"Smart" Home Recommendations?

[Seregus]

I've looked into Aqara, but from the best that I can tell the platform isn't programmable via user-defined scripts.

I'm thinking out of the box with respect to monitoring heater performance. I don't need a $600 dollar reef controller (or even a $40 Inkbird) in order to pull that off when a $15 TP tapco wifi smart plug will do the level of monitoring and even more so in some aspects.

Yes you right, I only advised Aqara as a fullest line of available devices… if you only want a heater control and nothing more via Internet, well TP link could do job, yes, absolutelly.

 

[Kooma]

Yeah, I suppose that people world-wide who are running critical items such as: basement sump pumps, leak detectors for appliances, home security systems, pool pumps, or any other device through a proven system such as Home Assistant is a "bad idea".

(eye roll inserted here)

Congrats you've made the ignore list.

Let’s not compare your sump pump to your tank controller as critical. These cheap smart switches are not rated for humid environments and don’t have cycle ratings, getting stuck on wont help anyone even if you have a leak sensor.

Home assistant is a great tool, it’s also full of patches and updates that cause problems from time to time. Best thing you can do if your tank controller works is don’t update its firmware.

I know, he blocked me. That’s fine, others can benefit from the info even if this guy is too thick to take feedback on anything other that the products he has already decided are superior.

Don’t buy $15 smart switches and expect them to protect you in an emergency or critical load. If you want to run a sump light off one or your room lights, go for it. Failure of the switch has no impact on the wellbeing of your fish, or home.

And, not saying you can’t, just the tips of a guy that works with tech all day in and outside an industrial environment.

 

[Osler]

HouseBot

Powerful system. Can integrate just about anything. Built in task structure. Scriptable. I ran my home on this for years…media control, lighting, etc. The downside is it is Windows-based and has a pretty steep learning curve. Upside is the UI is fully customizable. This may be overkill for what you want, but once I went down this rabbit hole I automated everything. And it was fun.

Osler

 

[slingfox]

I don't want to add any more wires and plugs to my current morass of wires and plugs, lol.

If you want less wires and more controllability look into the Hydros ecosystem and their Kraken product.

 

[Bear22]

HouseBot

Powerful system. Can integrate just about anything. Built in task structure. Scriptable. I ran my home on this for years…media control, lighting, etc. The downside is it is Windows-based and has a pretty steep learning curve. Upside is the UI is fully customizable. This may be overkill for what you want, but once I went down this rabbit hole I automated everything. And it was fun.

Osler

I found that the Ecsosystem(s) are plenty capable, but the hardware for the most part (for aquariums) can't be found. For instance, I could not find anywhere a smart temperature/thermometer with a marine grade probe. Yes there are some out there, but none that I could find that were "smart" instruments.

So, I've basically shelved the idea for the time being.

 

[Ef4life]

What is it you want you heater to do besides heat the water to the correct temp and cycle on/off as needed to maintain it?

 

[Bear22]

What is it you want you heater to do besides heat the water to the correct temp and cycle on/off as needed to maintain it?

Safeguards; like a dedicated aquarium controller. Example: shutting off a heater when it fails ON.

The Ecosystems and smart plugs have more than enough features via user defined scripts to do what most dedicated aquarium controllers do.

But, as mentioned above if the hardware isn't up to speed, then it's of no use for my purposes.

So, I've taken the least path of resistance and installed an Inkbird. A design quirk of the Inkbird (legacy models) is that they only hold the temperature to within one unit in fahrenheit which is a bit annoying, but it is what it is.

 

[NewMessiah]

I’ve found that keeping things dead simple usually means sticking to one ecosystem and using gear that behaves without fuss. For example, my Vivint doorbell camera pro has been super reliable and plays nicely with basic automation without me babysitting it. For a heater, a straightforward smart plug with built‑in energy monitoring and a clear rule system tends to work better than the fancier stuff that promises the moon.