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What the heck is going on with Robo-Tank?
#1
Hello, I hope all is well.

Some of you have seen I’m no longer selling Robo-Tank, long story short, I got off track and carried away but through it all I learned a lot.

I love doing this and think I know where I went wrong so I haven’t thrown the towel in yet. Price climbed to nearly $500 for a full package so I needed to rethink everything and cut a lot of the excess such as the mandatory display. With the high price tag I don’t sell them anyways so decided to remove it from the website as it won’t be compatible going forward.

This brings me to the update.

A few weeks ago I was tipped off about Reef-pi, I had heard of it but this wasn’t about the software, it was about someone selling hardware designed for it. My first thought is how can that be, long story short, the developer of Reef-pi has no issues with it and specifically used an open-source license that allows it.

Then I thought about my Tevo 3D printer, it operates using the open-source Marlin firmware, actually a requirement I had when I was shopping as I read good things about it. They claim to be the most widely used 3D printing firmware in the world and in my experience it’s perfect.

Is this how it’s going for everything? I never made the connection to things like aquarium controllers and I’m not saying Reef-Pi will be the next Marlin but I’ve been running it for a while, it does what it should, feels reliable, lots of development still taking place and has an ever growing community.

As I’m on a break with my controller I’ve decided to create some hardware for it and rethink everything. I still want my own software so will probably continue to develop the web app I’ve been working on but instead may try to help out with Reef-Pi if I can.

I’ve been playing with it a lot lately, although it’s not perfect and some features need clarifying which makes setup a little confusing, I’m confident your experience won’t be any worse than Robo-Tank and in some regards probably better. You don’t get a graphic user face, only a basic web layout but it has nice charts that you can place on the dashboard. You still have the option to plug in a dedicated display using the HDMI port on the Pi and run the app from it.

Reef-Pi accomplishes everything Robo-Tank does except DHT22, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, flow meters and not quite as much control as custom rules but does have a similar setup. You can still setup ATO, AWC and have control over valves etc…

You can connect your Robo-Tank power bar directly if it uses 8 digital pins, if you have an I2C version it can be used with a minor modification, sorry at this time my pH circuit won’t work but I hope to get it running. You can use the Atlas Scientific pH circuits and I also offer an isolated pH/ORP circuit at a better price. I also have an improved power bar with greater protection from inductive loads such as motors or you can DIY it using the standard Arduino relay modules.

I’m currently running a pre-order on a variety of DIY and plug and play kits, you can be up and running with the basic controller for $36 or the deluxe for $50 plus any operating Raspberry Pi. The first batch has been ordered and expected to ship to me this week, a 2nd batch with face plates should arrive early March.

[/url][url=https://www.robo-tank.ca/?tracking=5e42d2e840b23]https://www.robo-tank.ca

If you have any questions let me know.

Thanks
Rob
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Current time: 03-28-2024, 06:38 AM