I wanna throw an idea onto the table.... Data logger for tank

Staggie

Staggie

Go Da O
Sep 30, 2005
46
0
0
43
Adelaide, South Australia
Hi guys.

What do you think of this idea...... I was thinking about building a PC just to log the water parameters of the tank water... Yeah its probably been done before but I plan on doing it in style...

I'm and PC builder and i am currently building a PC which is 12cm x 12cm x 5cm (5"x5"x2" i think). so the plan is the the pc can live in the cabinet, then i was thinking of intergrating the screen into the cabinet door (easy enough to do, similar things at least once a week at work), then have a removable keyboard & mouse if needed.

So basically to get all the stats of the tank just turn the screen on and in a second u can see Temp, pH, Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, Hardness etc etc etc.. Will also be able to access all data wirelessly as the pc is having intergrated WIFI. Software will also be web based so i can check the stats anywhere in the world.

So guys.... what do you think, any suggestions or ideas will be greatly appreciated...

Cheers,
Kym
 
I think it would be a cool idea, probably over kill, but cool none the less. My question would be how would the sensors work? Do they have ready made sensors that will measure the paramaters, and what would it take to integrate them into the PC. Would it be cost effective or would you just do it for the novelty?
 
The system itself is costing me about $300au (using some parts i have layin around, just basically paying for mobo and casing). The TFT panel is coming out of a dead Laptop i have, as is the hard drive and optical drive. I am still ivestigating the sensor side of things, but i know it can be done... Not sure on the cost effective side of things but i will keep you guys posted with pics and details as i go along, so in answer to your question i am doing it cos i can.... LOL
 
Henrye said:
Any info on the costs of probes for each of those parameters?
Click to expand...
not as yet, really dont know what to expect cost wise on those as yet... but it may be scary, temp and ph are easy and common, even if i need to make something up myself...
 
I have been researching to build/buy aquarium monitoring hardware/software for a few years. I doubt you'll find much more than than the simple (ph/temp/tds/ect) electronic meters or sensors that are out on the market. Most other meters (like NH3/NO2/NO3) require regents or are too bulky.

Here's a few aquarium monitoring products -

http://www.neptunesys.com/aquaController3Pro.htm

http://www.seaapple.com/draquarium/index.html

http://www.drdaq.com/

http://www.automatedaquariums.com/aaslit.htm#SOF

http://www.infinitysoft.net/default.asp

http://www.aquatronica.com/eng/products/acq_products.htm
 
If you could pull this off with even remote cost effectiveness I could see it making a lot of money. I could easily see maybe the initial console and a probe for temp and pH. Then the additional probes were extra for Ammonia, etc. I'd buy it, I can spend a good 20 minutes per tank measuring all the various levels to make sure my water quality is fine. A lot of times more, depending on the amount of different tests I run. If I run the gammet, pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, kH, gH, with liquid tests that could easily consume as much time as it takes to do a water change. Heck maybe I should just do an extra water change and not bother testing =).

Anyway, awesome idea. Keep us posted on your progress.
 
The device itself could be very inexpensive and simple. The probes on the other hand can be extremely expensive.
 
ack.z06 said:
http://www.stevenswater.com/catalog/stevensProduct.aspx?SKU='50201'

Another site, with slightly more reasonable prices
http://www.vernier.com/probes/index.html
Click to expand...

http://www.vernier.com/probes/ise-bta-group.html

They seem reasonably priced...
To make this a saleable item (eg make money from it) would need a all in one probe.. and as yet i have not seen one with those parameters....

Just a thought what would you guys pay for a system like this (excluding the pc) but including the software, probes and data logger hardware?
 
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