We were just given a little fish tank as a present with some ‘entry-level’ fish (2xGuppy).
As my friend was explaining the few things I had to do for it every day I was immediately composing the specs and the feature list of my next side-project at the back of my head.
Mains powered
WiFi connectivity
Underwater temperature sensor
Relays capable of switching mains
Little servo motor for a 3D printed feeder I can design or find ready off Thingiverse
Camera for streaming
Needless to say it will be fully MQTT compatible to integrate 100% with HestiaPi so that you can control and monitor it over your phone remotely. You will also get notifications if situation xyz occurred.
I already saw too many DIY approaches with less or more features.
Obviously this is not a ‘one size fits all’ project but I am trying to understand what a minimum viable product should be to start from somewhere.
I am not your ideal target user base as I have a hydroponics setup but I’ll contribute some information on my setup to help move the conversation.
I have a fish tank with two hydroponic beds above the tanks. An Eheim canister filter pumps water to the top bed. The water flows from the first bed down to the second bed, then finally back to the aquarium. I did a similar automation where I would use a relay to shut the valve to the top bed every 15 minutes to flood it with water and then reopen. The second bed catches the surge of water as a sort of buffer but also serves as an oversized bio filter.
Here is a picture I took during installation before installing the 2nd bed below the first.
For the lights control I have a programmable timer switch plugged into the mains and the light plugs into that. Sure I have to program it manually but I only programmed it once when I bought it and it holds your settings even if you unplug it.
For the heaters you set the temperature you want manually. Again, have to do this manually but I leave it on the same temperature all the time because the fish appreciate the consistency.
For camera I have an Amcrest IP camera
For automated feeding I have an Eheim programmable feeder, although my setup now produces enough algae that I don’t need to feed the fish
For remotely monitoring, I have a solar-powered battery-operated wi-fi weather station I built. I can power it or charge it from USB on cloudy days but it can last a week without recharging. What I like about it is I can attach not only probes for water and room temperature but probes for outside pressure, humidity, etc. I considered connecting this to my HestiaPi to get multiple points of data for the current temperature OpenHAB sees in the house, but I also didn’t want to add points of failure to my thermostat setup.
What I like about your idea is you combine most of the functionality I have with my setup into one box, but I also kind of prefer my setup as it is more modular. I can add or remove functionality as my aquarium setup changes. I don’t get the ability to manually turn off lights but a Z-Wave or ip-based main switch in place of my programmable timer switch I’m sure I can interface that with OpenHAB on the Hestiapi if I wanted to. Your idea sounds like it has potential to be more user friendly.
I think your system is called Aquaponic. I’ve had a Hydroponic system a few years ago before HestiaPi existed and I remember wanting to have some easier way to monitor and control. Aquaponic systems are also in my mind in a future expansion of hobbies
So, I need to keep modularity in the requirements whatever this is going to be as there is definitely a common ground for these setups.
Will keep researching…
