temperature control help----get a Ranco or Aquacontroller Jr?

beaniebeagle

New member
another submersible heater malfunctioned today...3rd one this year

time to get a controller

looking for opinions on which one to get...either the Ranco or Aquacontroller Jr

i know the Ranco is only for temp, but is putting more functions into a controller(Aq. Jr) better...or putting too many eggs in one basket?
 
I have no experience with the Ranco controllers, but love my ACjr. Very easy to use and works great. I was able to get rid of my timers for my lights and my wavemaker.

I am thinking of getting a second one for my smaller tank.

HTH,

Keith
 
I've heard nothing but good things about the Ranco controllers. That said, I too love my Neptune Jr. But if you're not going to use it for various lights, fans, pH monitoring, etc. then just get the Ranco.
 
Get the Jr. You will wonder how you lived without it. No Ranco controller I know of can turn off your lights if your tank exceeds a certain temp. You can control your lights and so much more. The Jr will have a stteper learning curve. It needs time to set-up correctly.
 
I use a Ranco for my heaters and "chiller fan". Works well if your only concern is heater thermostat failures.
 
I use a Ranco for the chiller and I also purchased an additional one to shut off the lights if the chiller fails. How you ask? Set it on heat at about 82deg, plug your light ballast into it, and forget about it. It will be powered up as long as your chiller is working and keeping the temp. in check, if something fails and the temp goes beyond 82, then it will shut off "the heater" and kill the lights. I already had a controller for the chiller and the Ranco was cheaper than an Aquacontroller. I have been using this for a few years now and it works good. The Ranco will carry a good sized elec. load.
 
Get the jr. I love mine and have absolutely NO regrets buying it. I wouldn't spend that kind of money on just a temp controller. Neptunes customer care is outstanding - Curt can't be beat. Check out the Neptune forum and see how active he is over there. It's awesome. :thumbsup:

rkelman - you would need the ACjr. and the 'full' registered version of aquanotes to access the webserver. It will allow you to monitor, program, control, every part of your system you are monitoring. It has been an invaluable tool for me.
 
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