Building my own Aquarium Controller

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi guys
First of all, thanks for the add.
Thanks for existing of this forum, good bless everyone who it is putting his time and knowledge into this forum to help us having a better hobby life.
I need help, a lot of help.
I want to build my own aquarium controller, a huge challenge for me. I know with help I can due.
Idea it is to build a system which will control everything.
The systems to be compose by more sub-systems. Each sub-system will work under the main systems control.
I will need a few basic function to be in place as: dimming, timer, faze, ETC.
I will make a short description of my goal.

I will make a list and after that I will count down to put all together to make a short list to see where I'm with my ideea and what exactly I'm going to do. I will mention all my sub-systems which will be working on my aquarium controller.

Filter system made of:
2x electric valve (to close and open the pipe circuit)
1x fully submersible pump which need to be dimmable.

CO2 system made of:
2x water valve (work as a tap, open/close the water line/pipe, one for each end of water line, one for entrance/intake of water into the pipe and another one at the end of water line before exit of water from the water line)controleted by CO2 sub-systems but also connected to the main controller and must open/close simultaneous.
1x electronic air pressured valve
1x pump in line for water in and out
1x co2 reactor which contain
1x wave maker in the chamber of CO2 reactor
1x PH/CO2 probe reader (one of them or both if you want to know the amount of CO2 dissolved in water for reaching the specific PH).
Ideal to have one CO2 probe reader also connected

O2 systems made of:
2x water valve (work as a tap, open/close the water line/pipe, one for each end of water line, one for entrance/intake of water into the pipe and another one at the end of water line before exit of water from the water line) also connected to the controller and must open/close simultaneous.
1x electronic air pressured valve/ air pump,
1x pump in line for water in and out,
1x O2 reactor which contain 1x wave maker in the chamber of O2 reactor,
1x Dissolved O2 probe reader.

O3 system made of:
1x O3 generator
1x air pump
2x water valve (work as a tap, open/close the water line/pipe, one for each end of water line, one for entrance/intake of water into the pipe and another one at the end of water line before exit of water from the water line) also connected to the controller and must open/close simultaneous.
1x pump in line for water in and out
1x O3 reactor which contain
1x wave maker in the chamber of O3 reactor
1x ORP probe reader

Lighting systems made of: all LED channel must be dimmable
UV-C SS-LED (ultra violet super bright Light emitter diode) 2 CH
SS-LED 16 CH for different colour individual controlled

Cooling and heating system made of:

Cooling systems:
2x water valve (work as a tap, open/close the water line/pipe, one for each end of water line, one for entrance/intake of water into the pipe and another one at the end of water line before exit of water from the water line) also connected to the controller and must open/close simultaneous.
1x pump in line for water in and out
1x fridge for cooling device

Heating systems
2x water valve (work as a tap, open/close the water line/pipe, one for each end of water line, one for entrance/intake of water into the pipe and another one at the end of water line before exit of water from the water line) also connected to the controller and must open/close simultaneous.
1x pump in line for water in and out
1x 400W heater or 2x 200W heater

Dosing pump system made of
8x peristatic dosing pump (for plant feeding and water treatment)

Feeding system made of
1x dosing pump (the motor part only to be use as it is easy to control the food dosage)

ATO system made of
2x water valve (work as a tap, open/close the water line/pipe, one for each end of water line, one for entrance/intake of water into the pipe and another one at the end of water line before exit of water from the water line) also connected to the controller and must open/close simultaneous.
1x pump in line for water out
4x water level sensor

RO system made of
3x water valve (work as a tap, open/close the water line/pipe, one for each end of water line, one for entrance/intake of water into the pipe and another one at the end of water line before exit of water from the water line) also connected to the controller and must open/close simultaneous.
1x designated water pump in line for water in RO system
1x RO system

I know it is a huge list of peripherals to be connected, the good news it is that this device will not work all at the same time, they will be connected all at the same time but will work in a patent. It may be a moment when will work more than half of them but never all of them.

Let’s see:

Filter always ON only OFF when water change
Light UV always ON
LED ON and OFF by patent
O2 systems by patent (depend of reading) but always OFF when water change
O3 systems by patent (depend of reading) but always OFF when water change
CO2 systems by patent (depend of reading) but always OFF when water change
RO system always OFF but ON when water change
ATO system always OFF but ON when water change also standby for top-ups when needed
Cooling system by needed but never ON at the same time with the heating systems
Heating systems by needed but never ON at the same time with the cooling systems

Explanation

Cooling and heating systems work as a pair, the way how it is done will be as a switch between them when one it is ON another one it is OFF and vice versa. The electro valves are synchronised with the paired system so when one of the system it is ON or OFF the valves which are paired with that system will also be ON or OFF by the case.
During water change both systems are switched OFF to prevent any gas to accumulated in any parts of them components.

O2, O3, CO2 will be switched OFF during water change to prevent any gas to accumulate on the reactor chamber. The electro valves are synchronised with the paired system so when one of the system it is ON or OFF the valves which are paired with that system will also be ON or OFF by the case, each system will have his separates pair of synchronised electric valves. One, two or all three systems can be ON or OFF at the same time. Here need to be available a delay switches off option for different pieces which made the systems (see my first e-mail for details).

ATO and RO systems, first will start RO system and will run until it is removed 25% from the total amount of the water from my fish tank (water level sensor will control the running of RO systems giving the signal for ON and for OFF), (the amount of 75% remained will included the pure H2O from the RO system which was send back by RO system. When the total volume it is 75% left in my fish tank (trigged by water level sensor) the RO system stop and then start ATO until it is rich 100% of water in my fish tank (trigged by water level sensor) and then ATO system stop and all electrics valve are switched off.

External filter will be ON always, OFF only when water change happens, the electric valve will also be ON or OFF by the case (synchronised with the filter).

The short list:
V=voltages

1x fully submersible powerful water pump-220V possible 24V, need to look
17x electric water valve-5V/12V
1x CO2 electronic air valve-220V possible lower V, need to look
6x water pump in line for water in and out-5V/12V/24V
3x wave maker in the chamber of gas reactor-220V available lower V, need to look
1x PH probe reader
1x CO2 probe reader
1x electronic in line air pressured valve-220V possible lower V, need to look
2x air pump-220V possible lower V, need to look
1x Dissolved O2 probe reader
1x O3 generator-220V
1x ORP probe reader
2x CH UV-C SS-LED (ultra violet super bright Light emitter diode)-5V/12V/24V
14x CH SS-LED for different light colour individual controlled -5V/12V/24V
1x small fridge for cooling device-220V
1x 400W heater or 2x 200W heater-220V
9x peristatic dosing pump-12V possible 5V, need to look
4x water level sensor
1x designated water pump in line for water in RO system 12V
1x RO system-12V

Many thanks for understanding and helping me. Any idea it is more than welcome and very appreciates. I’m happy to share my project and my idea with anyone and if somebody want to build something similar or to use my idea it is more than welcome. If somebody need more details about the hardware I’m happy to help with the peripheries and how I made them.
Many thanks again.
I look forward for your comments.
Thank you.

2

How is your project different from the dozens of Arduino aquarium controller projects that you can find via a Google or youtube search?

3

You made a great start, really. A good list of what you want to do.

Now what you should do:

  1. figure out what hardware you need. Sensors connect directly to an Arduino, devices such as peristaltic pumps and relays will need an external driver.

  2. Check the power requirements for these devices, to size your power supply.

  3. Count the number of I/O ports needed (some sensors may share a bus like SPI or I2C, others need one or more dedicated pins). Considering the list you'll probably be looking at an Arduino Mega (54 I/O pins), but you may still need port extenders such as the MCP23008 (8 ports) or MCP23018 (16 ports).

  4. start building! One component at a time.
    Maybe get a second Arduino for your testing - use that to connect the devices, one by one, making sure the code works so you can easily integrate it in your main sketch.

4

Hi mikb55
Thanks for your reply.
I didn’t said that my project will be different, I want to be done by me to meet my needs.
As a few different, I found that all the controller which I saw on internet are not able to hold all that equipment. More than this everything works as a system and it is not build to work with sub-systems, if one sub-systems fail will not affect the entire controller, also there are not pair function, not delay function between components when one component of a sub-systems it is shut off and turn on, dimming function at all power head and pumps, and most important I couldn't find one with so many power outlets for connecting all my equipment and to personalised each power outlet.
I as believe that to be able to work properly it is need to be made from start to hold everything and not just adding more devices to one controller which have his maxim capacity and ending by failing the controller because are too many task for the systems and not enough power or not strong enough hardware.
Many thanks for your comment, it is very appreciating and I hope that on the end my idea will come to life with all the benefits which can share.

Many thanks.

5

Seems like a lot of redundant systems which can be simplified. As listed, this might be the size of a small car. In/out valves for every operation can be dropped down to single valves, and since the filter pump runs continuous, it can be the pump for other systems (heat/cool?) How big of a tank are you dealing with? Fresh/salt?

6

Hi tinman13kup
Many thanks for your reply.
My thank it is 1000 L and it is a fresh water tank
Yes, firstly I was thinking as you think but after a very close look I found that eliminating all that valves all sub-systems become part of the main systems which make the controller to act as there it is only one system in place.
Also if it is appearing a fault the entire system will fail which it is my point, I don’t want this to happen.
Also by using all that valve I’m reducing the unnecessary flow thru the un-working systems at that time, more than this if I use the main pump to push water thru all those pipe the flow will be reduced considerably and the pump will run under a lot of unnecessary pressure to push water thru all that pipe.
Just an example: It is one easy job to push 2500L/or more of water per hour thru 3 meters of pipe and it is something else to push 2500L/or more of water thru 15 meters of pipe, also thing about the mixing of water passing from one system into next one (as an example water from CO2 system going straight into O2 or O3 systems- will result in that water the quantity of CO2 will be a lot less before reaching where it is needed because it was mixed with O2 and even worse O3 which it is more unstable as molecular connexion or water flow from heating systems into the cooling systems).
Your reply it is very helpfull as it is ofering possibility to explain why I chose this way of doing sub-systems.
Many thanks.

7

Hi guys
I'm looking for a large display for my controller.
I found this one 10 inch 1366x768 IPS Capacitive Touch LCD Screen Kit Monitor Auto Backing Priority For Raspberry Pi Display Monitor HDMI VGA USB
Can this to be use for my project?

Specification:

Interface :LVDS 1CH 8 BIT
Input Port :DC005 socket
Input V :12V
Input Current :2A
Resolution : 1366 x 3 x 7680 (RGB)
Viewing angle :L89 R89 U89 D89
Brightness :400cd/m2
Contrast : 800:1
Response time :20ms
Backlight : LED
working temperature :-20 to 80 DEG C
Screen Size(inside) :223.08(H) x125(V) cm
Screen Size(around) :234.53(H) x139.97(V) cm

Package Included:

1* 10.1 inch LCD Screen
1* 5V Drive Board
1* Touch screen Controller Board
2* Connect Cable
1* Keyboard Plate
1* Flat Cable
1* Astern Priority Touch Line
1* Astern AV2

Please advise, any comment it is welcome.
Many thanks.

8

demonangels:
Display Monitor HDMI VGA USB

That's all the connections that are available? Doesn't look like this could possible work, even before going into the problems of addressing a huge graphics array with device that is as memory-constrained as an Arduino.

What may work better: tablet with Android app, that communicates with your controls.

But I think you're jumping the gun here. First start building the rest, the serial monitor is very useful for getting the basics to work.

  1. get the automation to work; hard-code all the settings (using #defines) in your sketch; monitor through Serial.
  2. with that working, write a user interface that allows you to see all the data (status of sensors, motors, etc) on some external device.
  3. write the user interface part that can change those settings (and think of a way on how to store them - you have lots and lots of peripherals, so likely lots and lots of settings, and only 1024 bytes or so of EEPROM to store everything in).

By the time you finished step 1 you know a lot more about the Arduino and what it can (and can not) do, and what you want to do with the project (your requirements WILL change along the way), allowing you to make a much more informed choice on what kind of user interface you want for it.

10

Hi guys
I want an advice about Peristaltic dosing pump for my anduino project.
I found 4 type of them , each one working with diferent voltage. 3V, 6V, 12V, 24V.
Which one it is the best option for my project , keep in mind that I will have 9 of them on my set up, but not working all at the same time. Most of them are 5W power.
Also I found electro valves working on 12V, normal close and normal open, also most of them on 5W and 8W power.
For my project I need 17 of them, all working in pairs but not all of them at the same time. I can't say exactly how many will be ON at the same time but by my plan never more then half at the same time ( half of them at the same time in the worse case).
The question it is what type of controller hardware do I need for this electro valve to conect them to the controller and to control them as I write few post up?

Many thanks for your answer and advice, any comment it is welcome.
Many thanks.

11

Is this your first Arduino project?
Do you have a good understanding of the basics of electricity, voltage, current, power, electrical safety when water is involved etc? Do you know what an isolation transformer is? Do you know what a memory leak is?

I ask because building a complex life support system for animals that must be > 99.9% reliable isn't really a beginners project.

13

demonangels:
The question it is what type of controller hardware do I need for this electro valve to conect them to the controller and to control them as I write few post up?

MOSFET switches work great for this.

When it comes to voltages, basically any will do, but the lower the voltage the higher the current. That's why you want to go up in voltage.

They'll have to be on a separate power supply. Standardise on a single voltage for all your peripherals, 12V is a good one as it's common and you can easily get pretty powerful 12V power supplies. Unless you have a way of guaranteeing that not everything is on at the same time, ever, get one powerful enough to run them all at the same time.