My 2 new Seio 1100's and my Neptune Systems Aqua Controller Jr. has been installed (almost). The seio 1100's are in what I believe is their final locations I moved them 3 times in the last 24 hours and I think I like them where they currently are, my livestock is thankful that I made up my mind. I have great flow now, the surface if the water is cranking!
I installed one on my glass overflow flowing along the back of the tank at about 12" below the waterline. I installed the other perpendicular to the first on the overflow flowing at an angle toward the glass.
Here is a pic looking through the glass on the right side (the location of both Seio's).
As you can see, I have left my Aquaclear 70's in the tank as well. In this picture, you can see the other AC70.
I also installed the reef controller with the exception of mounting the unit. I just want to be sure I have everything done before I mount it. Here is a photo:
Reef Controller Description of Operation
First and foremost, I would like to say that this controller was very easy to setup and program I was very impressed with how well it has worked so far.
The AquaController JR. (ACJR) came with the following:
- Main Control unit with Back lit Display
- PH Probe
- Temp Probe
- Power Strip
- Instructions
The unit is able to control up to 8 devices by turning them on and off via the different outlets on the power strip. But is does so much more than just turning them on and off. Here is a photo of the installed power strip (Model DC8).
The DC8 is connected to the controller over a phone cable and each outlet is numbered 1-8. In addition to the DC 8, the temp probe and
PH connect and I installed them into the
sump.
I connected the ACJR to my
PC via a serial cable, but you can program the whole unit from the front of the unit if you choose. Once connected to the
PC I associated each outlet to a piece of equipment on my tank. here is the list.
Actinic Lighting - 1
Fluorescent Lighting - 2
Sump Light - 3
AquaClear Powerhead (left side) - 4
AquaClear Powerhead (right side) - 5
Heater No. 1 - 6
LED moonlights - 7
OPEN - 8
Here is where everything gets really nerdy and cool! I decided that I wanted my reef to be from the Indo-Pacific Region. I went online and read several articles on water temperate and flow in the region including this really well written one on
variable conditions in a reef environment. I couldn't find conclusive temperature data for FIJI so I decided to use the temperatures at Pago Pago, American Samoa as a guide because it is close. I also compensated by dropping the temps 2 degrees across the board. I then entered these values into the season chart on the reef controller. Here is a screen shot of the season table section of the software.
You can also see that I gathered the sunrise and sunset schedules as well as the lunar schedules. The "new Moon" entry allows the controller to know the day of the month of the New Moon. Thus it varies the intensity of the moon lights on the reef.
I then built my program. Here is how it looks:
If Sun 000/000 Then LT1 ON
If Sun 060/-045 Then LT2 ON
If Sun 000/000 Then LT3 OFF
If Temp < RT+-0.5 Then HET ON
If Temp > RT+0.0 Then HET OFF
RND 010/015 ON/OFF Then PM1 ON
If Time > 03:00 Then PM2 ON
If Time > 03:15 Then PM2 OFF
If Time > 15:00 Then PM2 ON
If Time > 15:15 Then PM2 OFF
If Feed cycle Then PM1 OFF
If Feed cycle Then PM2 OFF
If Moon 000/000 Then MOO ON
Lighting control
The first line (If Sun 000/000 Then LT1 ON ) tells the controller to look at the sun table and turn the Actnic light (Outlet 1) ON at sunrise and off at sunset.
The second Line (If Sun 060/-045 Then LT2 ON) turns the main lights on 60 minutes after sunrise and off 45 minutes before sunset.
The third line (If Sun 000/000 Then LT3 OFF) truns the
sump light on at sunset and off at sunrise.
The last line (If Moon 000/000 Then MOO ON ) controls the LED's based on the moon schedule.
Temperature Control
The fourth and fifth lines (If Temp < RT+-0.5 Then HET ON
If Temp > RT+0.0 Then HET OFF) tells the controller to look at the temp schedule for the region and if the temp is .5 below the set, turn it on and if it is at the set, turn it off.
Powerhead Control
Line 6 (RND 010/015 ON/OFF Then PM1 ON)
picks a random time between 1 and 10 minutes and turns the powerhead on for a random time between 1 and 15 minutes.
Line 7- 10 (If Time > 03:00 Then PM2 ON
If Time > 03:15 Then PM2 OFF
If Time > 15:00 Then PM2 ON
If Time > 15:15 Then PM2 OFF) turns the right powerhead on for 15 minutes mid day and 15 minutes mid night. I thought this unit (located low and in the back of the tank ) would stir up and debris on the bottom.
Lines 11-12 (If Feed cycle Then PM1 OFF
If Feed cycle Then PM2 OFF) tell the controller to turn off pumps 1 and 2 when it is feeding time, which is manually initiated at the face of the unit. I will probable incorporate the seios in this feature in the future.
In addition to the control, the unit logs
PH and temp. If you connect it to the
PC it will also chart these items, which may be beneficial in troubleshooting water quality issues.
I have more work to do with programming, I think there may be a change or two, but all in all I love the unit. Oh yeah, one other thing. I plan to have it available to me on the web within 3 months, that way i can check all of the data and control items via the web. How fun!
Later!
More Power! 
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