Thanks!

I have a Ubiquiti Unifi network setup and wired the house with Cat6. Thing is absolutely rock solid, wifi uptime is currently 163 days without a hiccup . I was able to hardwire the single access point into the ceiling right in the middle of the house (2800sf tri-level split). The lowest any device gets in the house is about 80% and even out in the garage the Tesla has a 67% connection. RA has 87% signal strength. I got tired of failing internet hardware and decided to get quality gear instead of mass consumer hardware. We have underground wiring and at this point it's a race for fiber or 5g in our neighborhood. Right now I'm stuck with comcast at 250down/10up with a TB cap. The Axis camera I'm using can destroy that TB so I have to limit it to 4mb/s which I can do a smooth 1080p30 for about 12h a day.

My Unifi setup...
-Security Gateway
-Cloud Key
-8 Port PoE Switch
-AC Pro Access Point

I definitely will go with the Star. I should have pulled the trigger when it was on the intro price... but I do have a functioning plus so making the jump while in the long term plans isn't necessary yet. In the end it will be necessary due to the things I want to do with it but I can work on code and flesh most of the system out with the Plus. My self imposed fish budget is pretty much Nil at this point though so I am trying to make do with what I have. Having a massive setup like this can easily spiral out of control quick if you let it.

Have you seen my post on RC about the Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup? If you want a rock solid tank this is the way to go. I do think some of these auto testing systems are cool but would wait for this sector of our hobby to mature. I certainly wouldn't have them in the loop allowing to make changes. That's scary.

I second the Ubiquity option. I got tired of the crappy consumer wifi options as well. I run the original UAP (wifi bgn) for my wifi that my RA connects to and I run a UAP Pro at home. I have Cat 6 hardwire everywhere as well. I haven't made the plunge to AC version... trying to let all the standards settle down and the newness to wear off and the prices to drop. plus I have a hard time replacing something that's not broken.

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binder wrote:I second the Ubiquity option. I got tired of the crappy consumer wifi options as well. I run the original UAP (wifi bgn) for my wifi that my RA connects to and I run a UAP Pro at home. I have Cat 6 hardwire everywhere as well. I haven't made the plunge to AC version... trying to let all the standards settle down and the newness to wear off and the prices to drop. plus I have a hard time replacing something that's not broken.

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Yeah man, it's great! Luckily we have a microcenter locally so they have all the hardware in stock. Allows for impulse buys . I wouldn't replace it either unless there is a need. I went through so many Asus and other various routers it isn't funny, have a box of them in the basement. They always seemed to last just over a year.

Here's my little IT corner. Also includes security camera DVR, and a UPS Battery Backup.

You also have to love the Unifi Management Software... the wife says she doesn't watch much TV

yes I do love the unifi management software. I don't have the security gateway... i run my own custom router based on pfsense.

suuurreee she doesn't watch much tv. that's like my wife saying she's not on her phone a lot on Facebook. haha :laugh:

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Damn are those streaming numbers per month or total since being set up?

Congrats on the baby!

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mav3rick478 wrote:Damn are those streaming numbers per month or total since being set up?

Congrats on the baby!

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Thanks

Haha, since last time I updated firmware. Maybe 5 months ago. I was being a little hard on the wife... She's a special ed high school teacher, works after hours at a behavioral clinic, and does home bound teaching with kids who have severe needs. Then, she comes homes and does homework with the TV on... All while being preggers

For my size tank a calcium reactor is overkill (65g) and 2 part is so damn simple. It's all math and so easy to manage. As long as you have failsafes and back them up with some manual testing I have no issues. The alkatronic actually looks like it's doing a lot of monitoring, anomaly management, etc that would make this a reliable piece. I mean it's not much different than setting up 2 part on the RA and then making sure I don't do something stupid with the RA or code something bad. Only one time I had issues and that was after I messed with wiring and caused the RA to get a lot of buslocks. In 6 years (probably dosing for 3.5 years of that), the only problem I had was my own causing and not a controller managing my dosing. There's nothing the alkatronic is doing that I couldn't or wouldn't code myself if we had the ability to calculate alk. I have a function now that I got from alanm that corrects alk based on the volume my doser does. I've used it a few times. It's rock solid. This sector is definitely going to mature. There's definitely some exciting things. I'm pretty impressed by Reef Kinetics and the Apex Triton and the kHGuardian. If only Mindstream wasn't vaporware, we'd have some real choices in the market for reliable automated testing. It's coming for real for sure soon. ReefKinetics is probably the most open of what's available that we could integrate with, but that's also a $700-800 unit I believe. Anyway, I'm excited now because the alkatronic has a ph output port that can calibrate with the RA. Ok, this is probably my next purchase lol

lnevo wrote:For my size tank a calcium reactor is overkill (65g)

I think this entire hobby is overkill. My Coral/Invert QT which is a RSM 130D (34gal) has a full blown Masterflex CaRx setup I used to have to test and dose that tank daily but now can go months without making adjustments to the reactor. It may be overkill but IMO/IME it's the most stable method for supplementing our tanks. There are a lot of coral farms, large reefs, and high end collectors using and swearing by the method. I also think running kalkwasser in top off is beneficial to most setups.

The sticker shock can definitely be overwhelming though. It has also spurred equipment manufacturers to build better peristaltic pumps so at least there is that. I know for a fact there are some really nice affordable peristaltic pumps about to hit the market.

Unrelated to my aquarium but I purchased a Tesla Model 3, its an awesome car! If anyone is purchasing a Tesla and needs a referral code for free supercharging I'd be super appreciative if you use my referral code Just send me a pm, Thanks!