victoly Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 I have a 29 gallon tank with two EB8's. soooo. yeah. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Well said Ty. I understand. Right now I have five plugs for the lights, one for the return, one for the skimmer, two for the circ pumps and I'm guessing I would add two for the reactor and another one for the ATO pump, giving me a total of 12 at minimum. I can see how they would fill up fast. Especially if you have dedicated reactor pumps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 What lights do you have? If they can be controlled via the VS ports you can plug the power cords into a surge protected power strip and save plugs on the EB8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 I have a 29 gallon tank with two EB8's. soooo. yeah. Yeah, I'm considering a 3rd one on my 90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 I'm on two... wouldn't mind a 3rd. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 What lights do you have? If they can be controlled via the VS ports you can plug the power cords into a surge protected power strip and save plugs on the EB8. I have the Ocean Revive Arctic S-026. They're dimmable 120w fixtures with independant controls for white/reds/green and blue's. I have a thread going on them here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 ok, those aren't going to be apex dimmable. you could basically plug those into a strip and have one outlet control your lights on/off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaFan Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 ok, those aren't going to be apex dimmable. you could basically plug those into a strip and have one outlet control your lights on/off. Why is that? I'm looking to buy the OceanRevive S026 as well, but I want something I can eventually dim with a controller. Thanks for the great thread guys... very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 They have to be built with the capability to do so (0-10v) dimming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaFan Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Yeah, reading about that now... looks like the T247 doesn't do it either. OceanRevive has been working on a dim-able unit but it's not out yet. I could wait, however, the sale they're running on their site makes it too good to pass up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 its not a huge deal IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Just to give you a lil more confidence: I have and am happy with my DA reefkeeper, but wish I had gone for the full apex. And, will probably eventually switch over. My controller does as much as I can get it to (can't dim BML's) and I LOVE real time info, but as with everything in this hobby, cutting corners comes back to haunt you! So, feel good about the apex! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 To address the original question there's not much that can't be done with controllers and there are systems designed for aquaculture facilities if you really want to spend money. The monitoring and alarm functions certainly do make them attractive additions but as with any other piece of equipment they can fail, both the control unit themselves and the power strips they interface with. When designing a system with them I would be sure to have redundancy so the system would not crash in the event of a controller failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Truthfully, the dimmable function doesn't appeal to me at all. There is no proven benefit to ramping lights up or down, the power savings would be minuscule (if any), and there is no adverse affects to turning your lights on and off by switch. I've had success for the better part of two decades using a simple light timer. Of course if you just want a gadget to impress your friends, then that is a different story! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2585722 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Just to give you a lil more confidence: I have and am happy with my DA reefkeeper, but wish I had gone for the full apex. And, will probably eventually switch over. My controller does as much as I can get it to (can't dim BML's) and I LOVE real time info, but as with everything in this hobby, cutting corners comes back to haunt you! So, feel good about the apex! You can get an Archon and it will interface with you current DA modules. It has 2 pH/ORP inputs selectable to either pH or ORP, iTemp input. 4 switch inputs.The outputs are 4 0-10 volts 2 PWM outputs. The 0-10 volt outputs can be used to control pumps with the correct interface module or lights. It comes with head unit only or 2 different systems one with 2 PB4's. These are the new 4 outlet power bars or a PB8 which is an 8 outlet power bar with a metal case. I have had one of the beta units for testing for several weeks. It is completely web based and can be connected to the lan either wired or wireless. I think they should be shipping shortly. It is a Unix based platform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Sorry for the lack of reading the complete thread, but I had a reply after the first page *lol* What CANT it do is a better question. I ended up getting the Apex Gold on black friday 10% off from BRS. I'm glad I did. At this point I;ve maxed my EB8 out, but cant bring myself to buy a second EB8. I have a spare var port.... how can I leverage that? Make a relay! So im in the middle of making a 12v relay, using a 0-10v LED dimmer to close/open the relay. the relay contacts will be 120v. While the power load isnt via EB8 and it wont note the amperage used, i can at least control the circuit. 0-10v LEV dimmer $9, 2-gang socket $1, 4"x2" PVC box $4, 12v relay $6, 12v power brick $3, 14awg extension cord $7. $30 to make a controllable (up to code if you seperate the 12v from the 120v in the box w/ something like acrylic) circuit. Aside from that i have safeguard for flooding (via PM2.. later realizing you can just use VDM if you are DIY), running low on water, email and text alerts, snazzy (sometimes annoying) sig i can share (since the world give a crap abotu my tank readings, amiright?), lightning control (via VDM) for some AI sol's I picked up (and only use for lightning *lol*), little feed button to turn the waves/skimmer/UV off... man, your imagination is the limit. check out the system link in my sig (not a shamless plug, has a wiring diagram and related stuff). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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