Cali Kid Corals

Kickstart aquarium automation

Eh, I've seen many Reef Pi or "opensource" controllers pushed out there, some just are happy to do what they do and want to share on message boards giving away what they do, others want to make a business out of it ReefPi comes to mind. Can't quite place this setup though, it seems like he's using Kickstarter just to sell the things as a store front. That power outlet part is ugly as sin though, and the difference between paying someone to make me something it really has to look like something I couldn't make, and that looks like some basic woodshop classes mixed with some simple wiring.

If you wanted a full reef controller the Advanced Saltwater one looks like the one you should aim for but if you're paying $500, but if you're doing that you might as well get an Apex EL. I think the $14 board is intriguing if he will sell a DIY board for $14 that'd be great little toy to screw around with if you're a hobby person. But other than maybe as a light timer, which FYI lights you buy are NOT PWM they're 0-10V control, I don't think I'd look into this as being a "safeguard" for my tank like I would an Apex or a Profilux controller
 
As someone who has done a couple of DIY controllers, I would say .... ehhh..
The board saves you a bit of hand soldering.
The provided software probably gives you a head start.
But otherwise not really a big deal.

Note from my DIY experiments: I do not trust RasPi on my fish tank.
It does not seem to be long term reliable.
Especially if you have a power or ethernet failure.
I ended up going back to Arduino.
 
sfsuphysics said:
But other than maybe as a light timer, which FYI lights you buy are NOT PWM they're 0-10V control, I don't think I'd look into this as being a "safeguard" for my tank like I would an Apex or a Profilux controller
Click to expand...
I think the idea is : If you are doing DIY controller, you are probably doing DIY lights as well, so PWM would be correct.
 
Yeah I totally get that, the PWM controller options out there are things like the Corallux Storm or the BlueFish, so getting one of his boards for $42 or whatever to do this may be nice.

I do have to say though, he starts by saying "This $14 board..." then you look at the backer levels for $42 you can have this board ... wait wut? $14 was just the cost to get the bare board printed maybe? Not the individual components?
 
Interesting. Not sure who exactly it appeals to. Most people just want something polished/tested/backed/supported that will work well and as easy as possible. We have that in the market already.

Other people want to DIY, tinker, solder, and design. We have that community already too (I think?).

Other people just want the cheapest option that reliably gets the job done. This might fill that niche but the price difference between a version of this that does what you want and an ApexEL isn’t much, and the later comes with the backing of Neptune and a huge community.
 
It appeals to the more software oriented DIY type. Which seems to be a growing trend.
People don't like to tinker with hardware as much anymore.
This gives you a nice pre-built board.
You can then do all the software and some simple wiring and metal/plastic/wood case.
 
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