Awesome
@TheFalseReality! Snap!
I've been using HA and esphome for around 4 years.
Still only scratching the surface of what's possible.
I agree that this solution is potentially more powerful than the orange and grey gear, way more extensible, and affordable.
A neat pattern is to share the framework freely but with the option of commercialising hardware solutions for those people that don't want to put the hardware solutions together.
Your solution looks really good.
I see the key as documenting the hardware options and esphome yaml so users can just copy templates and no need for soldering esp32 pins.
Here is a dashboard (Lovelace) of what I've been running for the last few years:
Same Home Assistant dashboard on mobile:
Switches:
In Australia, Tuya based devices are pervasive and relatively cheap. Yes, ziggbee, zwave, thread/matter is preferable but Bunnings (our Walmart) sells mainly Tuya wifi. I also use Kasa/tp-link power boards. For smart plugs and power boards I use the localtuya and tp-link integrations.
Sensors:
Apart from those sensors exposed through integrations, the key sensors are all esp32 based boards with plug in sensors and running esphome. My current sensors include:
- Water Level
- I've experimented with optical, thin film pressure, infra red, and ultrasonic sensors.
- For reliably measuring level of a liquid in a container in the range of around 10mm-500mm I've found ultrasonic to be the best solution. Use case example is level in the sump or RODI top off.
- For other use cases, optical binary sensors may be the choice
- For measuring the volume of small containers (e.g. dosing containers) thin pressure sensors
- Temperature
- These are super cheap and reliable. You can use two wire thermistor or three wire probes using the dallas esphome platform.
- I typically run one in the return and one where the chiller returns so you can see the difference and active cooling/heating cycles
- pH
- There are plenty of cheap and middle range pH probes that will integrate. Calibration is reasonable straight forward.
- I have two installed to identify drift and when to calibrate.
- I don't have a calcium reactor but should do with the cost of 3 part. pH probe and Home Assistant automation ideal for pegging co2 to pH.
- Conductivity
- I'm yet to find a perfect proxy for salinity but conductivity probes definitely demonstrate trend that can create alerts to investigate with a refractometer or quality salinity kit.
- CO2/VOC
- Easy and cheap sensors for CO2 and volatile organic compounds. Definitely shows trends for airflow and more VOC when plastic components are heated.
- Flow
- Can use wheel or Hall Effect sensors. I've not found anything for reasonable price for above 3/4" tube.
- Current draw
- These are super useful. Try to find power boards or plugs with embedded power meters. If a device stops drawing current it can trigger an automation for alert. I use them on return pumps.
- Water leaks
- binary sensors to detect water leaks. Cheap Tuya based are available or easy to make a conductivity / resistance based sensor on esp32.
Integrations:
- We have developed an integration to the ReefBot to automatically dashboard any test results and automate dosing based on critical sensor values.
- I have reviewed the fantastic work that @mard and @fendanto have done on MobiusBLE. I have started work on adapting to esphome that will allow wireless control of these devices from anywhere. I have it compiled but it's not finding my Mobius devices. Would appreciate some help in getting this one going and ported to esphome. An MQTT integration may also work but esphome allows easier control from Home Assistant.
- 0-10v integrations via esphome and esp32 boards is pretty straight forward. Both as a controller and device.
Feeding:
- We have developed an automated solution called Yumi for feeding frozen food. It keeps the food as a liquid slurry just above freezing and automates the feeding based on a schedule you define in a Home Assistant calendar. It stirs the slurry just before feeding and transports the food to the tank using a peristaltic pump with larger diameter medical grade tube. This is all controlled wirelessly from anywhere in the world. There is 2L of food in the glass container that lasts me about 4 weeks.
- Yumi also works for coral feeding with chilled aminos or plankton.
- Dry pellet feeders are readily available and integrated to Home Assistant. I use the localtuya to automate dry food feeding from Home Assistant.
Cameras:
- Simple and powerful remote monitoring.
- Suggest anything that provides an RTSP or ONVIF stream. There are Home Assistant integrations for these. I use Tapo.
- Another cheap option is the esp32 boards that come with a tiny camera. They have poor dynamic range but are useful say in a sump to see the skimmer cup.
Automations:
The scope here is endless. Home Assistant has a powerful automation engine. You could use node-red as well or instead, but Home Assistant is plenty powerful. Some example automations I use include:
- Auto top off for RODI
- Auto water changes (I do 10l per day)
- Auto dosing
- Alerts:
- Connectivity
- Power
- Power consumption abnormality
- Sensor values out of range (e.g. temp, ph, conductivity, levels, flow)
- Feeding frozen and pellets
- Scheduled maintenance reminders
- Scenes (e.g. feed)
- ...
Keen to collaborate.
community.home-assistant.io
