Seeking Project Ideas: Combining Software Engineering and Reef Keeping

[Shadoww]

Hello everyone

I wanted to ask something of the community. I am a software engineer who has been laid off for about 8 months now, and to put it mildly I have had a terrible time motivating myself to work on side projects to showcase to potential employers.

You are asking yourself right now: WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH US?

The reef hobby has been my escape during these trying times, so much so that I want to make a personal project that provides something impactful for the hobby. This has nothing to do with money and everything to do with me wanting to combine my passion for reef keeping with my professional endeavors. The only money aspect of this is my desire to land an actual job so I can keep fueling this expensive amazing hobby. It has been nothing less than mental torture in my fruitless job search, this side project could be how I keep my spark going.

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Have there been things making you say "I wish there was an program for that", "I wish there was an app for that"?

Did you ever run into a scenario where some software could have aided/entertained/surprised you? By this I mean, have you personally thought of a product that you know you'd never build but would view as invaluable in some capacity?

I am looking for ideas that I can take with and run. I have experience as a web developer, but I am open to most ideas and will look into how feasible it is for me to do on my own while learning! I am only one person but I will be trying my best if I am fully invested in the idea, which is exactly why I turn to you legends on Reef2Reef.

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You all know about the hobby in some way or another. We have subject matter experts, we have novices, I'm all ears for everyone. Something that can help newcomers? Great! A software that streamlines a pro's day-to-day schedule? Let's talk about it!

I'm really open to any ideas, I'd love to have conversations about what the project vision might be and how it impacts the hobby.

Thanks again and happy reefing!

P.S.: I make no such promises of being an all star programmer I will most likely be learning as I develop and will try to make it as well as I can!

 

[seapen]

I'm a Systems Engineering and Data Analytics visualization developer, been in high tech for nearly 30 years. My focus has been software and hardware development around S.C.A.D.A - Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition. As I go through the "Big Reef Build" phase right now, I'm applying those skills of systems engineering and SCADA always looking for ways to express through reefing my professional and technical skills.

Something that keeps recurring to me when I bring together reef equipment and their separate and independent pieces of controller software... often it is difficult to a) integrate them with common UI elements/modules into an eco-system unless you buy into the Apex eco-system or some other, b) see data readouts from a complete reef system in a universal tool - like PowerBI. There are many times I wish I had a PowerBI front end I could build to my End to End System.

Vendors seem to have their own ideas (and implementations) of what a Smart Device is and how to control it. No one is creating OpenSystems, Open AI components and applications for the reefing community. I see great opportunity on the horizon.

 

[seapen]

Follow on - here is a fun software project that would help so many people in the technical lighting space. Just watched this BRS 360 for the umteenth time.
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Start watching at around 19:00 - there is a problem waiting for a solution! BRS Team even called it out.

 

[Shadoww]

I'm a Systems Engineering and Data Analytics visualization developer, been in high tech for nearly 30 years. My focus has been software and hardware development around S.C.A.D.A - Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition. As I go through the "Big Reef Build" phase right now, I'm applying those skills of systems engineering and SCADA always looking for ways to express through reefing my professional and technical skills.

Something that keeps recurring to me when I bring together reef equipment and their separate and independent pieces of controller software... often it is difficult to a) integrate them with common UI elements/modules into an eco-system unless you buy into the Apex eco-system or some other, b) see data readouts from a complete reef system in a universal tool - like PowerBI. There are many times I wish I had a PowerBI front end I could build to my End to End System.

Vendors seem to have their own ideas (and implementations) of what a Smart Device is and how to control it. No one is creating OpenSystems, Open AI components and applications for the reefing community. I see great opportunity on the horizon.

This does seem like a cool project idea. Developing some form of universal platform that's rather plug and play with data from various products would certainly streamline a rather tedious process.

My main concern with this has nothing to do with the project idea but rather my own limitations. Actually, both concerns are of my own limitations. I am working off of essentially no funding, I have never really owned any big reef tank setups before (my largest system is 60 gal currently). So testing the integration of various products wouldn't be possible without the products actually in hand and in use. I've never utilized any of these more advanced products.

Second concern, which would be more addressable but is still of concern, is the overall work cutout for the project. I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly how to integrate the data from each system, it would be something I'd have to research extensively on my own, let alone building with a new tech stack I'd have to learn too. With all the various products this project would need to support, I'd need a ton of time to invest in supporting each one, as I am sure integrating the data may be different for each one.

That is certainly an awesome project concept that I am sure would be of great use to the community, I am just unsure if I would be the right developer for it. Thanks for a great suggestion though!

I am looking for some project I could really take off with as soon as its conceptualized. For example, a mobile app that helps users keep track of their tanks. A separate tool for visualizing parameters, an inventory list for each tank you own, as well as a separate inventory management system for the fish and corals you have in there. An example project like this is something I could just immediately tackle, as I have access to a mobile device and is something I could test quite easily on my own with development in process. Additionally, I'd be more interested in a project that would yield some results in 6 months or less. This is just because I want to be able to show potential employers what I'm working on.

 

[shcrimps]

not sure if this is something people really want but i definitely do
i think it would be really really cool to have lights, heating, etc “mimic” nature
more light summer time with a little more heat
having the seasons actually change with the tank
and of course the lunar cycle being accurate

 

[Shadoww]

not sure if this is something people really want but i definitely do
i think it would be really really cool to have lights, heating, etc “mimic” nature
more light summer time with a little more heat
having the seasons actually change with the tank
and of course the lunar cycle being accurate

This would be cool. My concern is you’d have to have a master controller that handles a wide variety of products, similar issue to the last idea. My other concern is I am unsure if products like real-time variable heaters exist (if they do I haven’t looked into it) so the best you’d do at most is dim the voltage of the heater to lower the temp, but that would be a not ideal solution for a few reasons.

 

[Shadoww]

I started working on my new desktop application that will allow users to manage “tank profiles”, which will enable the tracking of parameters, livestock inventory, scheduled tasks, and perhaps future features.

Feel free to pitch any ideas for the future if you’d be interested in seeing the development of it! The app name is/will be Coralytics.