AquaPi - An open-souce Aquarium Controller

[TheFalseReality]

I'm working on something that's open-sourced and customizable yet affordable. I got inspired by Reef-Pi, but I am an avid Home Assistant (HA) user and realized the Reef-Pi server was redundant and somewhat unintuitive. I thought, since we have HA, we don't need something somewhat powerful to run a web-server, just something with GPIO that can send the data to HA. I've been using ESP32 devices all over the house now, and made something just for the Aquarium! Using common temperature probes and optical IR sensors for water level. Also optional, is Alas Scientific probes and EZO boards for the more advanced monitoring. I'm using HA Blueprints function to make easy automations for the controller, akin to Neptune Tasks but much more powerful and intuitive!

Take a look here:

AquaPi for ESPHome

Powered by HomeAssistant & ESPHome

therealfalsereality.github.io

And some Blueprints that can still be used for anything aquarium related. Constantly making more:

TheRealFalseReality

Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first.

community.home-assistant.io

The Aquarium meets the Smart Home!

Monitor your Aquarium’s Temperature and Water Level. With EZO Circuit Boards and Probe upgrades, you can also monitor your pH, Salinity, Dissolved Oxygen and other EZO circuits and probes.
Powered by an esp32 and Controlled by HomeAssistant. You can set alerts for anything, make automations for auto-top-off (see Blueprints), and make beautiful graphs of your aquarium’s data (see screenshot).

 

[Reefer Matt]

Very cool!

 

[officialreefbros]

Awesome! That's great idea

 

[TheFalseReality]

Working on a general UI and adding EZO Pumps! Almost ready to fully share

 

[CBonito]

That looks great! It's not all big, orange and ugly.

 

[takumaui]

Definitely following this one, thanks for sharing!

 

[TheFalseReality]

I updated my GitHub Page, take a look for more information and suggestions!

AquaPi for ESPHome

Powered by HomeAssistant & ESPHome

therealfalsereality.github.io

 

[strich]

This looks really cool mate! I'm still early in my planning phase for my build but I may be interested in using and contributing. Do you have any kind of roadmap or TODO list?

 

[thetastate]

I'm working on something that's open-sourced and customizable yet affordable. I got inspired by Reef-Pi, but I am an avid Home Assistant (HA) user and realized the Reef-Pi server was redundant and somewhat unintuitive. I thought, since we have HA, we don't need something somewhat powerful to run a web-server, just something with GPIO that can send the data to HA. I've been using ESP32 devices all over the house now, and made something just for the Aquarium! Using common temperature probes and optical IR sensors for water level. Also optional, is Alas Scientific probes and EZO boards for the more advanced monitoring. I'm using HA Blueprints function to make easy automations for the controller, akin to Neptune Tasks but much more powerful and intuitive!

Awesome @TheFalseReality! Snap!

I've been using HA and esphome for around 4 years.

Still only scratching the surface of what's possible.

I agree that this solution is potentially more powerful than the orange and grey gear, way more extensible, and affordable.

A neat pattern is to share the framework freely but with the option of commercialising hardware solutions for those people that don't want to put the hardware solutions together.

Your solution looks really good.

I see the key as documenting the hardware options and esphome yaml so users can just copy templates and no need for soldering esp32 pins.

Here is a dashboard (Lovelace) of what I've been running for the last few years:

Same Home Assistant dashboard on mobile:

Switches:
In Australia, Tuya based devices are pervasive and relatively cheap. Yes, ziggbee, zwave, thread/matter is preferable but Bunnings (our Walmart) sells mainly Tuya wifi. I also use Kasa/tp-link power boards. For smart plugs and power boards I use the localtuya and tp-link integrations.

Sensors:
Apart from those sensors exposed through integrations, the key sensors are all esp32 based boards with plug in sensors and running esphome. My current sensors include:

• Water Level
  • I've experimented with optical, thin film pressure, infra red, and ultrasonic sensors.
  • For reliably measuring level of a liquid in a container in the range of around 10mm-500mm I've found ultrasonic to be the best solution. Use case example is level in the sump or RODI top off.
  • For other use cases, optical binary sensors may be the choice
  • For measuring the volume of small containers (e.g. dosing containers) thin pressure sensors
• Temperature
  • These are super cheap and reliable. You can use two wire thermistor or three wire probes using the dallas esphome platform.
  • I typically run one in the return and one where the chiller returns so you can see the difference and active cooling/heating cycles
• pH
  • There are plenty of cheap and middle range pH probes that will integrate. Calibration is reasonable straight forward.
  • I have two installed to identify drift and when to calibrate.
  • I don't have a calcium reactor but should do with the cost of 3 part. pH probe and Home Assistant automation ideal for pegging co2 to pH.
• Conductivity
  • I'm yet to find a perfect proxy for salinity but conductivity probes definitely demonstrate trend that can create alerts to investigate with a refractometer or quality salinity kit.
• CO2/VOC
  • Easy and cheap sensors for CO2 and volatile organic compounds. Definitely shows trends for airflow and more VOC when plastic components are heated.
• Flow
  • Can use wheel or Hall Effect sensors. I've not found anything for reasonable price for above 3/4" tube.
• Current draw
  • These are super useful. Try to find power boards or plugs with embedded power meters. If a device stops drawing current it can trigger an automation for alert. I use them on return pumps.
• Water leaks
  • binary sensors to detect water leaks. Cheap Tuya based are available or easy to make a conductivity / resistance based sensor on esp32.

Integrations:

• We have developed an integration to the ReefBot to automatically dashboard any test results and automate dosing based on critical sensor values.
• I have reviewed the fantastic work that @mard and @fendanto have done on MobiusBLE. I have started work on adapting to esphome that will allow wireless control of these devices from anywhere. I have it compiled but it's not finding my Mobius devices. Would appreciate some help in getting this one going and ported to esphome. An MQTT integration may also work but esphome allows easier control from Home Assistant.
• 0-10v integrations via esphome and esp32 boards is pretty straight forward. Both as a controller and device.

Feeding:

• We have developed an automated solution called Yumi for feeding frozen food. It keeps the food as a liquid slurry just above freezing and automates the feeding based on a schedule you define in a Home Assistant calendar. It stirs the slurry just before feeding and transports the food to the tank using a peristaltic pump with larger diameter medical grade tube. This is all controlled wirelessly from anywhere in the world. There is 2L of food in the glass container that lasts me about 4 weeks.
• Yumi also works for coral feeding with chilled aminos or plankton.
• Dry pellet feeders are readily available and integrated to Home Assistant. I use the localtuya to automate dry food feeding from Home Assistant.

Cameras:

• Simple and powerful remote monitoring.
• Suggest anything that provides an RTSP or ONVIF stream. There are Home Assistant integrations for these. I use Tapo.
• Another cheap option is the esp32 boards that come with a tiny camera. They have poor dynamic range but are useful say in a sump to see the skimmer cup.

Automations:
The scope here is endless. Home Assistant has a powerful automation engine. You could use node-red as well or instead, but Home Assistant is plenty powerful. Some example automations I use include:

• Auto top off for RODI
• Auto water changes (I do 10l per day)
• Auto dosing
• Alerts:
  • Connectivity
  • Power
  • Power consumption abnormality
  • Sensor values out of range (e.g. temp, ph, conductivity, levels, flow)
• Feeding frozen and pellets
• Scheduled maintenance reminders
• Scenes (e.g. feed)
• ...

Keen to collaborate.

 

[TheFalseReality]

This looks really cool mate! I'm still early in my planning phase for my build but I may be interested in using and contributing. Do you have any kind of roadmap or TODO list?

I just finished the base product and added some EZO-Pumps. Check out my GitHub if you wanna help out! I can open issues or added to the project for TODOs. Namely, I want to get my hands on a water leak detector and add that. Although, it may just be a binary sensor and easily implemented....

GitHub - TheRealFalseReality/aquapi: AquaPi for ESPHome & Home Assistant

AquaPi for ESPHome & Home Assistant. Contribute to TheRealFalseReality/aquapi development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[strich]

Yep I already started watching it. I'm not able to actively use it yet, but I think I'll make it a big part of my upcoming plans for sure.

 

[TheFalseReality]

Awesome @TheFalseReality! Snap!

I've been using HA and esphome for around 4 years.

Still only scratching the surface of what's possible.

I agree that this solution is potentially more powerful than the orange and grey gear, way more extensible, and affordable.

A neat pattern is to share the framework freely but with the option of commercialising hardware solutions for those people that don't want to put the hardware solutions together.

Your solution looks really good.

I see the key as documenting the hardware options and esphome yaml so users can just copy templates and no need for soldering esp32 pins.

Here is a dashboard (Lovelace) of what I've been running for the last few years:

Same Home Assistant dashboard on mobile:

Switches:
In Australia, Tuya based devices are pervasive and relatively cheap. Yes, ziggbee, zwave, thread/matter is preferable but Bunnings (our Walmart) sells mainly Tuya wifi. I also use Kasa/tp-link power boards. For smart plugs and power boards I use the localtuya and tp-link integrations.

Sensors:
Apart from those sensors exposed through integrations, the key sensors are all esp32 based boards with plug in sensors and running esphome. My current sensors include:

• Water Level
  • I've experimented with optical, thin film pressure, infra red, and ultrasonic sensors.
  • For reliably measuring level of a liquid in a container in the range of around 10mm-500mm I've found ultrasonic to be the best solution. Use case example is level in the sump or RODI top off.
  • For other use cases, optical binary sensors may be the choice
  • For measuring the volume of small containers (e.g. dosing containers) thin pressure sensors
• Temperature
  • These are super cheap and reliable. You can use two wire thermistor or three wire probes using the dallas esphome platform.
  • I typically run one in the return and one where the chiller returns so you can see the difference and active cooling/heating cycles
• pH
  • There are plenty of cheap and middle range pH probes that will integrate. Calibration is reasonable straight forward.
  • I have two installed to identify drift and when to calibrate.
  • I don't have a calcium reactor but should do with the cost of 3 part. pH probe and Home Assistant automation ideal for pegging co2 to pH.
• Conductivity
  • I'm yet to find a perfect proxy for salinity but conductivity probes definitely demonstrate trend that can create alerts to investigate with a refractometer or quality salinity kit.
• CO2/VOC
  • Easy and cheap sensors for CO2 and volatile organic compounds. Definitely shows trends for airflow and more VOC when plastic components are heated.
• Flow
  • Can use wheel or Hall Effect sensors. I've not found anything for reasonable price for above 3/4" tube.
• Current draw
  • These are super useful. Try to find power boards or plugs with embedded power meters. If a device stops drawing current it can trigger an automation for alert. I use them on return pumps.
• Water leaks
  • binary sensors to detect water leaks. Cheap Tuya based are available or easy to make a conductivity / resistance based sensor on esp32.

Integrations:

• We have developed an integration to the ReefBot to automatically dashboard any test results and automate dosing based on critical sensor values.
• I have reviewed the fantastic work that @mard and @fendanto have done on MobiusBLE. I have started work on adapting to esphome that will allow wireless control of these devices from anywhere. I have it compiled but it's not finding my Mobius devices. Would appreciate some help in getting this one going and ported to esphome. An MQTT integration may also work but esphome allows easier control from Home Assistant.
• 0-10v integrations via esphome and esp32 boards is pretty straight forward. Both as a controller and device.

Feeding:

• We have developed an automated solution called Yumi for feeding frozen food. It keeps the food as a liquid slurry just above freezing and automates the feeding based on a schedule you define in a Home Assistant calendar. It stirs the slurry just before feeding and transports the food to the tank using a peristaltic pump with larger diameter medical grade tube. This is all controlled wirelessly from anywhere in the world. There is 2L of food in the glass container that lasts me about 4 weeks.
• Yumi also works for coral feeding with chilled aminos or plankton.
• Dry pellet feeders are readily available and integrated to Home Assistant. I use the localtuya to automate dry food feeding from Home Assistant.

Cameras:

• Simple and powerful remote monitoring.
• Suggest anything that provides an RTSP or ONVIF stream. There are Home Assistant integrations for these. I use Tapo.
• Another cheap option is the esp32 boards that come with a tiny camera. They have poor dynamic range but are useful say in a sump to see the skimmer cup.

Automations:
The scope here is endless. Home Assistant has a powerful automation engine. You could use node-red as well or instead, but Home Assistant is plenty powerful. Some example automations I use include:

• Auto top off for RODI
• Auto water changes (I do 10l per day)
• Auto dosing
• Alerts:
  • Connectivity
  • Power
  • Power consumption abnormality
  • Sensor values out of range (e.g. temp, ph, conductivity, levels, flow)
• Feeding frozen and pellets
• Scheduled maintenance reminders
• Scenes (e.g. feed)
• ...

Keen to collaborate.

Awesome! Thank you for that!
Honestly, I am not great at documenting and rather just develop the ecosystem. I have to use AI to write up documents sometimes so I don't sound too technical. I could use help so I don't spend so much time writing.

The hardest part, IMO, is sharing a good dashboard. I hate the mosaic setup in the default layout manager for HA, I simply cannot get the results I want. Plus, every AquaPi sensor may have a unique name because the MAC address is added, in case you use more than 1. So, for a workaround, if they use can install Auto-Entities and Layout-Card and a few more cards, I can share a dashboard a lot more easily (using layout-card also allows me to build a mosaic dashboard that is mobile-friendly, so in hopes we just need to create one, universal dashboard). I got something working that adds entities based on a ID, that is on an AquaPi device. I haven't shared that yet but will add it to my "Home Assistant Cards & Templates" directory in my GitHub with more information. For example, I can pre-install Home Assistant on an SD card and edit some files on that card to pre-load some dashboard, integrations, cards, helpers, blueprints, etc. I can sell an "AquaPi version of HA" with most everything needed to go when you add an AquaPi to HA. I can elaborate more if wanted. Again, I'm not a writer but I hope this kinda give you an idea of what I hope to achieve for a curated UI for a quick setup.
Also, default units are in USA standards, but I have it configured to change units as needed. It may be an issue with some calibration blueprints but that's not as important right now.

Switches:
Anything compatible with HA will work! I use TP-Link Kasa Strips with energy monitoring for my setup. I would like to sell these as an "add-on" with AquaPi, for a complete setup.

Sensors:

I mostly use Atlas-Scientific sensors, although I don't know if they are available word-wide, as they are based in New York. Being American, they are probably more expensive than the orange and grey products, but these have much more quality and durability.

I went this route because I wanted to make the AquaPi modular. So you don't have to pay for the pH, conductivity circuits, etc., all in one go, especially if you had no use for certain probes/sensors. Atlas-Scientific sells separate EZO boards for the logic of interpreting the data from the probes, so I can build separate housing for these EZO boards to sell with the probe, and not the base version of the AquaPi. So you can choose not to use them at all, or upgrade as you go! Versus spending $1000 for everything all at once. I think this is what really sets AquaPi apart from the rest.

• Water Level
  • Currently using IR Optical Sensors. However, since theses are generally binary sensors, the code should work with any binary sensor!
  • For example, I had a EXPENSIVE ATO, only for the control board to go out on me. So I repurposed the float switch to add to the AquaPi and now I have another sensor! I designed the PCB board to include extra terminal blocks, so you can just wire whatever you wanted. Some are coded for extra binary sensors, but some are not, so you can add your own! I think this also sets AquaPi apart from the rest.
  • I would like to experiment with other sensors for a direct measurement in water level, in % or in volume. But for now, just binary sensors or High, Normal or Low.
• Temperature
  • Yes, using cheap Dallas sensors! I have it wired so you can daisy chain them using Y-cables and add more and more! Currently the code is written to support 2 but you can always add another sensor to the yaml. I may add more by default but I just started with 2. One issue is that some are really inaccurate or need to be calibrated. I included substitutions in the yaml code so you can add your own offset if needed, but this is a little advanced (as you'd need to recompile the code) and may not be suited for some.
  • I would like to add support for more temperature sensors, namely the Atlas-Scientific RTD Probe for better accuracy and configuration.
• pH
  • Using Atlas-Scientific pH Kit. This uses the Lab-grade probe and comes with everything needed to build a external pH circuit, namely the isolation board and EZO circuit. This is a little more expensive the the other pH probes out there solely because of quality. I wanted to use the Lab-grade probe because it will stay calibrated for over a year and has a lifespan of over 2.5 years. The cheaper, Consumer-grade probe needs to be calibrated every 3 months and lasts a year. Honestly, no one wants to do that, and it creates issues with consumers when they see an inaccurate pH reading simply because you got to calibrate it often, and then you realize the factory recommends you to replace it yearly. What do you think?
  • The EZO board can work with any pH other branded probe as well.
  • These would ship calibrated but I would also create blueprints to calibrate them on the consumer end. And I can sell calibration solutions but any 0, 7, and 14 point solutions would work.
• Conductivity
  • Using Atlas-Scientific Conductivity K 1.0 Kit. Separate EZO board and quality EC-Probe.
  • The EZO board can work with any EC other branded probe as well.
  • These would ship calibrated but I would also create blueprints to calibrate them on the consumer end. And I can sell calibration solutions but any 12880, and 80000 umS/cm point solutions would work.
• CO - Gaseous
  • Using Atlas-Scientific CO2 Embedded Carbon Dioxide Sensor. I don't yet have it fully designed and prototype made yet, just supported in the code. I personally use one of these sensors in another project, so the code is good
• Peristaltic Dosing Pump
  • Using Atlas-Scientific Peristaltic Pump. Great for micro-dose of medicine/treatment or a quick or slow water change!!! Up to 105 mL/min
  • Current testing. I have protypes made and using them now but not on my website yet.
• Humidity
  • Using Atlas-Scientific Humidity Embedded Humidity Probe. Code is written but not yet tested
• Flow-Rate
  • Using Atlas-Scientific Flow Meter. Currently I just see 1/2". Not started yet.
• Water Leaks
  • Not started yet but I'm sure any binary sensor type sensor will work.
• ORP, Dissolved Oxygen and possibly more.
  • Not yet started but on the list to be implemented These are quite expensive.

Integrations:

• I am not skilled enough to begin with creating integrations....
• But that ReefBot looks nice, I'll try looking for it soon.
• I recently disabled BLE improv because that took SO MUCH memory for the ESP32 and really hindered my ability to add more components. For example, I was approaching under 20,000 bytes of memory available while developing this with BLE improv on and started experienceing major crashes and could NOT get WiFi improv to work at all, which is what I wanted to be the main way to add the AquaPi to the WiFi anyway, not Bluetooth. While troubleshooting, I just removed the BLE component and WOW, I went to having 170,000+ bytes memory available and everything started working much better. This may kill some available integrations....

Feeding

• I have tried and not yet succeeded in building anything for feeding, for mainly pellets. I have not even considered a frozen food delivery system! That sounds amazing, I would love to look into this further!

Cameras:

• You got the right idea. I used Kasa cams. They can be tricky to get into HA. I haven't really found an easier solution yet.

Automations:

• I see the other brand has Tasks, and I really didn't like them at all. But, HA has Blueprints!!!! So, I started created these for myself because I have at least 3 tanks and got tired for writing an automation for each. So I learned how to make blueprints and HA has a neat little button to add it to your system. My hope is that I can link to my blueprint page, and consumers can just add whatever they needed. If they purchase a pre-installed HA bundle with AquaPi, I can pre-load these blueprints for quick access as soon as its set up.
• Check out my Blueprints Wiki. Its a WIP, and I have a lot more created, but just not added to this page yet. Check out my Gists for a complete list.

Lets Collaborate!

 

[Skoch]

Can you all let us know the exact model cameras you are using? I am using a Ubiquiti UniFi G4 Instant as I already have their system running 12 other cameras in the house. The issue is the focal point as it (and most security cameras) are made for a shot from a bit longer distance than 6" or less. Currently I am using a phone camera filter ring adapter with a Macro lens on it which allows it to focus, but creates distortion on the periphery. What I do like is being able to quickly scrub through footage so I can see when corals are extending or retracting and monitoring fish and invert activity. I can share the RTSP stream to pi and still have the 30 days of HD+ recordings available.

 

[TheFalseReality]

Can you all let us know the exact model cameras you are using? I am using a Ubiquiti UniFi G4 Instant as I already have their system running 12 other cameras in the house. The issue is the focal point as it (and most security cameras) are made for a shot from a bit longer distance than 6" or less. Currently I am using a phone camera filter ring adapter with a Macro lens on it which allows it to focus, but creates distortion on the periphery. What I do like is being able to quickly scrub through footage so I can see when corals are extending or retracting and monitoring fish and invert activity. I can share the RTSP stream to pi and still have the 30 days of HD+ recordings available.

Using a Kasa Cam Pan & Tilt but you'd need to expose the RTSP stream via an add on, kasa-cam. But honestly, HA isn't really an NVR, I use MotionEYE or Frigate to save videos and pictures. Or for best performance, I just have an SD in that cam and use the KASA app to scrub through footage on the phone. I just use HA mostly to view the stream.

 

[TheFalseReality]

Awesome @TheFalseReality! Snap!

I've been using HA and esphome for around 4 years.

Still only scratching the surface of what's possible.

I agree that this solution is potentially more powerful than the orange and grey gear, way more extensible, and affordable.

A neat pattern is to share the framework freely but with the option of commercialising hardware solutions for those people that don't want to put the hardware solutions together.

Your solution looks really good.

I see the key as documenting the hardware options and esphome yaml so users can just copy templates and no need for soldering esp32 pins.

Here is a dashboard (Lovelace) of what I've been running for the last few years:

Same Home Assistant dashboard on mobile:

Switches:
In Australia, Tuya based devices are pervasive and relatively cheap. Yes, ziggbee, zwave, thread/matter is preferable but Bunnings (our Walmart) sells mainly Tuya wifi. I also use Kasa/tp-link power boards. For smart plugs and power boards I use the localtuya and tp-link integrations.

Sensors:
Apart from those sensors exposed through integrations, the key sensors are all esp32 based boards with plug in sensors and running esphome. My current sensors include:

• Water Level
  • I've experimented with optical, thin film pressure, infra red, and ultrasonic sensors.
  • For reliably measuring level of a liquid in a container in the range of around 10mm-500mm I've found ultrasonic to be the best solution. Use case example is level in the sump or RODI top off.
  • For other use cases, optical binary sensors may be the choice
  • For measuring the volume of small containers (e.g. dosing containers) thin pressure sensors
• Temperature
  • These are super cheap and reliable. You can use two wire thermistor or three wire probes using the dallas esphome platform.
  • I typically run one in the return and one where the chiller returns so you can see the difference and active cooling/heating cycles
• pH
  • There are plenty of cheap and middle range pH probes that will integrate. Calibration is reasonable straight forward.
  • I have two installed to identify drift and when to calibrate.
  • I don't have a calcium reactor but should do with the cost of 3 part. pH probe and Home Assistant automation ideal for pegging co2 to pH.
• Conductivity
  • I'm yet to find a perfect proxy for salinity but conductivity probes definitely demonstrate trend that can create alerts to investigate with a refractometer or quality salinity kit.
• CO2/VOC
  • Easy and cheap sensors for CO2 and volatile organic compounds. Definitely shows trends for airflow and more VOC when plastic components are heated.
• Flow
  • Can use wheel or Hall Effect sensors. I've not found anything for reasonable price for above 3/4" tube.
• Current draw
  • These are super useful. Try to find power boards or plugs with embedded power meters. If a device stops drawing current it can trigger an automation for alert. I use them on return pumps.
• Water leaks
  • binary sensors to detect water leaks. Cheap Tuya based are available or easy to make a conductivity / resistance based sensor on esp32.

Integrations:

• We have developed an integration to the ReefBot to automatically dashboard any test results and automate dosing based on critical sensor values.
• I have reviewed the fantastic work that @mard and @fendanto have done on MobiusBLE. I have started work on adapting to esphome that will allow wireless control of these devices from anywhere. I have it compiled but it's not finding my Mobius devices. Would appreciate some help in getting this one going and ported to esphome. An MQTT integration may also work but esphome allows easier control from Home Assistant.
• 0-10v integrations via esphome and esp32 boards is pretty straight forward. Both as a controller and device.

Feeding:

• We have developed an automated solution called Yumi for feeding frozen food. It keeps the food as a liquid slurry just above freezing and automates the feeding based on a schedule you define in a Home Assistant calendar. It stirs the slurry just before feeding and transports the food to the tank using a peristaltic pump with larger diameter medical grade tube. This is all controlled wirelessly from anywhere in the world. There is 2L of food in the glass container that lasts me about 4 weeks.
• Yumi also works for coral feeding with chilled aminos or plankton.
• Dry pellet feeders are readily available and integrated to Home Assistant. I use the localtuya to automate dry food feeding from Home Assistant.

Cameras:

• Simple and powerful remote monitoring.
• Suggest anything that provides an RTSP or ONVIF stream. There are Home Assistant integrations for these. I use Tapo.
• Another cheap option is the esp32 boards that come with a tiny camera. They have poor dynamic range but are useful say in a sump to see the skimmer cup.

Automations:
The scope here is endless. Home Assistant has a powerful automation engine. You could use node-red as well or instead, but Home Assistant is plenty powerful. Some example automations I use include:

• Auto top off for RODI
• Auto water changes (I do 10l per day)
• Auto dosing
• Alerts:
  • Connectivity
  • Power
  • Power consumption abnormality
  • Sensor values out of range (e.g. temp, ph, conductivity, levels, flow)
• Feeding frozen and pellets
• Scheduled maintenance reminders
• Scenes (e.g. feed)
• ...

Keen to collaborate.

I may end up redesigning the case to be more ergonomic and easy to mount on the wall. But what would really make this stand out is the ability to test MG, CA, PO4, NO3 and ALK or even Ammonia, somewhat like this Maven Hydros and the ReefBot, I just dont know where to begin...

 

[TheFalseReality]

Can you all let us know the exact model cameras you are using? I am using a Ubiquiti UniFi G4 Instant as I already have their system running 12 other cameras in the house. The issue is the focal point as it (and most security cameras) are made for a shot from a bit longer distance than 6" or less. Currently I am using a phone camera filter ring adapter with a Macro lens on it which allows it to focus, but creates distortion on the periphery. What I do like is being able to quickly scrub through footage so I can see when corals are extending or retracting and monitoring fish and invert activity. I can share the RTSP stream to pi and still have the 30 days of HD+ recordings available.

I'm gonna work on a camera system that is ideal for this and affordable, hopefully ESPHome friendly.

 

[officialreefbros]

Is Hydros compatible with home assistant. I wonder if it's worth trying to bridge them depending on where their price point is for it

 

[TheFalseReality]

It likely isn't. They tend to use their own environment. But that being said, there could be an integration or a community made one around.

 

[Wolfw28]

I'm gonna work on a camera system that is ideal for this and affordable, hopefully ESPHome friendly.

Esp32cam

 

[TheFalseReality]

Esp32cam

true, I'm gonna take a look. I also think my next project is to get a RGB 'reader' to be able to auto test parameters and toxins!