pH Controller??

[jehrlh21535]

Any advise that can be given regarding the use of a pH controller with a planted aquarium is greatly appreciated?  Any specific models that have worked well or not so well?

I have been looking at the Milwaukee Instruments SMS 122 Smart Monitoring System Controller which looks like it runs ~$110.00.  Has anyone had good/bad experience with this model?  Any alternate controllers available that folks would recommend?

Thanks much.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: pH Controller??

The SMS122 is good.


I never used it on my planted tanks and never felt the need.

[jehrlh21535]

Re: pH Controller??

Do you not use a pressurized CO2 system on your planted tanks?  If you do, how do you prevent the accidental release of CO2 in the tank?  I ask because I lost all my livestock yesterday to some sort of malfunction with my CO2 system and if I had a controller installed the pH would not have dropped as low as it did and my livestock may still be alive today.  Basically, my entirely full 5lb. bottle of CO2 dumped into an 8gal tank over the period of a few hours while I was at work yesterday.  I think the check valve in the Dupla diffuser was either installed incorrectly or damaged and so I had to increase the pressure from the regulator to overcome the back pressure from the check valve; but something changed when the system turned on in the morning and the CO2 saturated the tank.  Had a controller been installed the solenoid would have shut and prevented the problem.

[Mzungu]

Re: pH Controller??

8O  Oh dear. I'm sorry about what happened.

i don't have any experiences with pH controllers, but I'm giving this a free *bump* with hopes that someone has used one.

You might want to look around APC (Aquatic Plant Central) in the meantime, as they usually have a lot of good reviews of equipment. Here's one I found:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-equipment/46206-ph-controller.html

[eklikewhoa]

Re: pH Controller??

I do use co2 on my tanks but use quality regulator with a low pressure solenoid to keep from having dumps and the like.


What brand regulator do you have? Needle valve?