Dave's Review

From Ghl

This is my first experience with and aquarium computer and after some discussion I ordered the Profilux II, a 6 (shucko) plug bar, Redox/Salinity module, tunze control cables with splitter and the pH, temperature and redox probes. It's a good sturdy unit which is easy to work with. My expansion card was easy to install however a little care is required when opening up the unit so as not to damage it.

INTERFACES

This is the back of the computer. The manual shows clearly what each interface can be used for. A quick guide is as follows:

L1/L2 – Dimmable lights or controllable pumps. L3/L4 – Dimmable lights S1-S4 - This is where the powerbar is plugged into RS232 – For connection to a PC

The others are labelled and any expansion cards are placed after the RS 232 interface (you can see my redox/salinity module)

PROGRAMMING

Programming the Profilux is best done on a PC. The control program is windows based which makes viewing and programming easier and settings should be saved to provide a back up point in case of information lose. It is possible to just use the Profilux to program, however it just takes a little longer. An initial problem faced were the factory settings for any current pumps could not run a Tunze wavebox, due to the programming intervals being in whole seconds. This is where the GHL customer service excelled. Within a day, a new piece of Firmware had been written that allowed the programming of the pump to be done in increments of 0.1 secs. The wave could now be in resonance with the aquarium.

Here you can see the 01-10V interface screen and the functions assigned to each. You can also see all menus in one place and selection is done by clicking on the + sign.

LIGHTING

GHL supply dimmable LEDs which enable a sunrise and moon cycle to be achieved. The beauty of this is that both the sun and the moon can be recreated on just one LED unit. The Profilux is factory set so that interface L3 is moonlight. In order to get sun, all that is required is that L4 is assigned and illumination program.

Here is a screen shot of the Simulation sub menu under illumination. The Profilux has control over the LEDs so that as the month progresses, the intensity of the moonlights increases and decreases so that a complete moon cycle is achieved. There is also a picture of the illumination overview screen showing when each light will go on and off.

Storms can alos be programmed with the LED units. The frequency of storms (up to 4 a day), the intensity of the storm and if the LEDs are to dim, prior to the storm (replicates it getting dark before the lightening) An LED unit has both red LEDs (sun) and blue/white LEDs (moonlight). This allows one unit to provided sun and moon. All that is required is that the interfaces are programmed correctly. (Interface L3 is factory set to moonlight)

SUMMARY

In all, this computer is fairly easy to operate and program. To achieve the level of control and monitoring on my tank with the initial package took around 5 hours over two nights. A thorough read of the manual followed by exploring the Profilux menus should be done prior to programming, which will be made easier with the purchase of the PC cable. Any problems or difficulties with the system is backed up by first class support.