My aquarium is mostly self running, this is down to the IKS unit I have controlling it all. The IKS unit monitors the pH of the water, the Redox potential, the Temperatire of the water and the air temperature above the water, the water level and controls all the powerheads, moonlights, heaters, fans, Ozone and RO unit. The IKS unit is plugged into the Computer and connected to some software called Timo that allows me to manage the unit with ease.
The unit allows me to plug upto 16 switchable plug sockets on to it. I currently have 12 running. I am going to need another plug bar for when i get my calcium reactor and CO2 setup. Please read below for information on the different things it monitor.
Moonlights
I have the unit turn the moonlights on at 9.30pm and turn off at 9.30am, this provides the fish with some very natutal lighting creating the perfect environment for them.
Powerheads
All five powerheads are are individually controlled by the IKS creating a pulsing current throughout the tank making the water as close to a real ocean as possible.
Water Temperature
The IKS constantly monitors the temperature of the aquarium and makes sure that the water stays at 26oC whilst the lights are out, and when the lights come on the heat from the bulbs bring the water up to 28oC by 8pm then cools down again. The heaters are turned on and off by the IKS to maintain the temperature. The fans are also controlled with the IKS, these cut in and out all day creating a brease accross the waters surface removing stale hot air and seing that the lights dont overheat the tank.
Redox Potential
The redox level is monitored constantly and maintains a redox level of around 350, if the level drops to a dangerous level the IKS unit will turn on the Ozone generator and pump it into the air intake on the protein skimmer.
pH Level
The pH is monitored but not linked to anything, it will alert me if it goes out side the parameters set though.
Air Temperature
I monitor the air temperature 1" above the water as well as the waters temperature so i can see trends in the levels and learn more about relationships between levels. This helps me spot things, and also alerts me if the fans stop which blow the warm air away from the waters surface as the air temperature will rise dramatically due to the lights being on during the day. To maintain a stable room temperature away from the tank i use a 3.8Kw air conditioning unit. The air conditioning will cut in and out during the day on a thermostat to maintain the correct temperature.
Water Level
I have an fully automated water topup system, so if you would like to read up on how this system works and integrates with my tank etc, click on the Automatic RO Topup page. This system is 100% controlled by my IKS unit.
As well as the constant digital monitoring of the tank, I run 8 different tests on the first of the month to ensure the other levels are ok. The other tests I run are: Ammonia NH3, Nitrate NO3, Nitrite NO2, Phosphate PO4, Calcium CA, Iron FE, Sg, kH & DKH. I try to keep my specific gravity at 1.024 abd the dKH at 12. The calcium I try to maintain around 400mg/l but I am going to get a Calcium reactor to stabalise it soon. I am going to get the conductivity and disolved oxygen probes for the IKS unit so I can monitor the specific gravity of the water digitally and the oxygen level of the water.
Deltec Refractometer
To measure the Specific Gravity of my aquarium water or the Salt level as its also known, I use a Deltec Refractometer. You simply take a few drops of tank water and place it on the glass and then look through the eye piece. You can then see the salt content. When looking in the eye piece, where the blue and white areas meet is what level the water is at. I try to maintain 1.024. I achieve this by mixing 925g Salt per 25 Litres of RO water when doing a water change.
The IKS unit is linked into some softare called Timo, this is German. The software allows me to make quick and easy changes to the programming of the IKS unit. Timo also allows me to generate live graphs and charts and record tank data constantly and with the interactive feature, it will alert me of any tank parameter when I want it to, so if the tank overheats it sends me a text message to let me know as well as an email. It will do many other things too. I have 3 more slots for IKS modules on the tank, the next modules I am going to get are the Conductivity module, Disolved Oxygen and Air Pressure modules.