KodiakBear
Active Member
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
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