on the PC?

Isn't that an expensinve way to go? Or is it like getting 20%-40% of the work done already?

Yes, that's all I'm using the Aquacontroller for.

Yeah, it's the expensive way to go since I'm not using the X10 capabilities of the Aquacontroller, but I haven't heard of a more simple and cheaper device for sale that measures the same parameters and makes them available through a serial port connection.

Unfortunately, I don't know enough about electronics to DIY something like that either.

[calihawker]

vmiller,

From my understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, the aquanotes software will basically do the same thing only the x-10's are controlled by the aquacontroller not the pc. I'm getting my aquacontroller in the mail today and since I usually have extra pc's laying around I decided to go ahead and get the software.

The other thing I'm worried about after reading this thread is the x-10 glitches. Is this something that can be fixed using the noise filters? I'm also wondering if shielding that ballasts from blasting RF would help.

Steve

[vmiller]

Originally posted by calihawker


From my understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, the aquanotes software will basically do the same thing only the x-10's are controlled by the aquacontroller not the pc. I'm getting my aquacontroller in the mail today and since I usually have extra pc's laying around I decided to go ahead and get the software.



If you're not a programmer and/or have no interest in writing your own software, I believe aquanotes will essentially do the same thing for you. Never researched it so I can't say for sure.

There's another guy who wrote some software and is selling it cheap. I think the software's name is Jaqua. Can't remember the guys name.

I responded to your x10 concerns on another thread. Basically, you just have to be careful to avoid and indentify other houselhold and aquarium appliances that might cause interference with the X10 modules.

Vin

[alexwolf]

I would love to get one of these for my system, but sounds very confusing to a non technical guy like me :( maybe someone can mentor me through it