should I be concidering a archon for my controller?

[Devaji108]

Hey guys I am in the market for a controller...
my need are:

1 web based platform where i can see and communicate while out of town. ( i travel 2x a year for 3 weeks at a time or more. )

2. reliability. don't what it to fail and crash my tank.

3. able to control more then one tank. with out a ton of wires running across the room about 20' is this even possible?

4. work with equipment I already have jebao pumps & photov2 lighting are the main ones.

5. ease of use. no matter what you get there seams to be a learning curve but had a reef angle plus in the past that I could not get up and running.

so in my search I was not even thinking DA archon as I remember it was full of bugs has that changed?? are they a safe and stable to use that are easy to get working?

can you communicate and make changes via the web any were in the world?
just wondering if I should put it on the list of maybe to look in to...

[bigzman]

Devaji,

I currently have a 850 gallon tank setup on apex and a 330 setup on archon.

Here is my take so far on both that should address your questions.

Web based:
Apex: requires me to get to fusion page which is worldwide. There is now a apple app. Fusion page is really impressive and custom functions are cool.

Archon: Have to setup a dyndns address and configure router (easy to do) . Here is a part I like. You can also attached it via wifi with out a router and control it. The archon has a Ssid you can browse to to configure and manage as well so if your internet / wifi is out you can still manage your tank. There is a cloud based solution in the works and from what I can see on on updates there development still taking place.

Reliability:
So far both units have been great and stable.

More than one tank:
On the 850 this is a concern we thought about since we wanted to control a frag tank setup and auto water changing system. Cabling cost of custom 75ft apex USB cable was not fun. Also no probs / monitoring. Only function we have is off on a eb8. We decided not to buy anymore for that configuration and currently exploring buy and apex light or an archon.

On my 330 I designing a remote frag tank which I should be able to manage via archon by using the bus ports. With archon I will have a 80 ft cable simple and cheap to make or buy 2 PB4 power modules and I have a slx Module to monitor that tank with which allows me to control via ph/temp/orp.

Jebao:

Archon. Yes some of the guys locally with archons run Jebao pumps and wave makers. I have 2 dcs12000 one 330 and plan on eventually controlling them with archon along with 4 pp20 (which I am told I might not be able to do as there is a limit of 4)

850 / apex we are using red dragon interface cable works great lighting for orphik is not optional.

Easy of use:
Tough part to answer this question for me as it depends.

If you want detailed easy of use for fusion apex has a million helpers so navigating interface is easy. DA not so much but there is a group of guys that are quick to assist and they are very responsive (they are also working on updating their docs as they add new features). Here is the part which to me is a value. Simplicity. Archon page covers the what you need in tabs and landing page super easy. Off on and mode / graphs selection super easy. Where it gets tracky and fusion wins is customization. (My understand this is also being addressed).

I would add DA to your list. I am impressed with the hardware part and the modular components and if you look into parts per dollar archon might be a bunch cheaper. Also keep in mind archon unit is truly open source and has gr at hardware for expand ability. For a technology systems engineer like me that is a huge win vs a IoT type of devices that require calling home.

If you have any questions on my setups please feel free to ask.

Also the guys at DA are very responsive on emails.

[Pickupman66]

So, for me, so far, the archon has been a trip. I was one of the first beta testers and yes, it was not ready 2 years ago. However we have worked with DA alot and now, in my experience it is super stable and very very intuitive to use. Currently the cloud is not finished but a few simple router tweaks and it is accessible from outside your house. It is fully browser based and Firefox seems the best to use. I access with my android phone and tablet all the time (more so then my PC). You can make programming changes from any internet connected device that can run firefox.

I run a pair of jebao wp25 with it and until my radion upgrade I used the analog and pwm ports to control a hacked into reef radiance lumentek pro 240 light (up for sale now). Mine controls 16 outlets currently.

You will have to run a single bus cable from one system to another and the place power bars and a slx (or sl2v2 for salinity) at the 2nd tank to control the temps and read the pH. Either would also provide switch ports to integrate top off controls.

I hope this helps. There will be other that will come along (Apex fanboys) and say it's a piece of crap and that Apex is the only way. I won't knock their product as it does what it is supposed to. It is a good controller. Will the archon work just as well? Possibly. The only reason mine has rebooted lately is because of power outages that were longer than my battery backup.

Let me know if u want more details.


sent from my pixelated Nexus 6p

[2000se]

Pickupman - are you saying that if there is a power outage, the archon losses programming? No quite following your last statement. You thanks

[Pickupman66]

No. That is not what I am saying. Basically I have a UPS battery backup system and our power was out for several hours so my pumps ran the battery dead. This caused the entire system to turn off. When power was restored it rebooted and picked up where it left off.

sent from my pixelated Nexus 6p

[2000se]

Ok. Now I'm clear. Cool thanks!

[tkeracer619]

At some point they'll all fail. Not trying to be pessimistic but if the tank can't survive if you unplug your controller you have set yourself and your tank up for failure. Any of the controllers will work fine as long as you take the precautions to keep it from crashing your tank.

[2000se]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

At some point they'll all fail. Not trying to be pessimistic but if the tank can't survive if you unplug your controller you have set yourself and your tank up for failure. Any of the controllers will work fine as long as you take the precautions to keep it from crashing your tank.

This is an interesting comment. I mean something as simple as ato running off the controller is bad then in this thinking. You'll need to a gravity fed with a mech float valve which is "backed-up" by your controller for this thinking.

I agree. BUT seemingly impossible in a way.

Back the archon I like it. I don't have one but I do have DA equipment and am also considering this.

[tkeracer619]

All you need is a float switch (for kalk) or a float valve (for di) in line with your ato. Easy.

Been doing this a long time and have seen too many reefs killed due to 100% faith in a controller. These things are not made with industrial components. They're hobby grade. You can't avoid everything, just take precautions to avoid disasters.

[Darryl Hey]

I'm very happy with the ARCHON as well as my RKL and RKE systems except for a minor setup glitch everything is working and has been working in all conditions possible with a 9 hour power outage and a 3 day power outage everything rebutted and picked up where it needed to be.
i had tried the new apex and did not like it at all and couldn't get stuff to work right . The Archon is so easy to setup and run.

[Pickupman66]

Btw, I just booked my jebao DC return pump to my archon. I can run tides on it. High for 30 mins and low for a few hours. Toying with 60% for 30 mins now and then 40% for 30 mins.

Sent from my K88 using Tapatalk

[bigzman]

I have to agree setup was far faster for archon

[aiber]

So where can I buy an Archon?

[bigzman]

It should be on their site. I recently tried to buy probes and had no luck or response. They seem to be hit or miss http://www.digitalaquatics.org/store/archon

[shred5]

I thought they were not making the Archon anymore?

[bigzman]

Originally Posted by shred5

I thought they were not making the Archon anymore?

Is it official? Is the archon dead? If so, does anyone know if there is anything else coming to replace it?