Tinman - thanks for the comments. I know you have done some awesome stuff and I'm glad do be joining the ranks of some of the great DIYers here on LOL
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As far as the lights go - they should be fine, they are UL listed and include waterproof endcaps. Ballast and heatsink will be on the backside of the canopy. Yes, GFCI is used and pictured in my last post of pics.
For the feed cycle since I dont have fish in it yet it is untested and subject to change once I try it out. I did a test and put some flakes in the other day and within about 20 seconds they were all down the overflows, so I am pretty sure I am going to have to shut off the return pump. The powerheads I dont know, they may get left on.
As for the pH monitor, Neptune told me that freshwater was harder on the probes, and he estimated a 1 year life cycle with the lab grade probe I bought. For a quick backup though I went ahead and bought two so I have a spare ready to go since it is controlling my CO2 injection.
I agree with the consistency aspect, thats one of the main reasons I went with the controller. For example I have always struggled with keeping up with water changes, especially with my rotating shift at work and having all my family out of town. I rarely have enough time during a work day to do a pwc and the breaks I get I am usually gone out of town. This way my water change is perfectly consistant and I dont have to do anything except change the carbon or micron filter. And that wont be very often, the carbon 'chlorine guzzler' filter I am using is rated at 20,000 gallons. As long as the city doesnt switch to chloramines...
You dont need a controller for automated setups, each thing can be controlled from timers or level switches, etc, the controller just centralizes all the control so everything is in sync, plus all the extra bells n whistles.
I'll have more details & pics on various aspects of the automation later.
