TGreene
10-01-2008, 9:14 AM
Lighthouse Pro-XLS ~ REVIEW
Let me begin by stating that I have been using the Lighthouse controllers since shortly after they arrived on the market, and for lack of a better word, I'm addicted to them because they've made my life easier.
In addition to the multiple large systems that I have in my home, I have a few others around our community that I designed and continue to maintain… In fact, I refuse to consider working on a system that doesn't have one, because I feel it’s vitally important that I be able to remotely monitor these systems, so that I can catch and prevent bad things from happening, at the earliest signs of a problem.
Over the past few years I had been in touch with the guys at MCU Research, the makers of the Lighthouse controllers, and had expressed my desire to see a few firmware modifications and upgrades, assuming that it would be feasible to do so. Well lo and behold, one day when I contacted them, I was told that they were about to begin designing a new “Super Controller” that would do everything that I had been hoping to eventually see, and more… a lot more!
I received my new Lighthouse Pro a couple weeks before its official unveiling at MACNA, and have been playing with it while building a new display system in my home. This controller does have the capability to do everything that I want, and due to it’s modular capability, I was able to add it's optional accessories to offset the use of the additional controllers & monitors as I had (and still do on my other systems) been doing.
My new reef system is comprised of a custom built 157g tall tank running 4 Metal Halide fixtures (2 175w & 2 250w) and 2 high output cooling fans. Reactors consist of Kalk via auto-topoff direct connected to RO/DI, Calcium and a shared Carbon/Phosban reactor. I'm running a closed loop which is driven by a PanWorld PW200-PS pressure pump, and I have an in-sump skimmer.
In order to regulate and control 100% of my system, I needed the following:
Lighthouse Pro XLS starter kit (controller, temp sensor, pH probe & adapter, 8 outlet power bar & remote control)
1 additional pH adapter
1 ORP adapter
Power expansion bar
Being that I do run a Kalk reactor directly connected to an auto- topoff controller, which itself in turn is directly connected to an RO/DI unit, the chances of a Kalk overdose are quite high without the use of a reverse pH controller which is designed specifically to kill power to the topoff controller in the event that the pH hits a preset high level. This operates exactly opposite of a traditional pH controller which turns the CO2 off if the pH drops too low. Using one pH adapter for the high limit pH (Kalk) and another for the traditional low limit pH (CO2 solenoid), allows me have both items connected to the Lighthouse Pro. I also inject Ozone from time to time, so the ORP adapter comes into play here. Since I run all of my lights on the same switched circuit, I needed the Power expansion bar to connect all 850w of Metal Halides into the same outlet. The 2 fans connect to the remaining port. The 7 of the 8 outlets on the main power bar are used up with the heater, skimmer, fuge light, Kalk reactor, calcium reactor, CL pump and topoff controller…
This now has feed timers to kill power heads and CL pumps, power head timers for a wave cycle, skimmer timers for maintenance and feeding, and more timers and cycle features than I can think of, because when setting up each of the power outlets via a menu, YOU get to select what all you want that port to be able to do. This is a web based menu driven system like the original, but unlike many of the other “similar” controllers on the market, which require you to learn their programming code.
Unlike with the original Lighthouse controllers, the new Pro model has the ability to send me email alerts when any of the parameters which I select, are out of spec. It can also send me an email every day just to let me know what all of the parameters are. Because of this feature, I have setup a special email account on one of my domains that will redirect all ALERT email to both my wife and I, just in case I'm nowhere near a computer, so she can call me.
I can turn things on and off with a wireless remote control. :D
While I still own and use several of the basic Lighthouse controllers coupled with Milwaukee pH and reversed pH controllers on my Aquaculture systems, having the ability to do so much more for my display tank is well worth every penny. Quite possibly the greatest benefit to me however, is that I have been able to reduce the number of electrical outlets by 4 times, since everything now runs into one system. This eliminates the fire hazard of electrical spaghetti that I've had behind my display tank for years. The ability to have the system actually contact me when something is amiss is also huge, especially now that I've been able to combine multiple controllers into one.
-Tim
Let me begin by stating that I have been using the Lighthouse controllers since shortly after they arrived on the market, and for lack of a better word, I'm addicted to them because they've made my life easier.
In addition to the multiple large systems that I have in my home, I have a few others around our community that I designed and continue to maintain… In fact, I refuse to consider working on a system that doesn't have one, because I feel it’s vitally important that I be able to remotely monitor these systems, so that I can catch and prevent bad things from happening, at the earliest signs of a problem.
Over the past few years I had been in touch with the guys at MCU Research, the makers of the Lighthouse controllers, and had expressed my desire to see a few firmware modifications and upgrades, assuming that it would be feasible to do so. Well lo and behold, one day when I contacted them, I was told that they were about to begin designing a new “Super Controller” that would do everything that I had been hoping to eventually see, and more… a lot more!
I received my new Lighthouse Pro a couple weeks before its official unveiling at MACNA, and have been playing with it while building a new display system in my home. This controller does have the capability to do everything that I want, and due to it’s modular capability, I was able to add it's optional accessories to offset the use of the additional controllers & monitors as I had (and still do on my other systems) been doing.
My new reef system is comprised of a custom built 157g tall tank running 4 Metal Halide fixtures (2 175w & 2 250w) and 2 high output cooling fans. Reactors consist of Kalk via auto-topoff direct connected to RO/DI, Calcium and a shared Carbon/Phosban reactor. I'm running a closed loop which is driven by a PanWorld PW200-PS pressure pump, and I have an in-sump skimmer.
In order to regulate and control 100% of my system, I needed the following:
Lighthouse Pro XLS starter kit (controller, temp sensor, pH probe & adapter, 8 outlet power bar & remote control)
1 additional pH adapter
1 ORP adapter
Power expansion bar
Being that I do run a Kalk reactor directly connected to an auto- topoff controller, which itself in turn is directly connected to an RO/DI unit, the chances of a Kalk overdose are quite high without the use of a reverse pH controller which is designed specifically to kill power to the topoff controller in the event that the pH hits a preset high level. This operates exactly opposite of a traditional pH controller which turns the CO2 off if the pH drops too low. Using one pH adapter for the high limit pH (Kalk) and another for the traditional low limit pH (CO2 solenoid), allows me have both items connected to the Lighthouse Pro. I also inject Ozone from time to time, so the ORP adapter comes into play here. Since I run all of my lights on the same switched circuit, I needed the Power expansion bar to connect all 850w of Metal Halides into the same outlet. The 2 fans connect to the remaining port. The 7 of the 8 outlets on the main power bar are used up with the heater, skimmer, fuge light, Kalk reactor, calcium reactor, CL pump and topoff controller…
This now has feed timers to kill power heads and CL pumps, power head timers for a wave cycle, skimmer timers for maintenance and feeding, and more timers and cycle features than I can think of, because when setting up each of the power outlets via a menu, YOU get to select what all you want that port to be able to do. This is a web based menu driven system like the original, but unlike many of the other “similar” controllers on the market, which require you to learn their programming code.
Unlike with the original Lighthouse controllers, the new Pro model has the ability to send me email alerts when any of the parameters which I select, are out of spec. It can also send me an email every day just to let me know what all of the parameters are. Because of this feature, I have setup a special email account on one of my domains that will redirect all ALERT email to both my wife and I, just in case I'm nowhere near a computer, so she can call me.
I can turn things on and off with a wireless remote control. :D
While I still own and use several of the basic Lighthouse controllers coupled with Milwaukee pH and reversed pH controllers on my Aquaculture systems, having the ability to do so much more for my display tank is well worth every penny. Quite possibly the greatest benefit to me however, is that I have been able to reduce the number of electrical outlets by 4 times, since everything now runs into one system. This eliminates the fire hazard of electrical spaghetti that I've had behind my display tank for years. The ability to have the system actually contact me when something is amiss is also huge, especially now that I've been able to combine multiple controllers into one.
-Tim