First let me say that I have nothing against controllers. The intent of this post is just to spark some friendly thought and discussion. I think that controllers are AMAZING pieces of equipment that do all sorts of things for us, and store all sorts of data about our aquariums. BUT... is it "wise" to be so dependent upon them ? I hear people say things like "It's the BRAIN of my aquarium" and "It takes care of EVERYTHING for me so that I don't have to".
The purpose of the controller is to monitor everything and alert us to even the slightest thing that gets off kilter - BUT- suppose the controller itself fails ? Or suppose a probe, or a heater stops working and for some reason the controller doesn't pick that up, and we think everything is A-OK until we start seeing evidence inside the tank that it's not ? (like bleeched or dying coral, dead fish, etc.)
What are we left with if the contoller fails us ? And they can... I work in IT, and I see computers and other electronic devices fail everyday. There are no guarantees. So it just begs the question as to whether or not we should be so dependent on them.
The purpose of the controller is to monitor everything and alert us to even the slightest thing that gets off kilter - BUT- suppose the controller itself fails ? Or suppose a probe, or a heater stops working and for some reason the controller doesn't pick that up, and we think everything is A-OK until we start seeing evidence inside the tank that it's not ? (like bleeched or dying coral, dead fish, etc.)
What are we left with if the contoller fails us ? And they can... I work in IT, and I see computers and other electronic devices fail everyday. There are no guarantees. So it just begs the question as to whether or not we should be so dependent on them.
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