xtlosx
New member
So today was the day..... I had to finally clean up my **** stand with the multiple power strips, big clunky timers (3 timers), and just an absolute mess...
I decided to take the plunge and get the ReefKeeper Lite Level 3... I picked up up locally @ Aquacave for $265.00 and so far, I have to say it's worth every single penny!
Here is the box..
Unboxed... with the Level3 you get..
- The head unit for the RKL.
- 2x PC4 modules ( 4 outlet power strips each outlet individually controllable).
- 1x SL1 Module (Provides for the temperature probe, salinity probe, ORP, and pH probe connections).
- 1x pH probe (haven't calibrated this yet, too late tonight and will do it this weekend when I clean the stand up entirely.
- 1x iTEMP probe (temperature probe included).
- 1x pH probe (included with the level 3 kit).
- buncha cables to hook it all together and mounting screws.
First impression, it seems overwhelming, but the quick start guide took me 10 minutes to program both of my LED fixtures... This allowed me to finally do a more gradual sunrise\sunset... Before this, both of my blue lights turned on @ 8AM, and white on @ 9AM. The whites went off at 6PM, and blue off at 7PM. The night lights were on from 6:30, including the fuge lights, and off at 8AM again.
Now I can turn the first blue on at 8:00AM, second at 8:30, first white at 9:00, second white at 9:30, turn off a white at 5:30, and another at 6, then first blue off at 6:30, then off entirely at 7PM...
This is a great addition for this feature above alone... the temp probe is above, which will in the future allow me to control a fan should my temp get too hot (not implemented in my setup yet), pH probe, salinity probe, etc, etc....
Pros
- Everything!!
- Super easy setup, and didn't take long at all. I googled and read some reviews... some people said it took them hours to figure it out, and I had the above lighting scheme setup, tested, and working within 25 minutes. Easy!!!!
Cons
- Nothing yet. I will update it, should I run into anything.
I plan on calibrating the pH probe this weekend, actually screwing everything to the inside of my stand, cleaning up these long lighting cables, zip tying them, etc, etc, etc... Lots of work ahead of me, but so far, already cleaned up my cabinet.
At some point down the road, I will pick up the salinity probe, and also the NET module so that I may get email\SMS alerts should something go screwy and I am out of the house. Another thing I was looking at a module that will tell me when my skimmer cup is full, and send me a SMS on that as well.
Overall, the RKL does come with a cost, but the amount of automation possible is absolutely worth it. Let's face it though, nothing in this hobby is cheap... If we wanted cheap, we'd be keeping goldfish.
Let me know if anyone wants more pics, but I will certainly post some more when my stand is cleaned up
Thanks for reading!
I decided to take the plunge and get the ReefKeeper Lite Level 3... I picked up up locally @ Aquacave for $265.00 and so far, I have to say it's worth every single penny!
Here is the box..
Unboxed... with the Level3 you get..
- The head unit for the RKL.
- 2x PC4 modules ( 4 outlet power strips each outlet individually controllable).
- 1x SL1 Module (Provides for the temperature probe, salinity probe, ORP, and pH probe connections).
- 1x pH probe (haven't calibrated this yet, too late tonight and will do it this weekend when I clean the stand up entirely.
- 1x iTEMP probe (temperature probe included).
- 1x pH probe (included with the level 3 kit).
- buncha cables to hook it all together and mounting screws.
First impression, it seems overwhelming, but the quick start guide took me 10 minutes to program both of my LED fixtures... This allowed me to finally do a more gradual sunrise\sunset... Before this, both of my blue lights turned on @ 8AM, and white on @ 9AM. The whites went off at 6PM, and blue off at 7PM. The night lights were on from 6:30, including the fuge lights, and off at 8AM again.
Now I can turn the first blue on at 8:00AM, second at 8:30, first white at 9:00, second white at 9:30, turn off a white at 5:30, and another at 6, then first blue off at 6:30, then off entirely at 7PM...
This is a great addition for this feature above alone... the temp probe is above, which will in the future allow me to control a fan should my temp get too hot (not implemented in my setup yet), pH probe, salinity probe, etc, etc....
Pros
- Everything!!
- Super easy setup, and didn't take long at all. I googled and read some reviews... some people said it took them hours to figure it out, and I had the above lighting scheme setup, tested, and working within 25 minutes. Easy!!!!
Cons
- Nothing yet. I will update it, should I run into anything.
I plan on calibrating the pH probe this weekend, actually screwing everything to the inside of my stand, cleaning up these long lighting cables, zip tying them, etc, etc, etc... Lots of work ahead of me, but so far, already cleaned up my cabinet.
At some point down the road, I will pick up the salinity probe, and also the NET module so that I may get email\SMS alerts should something go screwy and I am out of the house. Another thing I was looking at a module that will tell me when my skimmer cup is full, and send me a SMS on that as well.
Overall, the RKL does come with a cost, but the amount of automation possible is absolutely worth it. Let's face it though, nothing in this hobby is cheap... If we wanted cheap, we'd be keeping goldfish.
Let me know if anyone wants more pics, but I will certainly post some more when my stand is cleaned up
Thanks for reading!
