controller users

skiformance

skiformance racing
in working out my budget for my 140 build. i have had a hard time deciding on a controller. while i have tried to search several times the search feature is always disabled. i have caught a few threads slamming digital aquatics customer support ,i also can't find any warranty info on their site. i have budgeted 500 ish for a controller and would like the best bang for the buck i don't know if this is a feature or add on but i would like to get an email to my phone telling me something is wrong so is it rke or ac3. please feel free to speak your mind about either brand /pros, cons features or accessories you felt you should have bought at time of purchase.
tia,
michael
 
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The email would be a great feature to have! I went with the acjr. It would be definately on the low end of your budget, but I'm very happy with the controller, and I'm not even really using it near it's capacity. This is the first controller I have owned, and it can sure make things easy. I would definately suggest the direct connections vs x-10's, they will not interfere with ballasts. The programming is very very easy, and I'm really computer stupid! I was able to hook mine up out of the box and have the simple programs," heater,lights, & pumps" done in about an hour installed. I don't have an ATO or dosing pump but it could handle it if I add it plus it will actually follow the moon, and tidal cycles to adjust the lights on and off, and the temp to the correct time of year. Now I didn't get quite that far but it is pretty cool. Again this is only the acjr the ac3 does a lot more. I'm very happy with mine and hopefully will continue to add more of the features to what i'm using.Greta contoller. as always IMHO

Hope this helps.
 
well in my searching around i think i would have to order the rke net to get mail alerts which is on pre order and for beta users. whatever the heck that is
 
Yeah we have two separate AC3s connected to our tanks. One for the reef and other for the frag tank. Looking about expanding one to control another tank as well. Its the best thing ever. Each one is able to control up to 8 items and the even cooler thing is if your tank deviates from any of the set parameters, it sends me a text page and an email. I am then able to log into the system online and see what is going on and turn things off and on chille, heater, calcium reactor, lights or whatever remotely.
 
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mr whitby. are you not a rke user. i would like to hear your opinions. i did find out that both companies offer a 1 year warranty
 
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I thought the ac's would control more than 8 items if daisy chained. am I wrong? I know the acjr will.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14174229#post14174229 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cjilge
I thought the ac's would control more than 8 items if daisy chained. am I wrong? I know the acjr will.

ACjr can control 12 items, AC III can do 24, adn the AC III Pro can do 40. The ACIII can send emails if it's connected to the Internet. I have 8 on mine, as well as a lunar simulator module, and may end up in the future adding a aquasurf module to control Tunze controllable pumps as well.

I have built a custom solution for my ACjr where I have an old laptop connected to it that sends me emails and text messages if things go outside some set ranges. It also exports and stores the data readings every 10 minutes to a web site that I have and will soon be able to check the data from there as well as see trends off the historic data. This is all custom, and uses the serial port connection of the ACjr. I happen to write software for a living, so this is just a way for me to play around with some new technology that my company has developed. I was working on a program tonight to allow me to have my current setting show up in a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget and should have it done this weekend. Since I spent probably 12+ hours a day working on my laptop, I'll be able to keep an eye on things this way even when travelling. As soon as I get a little better laptop connected up I'll be adding a web cam as well, the old laptop I'm using now doesn't have the horsepower to run a web cam.
 
I have a reefkeeper - not the elite. I really like mine. When I first got mine, I needed to talk to customer service. I had no problem with them. I thought something was missing. It wasn't and they were patient with me while I figured that out. :)
 
well with the info i got and my wife looking over the manuals i downloaded. i made my mind to go with the rke. jeri said she understands how to program it and setup. lol will see about that. i realize i'll have to buy the rke net interface to do what i want. also jeri said she could use our old router to build a bridge. whatever the heck that means. now that my co workers have reinforced the sub floor with I beam, i plan to move the 175 back to the house and with the sl2 i'll be able to monitor that tank as well
i thank you people for bearing with me. all the ? stem from the fact the the wife has laid down the law as far as buying things twice. simple put i better be damn sure this is what i need or want cause i'm only getting one shot
 
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