digital aquatics reef keeper 2.... yeah or neah??????

I own one.

You certainly don't NEED one. But they are very nice to have. I use every outlet on mine..... lights,heater, fan, sump pump, powerheads, etc.

The display looks really nice with all the black and blue LED's, and it's very accurate in measuring temperature and PH. It's nice seeing the time, temperature, and PH everytime you look at it.


There are other things you can use it for too...

I think it's a good purchase.

However, i did get mine used for 200, not a brand new one for 280 or whatever they go for.


Only thing i dislike about it is that i don't believe (someone let me know if i'm wrong) you can datalog it too your computer and record average temperatures, and PH's throughout the day like other controllers (neptune's).
 
Joel A said:
Only thing i dislike about it is that i don't believe (someone let me know if i'm wrong) you can datalog it too your computer and record average temperatures, and PH's throughout the day like other controllers (neptune's).
Click to expand...

you can do this, go onto the website, you just need the cord

I have owned 2, i think its a must have for the price. A temp control and ph control alone would cost you $200. Some people like more control over there systems and spend $700-$2200 on a controller, thats fine too, for me and what i use it for $265 new works great.

I would buy new, they tend to sell for $200 used and you may need to replace the ph probe ($50) and the temp probe ($15) and may not get all the cords to log the data, in the end you dont save any money
http://www.digitalaquatics.com/m_product_info.php?part_number=30-0005-000
 
I use an aquacontroller 2 and if given the choice, I would not go without a controller now.
 
ive had the reef keeper 2 for a year now with no issues i bought it from marine depot with free shipping.
 
+1 On the reefkeeper 2. I hated worrying about temps while I was away until I got one and set the parms. for the canopy fans. Must have for tanks w/ harder corals to keep IMO.
 
WOW!!!! thanks for all input !!!! we just joined this site and were Amazed with how helpful all of you are... were picking up our tank set up tmrw am from Jim (brewmaster) and weve been shopping like nuts to get ready with equipment for waterchanges and other things... but heres the next question... simple but will hopefully make our lives a bit easier ... what do you all reccomend for transferring water during water changes??? for draining and refilling the tank etc... thanks again SOOO much for all your usefull input. L & R.
 
When I designed my system, I plumbed a drain valve into my closed loop. It has a run of 1" tubing down into the basement and into the house drain plumbing. When it comes time to do a water change, I hit 'Standby 2' on the RKE which shuts off the pumps and allows the plumbing to back-siphon into the sump up to the 'System Off' line. Once the water is at that line I open the drain valve until the tank volume gets down to a certain level (for my tank I know that every inch is 3 gallons).

Prior to draining I've mixed my change water. I got a Polyethylene 15gal barrel with cover from USPlastics. It has 1/2gal markings on the side. I put my MaxiJet 1200 (with about 4ft of tubing on it) and submersible 300w heater in the barrel, connect a length of tubing to my ATO line (from my RO/DI unit in the basement --- I use JG fittings to make things easy), turn the ATO 'on' from the RKE and let the barrel fill to my desired amount. The heater and Maxijet heat and mix the water. I adjust the salinity until it's exactly that of the tank (I run at 1.025). Then it mixes for a few hours until the temp is where it needs to be. Alot of people mix overnight.

Once the SG and temp are correct I drain the tank (as above). Then I kill the heater in the barrel, turn the tank 'Standby' off (which turns the pumps back on). I take the end of the MaxiJet tubing and put it into the skimmer section of the sump and let things fill up to the 'Normal Operating Level' line on my sump.

Once done, I rinse my water change gear and put it back in the basement. All-in-all it goes pretty smoothly. It took awhile to devise a system that works for me but this one does. The barrel made all the difference.
 
I have two Aquacontrollers. An ACII and an AC Jr. I love them.

You may not NEED one but once you get one you'll never want to reef without it!
 
Aloha, I have the RFK2 and love it. A Elite is in my future as well, not a absolute need but it is awesome to have. E
 
A controller of any kind is worth the money IMO. Just having the basic like turn on/off light at different time, turn off light at too high temperature, turn the fan on/off at a given window of temperature, etc....save a lot of headache.
 
Will the aquacontroller Jr. do all of the above that you listed? I know it will do lights, PH, Temp, etc, Will it turn lights off if temp gets too high, etc. I am thinking of getting one really soon. Not sure which is better, the Aquacontroller or RK2. Ill have to research
 
Yes, I have mine as
Light1 Off if temp > 84
Max change 120 then light1 off
Light1 Off if PH >8.5

The max change state just force the light to be off for 120minute(2 hours) when the temperature reach higher than 84. If the temperature drop, the light is back on.

Although my PH will never reach 8.5, my light has been shut off many times. It saves me a lot of coral and fish in the hot summer days when I forgot to turn on the AC. It is very easy to do if you're running halide.




Blueflu1 said:
Will the aquacontroller Jr. do all of the above that you listed? I know it will do lights, PH, Temp, etc, Will it turn lights off if temp gets too high, etc. I am thinking of getting one really soon. Not sure which is better, the Aquacontroller or RK2. Ill have to research
Click to expand...
 
Here is the manual for the AC JR. You might want to read through it to see what it's capable of.
http://74.52.105.194/~clp/images/downloads/AquaControllerJr_3_2+Serial_web.pdf

I'm not a fan boy of any brand. I think a RK2 or any other brand is just as good if you set up right.

btw, setting these controllers are easy. You don't have to be a CS major or a programmer to set it up. If you understand the simple conditional code (If, then, else), you are all set!
 
They announced the pricing for the NET module for the RKE. $119. Every good tank needs to have its own RSS feed!
 
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