Reef Angel Controller

[malulu]

Hi - George (TanksNStuff)

I like your new Reef Angel Controller gif...!!

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is it real good? i am thinking to order one... too bad PA group buy don't have it!!

can it be control-able remotely from an iphone (or web ?)
thx


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[TanksNStuff]

Hi David,
Yes, I love the controller. I spent a lot of $$ and got a bunch of extras, but it's worth it to me. My new LED's needed something to control the dimming and since I had to get that I decided it's time I finally got a full featured controller.

Yes, I got the WiFi attachment so I'm able to view/control just about every piece of equipment from my phone or a website. That monitor pic (.gif) that you see is a live update of my tank temps and pH, and the red/green lights show whether the named equipment is either off (red) or on (green).

There is an iPhone app and an Android app as well as a website portal and a software program you can install to view/change settings... so you are covered whatever way you go.

As far as automation, here are a few things it does:

- It controls my LED lights intensity to simulate sunrise/sunset using a "slope" function with my custom start time, start intensity of LED, Max intensity of LED, duration of slope between those two %'s, and end time to power them off. I can change any of these data fields "on the fly" whenever I want via the phone app or website.
- You can vary the LED schedule by using coding that will autopopulate the data fields based on a "moonphase" or Julian calendar... where the length of daylight varies based on the day of the year and the seasons, etc.
- You can have lightning storms or passing cloud simulations for extra fun effects... either programmed to happen at specific days/times or via a random "cloud chance" coding... or, you can manually start a storm/cloud via the controller whenever you want!
- It controls my moonlights to go on whenever the main lights "slope" period ends. I have it set to turn them off at midnight because they're kind of too bright to be on all night. My moonlights are on/off only and no dimming available.
- It monitors my tank temp to my specified min/max temp range. It then controls the outlet my heater is plugged into and as you can see my temp has been at a steady 77 (+/- 1) degrees since I've had the controller.
- There is an "overheat" function that will shut off whatever outlets I want if a temp probe reads a "High temp" that I specify. For example, you can have it shutoff lights, heaters or pumps until it cools down.
- There's a delay function built into the MH Lights function. So, if for some reason your power goes out briefly and the controller reboots... the MH lights will wait the 5 minutes (or whatever) before powering back on. This is a great feature to prevent problems with MH lights restarting too quickly after a full power cycle.
- It comes with 2 float switches that you can use as an ATO controller. Since I had my Tunze osmolator already setup, I didn't use their floats... but I may use them later and sell my Tunze.
- I bought an expansion module to control my VorTech MP40. This is basically a small transmitter that simulates a "master" vortech pump and I set my MP40 up as a "slave". Now I have complete control over the mode my vortech is in... at any time. I can control the mode, speed, and duration of any pulses (in short/long pulse, lagoon mode, etc.) with my android app.
- Built in Feed Mode and Water Change Modes on the controller. I programmed it to designate certain pieces of equipment to toggle on/off whenever I enter the Feed Mode or Water Change Mode (2 separate functions with individual equipment toggles). These can be scheduled at specific times of the day, or I can manually enter either mode by choosing them on my android app or web portal. Also, the Feed Mode automatically puts my Vortech into Feed Mode too! Pretty cool stuff.
- They have other options that I didn't buy, like ORP and salinity probes (on special order), dosing pumps, dimmable moonlights, noise buzzers (for alarms).
- There is a wavemaker function that will let you set certain powerheads to either WM1 or WM2. Then, you can run them in anti-sync mode at your specified durations
- The controller also logs all the data it collects and you can view charts/graphs to track what's going on in the tank. For instance, you can view temps or pH readings and see them on a graph. If there's a spike in one, either high or low, you can see the date/time that it happened to help you figure out trends in your tank params. You can print out these charts or export them to a file too.

The only real drawback is that you have to learn how to code in Arduino. But, with the GUI program they provide it's not that hard at all. I highly recommend this controller and would be happy to help you with setting it up if you get one.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to help you out.

 

[malulu]

It controls my LED lights intensity to simulate sunrise/sunset using a "slope" function with my custom start time, start intensity of LED, Max intensity of LED, duration of slope between those two %'s, and end time to power them off. I can change any of these data fields "on the fly" whenever I want via the phone app or website.

how it control the intensity of the LED ? I assuming your is a custom LED or it support external controller? my regular (RedSand) LEDs don't have anything for it to controlling of.


I used LitterMeter-III as my auto water change, I assume this won't be able to control from this unit either...?

 

[TanksNStuff]

If your LED's aren't dimmable (IE, they just have power plugs and on/off buttons) then you can't control them with the Reef Angel (RA from now on) or from any controller really. The reason is because your LED's don't have dimmable drivers in them.

The only control you can get from the RA is automatic on/off of power at your programmed times you tell it (or manually at any time via the phone apps).

As for the Liter Meter 3... not sure if that's compatible with RA or not. I know RA has it's own 2-pump dosing pump that only costs $109. You could probably sell your LM3 and just buy the RA doser pumps with the money. Some asked about using their's for water changes though, and they didn't recommend using them for this since the RA dosers have "brushed motors" which wear out with heavy use. I'm guessing the LM3 you have is of the "brushless" type since they even have accessories to facilitate water changes.

If your LM3 handles your water changes now, I'd say just leave it separate and not worry about hooking it to the RA.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Also wanted to mention that if you plan on buying more than the standard RA controller package and also end up getting a few expansion pieces... just send a PM to Roberto (rimai) on their forums and ask him if he can do a deal for you for buying a lot. He gave me a few extras for free when I did this (don't tell him I said that though, lol).

He's a really great guy and even modified a PWM expansion module to use analog signals instead of PWM to make it compatible to my LED drivers. Also, I asked him about fixing a temp probe connection and he sent me a whole new temp probe along with the pins I needed to fix the one that had loose wires.

His customer service has been fantastic in every phase of my dealings with him.

 

[malulu]

George,

thanks for the details explanations... this seems to be a magical product that can do everything!!

right now, i have everything pretty much fully automated - auto water changes, ATO with digital timersssssss...
the only thing i really like with the RA is the full monitoring system.

i just wondering if i get rids of all my digital timers and use only RA --- what if the RA failed some day? would it be a big disaster? because we don't have anything to replace it with when it is back in repair shop.

so, right now it seems putting everything in ONE basket seems a bit risky for me. MAY BE they would sell a software based controller which we can hookup to a computer (to control) for backup purpose that would be excellent.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Yea, the monitoring and remote control features were a major selling point for me.

You do have a valid point about putting your eggs in one basket. If the controller fails then you have to go back to all the timers I guess. Actually, I upgraded to a larger (memory) main board because I had so many features that my code size was too long. I could always use my old board in a pinch with some basic code to get me by while I made repairs.

I guess I should work on a backup plan just in case.

 

[malulu]

issue is, if i switch over...
i will probably no way to switch it back with all these countless timerssss laying around...

may be you can contact the owner to ask him if it possible he will come up with something to control from the computer SOLELY for backup purpose...? may be a new hardware stick to USB port then the rests are all connected to that black box something...

 

[Mike S]

I have wondered myself what I would do it the controller failed. For the most part I could get up and running with the only hiccup being my heater which doesn't have a thermostat. I do have a backup heater that includes use in a pinch.

 

[arvin]

I have an Apex controller and I can speak from my experience. I am willing to bet Reef Angel controller uses similar architecture and works similar.

If you are worried about "single-point" failure, then think of it this way: Controller is a separate hardware from the Switchboard that the components plug into. So if a disaster has to happen then the failure has to happen in both components, not one.

Apex has a "Fallback" command, which basically says what state the switch should be if the controller lost contact with the switchboard. Let's say you are plugging the return pump in outlet #1, then the fallback option for outlet #1 would be ON. So if controller craps out, the return pump continues to run without a problem. Similarly if a dosing pump was plugged into outlet #2 then the fallback would be OFF. This way even if controller lost communication, the worst thing that can happen is you'd miss a dose. I am sure RA has similar options.

Controller loses communications sometimes. It has happened two times in the year and half for me. What this means is Controller runs fine, but you wont be able to access it from the internet or ipad or mobile phone etc. Programming aficionados like David can do a telnet command to reboot the server remotely. For the lesser mortals like us, we have to go to the controller and hit the reset button to reboot the webserver. That's it.

These controllers helps automate lot of our mundane stuff and helps enormously. One shouldn't worry too much about controller failure. There are no moving parts in it and the chances of failure in such an electronic component is extremely rare.

HTH.
-arvind.

 

[malulu]

Hi - Arvind,
grad to see you chiming in... i saw you post a while back selling a lots of stuff ? guess you are still in this hobby... good to know!!

I am not really worried about it would went crazy when the controller crap out... that i can handle.

i am more concern on the days without the controller while it is being sent back...

this mean, for probably 3+ days turn around time (if using FedEx)... i will have to dig out all my timers and set all the timing as --- which one should be on when, and off when...etc. that is a lots of procedures i would have to set, and if this is in the middle of an EXTREMELY HOT or COLD days, it could be a big problem. with a computer turned on as a backup for the same tasks/program-parameters would definitely help a lots!

 

[TanksNStuff]

Well, I can add one more thing to this that I probably should have mentioned in my first post. The RA has an included feature called Watch Dog Timer (WDT) that's built into main board chip. What this does is basically sends a command to "watch" for a "reset" signal every 15 (?) seconds. If the signal isn't found, the WDT reboots the controller.

So, at the end of the loop section of your code (the part that repeats over and over to continuously run all of your checks and functions) you would put a command to "reset" the WDT. If for some reason your code hangs or gets frozen during the loop functions... after 15 seconds of not getting a reply the WDT will reboot your controller.

Now, this doesn't address the issue of a hardware failure that David is talking about... but if there's an error in the code (and you have this feature activated) then you can still have normal functionality within a minute of a hiccup.

If you're concerned about having a downtime if the controller fails, then you can order the larger memory controller board (it's called an RA+) like I did for an extra $75. This will give you the expanded memory to really get creative with your custom coding without having a file size that's too large... and then you have a backup controller that you can just load coding for minimum functionality. So, if your RA+ board doesn't work, you're just 8 screws away from getting your backup controller working.

Besides that, as I said before, Roberto has really great customer service. I'm willing to bet that if you did have a controller that was broken... he'd ship you out a new one and then have you return the broken one back to be repaired.

I haven't heard many issues of the controllers failing, but I guess if you got it wet or the dog got a hold of it or something... you might have a problem.


Also, I don't think they could make a software version of the controller to use as a backup. The reason I say this is because the controller board as input/output terminals that communicate with the probes, float switches, relay power boxes, and all the add on attachments. If the board gets fried or something, there's no way for a computer to receive/send those signals to the equipment.

I think Arvind is correct in that if something fails or freezes, then the outlets go the the default state that is assigned (ie, whatever they are set to be at boot up of the controller.). So yea, if there's a problem then things should remain in relatively normal working order.

 

[Mike S]

Come to think of it I'm 90% sure the outlets go to a default value if the controller would fail. I'll test it tonight by unplugging it and see what happens.

George was it easy to swap out the boards? I am try their dosing pump and will probably need the extra memory.

 

[arvin]

Hi - Arvind,
grad to see you chiming in... i saw you post a while back selling a lots of stuff ? guess you are still in this hobby... good to know!!

Those things were collecting dust in my basement over the years that I wanted to get rid of. I am not good at disposing the old stuff. Thinking of it, I need to bump that post!

i am more concern on the days without the controller while it is being sent back...

I have not heard any stories of having to send the controller back to repair. Even if you did, for those three days, you'd do all these work manually Just turn off the lights on and off manually and dose the stuff like good old days

 

[TanksNStuff]

Come to think of it I'm 90% sure the outlets go to a default value if the controller would fail. I'll test it tonight by unplugging it and see what happens.

George was it easy to swap out the boards? I am try their dosing pump and will probably need the extra memory.

Mike, it was literally 4 screws to open the controller case, then 4 screws to remove the board from the bottom of the case. Switch boards and screw everything back in.

Other than that, all you need to do is create a new .ino file with Arduino... but make sure you go to Tools -> Board -> Reef Angel Plus Controller.... before you upload the code.

 

[malulu]

George,

you backup plan sounds good (with Ra and RA+)!!
give me some time to figure out what i need... i think i will go for it!!
thanks for all the great experts' inputs...

 

[TanksNStuff]

David, before you buy it... let me know a list of all your equipment you have and want to control with it first. That way, I can recommend any extras you will need above the basic package.

 

[malulu]

cool!! will do.
thx

 

[malulu]

George,

my tank is pretty much fully automated... i just need to know in case of something broke, not working... i would like to know! (Monitoring).
as you can see below... i only need 6 control-able outlets (4 for the heat related must have, 2 for convenience), the rest are just monitoring would be fine.

- LitterMeter III for auto water change - 1 AC plug
don't think the RA can control them, be able to configure the RA to monitor the power source of it is better than nothing compared to now
1 pumps connected to draw water from sump to waste line
1 pumps connected to draw fresh salt water container to sump
1 pumps currently idle doing nothing...

- ATO - 1 AC plug RA to monitor on/off status would be nice
1 maxi-jet on all the time to draw water from RO into sump (with ATO floating valve)

- Kalk Reactor - 1 AC plug
RA to monitor on/off status would be nice, control it on/off good to have, not required

- Sump Light - 1 AC plug
RA to monitor on/off status would be nice, control it on/off good to have, not required

- SKIMMER - 1 AC plug
RA to monitor on/off status would be nice with auto cleaner, drain to a 5g bucket, with an ATO switch to stop the skimmer when it is full
they all plug into one power strip, all on or all off

- RETURN PUMP - 1 AC plug
RA to monitor on/off status,
don't think this is required to control on/off, as if something is wrong, it is better not touch it REMOTELY without seeing what the heck was going on
- 3 RedSand LEDs fixture - 2 AC plugs
RA to monitor on/off status would be nice, control it on/off good to have, not required
3 whites grouped together, and 3 blues grouped together, they are on TWO timers.

- TWO 5' T5 fixture - 1 AC plug
RA to monitor on/off status would be nice, control it on/off good to have, not required
on a timer

- MOON light - 1 AC plug
RA to monitor on/off status would be nice
on a timer

- Powerheads - 2 AC plugs 2 Vortex MP40 - hookup to AC plug #1
2 TUNZE pump - hookup to AC plug #1
RA to monitor on/off status would be nice, control it on/off good to have, not required
1 TUNZE pump - hookup to AC plug #1
RA to monitor on/off status, control it on/off REQUIRED (for emergency purpose to make sure water is moving)
on UPS all the time

- 1 Air pump - 1 AC plug
RA to monitor on/off status, control it on/off REQUIRED (for emergency purpose to make sure fresh air will be supplied)
on a special home made device, when power on, do nothing, if power out, will kick on connected by UPS

- 3 Heaters - 3 AC plugs
RA to monitor on/off and control them on/off separately REQUIRED.

- House Fan - 1 AC plug
RA to monitor on/off status, control it on/off REQUIRED (for emergency purpose to make sure tank not getting too hot)

 

[malulu]

i think i need to have at lease 2 sets of outlets, as 1 of them will be connected to the UPS.

this also mean i have to plug my internet router into an UPS..
otherwise, when power down, i can't check status, non control it.