# FishBit Aquarium Monitor



## LondonDragon (21 Jan 2015)

Looks interesting:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1758456789/fishbit-your-aquarium-made-simple-beta-release


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## kirk (21 Jan 2015)

It is interesting Paulo. I couldnt imagine me getting away with tweaking the tank whilst on holiday ( supposed to be relaxing) I spend enough time messing as it is  it would probably cost more than it would to replace my stock.....however I can also think of many people here or for example large aquariums that would benefit from such a divice, if we're talking marines ie coral priceless fish shrimp I think it brilliant for them. Why not.


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## RossMartin (21 Jan 2015)

Interesting, however there are a lot of ways to do this with a Raspberry Pi and it is relatively simple.


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## LondonDragon (21 Jan 2015)

RossMartin said:


> Interesting, however there are a lot of ways to do this with a Raspberry Pi and it is relatively simple.


I had a look at this and even being a techie it didnt seem that simple, messy stuff! Unless someone has written a guide to do it now. Links appreciated.


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## NC10 (21 Jan 2015)

RossMartin said:


> Interesting, however there are a lot of ways to do this with a Raspberry Pi and it is relatively simple.



I've been looking into this for my next project, either Pi or arduino. Only something simple, temp, ph etc 

After a couple of years reading up, I'm still non the wiser


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## LondonDragon (21 Jan 2015)

NC10 said:


> After a couple of years reading up, I'm still non the wiser


Yeah same here, hence an out of the box solution that actually works and can be customised would be ideal


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## NC10 (21 Jan 2015)

I think the best thing would be to just go and buy one and have a play. Not having it in front of me and trying to understand what people are talking about is just not working 

There are already a few monitors on the market though, the reef angel and seneye are 2 I know. I'm sure there's a few others.


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## RossMartin (21 Jan 2015)

If you go to http://pi.plantedpi.co.uk this is my aquarium monitor. Still a work in progress however it monitors in tank temperature, PH, My lounge Temp and Humidity where the tank is located. It works by a python script taking the readings and putting them into an SQLite3 database and then using PHP to pull it back. The charts are created using Google Charts which does the work for you.

I had to learn python and php but i did have a basic knowledge of using SQL and ASP.

Happy to help if i can!


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## RossMartin (21 Jan 2015)

There alerts aren't working properly at the moment but i was playing with making it look a bit like a Star Trek LCARS screen!!
http://pi.plantedpi.co.uk/index.php

I also have a flow monitor that sits inline of the filter output, however the results were erratic but it might be good enough to show if the flow is slowly getting worse.

This is also a work in progress, however it has been on the back burner so far this year due to work commitments.


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## NC10 (21 Jan 2015)

That's fantastic and just the sort of thing I want! The flow meter is great too 

Can this info be displayed in "real life" too? Like with a simple LCD screen connected, like >this< or multiple LED displays, like >these< for example.

I'll definitely be wanting your help if that's ok


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## RossMartin (21 Jan 2015)

I've only breifly looked into displaying the info on a screen and the answer is i'm not 100% sure. Almost certainly not the LCD screen as it requires a lot of pins from the Pi header to be used and i think i am already using some of them. This is why i went with making a Star Trek Screen as it lends itself to a touchscreen that isn't directly attached to the Pi itself. The LED screen might be an option, i'll hjave a further look into it as that is what i wanted but i've been trying to get the webpages correct.

The next thing to work on is to get the results from the database to show the PH drop from lights on to CO2 on so you can have a quick visual to see what PH drop you are getting. However that is more difficult than it sounds.


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## NC10 (21 Jan 2015)

Cheers for the reply.

I've seen extension boards, could one of these be added to give you the extra pins or is it not as simple as that?

Are your lights connected as well then?


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## RossMartin (21 Jan 2015)

All that board does is make it easier to work on as it is a break out board. It doesn't actually give you more pins to work with! The new Pi does so will look into what extra that gives you. Here is mine:






I don't have the lights on mine as i use the TMC tiles and have a controller on it that does it all for me. Mine was simply designed to monitor however relays  and LED drivers can be added. I have thought about looking into that but i don't have a requirement to do that at the moment.


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## NC10 (21 Jan 2015)

RossMartin said:


> All that board does is make it easier to work on as it is a break out board. It doesn't actually give you more pins to work with! The new Pi does so will look into what extra that gives you.



Ah I see, so you can connect 5 meters to it in total? 

TBH that would probably be enough for my needs, depending on how many the display uses, but obviously may as well get the newest one out. I'll go and have read now and price things up.

Thanks for the help, no doubt I'll be back


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## RossMartin (21 Jan 2015)

Sorry what do you mean by 5 meters? The break out board allows you to connect the pins on the Pi to a breadboard. It make it easier for testing and putting things together. Mine has a 30cm ribbon cable!

The Pi's use GPIO pins, these allow you to send and receive signals. The sensors also require power, either 5.0v or 3.3v and ground. The Raspberry Pi has a limied number of pins. I'll look into the LED display as that might be quite useful!

Whilst building this i have learnt so much. I didn't know how to code in Pyhton or PHP and i hadn't soldered anything before!

I've got a prtotyping board however i can't use this until the PH Circuit carrier board turns up! https://www.modmypi.com/raspberry-p...uit-prototyping-pi-plate-kit-for-raspberry-pi


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## NC10 (21 Jan 2015)

RossMartin said:


> Sorry what do you mean by 5 meters?



PH meter, water temp sensor etc etc

I've just followed that link and found this about adding a display LINK

I've no idea what SPI mode is, but it's saying 9 pins needed in total. I'm going to have a read around that site, finally try and get my head around it all. Wish me luck


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## RossMartin (21 Jan 2015)

That link takes you to a screen that is on an Adurino board and not a raspberry pi, however raspberry pi can use SPi.


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## LondonDragon (21 Jan 2015)

Problem is how messy the all thing also looks


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## RossMartin (21 Jan 2015)

Yeah i need to get it on a prototype board and into a case but am waiting for the PH Circuit carrier board as they shouldn't be soldered directly to the board, however these have been unavailable in the UK for two months. It should be with me next week!. The FishBits case that is holding the probes is the same as what i have got just not in a case. I can also add a TDS probe on mine instead of the PH probe which might suit the Shrimpers amongst us. Pretty sure if i add an Arduino board i can run both PH and TDS.


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## NC10 (21 Jan 2015)

LondonDragon said:


> Problem is how messy the all thing also looks



You just install it into a project box, you don't have to leave it trailed all over the dining table  

Did you check out the seneye reef or reef angel I mentioned? >Seneye link<


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## LondonDragon (21 Jan 2015)

NC10 said:


> Did you check out the seneye reef or reef angel I mentioned? >Seneye link<


Yeah not a fan of those  will have to wait and see how this one develops in future, more designed to reef, I like automation (lazy).


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## NC10 (21 Jan 2015)

>Scrap the seneye<


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## RossMartin (21 Jan 2015)

I wonder if putting the probes in a case like that effects its ability to read the water parameters correctly. It looks spretty closed up with only a few holes!!

Once mine is built i might pay for a proper circuit board to be created. I aso need someone with a 3D printer as i might design a case for it all!


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## GlassWalker (21 Jan 2015)

At the risk of sounding negative, I'm not sure I'm seeing anything "new" here. Similar products already exist in the marine space, although high cost is usually the factor that limits their mass adoption. I believe there's even an arduino based version for the budget tinkerer called jarduino.


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## RossMartin (21 Jan 2015)

Hi GlassWalker,

There are loads, however for me it was a project to learn the coding as i need to know PHP for work projects and i learn better if it intrests me! Also i can get it to do what i want, for example mine will be able to notify you if the PH hasn't dropped by a, or to a certain value by a certain time. So it will tell me if i haven't got a PH drop of 1 by the time the lights turn on.

None of the ones on the market can do things like that which is why i thought i'd give it a go!


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## NC10 (21 Jan 2015)

Apex! I've been trying to remember all day  

>Apex Controller<


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## jaypeecee (22 Jan 2015)

RossMartin said:


> Interesting, however there are a lot of ways to do this with a Raspberry Pi and it is relatively simple.



Hi,

Out of interest, why did you choose the Raspberry Pi in preference to, say, the Arduino Uno?

JPC


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## RossMartin (22 Jan 2015)

Hi JPC,

Purely as i was wanting to attempt other projects that are suited to the Pi for example running XBMC on it, although it isn't good enough for full rip Blu-rays! Also the Pi runs the SQL database and the webserver and this is better suited to a Pi rather than the Ardunio boards because of the processing power. The Pi is much better for running applications. If i was to run relays to control dosing pumps for example i would look at the Ardunio boards. I have seen people who use both together and this might be something i will look into as i do somethimes forget to dose my EI ferts!!

Thanks

Ross


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## jaypeecee (22 Jan 2015)

Hi Ross,

Thanks for the explanation. I can now see why you went the Raspberry Pi route.

JPC


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## LondonDragon (22 Jan 2015)

Would be nice for those that are doing a DIY controller project to document it with a journal on the DIY section, with coding, parts, where to buy them, etc.. for others that are interested to be able to do the same. 

I have a Pi gathering dust that could be put to good use.


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## RossMartin (22 Jan 2015)

I'll see if I can get something together!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Arne (22 Jan 2015)

I'm using a simple dressed down version for my dart frogs by the german GHL wich produce the Profilux https://www.aquariumcomputer.com/en-GB/products-shop/profilux-controllers range. Similar, and also expensive.
Though I must say I'm very happy with it.
(after the second humidity sensor broke I figured out how to keep them alive)


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## X3NiTH (22 Jan 2015)

Here's Atlas Scientific, they do a whole range of sensing for RaspberryPi or Arduino, they also have a debugger module that has a USB port so you can connect to a PC and log the data, they also have software for a nice page to display the data.

Personally I've thought about using the pH probe to do CO2 sensing by doing the 4dKH water membrane hack and mod the software (if possible) to give the read outs for co2 instead of pH.

There's also Plot.ly to get graphed sensor data over the net using Atlas Scientific modules, here's the Instructable for doing it with a RaspberryPi.

Starting to see a lot of really cool stuff out there for tinkering with!


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## RossMartin (23 Jan 2015)

I use their PH probe kit!!


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## RossMartin (23 Jan 2015)

I've just started to document how i have created my monitoring system I'll create a thread in the DIY section. Fortunately i documented most of the build process but i need to run thorugh it from scratch to ensure the documentation is correct. I'll try and get the first part up over the weekend.


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## LondonDragon (24 Jan 2015)

I like this one also: http://fishtankprojects.com/diy-aquarium-projects/arduino-controlled-dosing-pumps.html wonder if there is a Pi version!


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## kirk (24 Jan 2015)

[quote="

I had to learn python and php but i did have a basic knowledge of using SQL and ASP.

Happy to help if i can![/quote]    I'm lost on this thread, I know what a python is.


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## LondonDragon (24 Jan 2015)

kirk said:


> I'm lost on this thread, I know what a python is.


Hence why an out of the box solution is the ideal  only issue is most out of the box solutions don't do everything you want or the way you want to do it


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## LondonDragon (24 Jan 2015)

Once you have a PH probe in the tank, it shouldn't be too hard to make it a PH Controller to control CO2 flow, double that with an auto doser, an automatic water changer, temp/cooling monitor/controller, light controller even program to dim the lights etc... the possibilities are endeless, the only problem I see with these system is how ugly the whole thing looks after a while with cables everywhere!!


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## RossMartin (28 Jan 2015)

Hi all, i haven't forgotten about this. I have made a couple of improvements to it. I also need to go through the install process that i am documenting so I'm happy that when i post the procedure if anyone wants to follow it should work as expected.


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## LondonDragon (28 Jan 2015)

After reading the kickstarter post again, it is a little misleading, it does not monitor Ammonia, Salinity or Nitrite after all! which makes it useless  bring on the Pi DIY solution


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## NC10 (28 Jan 2015)

LondonDragon said:


> After reading the kickstarter post again, it is a little misleading, it does not monitor Ammonia, Salinity or Nitrite after all! which makes it useless  bring on the Pi DIY solution



lol I did wonder why you were set on this, but discounted all the others so quickly 

DIY is the future


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