Senior Project

[KodiakBear]

Been a long time since I've checked in here. I have to admit that Electrical Engineering is a lot more challenging than I had anticipated, and it's really taken up ALL my time. Add that the size of the family has recently increased, and a few other factors and checking up on forums has been near impossible.

I'm now at that point where I have to start preparing my "Senior Design Project" which I will begin construction on next September. The rules are pretty simple, and I can do anything that the professor approves (which is pretty much anything that uses at least one microchip and lights something up). The school pays $1000 towards materials, but I can add my own to if necessary. Here's where all my old friends from here (that might still be around and remember me) can help out:

(pause for effect... make eye contact with crowd... continue...)

I'm planning on building a fully-automated reef. By fully I mean adjustable/programed LED lighting arrays, solenoid-operated valves for automatic water changes/calc drips/salt mixing/etc, and heating/cooling), alert systems for malfunctioning (using SMS text messaging to your cell phone), computer monitored water quality (temp, pH, nitrite/-ate, ammonia, calc).
Of course, all of this means a lot of in-depth research regarding lighting wavelengths to get the right PAR, matching the system for certain types of reefs, manageability of the system (have to make it user-friendly within reason), safety issues, power management/efficiency, etc...

So, after all that: for those that have been in this hobby long enough to know the challenges thereof, what kind of things would you like to see in a "fully-automated reef?"



ps: if you don't remember me, you can read up on my embarrasing introduction to this hobby here: My Confession

 

[Pez]

Have it sync with ther current local weather so that wave generators could give similarly turbulent water. (higher flow on windy days, lower flow on calm ones.)

 

[KodiakBear]

that's a great idea. I had thought about linking to the weather info to simulate lighting effects, but hadn't even considered wave strength!

 

[KodiakBear]

on the topic of wave generators: instead of a switching valve to redirect water flow (as most systems seem to use for wave-making), does anyone have experience with variable-speed pumps used for this purpose?

 

[KodiakBear]

Found an article relating the wavelengths of light and the PAR used by the different types of Chlorophyll.

In building an LED array, are there any opinions on the balance of 3W white LED's to put into the mix with the LED's in the PAR wavelengths?

Any recommendations for how many 3W LED's should be used per gallon?

 

[Brady92]

is there an update on this it seems interesting

 

[tnwillia]

Your going to have fun! Look at the Ecotech line of pumps & LED lights they are using wireless interface between pump & lights for control and the Apex line of controllers, lots of info there on tech specs. Haveing a fully automated reef is there now, how far you want to go just depends on the depth of your wallet. Good luck with your project!

WOW just saw the date, guessing this has already happened, +1^ how did it go?