I originally had a ReefKeeper (original one) for years on my 100 gallon tank, when I upgraded to my current tank, a 225 gallon, I knew one day I would need a new controller. Well that day came when Digital Aquatics announced the new ReefKeeper Elite. I ordered one immediately when the pre-sale started.
Original ReefKeeper
(Yes, it still works)
Due to the way I ran the plumbing, and the size of my new tank, I had to have quite a few pumps, heaters, skimmer, rotating devices, lights, etc…. which means a lot of electrical. If you have ever tried (and I know you have) to run all you’re electrical to one spot because that’s where your power is, it can be a challenge. Also, at the time, most all aquarium controllers were connected to there respective power strip, and all probes ran back to the main controller, making the wiring a challenge and huge mess.
Digital Aquatic’s ReefKeeper Elite to the rescue!
The modular design of the ReefKeeper Elite was the answer to my electrical and control woes. By having the power bars (PC4’s) broken up into four outlets each and the fact that you can place them anywhere you can run a bus cable to, made this a unique system. The same goes for monitoring (pH, ORP, Salinity, etc) by having separate modules, you can place them anywhere you want, not limited by the length of the probe wire from the main controller. These features become more apparent if you have a remote sump or multiple tanks. Another great thing about a modular system is you only need to purchase the parts you need. You don't need to wast $$ on things you'll never use.
The hardest part for me was learning that I could now place controller modules where I wanted, and not how I had to, to make all the electrical work with the least amount of extension cords. Once I mounted all my monitoring modules and power strips I could easily clean up all my electrical cords into neat, short bunches and ditch all extension cords. The only real wire that links the system modules together is a “Bus Cable” which is the same size as a standard flat phone cable (but not the same so don’t use one). The bus cable runs from the head unit to the next module (can be in any order) and so on until all the modules are linked together. Bus cables come in plenty of sizes (1', 3', 6', 10', 20', 30' and 50') so it's easy to place your modules.
ReefKeeper Elite Head unit
(RKE-V2)
The head unit is the brain of the system. This is where all the programming takes place. The simple 11 button key pad is simple to use and operate. Programming is quite simple once you know how all the functions are used and linked together. You don’t need to be a programmer to set up the system as there is no coding required. Everything is menu driven. Digital Aquatics also has there own support forum that has quite a few programming examples and plenty of people willing to assist.
As Digital Aquatics improves firmware, adds features, or makes any changes fear not, your system is not obsolete. The updates are provided free of charge as well as the software to make the changes so your only an update away from latest release!
Something new to this system is that you can actually set up data logging/graphing right at the head unit. Up to 32 points that are connected to the ReefKeeper Elite can be mapped and graphed. This is pretty nice if you don't plan on setting up the controller on a network.
Power Controller 4
(PC4)
If the head unit is the brains of the system, the PC4 is the backbone of the system. Each PC4 consists of 4 programmable outlets. One of the outlets is offset so a power supply can be plugged in and still use all the outlets. Each outlet has a corresponding LED indicator to let you know if the program has the outlet ON or OFF. There are also override buttons on the PC4 that will allow you to manually override the programming controlling the outlet. This comes in handy if your system is spread out and you need quick control of something. Each PC4 also has a 15 amp resettable breaker, no more fuses to replace if you overload your power bar.
Power Controller 1
(PC1)
If you have a high power consuming device, like a large chiller, heater, or any device that will draw high amps, the PC1 is for you. The PC1 is a small, two outlet programmable module that can handle the larger loads, and plugs directly into the wall, no cords other than the bus cable. One other nice feature of this module is that it has 3 virtual channels. These can be used with advanced programming.
System Lab 1
(SL1)
(Yes it's salt crep, I recently had a leak
)System Lab 2
(SL2)
Tank information is gathered using the ReefKeeper Elite System Lab modules (Currently the SL1 and SL2) and again, these modules can be placed were you need them, not limited by the length of a probe wire. Monitoring of pH and ORP are done with the SL1 module. Monitoring of Salinity along with another pH input are done with the SL2 module. Each of these modules come with two switched inputs for monitoring things like float valves, water leak detectors, or any dry contact device. With any of these modules, you can now incorporate readings into your programming of output channels (outlets) and control things like Calcium reactors, Kalk reactors, water top off, high/low water level, etc... and if you have a NET module, you can alarm any of your critical points (high or low water level comes to mind here) and send yourself an email with the alarm information!
I have set mine up to shut my skimmer pumps off if the collection cup overfills. This has saved my tank a few times of "recycling" a full cup of nog back into the tank!
Switch 5
(SW5)
If you feel that the two switched inputs provided on each of the SL# modules isn't enough, Digital Aquatics has an answer for that, the SW5 module. This module has 4 separate switched inputs, and one relay port. The relay port is a special port that you can switch high power with. It's programmed like a PC4 outlet, but it does not provide it's own power, it will switch power.
Moon Light Controller
(MLC)
POD's
Now what would your tank be without moonlighting? With the MLC module, you can find out. The MLC will control up to 6 LED Pods (I have 5 on my 72" tank), each Pod containing two very bright LED's. The LED's can be configured in two ways, ON/OFF based on time, or they can track the lunar phase intensity, how cool is that! When I say that these are bright, I mean bright. If you feel that they are too bright, you can set the max intensity to a lower percentage, and they won't get any brighter than how you have it set. You can get the LED Pods in three different colors, white, blue, and the new red.
Advanced Light Controller
(ALC)
If you have any of the new controlable lighting (T5's, LED, etc..) the the ALC module may be for you. the ALC module has two programmable 0 to 10vDC ports, two more LED Pod ports (just like the MLC) and one special port designed to interface with the Aqua Illumiation LED lighting array. With all the new LED lighting coming out on the market today,this module will make controlling them a breeze.
Network Interface Device
(NET)
Making your tank information available on the internet is something that quite a few people want, but not everyone. Well, I'm not everyone so the NET module is something that I needed. The NET module dose it all. To start with, it's the gateway to getting your aquarium information on the internet.
Trend logging is something you will use quite frequently to find tune your tank operation. You can program up to 16 data logging points with a resolution of 1 minute to 4 hour resolution, and up to 16 points for an RSS feed (these points can be the same or different). Email alerts can also be set up triggered by one of the 64 programmable alarms. Remember when I said that my skimmer cup when full, will shut down my skimmer pumps? Well, what good is it if you don't know about it! If it happens, I get an email sent to my computer and my cell phone!
Bus System Hub
(HUB)
That's pretty much the core of the system, but it doesn't stop there. Digital Aquatics has offered a HUB module so that if you feel the need to branch off of the RKE bus network you can do so. The HUB offers up to 5 ports (one used for initial connection) so that you can have up to 5 separate networks. This can come in handy if your using your RKE to monitor and control multiple tanks. The SW5 can also be powered separately, to provide additional power to your system bus, great for those long runs.
Digital Aquatics has also started offering add on devices such as float switches and float switch kits.
And it looks like it just doesn't stop!
Other modules and software that Digital Aquatics has announced are a the Tunze pump controller, a Remote display unit so you can have access to tank info in a different place than where the head unit is installed, and the MyReef software.
Over all, I have been very happy with my RKE and look forward to the new year, and what it holds for monitoring my tank.
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