Hello RA community! Can RA help MY tank?

Talk about you and your tank/equipment
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skehole
Posts: 75
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:58 pm

Hello RA community! Can RA help MY tank?

Post by skehole »

Hi everyone. I recently went on vacation and it made me realize my tank has come far enough that I would feel better on the road, if were to have some internet capable monitoring. But first, let me give you a run down of my tank and equipment and ask you, the community, your input as to where a RA could benefit me. I have taken steps in purchases to insure quality products were purchased, and I'm not sure how I could benefit from a controller.

75 gal sps display with 20 long sump
JNS U2 skimmer
Finnex heater with digital "controller"
mag 5 return pump
koralia in fuge
dosing with Litermeter3. I obviously want to use the units dosing pattern and contol
coralvue auto aqua ato - can RA work with optical sensor ATO's?
ATI dimable sunpower 6x54w
vortech mp40 - bought in 09 - one of the oldest models
maxpect gyre x150
BRS media reactor for carbon
I dose vinegar via a BRS 1.1ml pump and digital timer - I realize this would be great for the RA

Some of these I know would benefit from the RA - the heater, in fuge koralia, the BRS pump. Otherwise, i am confused how it could take my tank to another level aside from monitoring.

Any input would be appreciated!

Thanks
Sean
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skehole
Posts: 75
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:58 pm

Re: Hello RA community! Can RA help MY tank?

Post by skehole »

Did I post this in the wrong section? :?
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lnevo
Posts: 5430
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:42 am

Re: Hello RA community! Can RA help MY tank?

Post by lnevo »

Nah, maybe Valentine's day weekend. I think I tried to post but I was in a bad signal range. Anyway...

So much you could do.. let's see...

for the Vortech's you could consider upgrading the drivers and using the RF module for all kinds of good control. Especially now that they announced the Quietdrive.

You'd be able to set some alarms using float switches that come with it or upgrading to the water level sensor. You could monitor sump level, ato reservoir, you could disable the ATO during certain conditions like water changes or if reservoir is empty. Turn off skimmer when pump is off or either when sump level gets too high or if waste collector gets full. You could disable the litermeters if pH gets out of range. Daily alarms, automate your water change process, trigger automatic feeders.

Take a look at my
skehole
Posts: 75
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:58 pm

Re: Hello RA community! Can RA help MY tank?

Post by skehole »

Thanks for the response. Those are some great ideas. I'll be pestering the forum once I get the equipment in my hands and start generating code.

Thanks again,
Sean
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alexwbush
Posts: 327
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:45 am
Location: San Diego, CA

Re: Hello RA community! Can RA help MY tank?

Post by alexwbush »

The best part about the RA is that it allows you to automated as much as you like. People are coming up with new ideas daily. I've already been a firm believer that the less you mess with your tank (other than water changes and glass cleaning), the more stable it is. The RA allows me to keep my tank running on the same schedule and lessens my worries when I am away. I leave my tank for long weekends all the time. I have left for 1-2 weeks and just left a spare key for a friend.

Depending on what you feed, you could automate feeding. I feed pellets/flakes, so I automated the controller to put the system into feeding mode daily to accommodate. I've also programmed automatic water changes so that I can set it up, turn it on, and come back for the waste water.

As you know, the greatest asset are the alarms. There are so many attachments now that you can almost bulletproof your setup. The next thing I might get is the leak detector rope. But even with the standard setup, you can auto top off, know when you're out of top off water, know when you're at risk of overflowing, know when your temperatures are out of spec (could indicate a failed heater), etc.
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