Seeking Input: Affordable Smart Aquarium Controller - Your Suggestions Wanted!

[fenomatik]

I would give it a shot. Would work great for a frag tank or something. Already spend money on inkbirds. Non-contact water level sensors would be sick though. I miss that about my reef-pi.

Thanks for reading and showing interest in providing feedback and asking questions.

Really appreciate kind words and support. We will try to deliver the best experience.

 

[GrandmaReefer]

If you’re trying to capture the inkbird market with an upsell of ph and leak detection you could probably do that with this.

But I want more control, and more options, and I’m willing to pay for it.

 

[fenomatik]

If you’re trying to capture the inkbird market with an upsell of ph and leak detection you could probably do that with this.

But I want more control, and more options, and I’m willing to pay for it.

Thanks for reading and showing interest in providing feedback and asking questions.

The idea is to sell with basic functionalities which would be useful and in any small tank (nano or QT) where one cannot spend $$$ for a Neptune or APEX.

In our initial prototype, We included features such as temperature monitoring, pH measurement, Salinity, leak detection, TDS monitoring, feeder functionality, ATO (Automatic Top-Off) capability, full RGB light control, and a 6-outlet smart power brick with a local display on the device, along with a fully functional app. However, We made the decision to scale down the features for the initial release to focus on establishing product quality. We plan to release a full version with all these features in the future.

 

[Cheesus]

Thanks for reading and showing interest in providing feedback and asking questions.

Really appreciate kind words and support. We will try to deliver the best experience.

Do you have a release date? Where will it be available?

 

[Dragen Fiend]

Defiantly a market for this at lower costs. I think with nano tanks being so popular. We need an affordable controller. If I were doing a larger tank I'd probably go for something more refined. I have been temped to DIY my own controller since starting this hobby. A lot of great controllers but costs a ton and doesn't factor in the required accessories to work only adding up more costs.

Personally what I'm looking for is probe monitoring for
PH
salt
temp

Honestly I'm surprised Inkbird hasn't come up with a solution for this. They have good controllers for temps/humidity.

Smart switching for basic on/off. I'd say at least 6 outlets.
1. Return pump
2. Lights
3. Wavemaker
4. Protein skimmer
5. Heater
6. Extra

Basic programming for alerts, schedules, shut offs. Bonus points for MQTT functionality for us HA folks

 

[fenomatik]

Do you have a release date? Where will it be available?

We plan to go kickstarter to raise funds and meet the target goal and if that succeeds then we will go into production phase which usually takes about two months time depending on the volume. I can see around ~3 month time before we start shipping our products to customers. We also need to ensure quality control and through testing before we ship the product.
In the initial phase we will be counting on community support to bring this to life and deliver best product.

Thanks for all your curiosity and , questions and feedback.

 

[fenomatik]

Defiantly a market for this at lower costs. I think with nano tanks being so popular. We need an affordable controller. If I were doing a larger tank I'd probably go for something more refined. I have been temped to DIY my own controller since starting this hobby. A lot of great controllers but costs a ton and doesn't factor in the required accessories to work only adding up more costs.

Personally what I'm looking for is probe monitoring for
PH
salt
temp

Honestly I'm surprised Inkbird hasn't come up with a solution for this. They have good controllers for temps/humidity.

Smart switching for basic on/off. I'd say at least 6 outlets.
1. Return pump
2. Lights
3. Wavemaker
4. Protein skimmer
5. Heater
6. Extra

Basic programming for alerts, schedules, shut offs. Bonus points for MQTT functionality for us HA folks

Thanks for reading and showing interest in providing feedback and asking questions.

I believe you've grasped the idea that this product will be a great choice for smaller tanks (Nano/QTs), where users don't want to spend a lot of money for basic monitoring and control.

Based on multiple feedbacks, I'm also considering adding a salinity measurement probe. We're going with 4 power outlets to cater to basic functions like Temperature and Chiller (if not needed, you can use another device on it). The 3rd and 4th outlets will be free to use with whatever device you want. It's important to note that all outlets are fully customizable and can be run in different modes (tied to a parameter and switch based on their value, schedule-based switching, and full manual), making our smart outlets more versatile.

You'll receive alerts for all actions like temperature spikes or drops, variations in pH, leak detection, and any power outlet switching.

Let me also mention something which i forgot is the device healthcheck , where users will be notified of smart controller going offline.

Thanks again

 

[Aaron75]

This is very interesting to me. I enjoy low cost options and have no problems investing in "risky" options, my concern is lack of outlets. I only have a 25g tank and I use all plugs on a 6 outlet smart strip with a relatively simple tank.

 

[fenomatik]

This is very interesting to me. I enjoy low cost options and have no problems investing in "risky" options, my concern is lack of outlets. I only have a 25g tank and I use all plugs on a 6 outlet smart strip with a relatively simple tank.

Thanks for reading and showing interest in providing feedback and asking questions.

We are getting some really good feedback on this, especially number of power outlets. We are in the process on considering it as an option to make it 6 for this release. This would require some design change and testing.
Your feedback is duly noted !

Thanks again

 

[Aaron75]

Thanks for reading and showing interest in providing feedback and asking questions.

I am getting some really good feedback on this, especially number of power outlets. We are in the process on considering it as an option to make it 6 for this release. This would require some design change and testing.
Your feedback is duly noted !

Thanks again

Awesome, I haven't yet considered a controller on such a small tank just because the cost just doesn't seem justifiable on a small system, but your cost seems to be in the sweet spot. 6 outlets would be ideal. For me, my 6 outlets are 1)Return Pump 2)Heater 3)Light 4)ATO 5)Wavemaker and 6) Doser. Pretty simple and hard to get less than that. You can go down to 4 without a wavemaker and doser I guess.

 

[kindafun]

Thanks for taking interest in feedback/question.
I did mention in the post that pH probe is sold separately for users who want to accurately measure pH of their tank. We're looking at around ~$60 for a very precise pH probe to be sold separately.
Also, if I see enough interest I may also add additional port of salinity and TDS (combined probe for additional cost) as well for complete monitoring of basic parameters.
The device is expected to be around ~$60 + ~$60 for the pH probe , you'll be looking at around $120.

You can understand I am not manufacturing probes but the controller system, also these probes are generally costly.

Feel free to ask any questions.

I had seen this, but figured I would just get a probe separately. I do not buy Neptune's probe.

 

[kindafun]

Yes it can with a PM1. I am currently monitoring two different tank's PH with one brain. Unless I am not understanding your statement.

Thanks, I had not looked into that. And I would prefer "one brain" in that case. $95

 

[rcreightonb]

I’d buy a few of these for secondary tanks if the price holds. I’m assuming the app would have capability to monitor and control more than one of these at the same time.

Would be nice if you had two that they would be able communicate with each other through the cloud and or locally.

If you can scale this up without too many growing pains or high price, I don’t see how this wouldn’t be successful.

If you could add 2 more outlets spaced for larger power supplies, a 2nd probe input and a couple low voltage signal inputs for float switch etc. without much price increase. I think this would bring some needed competition and drive prices in the segment down.

I’d interested in beta testing one of these.

 

[fenomatik]

I’d buy a few of these for secondary tanks if the price holds. I’m assuming the app would have capability to monitor and control more than one of these at the same time.

Would be nice if you had two that they would be able communicate with each other through the cloud and or locally.

If you can scale this up without too many growing pains or high price, I don’t see how this wouldn’t be successful.

If you could add 2 more outlets spaced for larger power supplies, a 2nd probe input and a couple low voltage signal inputs for float switch etc. without much price increase. I think this would bring some needed competition and drive prices in the segment down.

I’d interested in beta testing one of these.

Thanks for reading and showing interest in providing feedback and asking questions.

To answer your questions, Yes, the app is capable of monitoring and controlling more than one device at the same time from anywhere as long as your device has connected WiFi and your cellphone has data plan working.

Can you please elaborate on this
"Would be nice if you had two that they would be able communicate with each other through the cloud and or locally."?

Based on feedback for power outlets , we're looking into and considering 2 more power outlets making it 6. We're still brainstorming on this part

Also, ensure as I stated pH probe is sold separately and the price suggested for the device is something to gauge consumer interest based on the features offered. The final price offered via kickstarter may vary a little if we add couple more features.

Again those are some really valuable points on feedback , really appreciate your interest.

Cheers!

 

[BeanAnimal]

Reading this thread and all of the "well it needs a..." reminds me of "The Pentagon Wars" (1998)

 

[rcreightonb]

Thanks for reading and showing interest in providing feedback and asking questions.

To answer your questions, Yes, the app is capable of monitoring and controlling more than one device at the same time from anywhere as long as your device has connected WiFi and your cellphone has data plan working.

Can you please elaborate on this
"Would be nice if you had two that they would be able communicate with each other through the cloud and or locally."?

Based on feedback for power outlets , we're looking into and considering 2 more power outlets making it 6. We're still brainstorming on this part

Also, ensure as I stated pH probe is sold separately and the price suggested for the device is something to gauge consumer interest based on the features offered. The final price offered via kickstarter may vary a little if we add couple more features.

Again those are some really valuable points on feedback , really appreciate your interest.

Cheers!

I was thinking if you had 2 or more of these and they had capability of seeing each others input state and use that to control outlets on either unit.

 

[fenomatik]

Reading this thread and all of the "well it needs a..." reminds me of "The Pentagon Wars" (1998)

This thread is to offer constructive feedback and ask questions about the product, You mentioned your feedback and I replied to it, if you have anything more constructive to add please do so.
We're not here for trolling and negative sentiments.

Cheers!

 

[fenomatik]

I was thinking if you had 2 or more of these and they had capability of seeing each others input state and use that to control outlets on either unit.

Thats a interesting concept but no, devices are not capable of talking to each other. They would be sharing same set of parameters but different values , so why not control the same device with same set of parameters ?

 

[rcreightonb]

Thats an interesting concept but no, devices are not capable of talking to each other. They would be sharing same set of parameters but different values , so why not control the same device with same set of parameters ?

I was thinking of its use in a remote auto water change system. Where you had one controller at display tank and another at your R.O. System/ mixing station. I can think of a few ways that capability could come in handy in that scenario. If thinking more along the lines of knowing the state of a float switch on a separate controller. I realize you’re not even talking about float switch inputs yet. I just wanted you to consider that for possible future versions.

 

[fenomatik]

I was thinking of its use in a remote auto water change system. Where you had one controller at display tank and another at your R.O. System/ mixing station. I can think of a few ways that capability could come in handy in that scenario. If thinking more along the lines of knowing the state of a float switch on a separate controller. I realize you’re not even talking about float switch inputs yet. I just wanted you to consider that for possible future versions.

Totally agree with this use case where the other body is mixing station.
If you read my previous responses you'll find out that in my first prototype iteration I had all the features available but we have decided to offer a smaller version to establish brand and gain customers trust.
Out bigger and next device will surely have ATO for the tank and for mixing station.

That's a very solid feed back , thanks again