Right now that was just sample coding to make an interactive menu on an LCD as I'm still fairly new to this arduino bit. Anyways, I did make overall improvements to the code, but i won't be using that specific code for the actual pet habitat controller. I'm coming up with more ideas on how to get this thing up and running and how to expand its capabilities which may require more than one arduino board, or upgrade it with a mega. Right now I've acquired 2x DHT11 temperature and humidity sensors and have already tested having it actively update live reports on the small LCD screen I had. I'm not entirely sure I'll be using the 16x2 LCD for running this project of mine, unless I purchase a shield version instead that requires less pins to operate. On top of that I may seek having a ethernet shield reporting data and status on the habitat controller on the web so I could actively check it with my phone whenever I'm not home.
So essentially if I get the coding and design down right the habitat controller will be able to...
- Keep a constant check on the temp and humidity in more than one tank
- Mist one or another tank at specific times or in which the humidity is in need of tweaking
- Heat one or more tanks simultaneously
- Report Temp/Humidity of each tank to my phone
- Report Low Water level in the reservoir
Right now I'm working on getting a reliable misting system in which I can modify to be controlled by my arduino and to have a number of solenoids controlling valves so not all tanks are misted at the same time. The annoying part is choosing a high quality system in which I have to provide my own water reservoir, or get the dinky system with a 2.5 gallon tank attached to it that I would have to seal its electronics better because of their cheap design. Something about their hose lines leaking into the electronics portion of the the system and it typically breaks the so called timer circuit it has.
The high quality system being the MistKing Starter package, and the dinky system being Exo Terra's Monsoon RS400.
So on top of coding I would need to be constructing a relay board that can also handle 120VAC on top of the voltage needed for controlling any valve solenoids so as not to harm the Arduino's circuits. Ayaaahhh so much to do and so little time to do it.