AquaPi - An open-souce Aquarium Controller

[TheFalseReality]

Anyone?

Lemme know if that worked.

 

[woowoodengy]

@TheFalseReality whats the best way to add a second PH kit for a calcium reactor?

 

[daveCB]

Well - I have been lurking for some time and originally had a Reef-Pi setup. I liked it but really want tighter HA integration and have many ESP devices up an running. I control my Koi pond, Pool, some of my irrigation and so on with ESP. Anyway - Just ordered the basic board and will go from there.

I downsized from a 75 and now run a Bio cube32 with modifications in a mixed reef setup.

Three questions:
Processor case - I assume the that IO v54 is a filler plug for the base for any of the holes you are not using. If that's the case, then I will have 4 or so printed.

What are users doing to hang the EZO Probes? I will be starting with Conductivity and PH along with Dosing and Auto Fill (No waste pump yet) but have limited space with not having a separate refugium.

Any recommendations on Return Pumps, Auto Fill pumps?

 

[TheFalseReality]

@TheFalseReality whats the best way to add a second PH kit for a calcium reactor?

Get another pH circuit. Theoretically, there is no limit to the amount of I2C sensors as long as you change the I2c address of the EZO circuit. I'll need to add that command to a .yaml file somewhere for that ability. Currently, I have support for changing the address for the EZO Pump only.

 

[TheFalseReality]

Well - I have been lurking for some time and originally had a Reef-Pi setup. I liked it but really want tighter HA integration and have many ESP devices up an running. I control my Koi pond, Pool, some of my irrigation and so on with ESP. Anyway - Just ordered the basic board and will go from there.

I downsized from a 75 and now run a Bio cube32 with modifications in a mixed reef setup.

Three questions:
Processor case - I assume the that IO v54 is a filler plug for the base for any of the holes you are not using. If that's the case, then I will have 4 or so printed.

What are users doing to hang the EZO Probes? I will be starting with Conductivity and PH along with Dosing and Auto Fill (No waste pump yet) but have limited space with not having a separate refugium.

Any recommendations on Return Pumps, Auto Fill pumps?

I see your sale! Packaging and sending it out now actually. Yes those IO covers are just covers for the holes, 4 are filled with wires when I build the AquaPi and the other 4 are plugged with those. What I do for the EZO circuits is they can attached to the AquaPi base when you remove one of those plugs. As for the probes, I have a sump that holds them but in the smaller one, I just stick it in the water.

I just use good reputable (Hygger for example) DC return pumps without overspending on them. I use typical ATO pumps for the reservoirs but use some I2C EZO Pumps for automatic water changes. Note that I am having unintended results with the EZO pumps and are not 100% reliable as expected.

 

[TheFalseReality]

I've been revisiting my price structure and comparing it to Neptune Apex. My versions compared have Home Assistant hardware included, with temperature, water leak, water level, and pH included on base model, dubbed "AquaPi Essentials", and ORP included with the "AquaPi PRO", with salinity and dissolved oxygen being optional add-ons with the PRO version in the store. The "Essentials" version can still add other EZO sensors separately, all at similar costs.

What ya'll think? With your feedback I plan on making pre-made bundles for typical builds, to help compete with the Apex. Yes I know this is still an amateur product, but still fun to do. Shows you can make something at similar costs and make it much better in the process. I make small profit on the devices, but not a whole lot, and not much at all when selling the boards only (you do all the work!).

 

[woowoodengy]

I've been revisiting my price structure and comparing it to Neptune Apex. My versions compared have Home Assistant hardware included, with temperature, water leak, water level, and pH included on base model, dubbed "AquaPi Essentials", and ORP included with the "AquaPi PRO", with salinity and dissolved oxygen being optional add-ons with the PRO version in the store. The "Essentials" version can still add other EZO sensors separately, all at similar costs.

What ya'll think? With your feedback I plan on making pre-made bundles for typical builds, to help compete with the Apex. Yes I know this is still an amateur product, but still fun to do. Shows you can make something at similar costs and make it much better in the process. I make small profit on the devices, but not a whole lot, and not much at all when selling the boards only (you do all the work!).

Here's some feedback.

• Offer a lower cost entry level option without outlets or the PH kit. Someone just starting can get in at a much lower cost and upgrade later. I use shelly zwave plugs that are more reliable than wifi and would like to have a choice of no outlets if I was purchasing. This can be a marketing strategy too. "Use your own smart plugs"
• Add an option to add an additional PH kit. Pro level users with calc reactors will be able to avoid buying stand alone ph controllers (I'm bias to this one from my question above but this costs you nothing but a little time and adds a feature)
• Can't apex daisy chain outlets? I don't think 8 is max?
• Price point, I think you should be just under Apex. Considering your target audience is familiar with Apex and their support it will be hard to compete with higher cost for non tech savvy people. Consider leaving something out or saving costs somewhere else. Focus on promoting home assistant. "Create a whole smart home with an aquarium computer" "Endless capabilities"

Product recommendations

• change the external wires to bulkheads for power & BNC connectors. (this will save cost and huge amount of production time)
• Use an RJ45 for the temp sensor & bulkhead (panel mount). Quick and easy connection. No exposed wires.
• Add the probe board screw holes & standouts internally for a polished design. Move everything inside a custom box.
• Use PCBway or JLPCB to build the board with a pi compute board already soldered, ESP integrated & add a fuse. This will save costs over buying complete pi units.
• Add more automations and blueprints. This can be promoted as special features.
• Create a few dashboards with different looks. "personalize your aquarium computer with themes" people love that stuff...
• Most importantly get a real wiki setup with detailed instructions. Github confuses people that are less tech savvy. Their navigation can be challenging.

Sorry about the rambling. I think this would be a good start to get you going in the right direction. I run a sales team and specialize in marketing so hopefully some of this helps. Not trying to be judgmental.

Also! I would like to thank you for this project. I've used bits of your code for my home assistant in the past and just spun up an ESP32 over the weekend with AquaPi for my new PH kit. I didn't want to spend the time coding the calibration. You saved me 1/2 day for sure.

 

[woowoodengy]

A few more...

• Include a cheap adapter for SMA to BNC to allow the ability to use any probe.
• Use an external power supply with barrel plug. USBC would be better but would raise the cost
• Send the power directly to the board versus through the esp. If you choose to integrate the esp chip you'll still want to add a usb port to easily flash. Most people won't know what jtag is.
• Use a 12v power supply and a 5v buck converter to power the esp & probe board. This will give you the ability to incorporate sockets for cooling fans.
• Add a cooling fan kit option to purchase using the ip67 rated noctua fan with 3d printed shroud. They're available in 120mm & 140mm fan options. The 140mm has a 2000rpm and 3000rpm option. This would sell like hot cakes.

 

[daveCB]

I will jump into this as well: Excellent feedback from @woowoodengy above - I would add and or change a few items;
1. On the next main board Rev, loose the phoenix terminal blocks and install right angle pin headers (along edges of the main board.

2. Redesign the case to expose all port connectivity, with the exception of the USB C.
3. Add a Panel mount USB C to the case (This is optional since you can flash the ESP wirelessly)
4. Power up the ESP directly from your board.
5. Possibly add hard wired network connection

This eliminates all internal wiring. You then would drop the main board into the case and install the cover. It allows for all connected sensors and leads to be easily disconnected. This reduces the Kit build time and makes the system more reliable and cleaner in my opinion.

Pricing: As stated above, your price point needs to come in slightly under the competition.

 

[TheFalseReality]

• Offer a lower cost entry level option without outlets or the PH kit. Someone just starting can get in at a much lower cost and upgrade later. I use shelly zwave plugs that are more reliable than wifi and would like to have a choice of no outlets if I was purchasing. This can be a marketing strategy too. "Use your own smart plugs"

My original product is just the AquaPi itself and you choose what to add. This was the main idea, make the base as small and cheap as possible, removing the EZO circuits you don't need to reduce base product costs, and add what you need as you need it. Reduced the price of the main base and moved the cost to the EZO circuits.

• Add an option to add an additional PH kit. Pro level users with calc reactors will be able to avoid buying stand alone ph controllers (I'm bias to this one from my question above but this costs you nothing but a little time and adds a feature)

You can do this. You are not limited by how many unique sensors you have, just each I2C address needs to be unique, you can daisy chain circuits with Y-cables which I add with each EZO sensor. I am actually adding code so the user can change the addresses of EZO circuits.

• Can't apex daisy chain outlets? I don't think 8 is max?

I didn't know this as I don't use Apex! Thanks, I'll fix that.

• Price point, I think you should be just under Apex. Considering your target audience is familiar with Apex and their support it will be hard to compete with higher cost for non tech savvy people. Consider leaving something out or saving costs somewhere else. Focus on promoting home assistant. "Create a whole smart home with an aquarium computer" "Endless capabilities"

Yes I will eventually. I can't get it below Apex without losing money, as I do not and currently cannot buy part in bulk like big companies can in order to lower costs. You can save much more money if you just buy the board and do-it-all yourself, which MANY members of this community seem to prefer! I sold more board only than the fully assembled product lol. And I see you all using the Reef2Reef coupon code!

• change the external wires to bulkheads for power & BNC connectors. (this will save cost and huge amount of production time)

I decided against using as much metal connectors as possible to avoid rust and opted in for water-proof cables with water-proof glands. I have one hanging from my sump and its nice to know drop any water on it, it wont affect anything at all. The only exception here is the USB power connector. I currently assemble these wires by hand but is quick and easy.

• Use an RJ45 for the temp sensor & bulkhead (panel mount). Quick and easy connection. No exposed wires.

I wanted everything to use the same water-proof wire-type, with the user only needing to be required to plug the right sensor into the right port/cable.

• Add the probe board screw holes & standouts internally for a polished design. Move everything inside a custom box.

I could rework the design.

• Use PCBway or JLPCB to build the board with a pi compute board already soldered, ESP integrated & add a fuse. This will save costs over buying complete pi units

I use PCBWay for the ESP32 daughter boards. I did not want the Pi or whatever is running Home Assistant to be attached to the same board, like Reef-Pi. Having a dedicated Pi for every aquarium or AquaPi is not cost effective, and with this in mind, I believe this is where my product stands out from Apex. You only need 1 HA instance, and the AquaPi base is very cheap. This scales tremendously well. I have 3 AquaPi boards each with different sensors required by each tank, with just 1 HA instance for them all. Users can scale up by buying the AquaPi base I mentioned in the first quote, and add-on whatever they need without re-purchasing the Raspberry Pi unit for HA.

• Add more automations and blueprints. This can be promoted as special features.

I plan on doing this upon request and when more users start to use this. Right now, it takes a lot of time for me and a few others to use. But I did get the basic stuff done.

• Create a few dashboards with different looks. "personalize your aquarium computer with themes" people love that stuff...

I haven't found a really good way to share dashboards and very hard to do when you use HACS for custom cards. I have tried this is it is SOOO complicated and honestly, I don't think I have the time for documentation and troubleshooting or helping other set it up. But a discussion board thing would be perfect for this.

• Most importantly get a real wiki setup with detailed instructions. Github confuses people that are less tech savvy. Their navigation can be challenging.

I would like to!!!!

• Include a cheap adapter for SMA to BNC to allow the ability to use any probe.

Good idea.

• Use an external power supply with barrel plug. USBC would be better but would raise the cost
• Send the power directly to the board versus through the esp. If you choose to integrate the esp chip you'll still want to add a usb port to easily flash. Most people won't know what jtag is.
• Use a 12v power supply and a 5v buck converter to power the esp & probe board. This will give you the ability to incorporate sockets for cooling fans.
• Add a cooling fan kit option to purchase using the ip67 rated noctua fan with 3d printed shroud. They're available in 120mm & 140mm fan options. The 140mm has a 2000rpm and 3000rpm option. This would sell like hot cakes.

It won't be much more of an increase but I have thought about going from USB-Micro to USBC. I currently power the ESP32 to use the 5V rail an 3v3 from the ESP32 board. I didn't want to reinvent the wheel on this one and created the daughter board mainly for terminal blocks. I have thought about adding more electronics and all for fans and what not. But with HA being able to control so much, I felt it wasn't fully needed right now. I used plug-in cooling fans and have HA control that based on temp. via automations. But I wanna look into all that soon.


I am not good at marketing. If you were interested in working together after seeing all the points above, lemme know please!

 

[TheFalseReality]

I will jump into this as well: Excellent feedback from @woowoodengy above - I would add and or change a few items;
1. On the next main board Rev, loose the phoenix terminal blocks and install right angle pin headers (along edges of the main board.

2. Redesign the case to expose all port connectivity, with the exception of the USB C.
3. Add a Panel mount USB C to the case (This is optional since you can flash the ESP wirelessly)
4. Power up the ESP directly from your board.
5. Possibly add hard wired network connection

This eliminates all internal wiring. You then would drop the main board into the case and install the cover. It allows for all connected sensors and leads to be easily disconnected. This reduces the Kit build time and makes the system more reliable and cleaner in my opinion.

Pricing: As stated above, your price point needs to come in slightly under the competition.

1. I choose the Phoenix terminal blocks (also love how you knew them by name) because I wanted them to be compatible with whatever the user uses. For the Water-proof cables, they terminate just at wire ends, so those mount up nicely. But what about generical wires or sensors that terminate with no connections, or 2-pin JST or 3-Pin JST? I would need to have multiple 2, 3 or 4 pin connectors to satisfy any variations. I actually repurposed an old broken BRS ATO float switch by just removing the sensor and directly attaching it the the terminal block I wanted, no need for a matching connector. I wanted this for universal compatibility. Heck, one could even cut the sensor off and strip the wires and the terminal block would work.

2. This would just get more expensive for the base product and needless for those basic sensors. I want the user to expand only if they need it, and only at that point, would they also add that cost. Plus the empty ports serve as mounting points for EZO sensors and pumps when needed. I would like to offer the wire packs on my store as a separate 'kit' for expansion for this very need. Or savvy users can buy what they need to do this as well.

3. The existing power mount is attached the ESP device, allowing for both power and communication. I may move to USBC next.

4. I may rework this IF cost effective. Right now I just designed a daughter board that is attached to an already manufactured ESP32 dev board which costs like $5 that does a lot already. PCBWay charges for each component, and I have to source them myself. The way it's set up now, I just have 1 USB panel mount that us good for Data Communication and power, effectively allowing both 5V and 3V3 rails without anything additional.

5. I may look into this, but can be more complicated and beyond my means.

I would like to eliminate some internal wiring but still want to maintain the components that allow for customization.

Pricing, I cannot compete directly with Apex on that. This is all amateur DIY and cannot buy wholesale to lower costs that way, but dang if I'm close. For example, I only have like $50 in profit from the AquaPi Base device.... not much but it gets it started...

 

[daveCB]

I see your sale! Packaging and sending it out now actually. Yes those IO covers are just covers for the holes, 4 are filled with wires when I build the AquaPi and the other 4 are plugged with those. What I do for the EZO circuits is they can attached to the AquaPi base when you remove one of those plugs. As for the probes, I have a sump that holds them but in the smaller one, I just stick it in the water.

I just use good reputable (Hygger for example) DC return pumps without overspending on them. I use typical ATO pumps for the reservoirs but use some I2C EZO Pumps for automatic water changes. Note that I am having unintended results with the EZO pumps and are not 100% reliable as expected.

Received and up and running. It was an easy process to set up the board via HA and ESP Home Builder. When I have a chance, I will write up the exact process, as it is now a bit different than what is in the WiKi.

Now off to figure out the case and actually connect more than the Temp Sensor.

Two Items for you;

Is there any method currently for having more than one DS18B20 sensor connected?

Concerning the Green Status Led on the board, I would much rather have that on when communications are good rather than off. ie - Reverse the logic.

 

[TheFalseReality]

Received and up and running. It was an easy process to set up the board via HA and ESP Home Builder. When I have a chance, I will write up the exact process, as it is now a bit different than what is in the WiKi.

Now off to figure out the case and actually connect more than the Temp Sensor.

Two Items for you;

Is there any method currently for having more than one DS18B20 sensor connected?

Concerning the Green Status Led on the board, I would much rather have that on when communications are good rather than off. ie - Reverse the logic.

Yes! I got 2 dallas probes on one device. Check this Link out for instructions. You'll need to get the addresses in the logs.

Yes, I was thinking of reversing the LEDs, Green for Power On and Red for errors.

And thanks for the offer for guide rewrite. I am honeslty not very good at documentaion.