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17 Feb 2019

Best Controllers To Automate Your Aquarium

Posted By : Guest

The best way to maintain a healthy aquarium is by keeping your water parameters stable. That is why it is essential to regularly monitor your water quality to ensure key parameters are at optimum levels for fish and coral. Aquarium automation is the hot trend that uses electronic devices to monitor and control key functions in the aquarium. In the past, the best you could do is turn your aquarium light on and off with a timer.

Today aquarium controllers and aquarium monitors are far more advanced and helps to ease the burden many aquarium owners feel about regularly testing their water conditions. While not necessarily a substitute for standard aquarium test kits, an aquarium controller can relieve you of testing key parameters like salinity, temperature, pH and ORP by providing continuous readings and logging the data to help you identify trends.

There are different types and levels of automation based on the kind of controller. The control device can be a simple temperate controller that monitors and controls one or more aquarium heaters. Modular aquarium control systems use a main “brain” unit that stores the programs, sending commands to assorted add-on modules that perform specialized control functions.

The level of complexity and automation can be very sophisticated and involve pH, ORP, water level, lighting control, water pumps and more. Some aquarium controllers even use apps and cloud-based devices to automate and monitor just about everything that happens in the aquarium. The first step is to determine how many parameters you want to control.

Many freshwater aquarists that use carbon dioxide for their plants monitor the pH and control the CO2 dosing with a pH control device. The desired pH range is programmed into the controller. The pH probe continuously monitors the pH. If the pH climbs too high, the controller opens the carbon dioxide solenoid valve. When the pH dips below the set point, the controller turns off the solenoid valve. The carbon dioxide and pH level work hand in hand to stimulate plant growth and maintain a stable pH/CO2 balance.

Another single function controller is a temperature monitor and controller. Like the pH controller, a temperature controller uses a high and low set point. If the water gets too warm, the heater is switched off and a cooling device is turned on. When the water cools, the reverse happens.

But most aquarists are interested in more advanced aquarium controllers. These are modular devices that allow you add more control as you build the system. Many of these aquarium controllers record water quality parameters, send you alerts and allow you to control the aquarium from anywhere in the world via an app from your smart phone.

American Marine Pinpoint are among our most affordable aquarium monitors and offer hobbyists the ability to monitor and/or control a single parameter such as pH, Calcium, Nitrate, ORP, temperature, Conductivity or Salinity. The probes used for measurement must be cleaned regularly, calibrated twice per year and replaced after 12-18 months of continuous use. The Pinpoint pH Controller uses a high-quality pH probe to continuously monitor pH in freshwater and marine aquariums. You select the high and low set points. When either set point is reached the corresponding power outlet is switched on. This is ideal for controlling a carbon dioxide system.

When the pH is high the controller turns on the carbon dioxide system. It turns off the CO2 system when the pH is in the desired range. If the pH is too acidic from excess CO2, the second outlet is turned on, typically powering an air pump to drive off carbon dioxide gas. The Pinpoint pH Controller can also be used to control the addition of “Kalkwasser” based on pH level. The Pinpoint controller is easy to set up and use. The controller uses high-quality materials for the case, buttons, and power outlets.

More sophisticated aquarium controllers, like the Kamoer controller kit, not only monitor and log your water parameters, but can also be programmed to perform important tasks to free you from some of the manual work associated with keeping an aquarium. Activities such as turning on and off your lights to create a dusk/dawn effect, shutting off your filtration equipment during feedings, replenishing evaporated water and even dosing your tank can all be automated with a Kamoer controller. It can even come with electrical outlets for you to plug in the equipment you want to control.

The modern aquarium controllers offered by Kamoer even give you the ability to monitor and control your equipment from a smart phone so you can keep an eye on your tank while you’re at work or on vacation. Aquarium controllers range from a single function device to Wi-Fi-enabled remote control capabilities. Like any tech device, the more you spend the more features you’ll have at your command. The most important consideration is determining what level of control is really needed.