Natural temp./light controls needed.

[Rare Angels]

Hello everyone,

I have some fish that I want to simulate the natural yearly cycle of light and temperature for. The temp will vary between approximately 64 and 77 degree F, and the light time will vary for 10 to 14 hours.

I would like to automate this as much as possible with low cost components, does anyone out there know of a cheap PLC system or something else that would work?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Dave

 

[Rouselb]

AC JR will do this. It has a built in temp and light variation for the season.

 

[PSam]

has mooncycle as well.

 

[Rare Angels]

can I program the cycles I want and the variation from one month to the next?

 

[Rouselb]

you can program variation, you just tell it what day, and how many hrs you want to deviate, and its off and running.

 

[PSam]

Have a peek at this thread, a couple posts down...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1201725

 

[MCsaxmaster]

What sorts of fish, out of curiosity?

 

[Rare Angels]

Angelfish and clownfish.

Thanks for the info guys on the AC Jr, I will have to read up more on it to see if has the flexibility I need.

Dave

 

[MCsaxmaster]

What kinds of angels and clowns? Those are very chilly temps for tropical animals :eek2:

...though perhaps not intolerable. There are lionfish off of long island, afterall.

Why would you want to keep them so chilly?

 

[Rare Angels]

I don't want to keep them in these conditions at all times. The areas where these fish come from have these type temperatures and I want to simulate natural conditions to observe and document behavior

Dave

 

[Rare Angels]

The fish are Amphiprion clarkii, clark's clownfish and Contropyge interruptus, Japanese Pygmy angelfish. Both come from southern Japan and are exposed to these temps through the year.

 

[MCsaxmaster]

Ok, now it makes sense. That is certainly reasonable for the C. interruptus. A point worth considering is that, even though A. clarkii has a large range and is found into subtropical areas, most of the brood stock of aquarium fish have come from the tropics, so these may not be quite as well equipped to deal with cooler temps as their more northern or southern breatheren. They're hardy as can be though, so you'll probably be fine.