reef keeping software

[tresguey]

i have been looking for a program to aid in maint caculators ect. is there anything out there?

[somethingfishy]

I use reefcon software. There is a free version and a paid version. The one you pay for is a lot better but the freeware still works.

http://www.infinitysoft.net

[Matt Rogers]

How do you use this software fishy? Are you just punching in test results and other info? Or do you need a controller with probes? Curious. I might try it. Currently I use notepad!

[inwall75]

Here's a bunch of links to a lot of other software. I truly cannot rate any of them because I'm currently using Excel.

http://www.seasky.org/aquarium/sea3f.html

[somethingfishy]

You type in Test results, fish, expenses, maintenance, reminders.

You can also hook up X-10 which I am looking forward to. I would try the free ware first. The free ware is harder to navigate and not as many options. If you chose to buy it there is a program to swap info. I'm sure if you can use controllers or not.

I find it great for trouble shooting my tank.

BTW, I will write them to see if they will add password protection. We don't want our spouses to see the expense reports

[somethingfishy]

I added a rating of 10 for using any software as it is a valuable resource. I'm not sure what we are supposed to be rating.

[tresguey]

just wondering what x-10 is?

[somethingfishy]

X-10 is home automation. In the aquarium hobby you can use it to control lighting and dosing from your computer.

Basicly I will have this program turn my lights on and off remotly. I think this will be more accurate than using timers.

[somethingfishy]

Device Control



ReefCon and ReefCon Pro offer a feature not found in any of it's competitors: X-10 support. With this support you can let your computer monitor and control devices connected to you aquarium such as lights, pumps, reactors, etc. You can also use it as a basic whole house automation control. Support for macros means an incoming X-10 Command can trigger events and Perform tasks. This allows for a great deal of flexibility. You no longer need to use multiple programs to monitor, track, and control your aquarium. A single program saves you time and that means more time to enjoy your tank.

Before you can start controlling devices you need to define them in ReefCon Pro. This tells the program where your X-10 devices are , how to contact them, and what they are capable of doing. It also allows ReefCon Pro to track the status of a device by 'listening' on the power line for commands sent by other controllers and devices. In this way a quick look at the device list can tell you exactly what is going on.

Device: This is a required field and defines the Device. This should only be the House and Unit code of the device. e.g. 'A1', 'B6', 'H2'. You should only input letters from A-P and Numbers from 1-15. No other characters and spaces should be used.

Macro: Selects how this device behaves. If this option is enabled then when a command for this device is received it will execute the commands listed under it. If disabled it will simply change the status appropriately.

Tank: If this device is associated with a specific tank select it form the list.

Description: A description of what the device is used for such as Metal Halide Lights, Wave Pump, Moon light, Etc.

You can Also Pause or disable a device. On the toolbar at the top of the devices window click Pause to stop a device from being controlled and Run to start controlling it again. Pausing a device stops all commands defined for it from being executed. ReefCon Pro will still monitor the status of a paused device however.

There are three other commands on the Device Toolbar:

Connect: Attempts to reconnect to the X-10 interface module.

Disconnect: Disconnects from the X-10 interface module. This is useful to stop all Device control temporarily.

Note: when you are disconnected ReefCon Pro will not be able to monitor device status. If you want to stop controlling devices but still wish to monitor them. Use the Pause feature instead.

Send Command: Allows the user to send a command to a device even if not defined in the device list. See 'Send X-10 Command'.

Once you have defined your devices you need to define commands for them to execute.

[tresguey]

now i get it. but where do you get the hardware to control, say your lights?