Anyone using Video Surveillance ??

[TropTrea]

Personaly I think the camera in the equipment room would realy be a waste. Before the camera would show any problems it would probably be to late like a Salinity shift, pH shift, calcium drop, Amonia spike etc.

Go with the sensors rather than a camera and you will not only save money but also have a better way of determining what is happening before it becomes a matter of seeing everything is dead.

Dennis

 

[corivus]

oooo beerguy I have something to watch at work now!!

 

[saltyfishy123]

I also want to do this and it dosnt seem that hard and I found a very cheap software which is pretty cool and tried it out myself.

You can add up to 3 web cams. But you need have each webcam diffrent. i.e. sony, logitech, microsoft

Heres the link to the software.
http://www.downloadjunction.com/product/store/19261/index.html

 

[RobbyG]

I am seeing it now, very nice! You have a load of wave action going on in your tank, what are you using? I like it.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8735025#post8735025 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
It's java so if it's not enabled in your browser it won't work. It's also hitting a strange port that some proxy servers take issue with.

I also have a low-bandwidth version that is just uploaded snapshots:

http://www.hopdog.com/?page_id=3

 

[BlueCorn]

Robby, it's a wavebox and a pair of streams.

 

[RobbyG]

Totaly disagree! Yes you first use the sensors to determine that a problem is happening, but a picture can often tell you why. Also a camera in the sump area can help you to find out many other problems.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8735174#post8735174 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TropTrea
Personaly I think the camera in the equipment room would realy be a waste. Before the camera would show any problems it would probably be to late like a Salinity shift, pH shift, calcium drop, Amonia spike etc.

Go with the sensors rather than a camera and you will not only save money but also have a better way of determining what is happening before it becomes a matter of seeing everything is dead.

Dennis

 

[RobbyG]

Very nice setup.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8737665#post8737665 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
Robby, it's a wavebox and a pair of streams.

 

[saltyfishy123]

beerguy-What kind of software do you use and do you keep your compuer/server on all year?


Thanks
Pat,

 

[BlueCorn]

Apple, and EvoCam.

 

[drummereef]

Re: Anyone using Video Surveillance ??

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8721695#post8721695 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Red Sea Purple Tang
As I'm putting up sheetrock in the fish room, I had one of those man moments. I thought having some web cams hooked up so that when I'm on vacation I can keep an eye on stuff.

I do admit, that this may be a weenie idea, but is anyone else doing this?

It's actually very easy to do. Download windows media encoder 9 and use windows media player to play the webcam. It is streaming video w/o hiccups. You can also embed the cam on a webpage quite easily. Not sure about multiple cams, but for a single cam it works great.

 

[saltyfishy123]

Thanks a bunch!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8740002#post8740002 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
Apple, and EvoCam.

 

[TropTrea]

Okay how does a camera tell you the amonia level has sky rocketed before it picks up dead corals and fish floating in the tank? Yes you can see the damage on your camera however in 95% of the possibilities it will not show you why or give you enough time to react.

What a camera will pick up though is a pump failed and your skimmer is not working, or the return pump died and the sump is over flowing.

It also depends a lot how automated your system is. If your electronicly monitoring already then the it just a simple task of setting up an automated spread sheet and being able to download it remotely.

Give me some exsample of what a camera can pick up that electronic monitoring cannot pick up.

Dennis

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8737710#post8737710 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RobbyG
Totaly disagree! Yes you first use the sensors to determine that a problem is happening, but a picture can often tell you why. Also a camera in the sump area can help you to find out many other problems.

 

[BlueCorn]

Dennis - all I can tell you is that having a camera on the tank has saved it several times. I can tell if my circulation system(s) are working. I can tell if my lights are working (and if only partially illuminated which breaker might have a problem). I can sell if my top-off system is working (if it's not, I start getting bubbles from one return line). I can tell if my chiller feed system is working (if it's not, I start getting bubbles from the other return line). It's all about knowing what your tank is supposed to look like and what the real symptoms are.

We're talking about large tanks here. Ammonia doesn't just "sky rocket" out of the blue. It's a symptom that something REALLY bad has happened. If that's the first sign that you see of it they you aren't paying attention.

My setup cost me less than $200 (and the camera was $150 of that) declaring it to be a waste (when you've never done it yourself) is pretty shallow. Is it the end all tank remote monitoring system? no but it's 1000% improvement over having nothing at all.

 

[RobbyG]

Beerguy beat me to it. Let me just add a bit more, dealing with the sump area. I wish I had the link for this guys system I saw a few months ago. He had a network Cam in his sump Cabinet. You could Pan Tilt and Zoom the camera remotely. If a snail was stuck in a float valve you could easily see it, pump not working, easy to see. etc etc. If he was off in Hawaii he could just call his neighbor and actually direct him how to repair a problem and remotely inspect the job while in progress.

 

[saltyfishy123]

RobbyG- I agree and this camera idea isnt just for saftey so you could tell if theres something but also just for fun. :rollface:

 

[RokleM]

I've been thinking about getting a MAC to play with, and that software is even more reason. But I can't see myself blowing 1000 on it.

Anyone know of something that works well for windows? I would LOVE to get a system I could pan and zoom, but I'm sure that's expensive.

 

[invincible569]

If you guys want to get fancy and add more visual... you can add a Netbotz in your room. It measures humidity, liquid, room temp, door openings, airflow, dew point, etc. It's like a controller, but the reef controllers you buy today are for the aquarium and not for the room. The cheapest one is close to $1K. We use them here at our work as it alarms us if there is a drastic change. Then we can log in and see how things look through the camera.

 

[wiszmaster]

www.zoneminder.com

its free ... and pretty nice. has lots of features.

 

[saltyfishy123]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8744550#post8744550 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RokleM
I've been thinking about getting a MAC to play with, and that software is even more reason. But I can't see myself blowing 1000 on it.

Anyone know of something that works well for windows? I would LOVE to get a system I could pan and zoom, but I'm sure that's expensive.

I would try this if I were you its can go up to 3 web-cams and its really cheap same price as evocam but you cant a (PTZ) Pan Tilt Zoom cams on it but still really cool. I saw it at radio-shack and I will be buyimg it. But you cant try the free trail for 30 days.

Patrik,

 

[BlueCorn]

I actually use some Toshiba cams, on another system. I use EvoCam do record, in timelapse fashion, only when motion is detected. I can pan and tilt those cams remotely via EvoCam running on my laptop from anywhere on the planet. It's part of my home security system so I won't post a link to it but you can get really crazy with this stuff.