Anyone here use a Reef Angel controller?

[curtismaximus]

I am thinking about trying one out for the new build. Anyone here use one and have any advice before I buy one?

 

[Reefplumber13]

JohnIII does
And I plan on getting one

 

[curtismaximus]

jtsreef;995746 wrote: JohnIII does
And I plan on getting one

Ok I will PM him, thanks

 

[johniii]

I use it. What kind I of advice do you need. Pretty simple setup via the wizard. Customer service is excellent. If you fathom up something special you want to do the forum is very helpful with coding

 

[johniii]

I have a you tube video of the wizard. I will find it and link it

 

[jrhunter0000]

Curtismaximus;995745 wrote: I am thinking about trying one out for the new build. Anyone here use one and have any advice before I buy one?

We want to see pics of this new setup brother

 

[johniii]

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[curtismaximus]

JohnIII;996119 wrote: I have a you tube video of the wizard. I will find it and link it

I am just unsure on the difference between the PWM and Analog version. Not sure which one to buy.

 

[johniii]

If you have bought leds. Analog. Pwm is used more by diyers in the reef industry. But used more in other industries

 

[johniii]

If controlling jebaos you can use either

 

[johniii]

And I believe if you get the analog. You can remove some jumpers if you need Pwm instead. But not vice versa.

 

[curtismaximus]

jrhunter0000;996122 wrote: We want to see pics of this new setup brother

I'll start a build thread this weekend if I have time. Still waiting for the cycle to finish.

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[curtismaximus]

JohnIII;996126 wrote: If you have bought leds. Analog. Pwm is used more by diyers in the reef industry. But used more in other industries

Im using T5s and Vortech for pumps. Im not going to be doing much DIY stuff. So still not sure which one would be better. Im leaning towards PWM.

 

[johniii]

If you have nothing to dim. Save the $20 and go pwm

 

[curtismaximus]

JohnIII;996139 wrote: If you have nothing to dim. Save the $20 and go pwm

Ok will do, thanks for the help!

 

[johniii]

Anytime

 

[jrhunter0000]

Curtismaximus;996135 wrote: I'll start a build thread this weekend if I have time. Still waiting for the cycle to finish.

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Wow that rimless look i love it man

 

[civics14]

I was actually in the process of buying a controller, actually was waiting to see any Black Friday sales. I didn't know there was anything out there besides Apex and RKE, until this post. After doing lots of reading, it looks like I'm going to go with a RA, the price and the idea of it being open source is awesome. Thanks for posting this!

 

[drydock]

Curtismaximus;995745 wrote: I am thinking about trying one out for the new build. Anyone here use one and have any advice before I buy one?

I do have the RA on one of my tanks. Advice above on Analog vs. PWM is spot on. Your LED driver will be one or the other - so you want to match your driver. The wizard is a pretty easy setup, but lacks some of the flexibility for customization. The RA is VERY customizable, but you have to work a bit more to get at anything that is not part of the Wizard. Company support has been great and the online community is strong and very helpful.

My bottom line is that if you are a hands on DIYer and tinker and are comfortable around computers, electronics, etc. You'll be pretty happy with RA. But it isn't a plug-and-play set up like Apex line, you have to roll your own a bit more - which of course is a plus for many people (like me).

I have both RA and Apex running - I need to do a side by side comparison write up one of these days.

 

[curtismaximus]

Drydock;996204 wrote: I do have the RA on one of my tanks. Advice above on Analog vs. PWM is spot on. Your LED driver will be one or the other - so you want to match your driver. The wizard is a pretty easy setup, but lacks some of the flexibility for customization. The RA is VERY customizable, but you have to work a bit more to get at anything that is not part of the Wizard. Company support has been great and the online community is strong and very helpful.

My bottom line is that if you are a hands on DIYer and tinker and are comfortable around computers, electronics, etc. You'll be pretty happy with RA. But it isn't a plug-and-play set up like Apex line, you have to roll your own a bit more - which of course is a plus for many people (like me).

I have both RA and Apex running - I need to do a side by side comparison write up one of these days.

Thanks for the input. I am really looking forward to researching all the crazy things you can do with the RA. Another bottom line with these is the price is almost half that of the Apex.