I hope to be where you are at in 2 years!... I have always dabbled in programing.. but never could find an application for me to go further with it. getting the basics down now.. have the breadboard etc.. have a RoboTank that will keep me going on the programing with reef-pi's API's.
I built a light controller, doser and main controller all with nodemcu. I designed the carrier boards in eagle and ordered them very cheap through Jclpcb. I’d say build your own once your prototype is done.