DIY Aquarium Monitor Build

[Mrramsey]

And so it begins... I have a plan for my monitor build. I wanted something to keep eyes on my tank but not control it. I have scoured the net trying to find something to do this but alas really not much out there.

Here is the plan:

1 re-purposed windows pc (really any old pc will work) ($$FREE$$)
2 8 channel USB GPIO breakout boards ($19 each)
Various Sensors, float switches etc (Still determining exactly what I want up to 16) ($50-60 estimated)
A lot of coding albeit I do have a fairly complete project that was shared by another reefer. I am not claiming this as my own however there will be some differences between his and mine. He was kind enough to share it with me as a starting point.

Right now I do have it compiling under Visual Studio 2013 using .NET 4.5 Framework. For the host machine I am trying to use an old laptop that's been sitting on a shelf for eons. I was going to reload win XP Pro but seem to have misplaced the disc. So for not I have an extra win 8.1 mid tower to develop on. If all goes well I will probable find a second hand mini laptop or SFF desktop.

This will send out email notifications based on the rules I set. It also will have a web page with a live status and a current photo of the tank. To start I will be monitoring water levels in the sump equipment chamber, the return chamber, filter socks, skimmer, DT, TopOff reservoir and RO/DI storage. I will also utilize a photo cell to monitor when the lights are on and off.

 

[TheYellowSnow]

Following. Wanted to do the same but not enough time . Hopefully I can help find bugs

 

[adamv]

Very interesting, I'd like to develop something similar.

 

[Mrramsey]

Forgot to mention it will also have additional temp probes in the DT and Sump.

 

[Dans85]

Awesome project! Definitely following!

 

[Mrramsey]

I've ordered the GPIO boards and 5 float switches and 5 temp sensors to kick things off. They should arrive tomorrow. I will start with a mock up to ensure that the code is working properly.

 

[dragit]

Following! You gunna offer (for free or small fee) the software you compile for others to do the same?

I need to come up with something like this for my mac

 

[Mrramsey]

Following! You gunna offer (for free or small fee) the software you compile for others to do the same?

I need to come up with something like this for my mac

I will probably just give it away for free.

 

[thedasher]

Nice, following along. Cant wait to see this up and running.

 

[iced98lx]

Mike- Great project, may I suggest CodePlex to host if you're thinking open source? It's where I host my open source .net reef controller.

 

[Mrramsey]

Mike- Great project, may I suggest CodePlex to host if you're thinking open source? It's where I host my open source .net reef controller.

Hey Chris, It will really depend on how much of the code I actually change since I am not the author of the original code. I do however plan to change quite a bit since the original author was not a real programmer. It's what we like to call "messy" code. I have a substantial amount of cleanup to do. I will consult with him before posting the source though. I wouldn't have a problem sharing the compiled project though.

 

[Mrramsey]

Quick Update

Quick Update

I received my GPIO boards this morning and have them successfully communicating to the aquarium monitor application. I am waiting for a few more sensors to come in but should be able to begin the circuitry this week. I will start documenting more as I go.

 

[Mrramsey]

Things are progressing. O have been mapping the pinouts and cleaning up a lot of code. I am trying to make it a little more configurable from the UI instead of having to manipulate the code. It's going pretty smoothly so far. I am still waiting on the temp sensors and a couple other things.

So far the total cost is about $55.

 

[TheYellowSnow]

I was following this project but I just found https://www.reefai.com/

Check it out! It will all be open source also!!!!! So you can just buy the parts you want and code it yourself if you wanted.

 

[Mrramsey]

I was following this project but I just found https://www.reefai.com/

Check it out! It will all be open source also!!!!! So you can just buy the parts you want and code it yourself if you wanted.

You can do that with a reef angel as well. I have looked at all of them and I have no interest in controlling anything. I just want a spare set of eyes on my tank when I am away.

I am not limited by a small micro controller either. They can do a lot but I don't want any limitations. If I want a second tank I can monitor that as well without buying a new unit for each tank.

I am not making any earth shattering development and neither are these guys. Their price point is not far from a reef angel or apex for that matter. You could also check our Fernando's controller the ferduino at ferduino.com. he has developed a really nice board for about 150.

 

[TheYellowSnow]

You can do that with a reef angel as well. I have looked at all of them and I have no interest in controlling anything. I just want a spare set of eyes on my tank when I am away.

I am not limited by a small micro controller either. They can do a lot but I don't want any limitations. If I want a second tank I can monitor that as well without buying a new unit for each tank.

I am not making any earth shattering development and neither are these guys. Their price point is not far from a reef angel or apex for that matter. You could also check our Fernando's controller the ferduino at ferduino.com. he has developed a really nice board for about 150.

got it. understood. I'm looking into controlling my rodi and ato right now.

The sundrop is sorta new. Solar powered and fiber optic (small clear cable)

 

[zachts]

Sweet! Following along.

With all that monitoring capability though wouldn't it make sense to have a few fail safes programmed in to shut down return pumps or ATO and such in the event something gets way out of line and you can't make it home in time?

Way beyond my computing skills but I do have a nice stack of old PCs laying around waiting for a new purpose.......

 

[Mrramsey]

Sweet! Following along.

With all that monitoring capability though wouldn't it make sense to have a few fail safes programmed in to shut down return pumps or ATO and such in the event something gets way out of line and you can't make it home in time?

Way beyond my computing skills but I do have a nice stack of old PCs laying around waiting for a new purpose.......

I may look into controlling an outlet or two just to turn something off I the future. I can get a USB relay board pretty cheap as well. I also have a few PCs laying around which kind of sparked the idea. I like to repurpose when I can.

 

[zachts]

I like to repurpose when I can.

Me too. Sadly if they sit there too long I end up stealing the CPU heatsinks for LED projects.......then tossing the rest in the recycling pile at work.

 

[Mrramsey]

More Progress

More Progress

Made some considerable progress today.

* I now have the status posting to a webpage
* FTP is working for syncing the files to the webserver
* Added configuration settings that were hard coded inside of the app
* Email alerts functioning
* Some beautification work has started

ToDo:
Create sensor functions for end user configuration
Create user defined labels
Implement all of the sensors

I will share this application when it is done but I want to make it configurable from the UI so that you do not have to do any coding.