ok i figured the whole thing out. its actually really easy to use once you get the hang of it. i got the PH probe calibrated and working. only thing i'm upset about is i cut the hole in my stand a little crooked for the head unit. no big deal i guess.
so its been controling everything in the system for about 12 hours now. the heater works perfect. my actinics turned on when they were supposed to and my MH just turned on.
i did a water change this morning and i turned off both pumps and the skimmer with the touch of a button. how cool is that?