As noted earlier, I recently purchased a Reef Keeper II controller to help automate some functions within my tank. Last night it arrived and I got it hooked up. Initially I had some concerns about how so much functionality could be programmed using only a two line LCD screen and three buttons, but I have to say that I was very impressed with the intuitive nature of the Reef Keeper menu system. I had all my channels programmed and running in less than ten minutes. Having accurate temperature readings to the decimal point, and seeing it stay within a one degree range is also very nice.

Here is the mess of timers and power strips I ripped out of the stand:



And below is a shot of the finished install. I screwed the controllers and power strip into the stand, and did some cursory organization of the wires. As my equipment wiring is likely to change in the near future with the addition of a new light, I held off on permanently organizing the wires, but its a drastic improvement over what was in the stand before.



Current channel settings
1. Heater, off at 78.5F
2. Aquaclear Filter, always on, off during feeding mode
3. Vortech, always on (has its own controller)
4. Metal Halide, 3:30pm to 11:30pm, emergency off if temp exceeds 84F
5. Cooling Fans, on at 80.5F
6. Protein skimmer, always on, off during feeding mode
7. Unused
8. Moonlights, on at 11:00pm, off at 4:00pm

Labels: Equipment, Reef Aquarium