Someone help push me over the edge.... Should I buy an RKE?

A What? Im lost....A remote Keyless entry? LOL

Haha CBR, ill let you slide, you've been out of the game for a while.

http://www.digitalaquatics.com/saltwater/RKE

RKE= ReefKeeper Elite. its an aquarium controller, control lights, fans, pumps, etc. add modules, etc.

Buy it! If you don't like it, you can give it to me.


Seriously though, what would you control with it? Do the pros outweigh the cons? It's not really an impulse price, so choose carefully.

what would i control, lol sadly lights, fans to cool canopy, fan to actively cool sump water to cool the tank by evaporation, heater, ATO, and maybe set up some dosing (i plan on dosing vodka in the new tank) and thats about it. I dont NEEED it. but I want one really bad, I like gadgets, lol. I would go with the lite, but few things i dont like about it. i can only have 4 modules. so thats 2 PC4 (8 outlets) the moonlight module, and SL1 or 2 (to monitor PH) I like the elite cause I can hook up to the net and add more modules. and well i like to buy the best i can at the time, rather than buying small and upgrading later.... hrm.... now im double tihnking it again, I dont neeeeed it, but i want it!!! :)

Shock wrote:Haha CBR, ill let you slide, you've been out of the game for a while.

http://www.digitalaquatics.com/saltwater/RKE

RKE= ReefKeeper Elite. its an aquarium controller, control lights, fans, pumps, etc. add modules, etc.

Oh I thought you meant the OTTTHHHER rke..... LOL

Hmm... need vs want.... Tough call. However, many of the things we use on/in our tanks are wants and not needs. If you have the money and want it, get it. Then you can write up a review for the rest of us. If I had the money, I would have one already.

I'm gonna tell ya straight up - I WILL have a controller on my tank before I start investing in more livestock, which is in the near future.

It's all fine and dandy to use as timer for lights etc, but I'm VERY interested in something that will force the heaters off in case the thermostats fail, that can run fans if temperatures hit 80, and that can kill my metal halides if the temp hits 82 instead of boiling my livestock (ie, house A/C goes out for example... or it could even cut my metal halides ON at night if for some reason the heaters wont get the tank up to temperature by themselves!)

I'm just going to start with a RKL because I also need a PH controller and it's not much more expensive (currently topping off with kalk but it's raising my PH too high... would prefer to switch between freshwater topoff pump and kalk feeder pump depending on PH levels...).. but since digital aquatics sells a RKE basic unit online i'll eventually get that so I don't double-buy any modules I'll already have for the RKL.

Controllers just seem like REALLY cheap insurance for all the problems they can prevent you from having :)

David, Exactly what I was thinking. Its about temperature for me, having that insurance the heater will be turned off when it reaches a certain temp. On my freshwater tank ive had the thermostats fail plenty of times, and the tank gets to 90. I would HATE for my tank to do that. Here is another reason I would like the RKE though... For some reason the other day my heater didnt turn on, and my tank got down to 76, I swapped heaters, but I would hate for that to happen and it get even worse, and I not know, so having the RKE it could send me an alert that something is wrong. I leave the tank often for weekends when I travel, I have someone feed the fish, but they dont know enough to know when something like ph is wrong, but temp is such an everyday thing, they may not notice. And for me. ALL my thermometers read something different, Ive got the wireless pinpoint that will read 83-84, 3 of those cheap 10$ digital ones that read between 76-78, and one of the glass thermometers that reads 80. Ive given up on the digital ones and rely on the glass one now.

Maybe Ill start off with the RKL and then move on to the RKE when I need more stuff (although I think i could fill 8 outlets easily) especially since I would like to have 2 heaters, incase one fails, ill have a backup.

so here would be what I have so far to hook up

MH1
MH2
T5
Fuge Light
Canopy Fan (could maybe use one of those splitters and put on the MH1 plug)
Sump evaporation cooling fan
heater 1
heater 2
ATO
Return pump

and its already over, If i add the moon light, then im out of modules.

So i dont know, we will see what happens.

I have not spent ALOT of money in corals, since I have recieved alot of free frags, but i know I have a pretty good chunk of change worth, and id HATE for it all to be gone because of a temp swing or a PH swing. (or salinity swing because of ATO stuck on, which the SL2 can detect....) So i dont know. I do have the money, BUT im also trying to save to move out, buy a truck, and I have student loans.

What to do, what to do.

I dont know if this would apply to you, but when I set mine up... I'm going to use a splitter for the heaters, and another splitter for some lights (running two cycles of lights... one set is on 12hrs, other set is on 6 hrs)... and then I'll use a splitter to just run both canopy and sump fans when temp hits a certain threshold.

I'm actually NOT going to run my return pump on the controller because I want it running 24/7 no matter what (things will die regardless if return pump goes out) and because I want the return pump on separate GFCI from all other gear so that under no circumstances other gear or failed controller kill the pump.

But... that's my situation. Your mileage may vary :)