Question for Aquacontroller users

[this is me]

How much neater your electrical stuff looks with the AC? I'm looking at the Junoir model and it looks like I can save some space and it might look a little neater as well. And the Junior model is good enough for my set up. With the ACJ, I can get rid of my Pinpoint PH controller, Thermometer, and 3 bulky timers, and maybe an 8-outlet strip. What else I can get rid of? and how hard is it to set up the AC? Does it look neater with it?
Thanks

 

[Andy O]

I guess it depends what your definition of neater is. You still need to run all of your power cords to the 8 strip ACJR power strip. It really comes down to how well you can tie up the cords adn keep them out of the way. I keep my ph and temp probe in the sump. If you have a CA reactor you can hook that up to it. You can set lighting parameters so that if the tank temp hits a certain temperature it will kill the lights and turn on a fan if you have one. It can do a whole lot of things.

The main goal of it is automation. Depending on what you want it to do it it can be time consuming to program all of the command strings.

Curt at Neptune is very helpful. When I wrote out my program I went over it with him and he told me if it was correct based on what I wanted to do. They also have their own forum on RC which is pretty helpful.

That said, I am very happy with the unit. If you ever want to take a look at my unit running you are more than welcome to.

 

[this is me]

Thank you Andy,
I understand that I will still have wires hanging around but right now, my three bulky timers are taking almost all of the 8-unit power strips themselve. The AC is a timer on every single outlet(?). I want to turn on my actinic 2 hours before the halide on and then off when the halide is on, and then back on agian when the halide is off for another two hours. I cant do this with my current timer. The program to set up the light to turn off at a certain temperature is very attracting as well.
I was looking at the reefkeeper 2 unit and it's similar with the ACJ. The RK2 is much better looking than the ACJ but lack in some feautures.
I'll look into these units some more.

 

[Andy O]

This should easily be able to handle what you want to do. That's correct, each outlet has its own programming capabilities so you can pretty much program what ever you want onto any of the 8 outlets. If you don't already have a heater with a controller I would highly reccomend using with this unit. Just like anything that is electric, if something goes wrong and the outlet were to stick in the on position at least you could set a max setting on the heaters controller so that it would shut off -- more of a safeguard. You can also program in a feed cycle so that when you hit a button it shuts off your CL/powerhead for a preset period of time for the fish to eat and then starts it up again.

 

[Reef55]

I agree with Andy, it makes many things much easier. I have the AQ2, which you are welcome to come over and see as well (I'm in Haverhill, just up the street from you