RKE suggestions

[ebojo]

Looking for some suggestions for my RKE. As of right now:

Ch1: 2 outside t5 bulbs (11:00AM - 7:00PM)
Ch2: 4 inside t5 bulbs (12:00PM - 6:00PM)
Ch3: Fan for light fixture (11:30AM - 7:30PM)
Ch4: Sump light (7:00PM - 11:00AM)
Ch5: Heater #1 (come on if below 78)
Ch6: Heater #2 (come on if below 74) **For safety
Ch7: 2 x Koralia 5 (11:00AM - 7:00PM)
Ch8: ATO pump (triggered by float switch)

The other things in my aquarium are the skimmer, 2 BRS reactors, and return pump. I feel like the return pump should be on a channel, but not too sure about how to set an alarm for it - what would need to happen to trigger it to turn off?

Also, is it a good idea to turn off the skimmer during dosing or feeding times?

If needed, I could combine Ch1 and Ch3, and even add Ch7 to it if needed.

Lastly, any suggestions for timers/alarms? I would like to set these up, but am not sure as to what I want to set up. All of your suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[ebojo]

Bump

 

[lordofthereef]

I have a few questions/suggestions.

Why are the koralias on a timer? Are you just aiming for less flow in the evening?

Set the ATO pump to be on a timer as well (such as 2-3 minutes during a certain time period). This way if your float switch gets stuck, you will only be pumping waer for 2-3 minute MAX any given day.

If you wanted the return pump on a channel, there are a couple of options I can think of. One would be a floor water sensor. If it senses water on your floor, it shuts this pump off. You could also just add a float switch in the sump that sits just above the pump inlet. If, for whatever reason, the water gets down to that low level, it will shut off the return, thus keeping the return from running dry. Certainly, you could also incorporate both safety methods onto that one channel.

 

[ebojo]

Yes, the aim of the koralias is for less flow at night.

I only have room under my stand for a 5g ATO reservoir. 2-3 minutes would be more than enough time to drain this completely. The way that I was planning to do it was to just have a maxijet 400 in the reservoir and have it triggered by the switch. My sump has plenty of room to hold the extra 5g, so would you still recommend this?

I haven't messed around with myreef2.0 all that much, would it be possible to say something along the lines of:

if ATO float switch on for more than X seconds, turn of return pump?

 

[mtaswt]

I like the return pump on a channel to shut off for 15 minutes during feeding time and a hour for water changes. I put it on a standby

 

[ebojo]

Ahh yes, that is a very good reason.

I haven't really looked into it, but is it a bad idea to use 1 channel for multiple inputs?

 

[lordofthereef]

Ahh yes, that is a very good reason.

I haven't really looked into it, but is it a bad idea to use 1 channel for multiple inputs?

No, not really, as long as you aren't overloading it. In the manual, you should see how many amps each channel can take. I don't know this off the top of my head and I am at work.

I am personally not a fan of reducing the flow during feeding, but I know many are. I always figure nature doesn't have a pause button, so neither will I!

 

[ebojo]

Yea, I guess that is a good point. How about the skimmer? Anytime that I need to turn that off? Other than to drain it i guess

 

[lordofthereef]

It's an internal skimmer? If so, I see no reason to worry about that, myself. Externals can leak and the leak would obviously spill outside the sump if it did. You can incorporate a water sensor (as I mentioned in post #3) if that is the case. Otheriwse I wouldn't worry about that. I keep all of those things on a strip not plugged into the reefkeeper just because I couldn't justify spending another $80 on a controllable power strip that ends up staying on 24/7 no matter what.

 

[ebojo]

ha. yea i feel ya on the cost analysis portion. yes, it is internal. I really appreciate your help.