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Water Parameter monitor (all in one)

keano

keano

Member
Joined
19 Jan 2018
Messages
77
Location
Lancashire, UK
Is there an all in one solution, in this day and age surely there is a unit with LCD that displays current temp, pH and TDS, hardness etc.
 
Sure there are, they're just very expensive and generally not necessary. Ian posted the only two I know of that cater to hobbyists but the best in my opinion are angled towards industrial applications where it's actually useful to know what's going on, centering around the needs of the agricultural trade, hydroponics and aquaculture in particular. Hanna instruments produces the ones I would trust the most, such as this combined portable meter for general use:

http://www.hannainstruments.co.uk/ph-ec-tds-c-portable-meter-4828.html

and this in-line one designed for constant reading:

http://www.hannainstruments.co.uk/g...-tds-temperature-monitors.html#specifications

But again, the most popular methods of freshwater aquarium keeping, both low tech and high tech virtually negate the need to keep on top of parameters to the extent that would warrant the investment, so you would definitely be branding yourself a super-nerd for life if you bought one. Just a warning ;)
 
I don't even use a thermometer in my tank, i use a fast lab one if i need to know the temp, which is maybe one a year. TDS is a 2 second long measure, which i do rarely. pH is mostly usefull for CO2 tanks. I haven't used mine in over a year.
 
I started writing one this weekend using pi3 and arduino, got the basic stuff done, as I had most of the parts leading up to the project. It's basically a computerised peristaltic pump(s) for easycarbo and fertaliser, with PH monitoring, looking to add hardness and temperature once parts delivered.

If there is enough interest, I'll put together a guide on how to build you own. So far build cost is about £60, expecting it to be sub £100.
 
webworm said:
You might want to take a look at the PLC thread here

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/how-to-use-a-plc-to-control-your-fish-tank.42993/

Of course every solution has it's pro's and con's , the key if you're using any form of automation is to understand the failure state
Click to expand...
Of course you can easily extend the above with analogue inputs to read pH, temperature etc etc. Zeus's PLC system has analogue inputs to read temperature.

I suspect continuous usage & immersion pH probes, GH probes cost a fortune, which explains why industrial systems cost so much.
 
castle said:
I started writing one this weekend using pi3 and arduino, got the basic stuff done, as I had most of the parts leading up to the project. It's basically a computerised peristaltic pump(s) for easycarbo and fertaliser, with PH monitoring, looking to add hardness and temperature once parts delivered.

If there is enough interest, I'll put together a guide on how to build you own. So far build cost is about £60, expecting it to be sub £100.
Click to expand...
that's what im talking about! :)
 
keano said:
Is there an all in one solution, in this day and age surely there is a unit with LCD that displays current temp, pH and TDS, hardness etc.
Click to expand...
It's not really worth the costs, unless you have really expensive fish in the tank. I also tried going that way when I started, but soon found out that it doesn't really do anything after having a stable aquarium. So you may use it for a couple of months and then you don't even look at it. I used to test the water everyday, now I don't even test it every month.

castle said:
I started writing one this weekend using pi3 and arduino, got the basic stuff done, as I had most of the parts leading up to the project. It's basically a computerised peristaltic pump(s) for easycarbo and fertaliser, with PH monitoring, looking to add hardness and temperature once parts delivered.

If there is enough interest, I'll put together a guide on how to build you own. So far build cost is about £60, expecting it to be sub £100.
Click to expand...
Please do share... I have all the stuff needed, but just didn't have any time to crack some coding after the baby was born, so it's all sitting in a box.
 
It's trivial, got 'it' running now. Adding a third peristaltic pump for salt water for brackish tank (with Electrical conductivity sensor). It's not a pretty thing tho.
 
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