bler Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 anyone have any experiences with these? Was looking at a temp controller and this has some neat wifi features at a decent price. not going to drop the funds for a fully auto system but figured this would be an upgrade from using the built in chiller/heater probes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Its okay, I have a couple of them for random stuff. My only gripe with the aquarium is the smallest hysteresis between on/off is 1degF. So, your tank will constantly swing 1 degree up and down. The BRS version of this (which is slightly more money) is 0.3degF, which is significantly better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bler Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 43 minutes ago, Micah said: Its okay, I have a couple of them for random stuff. My only gripe with the aquarium is the smallest hysteresis between on/off is 1degF. So, your tank will constantly swing 1 degree up and down. The BRS version of this (which is slightly more money) is 0.3degF, which is significantly better. Which BRS version are you referring to? I'm not too fixed on price as I'd rather invest a bit more for a better product that won't fail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 4 minutes ago, bler said: Which BRS version are you referring to? I'm not too fixed on price as I'd rather invest a bit more for a better product that won't fail Interesting.. They seem to have pulled the "Controller only" option. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/titanium-aquarium-heater-system-bulk-reef-supply.html That's the product I'm referring to. They used to sell only the controller as an option, but I'm not seeing that anymore. You could just get a whole set and not use the heater... or get the right heater element and call it an upgrade? I'm using their titanium heaters and they seem to be legit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bler Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 Yeah, I'm using an Eheim glass heater right now but upgrading to a titanium wouldn't be a bad thing.. I guess I just want to make sure it has a cooling option since it just said 'heater system' and I couldn't find anything about cooling but did see the dual plug control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 FWIW, it can work in tandem with the thermostat on your heater, as an extra level of protection. I believe you can also set audible alarms as well if things go out of range. If cost is not an issue, an APEX is hard to beat, it can do this and allot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titus'reef Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 I just sent my BRS temp controller back so they can check it as the temperature swing was 2-3 degrees when was supposed to be .3 degrees. I hope they can figure this out for me. The titanium heaters from BRS are small and nice though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 43 minutes ago, TheClark said: FWIW, it can work in tandem with the thermostat on your heater, as an extra level of protection. I believe you can also set audible alarms as well if things go out of range. If cost is not an issue, an APEX is hard to beat, it can do this and allot more. This is how I'm using the inkbird's on my setup. I let them manage the temp (so yeah, 1 deg swings, bleh), and the APEX handles out of norm conditions. ie, turns off inkbird if temp gets too high and alarms if temp gets too low or turns off the inkbird if it gets drastically lower (probe fell out/probe error). I'm actually mocking up a PID controller for temperature control at the moment. With the super simple titanium heating elements (no circuitry, just a coil of wires) it should allow me to reliably keep within 0.05 of a degree in my tank. I just need to source a more reliable solid state relay and I'll have it done-ish. The one I have I'm unsure if I'd trust it on my tank. I'm still trying to find somebody who's done this or can tell me why it isn't the normal method for controlling heaters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 I have extra titanium heaters. I bought a bunch for my big tank and ended up not needing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bler Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 1 hour ago, TheClark said: FWIW, it can work in tandem with the thermostat on your heater, as an extra level of protection. I believe you can also set audible alarms as well if things go out of range. If cost is not an issue, an APEX is hard to beat, it can do this and allot more. Yeah, exactly what I was thinking about using something like as a 'backup'. Though I wish I could justify a Apex controller, I just can't at the moment.. but something to ponder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenJeans Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 The BRS heaters are junk, mine were also allowing 2+deg swings when the hysteresis was set to 0.3 I've been super happy with these cheap ones. rock solid, very precise, excellent hysteresis. I've been using 2 for 6+ months. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KEYDNKK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Just now, GreenJeans said: The BRS heaters are junk, mine were also allowing 2+deg swings when the hysteresis was set to 0.3 I've been super happy with these cheap ones. rock solid, very precise, excellent hysteresis. I've been using 2 for 6+ months. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KEYDNKK I think you should qualify that it's the controller you don't like.... the heaters themselves are rock solid and have been used reliably for many years under the schego brand name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bler Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 7 minutes ago, pdxmonkeyboy said: I have extra titanium heaters. I bought a bunch for my big tank and ended up not needing them. I might grab one of those from you sometime if you got like a 100-150w one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 41 minutes ago, bler said: Yeah, exactly what I was thinking about using something like as a 'backup'. Though I wish I could justify a Apex controller, I just can't at the moment.. but something to ponder Totally understand that. This hobby is expensive, most normal people take it in steps. Like boiling a frog slowly, we don't even realize how expensive it is til its too late This controller looks cool to me, its a hardware kit for the reef pi. If I were starting fresh, would definitely consider it as a research topic at least: https://www.robo-tank.ca/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bler Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 26 minutes ago, TheClark said: Totally understand that. This hobby is expensive, most normal people take it in steps. Like boiling a frog slowly, we don't even realize how expensive it is til its too late This controller looks cool to me, its a hardware kit for the reef pi. If I were starting fresh, would definitely consider it as a research topic at least: https://www.robo-tank.ca/ That looks interesting and within a price range I'm looking to spend. I'm also very tech savvy and that would be a fun project. Since I have a nano, the price of a Apex would basically be almost the price of the whole system since I was doing a 'budget' build :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, bler said: That looks interesting and within a price range I'm looking to spend. I'm also very tech savvy and that would be a fun project. Since I have a nano, the price of a Apex would basically be almost the price of the whole system since I was doing a 'budget' build Awesome! If you try it out, please post back. I am a big open source fan, love to see this kind of stuff happening! Figured at the very least, run one to control the topoff stations... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 3 hours ago, bler said: I might grab one of those from you sometime if you got like a 100-150w one I think I have a 200w laying around. and like 3 extra 500 watt ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bler Posted September 11, 2020 Author Share Posted September 11, 2020 the 200w might do, the 500 is just overkill, it's only a 20g with maybe 10g sump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tandor69 Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 17 hours ago, TheClark said: Totally understand that. This hobby is expensive, most normal people take it in steps. Like boiling a frog slowly, we don't even realize how expensive it is til its too late This controller looks cool to me, its a hardware kit for the reef pi. If I were starting fresh, would definitely consider it as a research topic at least: https://www.robo-tank.ca/ 16 hours ago, bler said: That looks interesting and within a price range I'm looking to spend. I'm also very tech savvy and that would be a fun project. Since I have a nano, the price of a Apex would basically be almost the price of the whole system since I was doing a 'budget' build 16 hours ago, TheClark said: Awesome! If you try it out, please post back. I am a big open source fan, love to see this kind of stuff happening! Figured at the very least, run one to control the topoff stations... I recently won a robo-tank on reef2reef and got it hooked up a couple of days ago. I have been using DIY reefpi controllers for almost a year now. I have to say I really like the robo-tank. I am mediocre at soldiering, and not having to do any of that is nice. There are a ton of connections for the robo-tank. Reefpi can do all kinds of monitoring (float, optical, non-contact sensors). Temperature monitoring and control. Dosing or other dc pump control. Lights like Kessel or anything that is 0-10v control. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 2 hours ago, Tandor69 said: I recently won a robo-tank on reef2reef and got it hooked up a couple of days ago. I have been using DIY reefpi controllers for almost a year now. I have to say I really like the robo-tank. I am mediocre at soldiering, and not having to do any of that is nice. There are a ton of connections for the robo-tank. Reefpi can do all kinds of monitoring (float, optical, non-contact sensors). Temperature monitoring and control. Dosing or other dc pump control. Lights like Kessel or anything that is 0-10v control. Awesome! I think robo-tank is doing a great job at making it easier to go open source! Very reasonable price, keep us updated! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicyclebill Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 Dang, that Robo-Tank setup looks like a fun covid time experiment to play around with! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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