I built an automatic alkalinity tester

Domi · Feb 26, 2021

Hi all,

I recently built a first pilot version of an automatic alkalinity tester that sends me a mail every day with the current alkalinity and also writes this in a file so I can make graphs.
It is still in the testing phase but so far it is very reproducible and correlates well with the values of my Hannah checker.
I will test now for a while and improve it. If there is interest I can share how to build such an automatic alkalinity tester in more detail. For me the parts were around 100$, so quite cheap compared to products on the market.
For now, I made a video where I show how the tester works:

Cheers,
Dominik

TheDragonsReef · Feb 26, 2021

This is awesome, great work

Fudsey · Feb 26, 2021

Great job ! !

Now box it up and sell it, make millions

Scubatricky · Feb 26, 2021

There's an open source tester and doser built here in the UK. Plans are on GitHub along with the 3d printing models

GitHub - robotfishe/alkabot: An open-source aquarium alkalinity monitor.

An open-source aquarium alkalinity monitor. Contribute to robotfishe/alkabot development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

laverda · Feb 26, 2021

I would love to build one. Please post Details. I refuse to pay $600 to measure alk, let alone give Neptune any more of my money!

Zach B · Feb 26, 2021

Wow that is awesome!

DE FISH · Feb 26, 2021

Yes post the blueprints ;Bookworm

mdb_talon · Feb 26, 2021

I am 99% sure this is beyond my DIY abilities because it does not involve a hammer, but would love to get more details from you. Think what you did there is fantastic.

Dennis Cartier · Feb 26, 2021

Very cool. I love the small form factor of the peristaltic heads. I would love to see a parts list. Especially where to source the very fine dosing tip.

Dennis

Dukereefnz · Feb 27, 2021

Same as the rest - great job, I to would like to build one but the programming is outside my league.
Unless we were able to use your code....................................................................LOL
excellent job!

elysics · Feb 28, 2021

Do you have a link to that pump design? Do you ever get any skipped steps? And how accurate is it, how many planned drops before you get a missing/additional drop?

And is that clear dispensing tip a correctly color coded 27g one, or does it just happen to be clear? The finest ones I could find on aliexpress were the red 25g ones.

ReeferLou · Feb 28, 2021

Very cool! When searching in past for subject I saw some open source colorimeter project from IO Rodeo - sounded interesting: https://sites.google.com/iorodeo.com/colorimeter/aquarium-tests?authuser=0

philshel · Mar 4, 2021

Very nice. I like the others would very much appreciate it if you would do a more in depth write up.

Domi · Mar 7, 2021

Hi all,

Thanks for the positive feedback and sorry for the late reply. I am still optimizing the design, last weekend I designed a PCB (first time I did this), I hope it will be shipped next week so I can test it. I also redesigned the pump rotor and head as it was not very durable, after one month a part of the rotor broke. This rotor was designed to flex a little bit, I assume the constant flexing caused it to break after a while. I will test again and once I have everything working like I want it to I will share the blueprints.

Dennis Cartier said:
Very cool. I love the small form factor of the peristaltic heads. I would love to see a parts list. Especially where to source the very fine dosing tip.

Dennis

Parts list will follow. The dosing tip is a pipet tip, my girfriend works in a lab and I asked her to bring some pipet tips. Alternatively I think also a needle from a syringe would work. I just wanted to have a small opening so it shoots mini droplets.

Dukereefnz said:
Same as the rest - great job, I to would like to build one but the programming is outside my league.
Unless we were able to use your code....................................................................LOL
excellent job!

Once I have everything together I can also share the code, that shouldn't be a problem.

elysics said:
Do you have a link to that pump design? Do you ever get any skipped steps? And how accurate is it, how many planned drops before you get a missing/additional drop?

And is that clear dispensing tip a correctly color coded 27g one, or does it just happen to be clear? The finest ones I could find on aliexpress were the red 25g ones.

I am improving the pump a the moment. I did not have skipped steps and the volumes it pumps are very reproducible. I measured several times in a row and got the same result. The reason I redesign it is because a part of the rotor broke after only one month.
The tips are 200ul pipet tips.