100% Automation??

[CloudIX]

Is there any type of system that will monitor and adjust all aspects of your reef? I have see some that will monitor PH, salinity and ORB and can control a few dosing pumps. But nothing that does all the other parameters of the reef and or has the ability to control as many pumps as monitors.

 

[poolkeeper1]

There are some that do almost everything that you will need done with very large amounts of controllable outlets that you can program to do just about anything you want. Apex for example, Digital Aquatics and some other very expensive set ups that are more than most people can afford. If you can write the program it can do the task up to a certain point.
Bill

 

[CloudIX]

The Apex is a start, but from what i seen on it that it will only do a max of 3 monitors. So that leaves a lot of other parameters that need to be monitored. I'm going to look into the Digital Aquatics stuff, maybe that is what I'm looking for. Thanks for the push into the right direction bill, as always your a great help.

 

[shanealanbeaty]

Looking for 100% auatomation is a man after my own heart.

 

[CloudIX]

Thanks, If i could automate all of the husbandry jobs of the tank. I think that it would make my tank more stable and i would be able to just enjoy the tank. I'm just not seeing a way to do all of it in one system.

 

[NeveSSL]

What do you mean a max of 3 monitors? Apex systems max out at something like 200 modules. RKEs max out at 64. Either of which would be many, many more than 3 monitors.

However, I've got an RKE setup that will soon be for sale if you're looking for one.

Brandon

 

[CloudIX]

Looking at the info on it. the only monitors that apex has is a Temp, PH, salinity and ORB. there are no other monitors that i see. The system may be able to monitor 200 modules. but how would one monitor calcium and alkalinity, etc. Maybe you cant monitor those with probes.

 

[NeveSSL]

There aren't any controllers that do anything other than the major 4. Calcium, alk, etc. are available in probe form, but are expensive (see here: http://www.saltysupply.com/ProductD...e&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=GoogleBase ) and haven't been implemented into controllers yet.

I will say that I had an Aquatronica that was awesome, it was just a bit too expensive for me to expand much and service from Italy was sloooooow (they were always on vacation... :lol. However, they and Profilux have dosing pump options. This is nice because you don't have to calculate anything out. You program your controller to dose x amount over x time. You also pay for this functionality.

Brandon

 

[coralfish]

There isn't. I use the Neptune ACIII for most everything, then the LiterMeterIII for top-off and 2 part, then the Genesis for auto water change. (BTW, its ORP not ORB.)

 

[CloudIX]

OK, then i guess there is not really a way to automate it 100% since the probes haven't been implemented into controllers yet. I have a custom X-10 setup with an ocelot (Programmable home automation brain) that can do everything that any of the current controllers offer and then some. I guess I will just wait for something like this to come out, unless i can find probes that i can use to monitor.

 

[NeveSSL]

Personally I think we're probably a good 5 to 15 years away from full automation including calcium, alk, and mag. Maybe longer. The technology needs to catch up, and I don't think overall there's a ton of pressure for inexpensive monitoring.

Brandon

 

[poolkeeper1]

Get some Hanna Checkers for Phosphate, Alk,Nitrate and whatever else they have 50.00 each and they are very accurate for the price.
Brandon, Call me when you have time i need to ask you some LED info
Bill

 

[NeveSSL]

Will do, Bill.

Brandon

 

[andywe]

Bill has the rightr idea..and do not bother with things like the calcium probes..big waste of money.

if you want 100% automation hire a tank service thats your best bet lol

 

[CloudIX]

Yea, a tank service would do it. It's just the techie coming out in me and trying to do something that's not been done before. I see that the cost of something like this would far exceed just paying someone to do it. But part of the fun is figuring it out and showing others how to do it.

I think that if the monitors was not so expensive then i think i could make this dream come true.

 

[Pickupman66]

while i am by no means an expert, I think the alkalinity monitors are very sketchy now. I dont think they have correlated a reaction in a probe to the alkalinity of the water. at least not in an affordable way for those of us.

I know one can automate most if not all of the tasks these days from the lighting, to temp to water changes and auto top off.

best part about this hobby is there are multiple ways to skin the proverbial cat.

 

[andywe]

the gear you could do it with is top grade lab gear, like a mass spectrometer...and those are big big bucks..more than a house! the future will make it more aces sable, but for now a little over the top for most of us lol.

 

[NeveSSL]

A more practical solution might be to automate water changes. If you do them often enough and with a good salt mix, you don't have to worry about calcium, alk, and mag.

It would be cheaper than the probes or services and should work fairly well. Obviously depends on your calcium, alk, and mag needs. But something else to keep in mind is even if you're buying the probes that are available, they're only that... probes and a read out. I don't think they have controllers for those like they do pH and temp.

Brandon

 

[CloudIX]

Yes that is what i was seeing there only probes and they dont have an output to monitor.

I do plan on automating the water changes, but i would still have to physically add the salt to the water. Since you cant pump salt.

 

[Pickupman66]

well, with a probe, you can get a readout. what you do with that readout (activate a switch to open or close a circuit to deliver a set ammt of something to a setpoint.


IE, when it senses the PH too low, it doses a set ammt of a high PH solution to offset it.