Lyscers DIY Aquarium Controller Project

lyscer · Sep 17, 2016

After months of tinkering I think I finally have my controller interface getting closer to something that I want. I am stoked that it has come this far so I just wanted to share the interface portion. I am working on putting together some video tutorials of the build process on the entire thing but here are the quick and dirty deets:

- Arduino Mega 2560 board + Dragino Yun shield (for wifi/web requests on the sensors/relays)
- 8 controllable outlets (I am working on adding in the functionality to monitor voltage/current draw on each outlet and putting in a run time counter so that I get an alert when the run time = 4-6 months)
- 1 pH probe, but I will be adding another here shortly
- 4 Temperature sensors
- Interface was written using the LAMP stack
- Icons were borrowed from BRS

. I will be making my own here one of these days but these are good placeholders for now.

My tank has been running on the basis of this setup for almost a year now. I just recently added the pH probe and while I was in mucking with the code decided to add the ability to add "Actions" from a UI so that I can have backup heaters turn on/off at different temperatures and have my skimmer turn on during the night and off during the day. I did have this all setup with cron jobs initially. Now there is 1 cronjob to rule them all

.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Testing and coding

Here it is, installed in my cabinet. Had to add the Ground Isolator chip (Purple chip) for the pH probe because once I put the probe in the water all of the pump noises maxed out the pH probe readings. Adding that ground isolator cleared it all up.

lyscer · Sep 21, 2016

Alright, just got the first video all put together of setting up the Arduino Mega + Yun and uploading the first batch of code to it.

In the next video I'll be setting up the Temperature sensors and showing how to get their readings. Then we'll setup the page to view them from your computer or phone.

lyscer · Oct 8, 2016

I decided that I needed to change things up a bit so that the code could be hosted on the unit itself. So I switched from the Dragino Yun shield to a Raspberry Pi 3. After quite a bit of refactoring code I finally got things working correctly again. Now the code can be self contained within the controller bits. I also played around and 3d printed the orange plate on my 4 outlets. I wanted to play with making a modular outlet box. 1 RJ45 is for controlling the outlets, the other is for monitoring the current on the outlet.

Next steps will be to swap out the Arduino mega with the arduino nano to shrink the footprint of the unit and then I will design and print a 3d box to hold everything and I will finish adding the other 4 outlets in the box.

LbulletM · Oct 22, 2016

Looking awesome!

lyscer · Dec 19, 2016

As an update for those following along I just found a cheaper way ($15 savings per ph probe) to run multiple probes using a serial expander hardware module. I ordered one and once I get it all coded up may do a video tutorial on how to hook up multiple ph probes. I also am about 90% done with adding the ability to add new temp sensors without having to change any code where right now they are saved in an array. Once I get multiple probes running I will do a comparison on a "high end" probe vs a "low end" ph probe to see if the cost of probes can be shaved even more. They are currently costing me $72 but I have found some $39 ones that look decent. Stay tuned!