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ReefBuddy DIY Aquarium Controller $89


hcsceo

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That seems more realistic in a real world scenario then a separate jobber for hire. ;)

( well.. depending on the assembly fees I guess versus the cost of buying one assembled ? )

The test kit still wont do it for those who are truly turd burglars at soldering, and it would be fairly costly in bulk terms for you to purchase and include a test kit in each package.

I would just make the standard do it yourself warning loud and clear in bright ass orange writing and offer tech support if needed, but of course.. if you fudge the soldering up its on you because this is a DIY project.

All in all though It should turn out very well. I am POSITIVE you will have those with no skills trying it, but the average person I would think will have enough common sense to realize what this involves before they try it and recognize their own limitations. ( lets hope any ways LOL! )

 

Yea you and I are on the same page. I expect the cost of having someone put it together will put it in the same range as the Reefkeeper Lite. You'd have to want this product more to actually do that I think. If I was a non DIY type I'd just buy another product that was ready to go with warranty. However, some people will try to do a project that is outside of thier abilities and be mad when it doesn't work. I suspect that by the end of the year China will be making these for $35 packaged and with warranty.

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There's one sold by Cole-Parmer that is just over $600.

 

Apparently these are only for people with grant money. <_< I've seen plenty of $90+ conductivity probes so it looks like DIY is really the way to go with regard to cost.

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Goofball310
None of those are induction-based, which is the type of probe I was looking for. Not to say they aren't good, just that it should be obvious that not all conductivity probes are $500.

Did you just need the probe or complete with the meter?

 

Here's the probe:

 

http://www.jptechinc.com/shopexd.asp?id=82

 

That was just a quick look. I'm sure I can find them cheaper somewhere else.

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That's certainly cheaper but still fairly inaccessible. :(

 

I think it'll be a standard conductivity probe for me.

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Goofball got me with Bulkreefsupply.com I've got a PH and ORP probe coming next week. Very good prices on standard probes. I've found a standard ec probe here for $45 ec probe I might give it a go once orp and PH are done.

 

Steve

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I got a Hong Kong pH probe off ebay for $25 and it is as precise/accurate as the lab probes I've used.

 

I don't know how long it will last, but I am very happy with my purchase so far.

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SmittyCoco

Keep it going Steve. It sounds like the resources are at your disposal to make this a reality ! I Can beta test for you as well ! :D I think I can bring somthing different to the table to monitor !

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Hey Fosi, found this tonight EC/TDS/PPM meter design Not sure if you have seen it should get you going in the right direction. Please get Conductivity sorted before I get to it so I can drift through aquarium controllers finals.

 

 

 

She mentions the signal needs to be >1khz. So keep that in mind with PWM.

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Please get Conductivity sorted before I get to it so I can drift through aquarium controllers finals.

 

:lol:

 

Don't put your faith in the wrong guy! I'm no electrical engineer but I'm trying to jack-leg my way through it. :D

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Firewolf4

Are you planning on a web interface or changing displays for this project?

I've been working on a Similar project based on a Pic but the I2C support is almost non existant.

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OK guys I've spent a good part of the day going over a bunch of details and have decided the only way this has a chance of getting to my goal of $89 is to go from a display and separate control unit like the reefkeeper series to a single control unit with an integrate display and keyboard like the aquacontroller. This means that all probes will plug directly into this unit instead of an expansion module. Right now it looks like by giving up this remote display and keyboard I should be able to include the PH, ORP, and Conductivity in this unit. This means you just have to add probes and go. However, we might be giving up O2 capability.

 

To save additional money I'm going to try and convince the company that did our keyboard layout for the other controller I posted earlier to do the exact same keyboard layout but with a different top graphic. The advantage is that I might not have to pay an additional $1500 for setup fee and we are already getting those keyboards at a very good rate so possibly they will give them to me for the same cost. Second advantage is we go from a 7 key keyboard layout I had planned to a 20 key keyboard layout so data entry gets even easier. Bottom line is the final unit should look exactly like that unit I posted on the first page a few posts down.

 

From a testing standpoint this is great cause I can just use the keyboard and case from our other controller and put my guts in it and have a working sample without having to design a new case and keyboard plus the additional cost of all this. Anyway, this is the new plan I'm thinking of.

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Are you planning on a web interface or changing displays for this project?

I've been working on a Similar project based on a Pic but the I2C support is almost non existant.

 

One of the great things about this project is the i2c. I'll be leaving additional i2c jacks available on the controller so a module can be designed later and added to the system requiring only a software update. I have looked at a product that would allow a me to design a simple webpage right on the ethernet card to talk to the controller via simple serial commands. Basically the controller would just send serial commands constantly and the network controller would read those commands and fill in the blanks on the internal webpage. The net module is like $39 cost and will have to be packaged so final cost when finished would be close to 90-100 I'm guessing. This is a feature I'm thinking about but not right away.

 

There is a usb port built into the controller and data could be collected via that port realtime to a computer. So an it's possible a computer software package could be written to host a page on a computer that you would check over the internet. So many possibilities and hopefully with open source we can get some help designing these features when that time comes.

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Sounds good man. I really liked the display you posted at the beginning. Sounds like your working hard and making progress.

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Militant Jurist
There is a usb port built into the controller and data could be collected via that port realtime to a computer. So an it's possible a computer software package could be written to host a page on a computer that you would check over the internet. So many possibilities and hopefully with open source we can get some help designing these features when that time comes.

 

That would be awesome! Would it be possible to have two way communication with the internet website? For example, if it's reporting a low pH and I'm on vacation, I could toggle a pump to dose?

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That would be awesome! Would it be possible to have two way communication with the internet website? For example, if it's reporting a low pH and I'm on vacation, I could toggle a pump to dose?

 

Yep totally possible. Would need to be programmed. BTW, I'm glad you responded. Since this is open source project we have to conserve resources as much as possible. We'll be looking for someone to help setup our trademark and disclaimer verbage. IM me if you are interested.

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