# DIY Aquarium controller



## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

I don't know what the availability of such items are in Australia, but...
http://www.saltycritter.com/digital-aquatics-reefkeeper-controller.htm


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## markdem (Jan 20, 2005)

epicfish, there is lots of other products, but they where all too expencive or they used X10 (like this one) which means i cant use it in australia because of the voltage diffrence. My controller does not care about the voltage on the relays, so you can use it anyware.

mark


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

I wasn't trying to downplay your DIY...don't take it the wrong way. 

I just mentioned other products for people like me who are liable to kill themselves while doing DIY with high voltages... 

Glad to see that you got it working...and the enclosure looks great too.

How did you get the kH and CO2 readings? What sensors and/or probes did you use for that?


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## nornicle (Dec 29, 2003)

Mark...

I have seen ALOT of DIY things for aquaria. 

This is the damn most impressive thing I have ever seen.

A few questions:

1. could you give us some pics of the measuring equipment and the machine in action in the tank?

2. could you explain to us what the outputs/inputs are on the machine? it looks amazing.

3. Can it run controllers -> light, pH, water top up? or even fert dosing?

4. And can you build one for me 

Cheers

Richard

edit:

I just want to mention again that this is seriously impressive... roud: roud: roud:   :bounce: :bounce: 

things like this make me excited at the evolution of planted tank geeks.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

nornicle said:


> Mark...
> 
> I have seen ALOT of DIY things for aquaria.
> 
> ...


I've started playing with a microcontroller as well and yes, you can build it to automate your tank. My dream is to build an auto water changer. The controller can even control the amount of dechlorination in the new water too if you can build the hardware. It's pretty sweet.


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

man that is to cool, Id buy one if I could use it on 110v


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## markdem (Jan 20, 2005)

hi All, i am glad so may people are intrested in this. 

just to clear some things up.

1. The device is voltage free on the relays, so you can switch what every you want. eg 110 volts. The only thing you will need to change is the transformer for the 5 and 12 volt outputs.

2. The conntroller does the following;
It will controll upto 4 sets of lights, with diffrrent timer settings.

It checks water temp and turns the heaters on and off. This is much more controlled then the inbuilt settings in the heaters. It also checkes for water level in my DIY inline heaters, stopping the heaters form going on dry.

It checks for water level and will top up the tank. I cant see why you could not have a valve on your tank that you open once a week to let water out, then this would fill the tank you for you, making it auto water change.

It checks current PH, and will open a c02 valve when it is to high.

Checks the temp in your lighting hood, and will turn on a fan to cool it down when needed.

3. The device is setup using a computer app, then is free running. eg does not need the computer to be turned on to work.

4. I can build these for you, but i am still tring to work out what they would cost if i made 10 of them at the same time. I already have some guys at work that want one.

5. it is firmware upgradebale, and i still have some outputs left, so i cant see why i could not build a upgrade card for things like autodosing of ferts and such.

the price on the web site is australia dollers, and at lcost, so unless i can get some bulk discounts, i cat make the thing any cheaper.
I will take some more pictures later today, and post them on the web site. The tank that it is on now is at work, as i am still getting mine together.

One last thing. I have now started work on the Aquamaster2. it will check things like NH4, N02, N03, Iron, O, P, and redox. I might add some other stuff. but please dont wait for this one, it is along way away, and will be about $2000 when i have finnished.

i will try to get some more details on the web site tonight, as it is a bit crappy.


Have Fun

Mark


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

epicfish said:


> How did you get the kH and CO2 readings? What sensors and/or probes did you use for that?




^^^^^^^^^


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## markdem (Jan 20, 2005)

Hi epic fish, The ph is read from any non amped PH probe, much like the probles that you guys use on your co2 controllers. I got mine from ebay for $20. The controller has all the amps and logic to work out the PH. 

The kh must be set manually, as i can work out how to measure it electronically. I will, then have a upgrade for the controller. It then can work out what the C02 content is, and displays it ont he screen.

i will try to get some bulk pricing on parts tomorrow, and post home much i can sell these for. I dont have a problem making 110vAC models.

Have Fun

mark


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## shake (Apr 17, 2006)

nornicle said:


> Mark...
> 
> I have seen ALOT of DIY things for aquaria.
> 
> ...


I agree with nornicle, and he's and Aussie. We don't see too many things like that here.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Insanity. 

Auto doser? 
Auto feeder? 
Auto "can you make it do my job for me so I can stay at home and stare at the automatic controller do all the things in my fish tanks that I don't want to do"?


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## snafu (Oct 9, 2004)

markdem, thanks for sharing. i have a similar project breadboarded up next to my computer and has been sitting there for months and months. i almost feel inspired to finish it up. heh. i can also appreciate the amount of time you've put into it. nice work.
-snafu


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## SuRje1976 (Feb 2, 2006)

markdem said:


> It checks for water level and will top up the tank. I cant see why you could not have a valve on your tank that you open once a week to let water out, then this would fill the tank you for you, making it auto water change.


What type of sensor are you using for this?


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

I still want one of these, let me know how it works out and Ill boomerang some greenbacks


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## chatony (May 2, 2007)

you live in Sydney?


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## markdem (Jan 20, 2005)

Hi All, i have now got a price list with all the parts. It is more expencide then what i was thinking, but most of the cost is for the PCB, LCD case and IEC connectors. 

For some resign, i can't post attachments, but the total cost is $AU365, which is not all that cheap, but i guess still less then half price then any otehr product i have seen.

If anyone is still intrested, please give me a PM, and we can get somthing together.

Have Fun

Mark


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

Very interesting project. A few years ago I debated doing something similar but have given up. I was going to use a controller I built in school to control every aspect of a tank but I never really got started on it and now I've forgotten most of all the assembly language. I built an Intel 80188 microcontroller in college, and we did all of our programming in assembly. It was a pain. Too bad I never learned how to use a pic. Good luck to you.


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## snafu (Oct 9, 2004)

most likely, all you'll need is c proficiency unless you're a masochist. the microchip pic is nice because there are tons of users and lots of code fragments and support online. the best part is the wealth of peripherals (e.g., ADCs, serial I/O) and timers, which reduce part counts and make it perfect for a project like this.
-snafu


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## markdem (Jan 20, 2005)

snafu said:


> most likely, all you'll need is c proficiency unless you're a masochist. the microchip pic is nice because there are tons of users and lots of code fragments and support online. the best part is the wealth of peripherals (e.g., ADCs, serial I/O) and timers, which reduce part counts and make it perfect for a project like this.
> -snafu


that is correct, just have a look at http://www.ccsinfo.com/forum. It is full of example code and drivers for al sorts of devices. It is alot of fun building things like this, and very easy. i would love to see what other peaple would come up with, and we could even build a "super controller" that can do everything that every one wants. (feeding, water change, fert dosing etc) 
I have started looking itto the next controller, which i want to be able to test colour so i can test of thinks like NO2, NO3, I, NH4 so on, but that is still a bit off.

Have Fun

Mark


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

snafu said:


> most likely, all you'll need is c proficiency unless you're a masochist. the microchip pic is nice because there are tons of users and lots of code fragments and support online. the best part is the wealth of peripherals (e.g., ADCs, serial I/O) and timers, which reduce part counts and make it perfect for a project like this.
> -snafu


Yeah I wish I'd learned the pic while still messing with stuff like that. Just to make our 80188 microcontroller a programmable clock took like a dozen pages of assembly, and I added on a 2x20 display instead of the dumb 7-seg displays along with a keypad and that brought the page count to over 20 pages of code... for a dang clock lol. But we were required to do it, that is use a 80188, program it in assembly, be able to set the time and keep time as a clock would.

Here is a couple crappy pics of it:


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## shake (Apr 17, 2006)

Mark, or anybody else. I don't know much about DIY electronics or off the self stuff :tongue: . $365 is pretty reasonable but what is the difference with your own and say one like Aquacontroller Jr from Neptune System


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## snafu (Oct 9, 2004)

markdem said:


> <stuff deleted> i would love to see what other peaple would come up with, and we could even build a "super controller" that can do everything that every one wants. (feeding, water change, fert dosing etc)
> I have started looking itto the next controller, which i want to be able to test colour so i can test of thinks like NO2, NO3, I, NH4 so on, but that is still a bit off.
> Mark


a couple things i have put on mine is SDCard and FAT16 support used for data logging and system initialization. i'm using 1-bit SPI to the card. also, there are a bunch of small, cheap zigbee modules (e.g., maxstream) for wireless comm. they are easily interfaced over UART. -snafu


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## markdem (Jan 20, 2005)

shake said:


> Mark, or anybody else. I don't know much about DIY electronics or off the self stuff :tongue: . $365 is pretty reasonable but what is the difference with your own and say one like Aquacontroller Jr from Neptune System


not too much diffrent between the two products. I guess the biggest diffrece is that with mine you dont have to buy extra output moduals to connect your lights too, which makes that price way higher then mine. The other problem withthe aquacontroller products it they use X10 to switch the lights on and off. Problem is, with some brands of lights, they just dont work. There is too much noise on the line to still read the X10 data.

Also, i will start to make extra "upgrade" cards for mine so we can get ethernet (web based setup) and logging. I could not put this into the current model as i ran out of rom space, but the way i designed it, other parts can be added very easly.


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