reef-pi :: An opensource reef tank controller based on Raspberry Pi.

[philshel]

I'm in between a major life event, house purchase :0) .
Those of you who have house in US, any advice? Im going through property inspection phase (in between offer accepted and closing state). What are the key things I should look for? I want to have a larger aquarium (120G), there is information about floor support, but I could also use some electrical and ceiling/paint related advice

As the spouse of a very successful realtor, I listen to all the horror stories around this very stressful event. My advice would be to be patient and flexible. Listen to your realtor and remember that everything is negotiable but being unreasonable leads to others being unreasonable. Talk to your inspector, be there the day of inspection, tell him/her what concerns you the most (aquarium support, adequate wiring, etc) and listen to what they say. Many things can be fixed during escrow but no one is going to rewire because the house doesn't meet your unusual electrical/structural needs, etc. They almost never close on time so be prepared to deal with unexpected delays. If you have any specific question I can ask the wife for advice.

 

[burningbaal]

Woohoo! the ML Reefkeeping Mars Aqua and dosing adapters are back in stock! My order's in, is yours?
@Michael Lane

PWM Converter for Mars Aqua by ML Reefkeeping on Tindie

Control Mars Aqua LED lights with PWM

www.tindie.com

 

[AquaRaider44]

@Ranjib I'm also having an issue where I calibrate the temperature and it resets at random points in time and then fires my alerts because it's outside my range.

 

[Ranjib]

@Ranjib I'm also having an issue where I calibrate the temperature and it resets at random points in time and then fires my alerts because it's outside my range.

I’ll take a look. I ‘ll be little occupied next few days, but if I get a chance I’ll definitely cross check this. If this is reproducible then please file a bug in github, it greatly helps us fixing the issue

 

[Ranjib]

As the spouse of a very successful realtor, I listen to all the horror stories around this very stressful event. My advice would be to be patient and flexible. Listen to your realtor and remember that everything is negotiable but being unreasonable leads to others being unreasonable. Talk to your inspector, be there the day of inspection, tell him/her what concerns you the most (aquarium support, adequate wiring, etc) and listen to what they say. Many things can be fixed during escrow but no one is going to rewire because the house doesn't meet your unusual electrical/structural needs, etc. They almost never close on time so be prepared to deal with unexpected delays. If you have any specific question I can ask the wife for advice.

Thank you . I’ll remember .

 

[Ranjib]

My advice - get your own home inspector don't rely on the an inspection bought and paid for by the seller. This may add some cost, but is worth it for the peace of mind. Before the inspection, tell your inspector about your concerns such as electrical and the ceiling / paint concerns ( I would mention if you plan on having a large tank too - if it will not be on a concrete slab). Not sure how old the home is, but in the US during the 60's and 70's they used aluminum wiring in homes - this is bad news.

Finally confirm that the intent to buy contract is 100% dependent on inspection outcome and any down payment is fully refundable.

Thank you. I am getting my own property inspector . The house is built in 1947, but it was completely remodeled before the purchase, including new floor, roof, drywall, bathroom stuff, appliances etc. according to the seller it conforms to California mechanical, electrical regulations of 2016, but we’ll see.

 

[That Crusso Kid]

A mention of Leviathan by @Schreiber on RB...

Leviathan is the DIY Controller of 2020 | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Aquarium Controllers have become much more widely available the last few years even as higher end aquarium gear has become increasingly smart and connected. Although there are certainly a lot more…

reefbuilders.com

 

[burningbaal]

Thank you. I am getting my own property inspector . The house is built in 1947, but it was completely remodeled before the purchase, including new floor, roof, drywall, bathroom stuff, appliances etc. according to the seller it conforms to California mechanical, electrical regulations of 2016, but we’ll see.

Pictures picture pictures. I basically expect a picture (in or attached to the report) for every dollar I spend. The other piece is with most inspectors, you can roam and crawl around with them. You'll usually get extra little verbal reports along the way, and they might mention things that aren't worth putting in the report but you'll be glad to know, or just give you context as to why what they're looking at is important. Maybe you'll notice them looking really carefully at a particular beam and find out they think it's especially prone to dry rot. If it doesn't have rot now, it won't be in the report, and you won't know to watch it carefully

 

[Ranjib]

A mention of Leviathan by @Schreiber on RB...

Leviathan is the DIY Controller of 2020 | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Aquarium Controllers have become much more widely available the last few years even as higher end aquarium gear has become increasingly smart and connected. Although there are certainly a lot more…

reefbuilders.com

That is super duper cool. Congrats @Schreiber

 

[That Crusso Kid]

That is super duper cool. Congrats @Schroeder1968

I believe you tagged the wrong member, buddy.

Sending goid luck with the house inspection!

 

[Ranjib]

I believe you tagged the wrong member, buddy.

Sending goid luck with the house inspection!

Oops. Updated :-)
Home purchase is stressful .. so many documents :-O

 

[Bigtrout]

I had these exact same issues with the temp probes (I have 2 as well - one in the fuge, one in the skimmer section). They would randomly read some large negative value.

Initially I thought as Bigtrout did and started with double checking my connections with some continuity testing, then shortening the cables to minimize the run to the probe. These probes have sheathing, so i also tried grounding the sheathing. None of these things worked.

I've been testing a new temp probe for the last week and it is rock solid, while the old probe is still spiking once or twice a day. Below are the probes - both good and bad.

(Old) Flakey Probe = DROK 2pc -55 to 125 Deg C, -67 to 257 Deg F Indoor Outdoor Water Cooling Heater Temperature Sensor, 3 Meter Waterproof Cable with Stainless Steel Probe This is the orange color cabled temp probes - I actually cut the wire down to 1 meter from PI enclosure to Sump and coated probe in silicone.

(New) Solid Probe = Diymore 5Pcs DS18B20 Length 2M Waterproof Temperature Sensor Thermistor Temperature Controller Thermometer with Probe (2M) - Black probe - again I cut the wire down to 1 meter and did not coat in silicone.

Thats strange. I have 3 of the drok probes...left the cables at 2 meters and they have been rock solid for over a year now. I have 2 of the black wired probes that sit as spares and no problems with those either.
I used to have occasional strage readings but that all went away when I tracked down bad power supplies that fed my Beamswork lights. They caused bad interference on dang near everything. Ph probe, temp probes, cable modem...once I replaced them my build has been troublefree.

 

[Schreiber]

Oops. Updated :)
Home purchase is stressful .. so many documents :-O

Thanks! And my wife & I are (hopefully) going through all of that end of this year. I'm excited to have more room for aquariums though, lol.

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

As a bit of control, I popped in my other SD card with a known working 3.0 and the probes are ticking away like a Swiss watch.

Either 3.1 doesn't like the Drok probes... Which I don't think is the case, or the 3.1 install got corrupted somehow or there is a software conflict.

 

[Bigtrout]

Im on 3.1 with drok probes and no problems.
Maybe wipe that 3.1 instal and start over.

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Im on 3.1 with drok probes and no problems.
Maybe wipe that 3.1 instal and start over.

Yeah I think something got hosed with the install. Are you using Rasbian or NOOBs as the underlying Linux install?

 

[Bigtrout]

Yeah I think something got hosed with the install. Are you using Rasbian or NOOBs as the underlying Linux install?

I skipped the noobs and did a raspian install. Its a bit more difficult but i think makes a cleaner install.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

This probe from sparkfun has been good to me

DS18B20 Waterproof Temperature Sensor

Description Sealed digital temperature probe Precisely measures temperatures in wet environments Accuracy: ±0.5°C from -10°C to +85°C RoHS compliant The DS18B20 Waterproof Temperature Sensor is a sealed digital temperature probe which lets you precisely measure temperatures in wet environments...

www.robotshop.com

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

This probe from sparkfun has been good to me

DS18B20 Waterproof Temperature Sensor

Description Sealed digital temperature probe Precisely measures temperatures in wet environments Accuracy: ±0.5°C from -10°C to +85°C RoHS compliant The DS18B20 Waterproof Temperature Sensor is a sealed digital temperature probe which lets you precisely measure temperatures in wet environments...

www.robotshop.com

I've got one of those laying around here somewhere and may try it.

Right now though it seems 3.1 install is the issue as the probes seem to be firing just fine under my old 3.0 install. Going to play around with it this weekend.

 

[raketemensch]

My advice - get your own home inspector don't rely on the an inspection bought and paid for by the seller.

Or the realtor! They also have a vested interest in you buying the home. Try to find one on your own if you can. Angie's List can be expensive, but it's worth it when buying a house.