abob Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 All, I'm an engineer by nature and lazy so I'm always looking for better ways to do things and ways to save time. So, while bored at work I got talking to our old school electronics tech and started coming up with ideas of gadgets to help with my tanks. So far we have come up with: 1) I have lost count of the number of times I have gotten distracted while filling a tank and overflowed it. We have built a box that hangs on the side of the tank which sounds a buzzer if the the water level gets within an inch of the top of the tank. Connected to this could be a solenoid which could be plugged inline with a hose to stop filling the tank at that level. 2) A box with 10 (or more) wires with temperature sensors on the end. A switch to select which sensor to display. 3) A box with a bunch of temperature sensor which buzzes if any go outside a pre-defined range. 4) A box with a bunch of temperature sensors that report all the temperature to a PC. The PC could SMS/email if the temperature goes out of range. 5) A device that detects stagnant water (ie. filter has stopped) and buzzes or sends an email/SMS. We have built the first 2 devices know how to make 3 and 4. 5 is still in the "concept stage". What do you think of the ideas? Would you buy them? If so, how much would be reasonable? We don't expect to go into mass production but ,my freind would build them if he could make back cost plus a few dollars of pocket money. Can you think of anything else that would be feasible? Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akroyd Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Hi Dean, What I'd like, and will pay for, is a fish counter for fry from about 10mm up to about 60mm. I can siphon my fish through pvc pipe, but need an affordable,reliable way to count. I was hoping for a fitting to adapt to 15mm and 25mm pipes, maybe where the fish breaks a beam and registers on a read-out. Is that possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domross Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I'd like to see an automated mixer for chemicals when doing water changes, it doses the water with the right chemical ratio, basically: I do a water change, Seachem Prime is (off the top of my head 10ml for every 200L of water) So if there was a sensor that would fit onto a hose that could be set to add X amount of chemical per L that would be really helpful. Possibly with the option to add more than 1 chemical, ie: for every 20L of water add 1ml prime and 5ml liquified cichlid salt; or if possible powdered salt? Don't know how practical this is, we use something very similar when cleaning beer lines at the pub, two hoses connect to two different chemical solututions, a water inlet clicks in then the outlet goes to another line that all the beer lines are connected to. As water goes through it adds the right chemical doses to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fongyfong Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 neeat little i idea though I wouldnt buy one but max id pay for that is 10 bucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfishfan Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 all sound great , and waiting for them , i give you twenty bucks . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Most of the things you mentioned are available already You can buy and alarm the hangs on your bath or sink that sounds when the water gets to a certain levels You can also get a system that monitors you whole tank for things like temp and Ph, it will then log this info to your computer. I dont know that it can send a SMS or email to your phone, but if you checked the program regularly then you really don't need to be alerted to a problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fongyfong Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 all sound great , and waiting for them , i give you twenty bucks . 20 is too much, a digital thermometer cost less then 10 bucks, and is needed more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 They are definantely worth more then $10. We are not just talking an imported digital thermometer that breaks after a month, these are digital thermometers that act as an alarm also. I really like number 1 and 5. #1 because it works for people who are lazy like me and #5 because it would save me loosing a whole tank of fish if i go away again. (went away and my dad didn't know filter died) I'd pay $20 for both of those ideas easy, if not more. Try asking about this on a reptile forum such as aussiepythons because themostats etc cost way to much, and if you could produce a better product for a cheaper price it would be a huge hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 The control gear for all this is/was really expensive last time I looked into building a monitoring system for my fish room. The sensors were more then $20 each and the control module thingy (I cant remember the proper name) was real expensive. From memory it would have cost me a couple of hundred dollars a tank to set-up, but that would monitor more then just Ph and temp. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Exactly what I was trying to get at Josh :-) The actual cost of producing these products will be quite high once factoring in time, cost of materials and production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fongyfong Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 They are definantely worth more then $10. We are not just talking an imported digital thermometer that breaks after a month, these are digital thermometers that act as an alarm also. I was refering to the device that acts as a alarm to where the water rises and thats it, its a nice toy but not really needed that much anyways max i would pay is 10 bucks for it And also theres a aqua minder buy marina that i have and that alarms when the temp of the water goes down of your desired temp, it also has alarm for when to clean etc and that cost me 20 so if he wants to make that again it would have to be around 10 bucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Most of the things you mentioned are available already You can buy and alarm the hangs on your bath or sink that sounds when the water gets to a certain levels You can also get a system that monitors you whole tank for things like temp and Ph, it will then log this info to your computer. I dont know that it can send a SMS or email to your phone, but if you checked the program regularly then you really don't need to be alerted to a problem I agree, but think in fact they are all available. I use a "bath alert" when filling my W/C barrel. Octopus contollers can contact you on your phone should set parameters go off - they've been around for a long time. Keep up the mental effort though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjmowens Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Most of the things you mentioned are available already You can buy and alarm the hangs on your bath or sink that sounds when the water gets to a certain levels You can also get a system that monitors you whole tank for things like temp and Ph, it will then log this info to your computer. I dont know that it can send a SMS or email to your phone, but if you checked the program regularly then you really don't need to be alerted to a problem I agree, but think in fact they are all available. I use a "bath alert" when filling my W/C barrel. Octopus contollers can contact you on your phone should set parameters go off - they've been around for a long time. Keep up the mental effort though i have a gauge connected to my barrell. my brother installs water tanks so i guess you could call it a freebie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbuna man Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I'd love a digital reader for temp ,ph,hardness,nitrates, nitrites. When i do water changes i need something to measure the right amount of epson salts bi carb and hardness booster.. Think i'll keep dreaming though.. truth is i love doing it all anyway. Learning all about water chemistry and biology that I wouldn't have cared about at school. If I had fish when I was younger I might have got better grades.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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