reef-pi NOOB here - monitoring options?

Kuzurí · Apr 14, 2022

As the title states, I'm a noob when it comes to reef-pi (controllers in general, actually) just looking into seeing if it's viable for my specific use.

I don't plan to use it for dosing (at least not at first, I'd rather control adding/removing myself). I've seen plenty of options to monitor temperature, and a few debates on the best ph monitoring. But what about other elements of reef monitoring? Are there probes available for some of the more common testing (Nitrate, Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium). I don't mind doing the test weekly, but I can see value in being able to track trends with automated testing. I just wasn't sure if this type of monitoring is even possible yet.

Thanks in advance.

robsworld78 · Apr 14, 2022

Unfortunately testing the parameters you mentioned is costly, the easiest method would be using something like this. I think there's a few types out there.

Reefbot V2 - Reef Kinetics

ReefBot uses reagent based method to autonomously measure parameters in your tank. It currently measures Alkalinity , Calcium , Magnesium , Nitrate & Phosphate.

www.reefkinetics.com

And with a little effort I'm sure you can get the data into text files on the Pi so reef-pi could then read them and import values that you could chart and work with. If you have programming skills there's also an API for reef-pi that would help integrate it to your liking.