**Neptune AquaController**

BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
charlestonemt said:
Wow. GREAT thread! I just spent an hour reading all of it. I think you guys have just indirectly convinced me to spend a bunch of $$$ while my wife is out of town. It would be so nice to get rid of timers...
Click to expand...

Timers are so bulky, unreliable and uncontrollable!

Just wait till the first time you get the controller doing the work FOR you... you'll be like :smck: why did I wait so LONG!! Honestly a controller COULD save your tank by "actively" controlling it rather than just "timing" it. Having it monitor temps and controlling the right device is AWESOME!! And simply hitting the "FEED" button to turn off pumps and power heads for your PRESET amount of time... then THAT many minutes later they ALL come back on automatically... that's freaking SWEET! It will be some of the BEST $$ you'll spend on your tank.

:)
 
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charlestonemt

Member
I think I'm sold. I'm still using a that CRAPPY coralife timer that everyone has had so many problems with to control my lights. It is TERRIBLE! Is anyone currently running the software on a Mac? I just bought a mac laptop a few weeks ago and it would be great if I could (easily) set it up with that.
 
M

Mattfish

Member
I just got an AC III Pro last week, and I think it's great - a lot of flexibility, and expandability for when we add a qt, etc. Still breaking mine in - our ORP is still reading low, but it could be electrical interference with the way I have it set up. It'll probably pay for itself in a few months by eliminating the fight between our heater and the chiller and it's pump. We have a Solaris, so we don't need the main lighting control, but it's also making it simple to keep our fuge light off for 12 hours a day, where it was staying on 24 hours a day before. Great so far.
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Good points Mike. I hug my controller every day :D
You may want to think about putting your Solaris on the controller anyway though.. then the controller can turn them off should the water temp raise too high.
 
fishnu

fishnu

Member
I HACE my Coralife timer... the III is on my shopping list,

Just curious.... but why do you folks like the Pro? Do you have multiple tanks that need separate monitoring?
 
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charlestonemt

Member
fishnu said:
I HACE my Coralife timer... the III is on my shopping list,

Just curious.... but why do you folks like the Pro? Do you have multiple tanks that need separate monitoring?
Click to expand...

I hate my coralife timer too. It is SO unreliable! I came home at around 1:15 AM last night and my MHs were on. I really need to bite the bullet and buy a controller. Just can't decide which one. I've read so much about them that I'm confused again!
 
fishnu

fishnu

Member
I deninitely don't need the pro. But the III is very nice.

What is that other brand that was supposed to come out months ago?
 
fishnu

fishnu

Member
I will let someone else answer the JR, but there was no apparent connectivity advantage for the Pro. Only real advantage was the number of controllers you had, and the number of simultaneous tanks you could manage.
 
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charlestonemt

Member
Cool. I am interested in having wireless connectivity due to my tank location. I could really do without having cable stretched across my hardwood floors, up the stairs, and into my office. I thought that somewhere in this thread someone linked to some instructions on how to create a wireless connection with a Jr.
 
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charlestonemt

Member
OK good deal. Has anyone here had problems running halides on the DC8?

I'm trying to figure out whether to get 2 DC8s or 1DC8 and one DC4HD

I have:
250W MH x 2 (1.8 amps each)
IceCap 430-800 for VHOs
Rio 2500 running skimmer
Rio 3100 return pump
#2 Hydor
#3 Hydor
200W Heater
Fan
LED moon lights

Any suggestions?
 
Anselth

Anselth

Well-Known Member
I'm running two 250W metal halides on the DC8 for my 110, and a 150W on the one over my 70. Neither seems to be having any issues.
 
M

Mattfish

Member
I get an ocassional flicker of my sump lights when they should remain off - there's an amps limit on the DC's. You might want to go with the DC4HD for that reason.
 
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charlestonemt

Member
Octoman said:
Yes, it doesn't have internal wireless, so you need a wireless access point for it.
Click to expand...

OK, so the ACIII will be connected to a router. However, my internet (DSL) is connected to a router upstairs in a totally seperate location. How can I make this all work? Thanks for bearing with me...I've totally confused myself.
 
M

Mattfish

Member
What you need to get is a wireless access point, not a router. This is a device which allows a single ethernet device (the AC unit) to be connected to a wireless LAN. You connect it to your PC, set it up, then put it in your cabinet with your AC unit connected to it, and it's then viewable on the network.

I can go into more details if needed - I just set mine up this way.
 
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charlestonemt

Member
Mike,

Much appreciated! I'm usually pretty tech savvy, but all this reading about controllers has my head swimming. That makes good sense. I'm sure once I finally decide to buy it, I'll need some help setting it up, so I'll be hitting you up.

One more question...with the ACIII, do you still need the serial cable to program if you get the WAP and network it, or can the programming be done from the web interface?
 
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