# Homemade Aquarium Monitoring



## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

As a robotics major, I work with small electronics a lot. I have come up with an idea to build a small circuit that monitors your tanks temp, pH, etc and will put them on a website (WiFi capable) or to a computer or display. You could set warning zones (ie. too high of temp) and have it give an alert if something is wrong. I am thinking I could even make it work as a timer for the lights.

I was interested in what you guys thought of it. Would you buy one if they were available? How much would you pay for one? What other features would you want in it? I would like it to be a completely automated aquarium control system.


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

I would defiantly be down for something like this. If there was a phone app 1+! Being able to control everything seems like it would make it unrealistic $$$ wise. Honestly just knowing the levels in my tank while i was away...would easily be worth $150 to me.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

On the SW side, the Reefkeeper Elite and Apex have all of the described features, and a bit more, but if you were to streamline costs, I'm sold.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

funland3, I think I could easily make better products than either of those. I was looking at the Reefkeeper Elite, and they mentioned that they use a Zigbee as a wireless communication device. Zigbee is the kind of wireless device you see in hobbyists electronics. Its really easy to use with a microcontroller, but not really all that easy for the consumer to use. If you want to make anything that the consumer will use, use WiFi or Bluetooth. 

The Apex looks like a simplified version of what I want to do.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

All that stuff exist for laboratory, aquaculture and SW tanks. The issue is price. If i had the money, I would invest in auto-water change first. Once all the tanks were in a system, I'd consider monitoring the water quality, but doing dozens of tanks individually would break me. 

The fish room toy i'd buy first is a device that texts my phone when there is water on the floor.

There is a lot of concern about heaters cooking fish. If you made it shut off power to the heater when the temp got too high, a lot of nervous discus keeper would be interested. Discus people keep tanks hot and have to have heaters and they have hundreds of dollars worth of fish in one tank.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

About the device that texts you if there is water, I think that would be a fairly simple board to make. The most expensive part would be a wifi or cellular chip to connect it to the internet to allow texting and email.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

they have yet to develop any type of device that can actually see and think...but some folks love technojunk so they put a lot of money into it...i know a guy that has more than 35 cell phones...every time a new one comes out he has to have it...and be the first one to have it...
i would have alarms going off every 2 minutes with my tanks...on many of them there is an 8-10 degree temp drop when i do water changes...and sometimes i will do 75% or so water changes..

nope....just not for me....not even the automated water change set up......i need to control things like that on some tanks...


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Of course its not for everyone, and I would dare say that some people actually like doing the work to take care of their fish. However, for those who find such things a chore, I think it could work out well.

The automatic water change would add a lot of cost and bulk to such a device, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. In fact, I was just thinking that I could make different models that have more or less features. 

Here are the features I have so far:
pH monitoring / alarms
Temperature monitoring / alarms / heater shutoff
Salinity monitoring (important for saltwater and brackish tanks)
Nitrogen testing
Phosphates testing
Oxygen testing
CO2 testing
Lights timer
Automatic water change (possibly, I will have to research electronic water valves, freshwater only)

Anyone got any other ideas for a universal aquarium maintenance machine?


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

If there was something like that that constantly told me all of the parameters of my water and then transmitted it to like a pocket device, I'd totally buy one. That'd be really cool. Get to it and get a patent on that bad boy!


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

I'm actually thinking about making it open source so other people can build their own if they have the skills.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

I'd buy it. Sounds like a great idea. I hate having to test for ammonia.


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## Jimmyjet92 (Feb 16, 2011)

id love to have one, but the problem for me is money. (being a college student money is EXTREMELY short) so i think the most i could spend would be like 70 bucks. i know it probably wont go for that low but itd be sweet if it did


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

If you can toss in the major water parameters needed in SW and reef, as well as outlets that switch depending on the situation, I'm sold. A few other major selling points are calcium, alkalinity (meq/L preferably), magnesium, light dimming based on time (dusk/dawn), and auto top off. Include THAT with the other listed points, and I'd pay around $200 for it. If you can do it, don't hesitate!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I have a spare router I can set up as a Wireless access point. Are ethernet cards a lot cheaper? Or I could set a up computer down there and use bluetooth. 

I think the major expense for testing stuff like calcium and nitrate is the cost of the electrodes. Making a single device means when one fails, you'd have to send the whole thing back. I like the idea of open source software that could compile readings from multiple devices and transmit it to the display of your choice. Make a good program and get the testing equipment manufacturers to include it with their devices.

I wonder if there are other ways to test. Like use those 'ammonia alert' things you stick in the tank and aim a camera at them and have a computer interpret the color. If you could do that for many parameters, you could make money on replacement papers.

If money were no object you could use computer controlled pipettes to add exactly the right amount of salts, buffers, trace elements, & ferts for planted tank.

If you controlled the lights, you could simulate natural lighting hours for different places and have them change with the day of the year. This is the kind of exacting simulations the Germans are into.

You could open and close the CO2 regulator (again for planted tanks)

Oh, and an autofeeder. I don't use one, but those who do should be able to shut it off when the ammonia levels spike.

There is no way to a make a device that's all things for all tanks and still make it affordable. I suggest you pick one market (general FW, discus, plants, brackish or salt) to start and research. Salt is where the money is but also where the expense is and the competition. Is it expensive to search existing patents?


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