Temperature Monitoring Equipment

[DinPerth]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and only been keeping fish for about 6 months.

I hope that this discussion thread is in the right place. If it is not then I do not mind it being moved, also if the content of this is not acceptable in this forum then I apologies and I will understand it being deleted.

Just so everyone is clear I am not trying to sell anybody a product, what I am interested in is opinions from long time fish keepers to see if a product I currently have would be useful for this hobby.

Currently my company supply temperature monitors to the hospitality industry so that a hotel owner can easily be alerted when the Food Fridges and Freezers rise above a certain temperature.

We have probes that are connected to a micro PC, we configure all the parameters that need to be monitored and then when the probe experiences the trigger points it sends out an sms to alert you.

Each of the probes can be configured to user defined parameters and we are also looking into designing a Android and Iphone app where you can view the probes stats in a live mode.

I was thinking that something like this could be used in aquariums and I was wondering if there is anything that you guys know of that does this already. If not does it sound like something you guys would be interested in?

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated, like I said above I am new to the hobby so really interested in hearing from experienced people in the hobby.

Thanks for reading.

 

[KittyKat]

I did at one point consider a fully automated fish room (automated water changes, automates parameter readings, etc), but the cost was a bit prohibiting (and the lack of space was also a bit of a stopper).

I would be very interested in something that I can drop into the tank that will record the readings to a NAS on the local network (not a dedicated micro computer… after all, if I have one already, why would I want a second one?), preferably via the wireless.

So I guess my questions are mainly how much will it cost and can it be done with existing equipment?

 

[DinPerth]

I did at one point consider a fully automated fish room (automated water changes, automates parameter readings, etc), but the cost was a bit prohibiting (and the lack of space was also a bit of a stopper).

I would be very interested in something that I can drop into the tank that will record the readings to a NAS on the local network (not a dedicated micro computer… after all, if I have one already, why would I want a second one?), preferably via the wireless.

So I guess my questions are mainly how much will it cost and can it be done with existing equipment?

Hi KittyKat,

Thanks for your reply, In theory yes it could be setup with a wireless broadcasting IP address so that you could access the information over a home network, that could then be linked to an app (Android or Iphone) so that those stats could be viewed live even when you not at home, with special alerts setup on your key trigger points. This is not a solution we have created but there could be some merit in it.

Just to let you know when I say micro PC I mean a very small 5cm x 5cm pc that is specially programmed for this role, it might be possible to convert the currently linux OS into a windows platform programme but I would need to investigate that.

Thanks Duncan

 

[KittyKat]

Thanks for your reply, In theory yes it could be setup with a wireless broadcasting IP address so that you could access the information over a home network, that could then be linked to an app (Android or Iphone) so that those stats could be viewed live even when you not at home, with special alerts setup on your key trigger points. This is not a solution we have created but there could be some merit in it.

Just to let you know when I say micro PC I mean a very small 5cm x 5cm pc that is specially programmed for this role, it might be possible to convert the currently linux OS into a windows platform programme but I would need to investigate that.

Why would you want to convert? And given that I do not have an Android, nor an iOS, device, (nor a Windows one,) would you consider making a Linux app for the live view?

 

[Tizer]

http/www.raspberrypi.org/

Build one around the Raspberry Pi (£20), super low cost that could be integrated with your tank, it could control the lights, the thermometer, the powerheads and even the filter.

 

[DinPerth]

Cheers for the replies.

KittyKay, yes we already have a linux app so that work is already done.

Tizer, cheers I will get one of my programmers to take a look at that link.

I will be having meetings about this over the next couple of weeks, cheers for all the help and advice.

Duncan

 

[KittyKat]

KittyKay, yes we already have a linux app so that work is already done.

If you need a tester…

 

[OldMan47]

Let me add a comment too. Who the heck needs that? The cheap alcohol thermometer in my tank is fine for monitoring and I can always plunge a hand into a tank if I want a quick check without a thermometer. It is not that I don't find your gadget fascinating but it is going to be considered extreme overkill by the average aquarist. I recently found a stuck heater thermostat by simply letting my hand get in the water. The water was cold, which was completely wrong for that tank.

An app that communicates with linux should have no trouble working with windows BTW. This forum can be reached using either one. I know because I have done it. The wireless router that receives your signal really doesn't care about the OS involved, it just passes the signal through. If the PC is waiting to receive that signal, it will just work. If the PC is not constantly watching for the signal, it will not get through regardless of the OS.

I can't say there is no market. People love gadgets. I would be surprised if such a device produced many sales though.

 

[DinPerth]

Cheers for your input Old Man, the whole reason I posted in the first place was to see who needs it, or if there was a market for it. I guess the market for this product would be people that want to keep a close eye on their temperature, but are not at home to stick their hand in the water.

As far as the programming goes for wireless, linux, windows I leave that up to my programmers as this is not my area of expertise.

Thanks for you input it will be brought up in our next meeting.

Cheers

Duncan