About The Open Reefs Controllers Project

This project is an effort to produce a viable open source controller and monitoring system for reef tanks that can rival commercial solutions that currently exist. The goal of this project has changed to reflect the public interest. Instead of having to build your controller from scratch, which is very difficult, we now offer hardware solutions that are ready to customize. We have done all of the hard work for you. This way the community can focus on the software and building on top of a stable hardware platform and adding new devices instead of having to reinvent the wheel every time.

We provide all the code you need to get started and we hope that you'll contribute back with your own versions. Work is currently underway to provide an a full featured software solution that will come pre-loaded on all of the Knowledgeable boards. This project will allow many people to build their own monitoring and control system at home for less than they can buy a commercial product. We can achieve this by offering only the features that you need and allowing you to save money in every place you can. For those that just want a working system, complete with all the bells and whistles, we can provide that too. However, you'll always maintain full control over the software and have more freedom than you ever dreamed possible. Even though we have taken the time to create hardware solutions to ease the build of your controller, we will still offer tutorials and parts lists for those looking to take on the task of building their own controller from scratch. However, it is our belief that this is not time well spent and often times will end end it a more expensive product that is less stable and appealing to the eye.

Although we provide the software for free and release it open source, there are a select few advanced features that require the use of a server outside your home. We do not have the resources to offer these features for free. So, there will be two versions of this project, one that is completely open source and free to all. There is another version which will add a layer over the open source version. This will allow access to the advanced subscription services. Once a user purchases the subscription service version of the software they are free to modify the software however they see fit. Also, there is nothing stopping a person from creating their own services to interact with their controller if they have the resources.

So, take a look at all the features of this open source project and decide for yourself. My belief is that most people will be completely content with the feature set of the open source version. Those looking for a bit more may be interested in the production build version with the advanced subscription services.


Thanks you for your time and I look forward to responding to any questions or comments. Please use the forums for general questions and chit chat. For more personal comments, use the contact form.

-Open Reefs Team