Check it out, WiFi power strip - time/energy saver

[fishdance]

I have a fish story about automation.... this was a few years ago but it's still valid.

I used to breed fish in a big way while working full time. Growout fish eat a lot. So had to get up at 3:30am to feed fish which took an hour. Sleepy fish don't eat well so I put tank lights on a timer to wake them up 15 minutes before I entered the shed so they were already awake, active and waiting for me. Then off when the sun came up. There are about 160 tanks on racks so lots of lights. This worked well for several years until I went overseas to work which turned into a 5 year absence. Then I returned and started keeping fish again. Several years after that, I was returning home late when I suddenly noticed the fish shed lights come on at 3am. Turns out all these lights had been turning on for over 9 years without me knowing. ...

 

[DwarfCichlidLvr]

I love my jager. But then again who am I to judge?

 

[RD.]

I love my jager. But then again who am I to judge?

That's great, as do many others - but the reality is that compared to the Ebo Jagers of 30-40 yrs ago, their overall track record blows. The quality control dropped significantly after Eheim took over, and soon after began looking for ways to reduce their overhead. Most folks that have been in this hobby for several decades will understand exactly what I am saying. I'm not judging, just stating the simple facts as they played out. Every company has an acceptable failure rate, it's not like they don't know their products are failing, or why. They clearly do.

Anyone recall the Marineland Stealth Pro recall that took place back in 2011? By the time the manufacturer actually recalled them (which I believe the FDA forced them to) there had been "years" of ignored failures - failures where some very serious damage had occurred, to humans as well as to tank lids being blown to pieces, and even the end of tanks being blown out. Not cool.

Stealth Pro Heater Recall!!!

I just received the following email from Petsmart about a "voluntary withdraw" of Stealth Pro Heaters. I guess they finally had enough complaints. I know I have had 2 bad ones in the past 6 months. ********************************************************* February 11, 2011 Dear Valued...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

In 2015 I posted about another recall, with a different make & model.

Petsmart Heater Recall

Just an FYI, apparently just like the Stealth units sold yrs ago these are potentially ticking time bombs. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=196265&p=factset54

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Jager is clearly no different. As stated in my previous comment regarding Jager, the past customer of mine also had many years in the hobby, and has been working in retail for many years, both with a brick & mortar LFS, and one of the largest online aquatic dry good vendors in Canada. He has personally used, as well as sold, a LOT of heaters over the years.

They are all great products, until they aren't. It's why I started using controllers many years ago, very expensive ones, made in USA, with American made components. (as far as I know) Expensive models designed for reefers. It's also why I run my heaters through a GFCI protected power bar, and have grounding probes in all of my tanks. Overkill? Apparently not, as I have had heaters fail, crack, and trip out the GFCI circuit due to having a grounding probe in my tank.

These days most consumers are happy if they can return a defective product, for a new one, for free.

 

[DwarfCichlidLvr]

That's great, as do many others - but the reality is that compared to the Ebo Jagers of 30-40 yrs ago, their overall track record blows. The quality control dropped significantly after Eheim took over, and soon after began looking for ways to reduce their overhead. Most folks that have been in this hobby for several decades will understand exactly what I am saying. I'm not judging, just stating the simple facts as they played out. Every company has an acceptable failure rate, it's not like they don't know their products are failing, or why. They clearly do.

Anyone recall the Marineland Stealth Pro recall that took place back in 2011? By the time the manufacturer actually recalled them (which I believe the FDA forced them to) there had been "years" of ignored failures - failures where some very serious damage had occurred, to humans as well as to tank lids being blown to pieces, and even the end of tanks being blown out. Not cool.

Stealth Pro Heater Recall!!!

I just received the following email from Petsmart about a "voluntary withdraw" of Stealth Pro Heaters. I guess they finally had enough complaints. I know I have had 2 bad ones in the past 6 months. ********************************************************* February 11, 2011 Dear Valued...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

In 2015 I posted about another recall, with a different make & model.

Petsmart Heater Recall

Just an FYI, apparently just like the Stealth units sold yrs ago these are potentially ticking time bombs. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=196265&p=factset54

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Jager is clearly no different. As stated in my previous comment regarding Jager, the past customer of mine also had many years in the hobby, and has been working in retail for many years, both with a brick & mortar LFS, and one of the largest online aquatic dry good vendors in Canada. He has personally used, as well as sold, a LOT of heaters over the years.

They are all great products, until they aren't. It's why I started using controllers many years ago, very expensive ones, made in USA, with American made components. (as far as I know) Expensive models designed for reefers. It's also why I run my heaters through a GFCI protected power bar, and have grounding probes in all of my tanks. Overkill? Apparently not, as I have had heaters fail, crack, and trip out the GFCI circuit due to having a grounding probe in my tank.

These days most consumers are happy if they can return a defective product, for a new one, for free.

Than what heater would you recommend?

 

[RD.]

I wouldn't. I can tell you what brand I have had reasonable luck with, but that's all it's been, is luck. Who knows what the failure rate is of each brand, they all eventually fail - so my advice is to use two smaller wattage heaters, instead of one large watt model (in case they stick ON) - run them through a controller for an added layer of redundancy, and run all circuits through a GFCI protected power bar. For icing on the cake, use grounding probes so that as soon as stray anything leaks out of a piece of faulty equipment, the GFCI will trip.

More info in this past discussion.

electricity in tank, how to test for it?

I think there is a small electrical build up in my fish tank. I think I got a shock when putting my fingers in the tank yesterday. How do you test for this, my roommate doesn't agree, my brother does. I have an multi-meter.

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[DwarfCichlidLvr]

I wouldn't. I can tell you what brand I have had reasonable luck with, but that's all it's been, is luck. Who knows what the failure rate is of each brand, they all eventually fail - so my advice is to use two smaller wattage heaters, instead of one large watt model (in case they stick ON) - run them through a controller for an added layer of redundancy, and run all circuits through a GFCI protected power bar. For icing on the cake, use grounding probes so that as soon as stray anything leaks out of a piece of faulty equipment, the GFCI will trip.

More info in this past discussion.

electricity in tank, how to test for it?

I think there is a small electrical build up in my fish tank. I think I got a shock when putting my fingers in the tank yesterday. How do you test for this, my roommate doesn't agree, my brother does. I have an multi-meter.

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Wow. Ok thanks

 

[jhw1126]

As someone who runs a completely automated system, I know for a fact that the more device you run, the higher the chance of failure.

But that is a terrible reason to not learn more about the hobby.

If you are willing to put in some time and effort you can build your own fully automated system off of reef pi

But if you are not that technical, there are mass produce products out there. All the problems mentioned in the previous post can be resolve.

Sacred of stray voltage? Ground probe, gfci outlet

Flood? Water level sensor that stops your pump or drains the water when the trigger
Mechanical failure in water sensor? Get an optical sensor that has a built-in mechanical sensor, for extra protection

Heater issues? Get a temperature controller, or better get a ph/temperature wifi controller that notifies you if there are swings in parameters. And a graph that shows your tank' trend

Another sensor like Seneye can even sense ammonia/ par etc

Overfeeding? Messy Feeding schedule? There are auto feeder that measures down to the gram


Routine Maintenance?
Not a thing anymore, there is a device out there that does your water change.
Crossflow Wavemaker that eliminates dead spot and suspends debris
Change Filter floss/ filter sock? There is a roller mat that changes it for you.


I bet you, if you have something that you want to automated, there is a product out there. Perhaps even a product to safeguard these products.

It is weird how theses are getting more common in reef keeping communities, but in the freshwater world people are treating like some sort of monster.

 

[dr exum]

As someone who runs a completely automated system, I know for a fact that the more device you run, the higher the chance of failure.

But that is a terrible reason to not learn more about the hobby.

If you are willing to put in some time and effort you can build your own fully automated system off of reef pi

But if you are not that technical, there are mass produce products out there. All the problems mentioned in the previous post can be resolve.

Sacred of stray voltage? Ground probe, gfci outlet

Flood? Water level sensor that stops your pump or drains the water when the trigger
Mechanical failure in water sensor? Get an optical sensor that has a built-in mechanical sensor, for extra protection

Heater issues? Get a temperature controller, or better get a ph/temperature wifi controller that notifies you if there are swings in parameters. And a graph that shows your tank' trend

Another sensor like Seneye can even sense ammonia/ par etc

Overfeeding? Messy Feeding schedule? There are auto feeder that measures down to the gram


Routine Maintenance?
Not a thing anymore, there is a device out there that does your water change.
Crossflow Wavemaker that eliminates dead spot and suspends debris
Change Filter floss/ filter sock? There is a roller mat that changes it for you.


I bet you, if you have something that you want to automated, there is a product out there. Perhaps even a product to safeguard these products.

It is weird how theses are getting more common in reef keeping communities, but in the freshwater world people are treating like some sort of monster.

It does seem the Reef side is a little more advanced... I’ve got 5 ecotech products and they are pretty involved...

I dunno, money’s probably reef systems = cost more... more R&D

Just got a second strip in the mail.... gonna get 5-10 more when I have a spare few bucks... Getting taxed on the backside by my local tank builder and fish funds low...

 

[Gourami Swami]

I use something just like this on my reef tank. Most reefers nowadays use control systems like this, aquatics companies make nice ones or you can go for the budget amazon variety. The one I have is called Geeni. 6 socket wifi-controlled GFI protected strip where each outlet can be controlled separately for on/off, and also can have timers (up to 6 per slot per day) on each outlet. This makes my life much easier as I have to turn multiple pumps and ATO on and off pretty frequently for feeding, and can do so right in the app. Also controls my light times. And if I want to have a powerhead run only at night, or have my ATO not powered during the night (since it makes a loud BEEP when it runs) I can do those things.
Overall I think they can be very useful tools, but should be used with some caution. My main return pump on my reef goes straight into the wall, so if something happened with the strip my tank would be OK until I figured it out. I also am home every day and would catch something pretty quickly. On vacations I need to have someone come daily anyway (have some marine fish which need to eat a LOT)
I have had mine for at least two years now and have not had any problems. But would advise anybody to be aware you should have some kind of circulation device which isn't plugged into this, just in case.

 

[RD.]

Reefers have been using automated systems for as far back as I can remember, their origins simply didn't involve wifi. But reefers do so out of necessity, not because they are more advanced than fresh. Most freshwater systems simply do not require the same type of advanced (ie costly) set ups as marine, be it lighting, chillers, reactors, etc. My philosophy in this hobby has always been one of KISS, for the exact reason just stated;

I know for a fact that the more device you run, the higher the chance of failure.