Hi all

[ConCaDia]

Gday,

Long time reader and finally got around to joining!

Kiwi born and raised, living in South East Asia. Discus fanatic!

Have had MTS since I can remember. Heavily involved in robotics and automation.

Currently working on fully automating my muliple tanks over 2 different 2000L systems with the use of Arduino, Linux, Python and C++

I'd love to share and collaborate with others interesting in building their own custom aquarium automation and happy to give advice to others on the subject.

Looking forward to conversing with some of you!

[jeep]

Welcome to Simply!!! Interesting project you have. There's a lot of people asking about automation, so please feel free to share your ideas!!!

[LizStreithorst]

Yes, Please! You obviously have more expertise in this area than anyone else her I'm aware of. I'm glad you finally decided to join. We have a few other Kiwi's here you will find a special kinship with.

[peewee1]

Greetings and welcome! Living in south east Asia puts you right into the heart of where many of our pets originate from. I have sent a pm to you with a link to my son's published research on legal liability proposals for robots/AI. You may find this interesting.

[ConCaDia]

Thanks all! Yes, I'd love to share projects in due course. Yeah, being in Vietnam puts me right in the zone! A lot of poor quality discus up here but certainly some fantastic breeders with high quality stock too, just have to search around quite a bit. I'm still acquiring more to get as many breeding pairs as possible.

[LizStreithorst]

Stay safe. You shouldn't have any problem with it if you are young and strong. How is Vietnam as far as test kits and hospital space availability? Just curious. Covid 19 is always in the news but I have heard nothing about the situation in Vietnam.

[ConCaDia]

Stay safe. You shouldn't have any problem with it if you are young and strong. How is Vietnam as far as test kits and hospital space availability? Just curious. Covid 19 is always in the news but I have heard nothing about the situation in Vietnam.

Oh, I am not worried about that at all. In fact, Vietnam was the first country to clear all of the cases (16 in total) that they found. They certainly know how to deal with outbreaks up here! Everybody wears masks, the is free hand sanitiser everywhere, people are incredibly careful with hygiene. Plus, I feel confident in getting over any flu/coronovirus as my immunity is rock solid. I am, however, concerned for the elderly and the weak. This is indeed why most people in Asia actually wear masks. They understand that most masks will not stop viruses entering, but are excellent at containing any spread. I was ignorant 10 years ago to it, but it gives you the warm fuzzies when you realise that a lot of the mask wearers, actually wear them to help others!

Vietnam test kits and hospitals...well, there is no shortage of tests and masks, however, the healthcare and hospitals leave a lot to be desired! It is what it is. Stay happy, eat and sleep well, and maintain a positive attitude. It's the best we can do!

[LizStreithorst]

The Vietnamese seem to be wonderful people. You lucky are be where there is so much concern for others. It's not often that way in the States, but when it is it gives the same warm fuzzy feeling.

[peewee1]

The Vietnamese seem to be wonderful people. You lucky are be where there is so much concern for others. It's not often that way in the States, but when it is it gives the same warm fuzzy feeling.

President Trump expressed great concern this past weekend and in my state Governor Jay Inslee declared a state emergency. All stores are sold out of masks. Hand sanitizers, as it turns out, do not kill all germs but rather serve best to smear them around a bit. Soap and water. My son is now getting reports from his friends living in China. All are wearing masks, many are opting not to go to work. They are showering twice a day, if possible, and after the day they are changing their clothes and washing them before wearing them again.

[ConCaDia]

They got their first case back home in NZ too. Only 1 case and everybody went bananas! Huge queues at grocery stores, outrageous! In saying that, there is nothing wrong with being prepared and exercising a strict hygiene regime, but hey, aren't most of us fish-keepers used to the constant disinfection of equipment, hands and constantly paranoid about cross contamination anyway? We should all be pretty good at it!

[LizStreithorst]

This is the way I think of it. New viruses are popping up everywhere. They have been around forever but suddenly one mutates and cause either nothing or something deadly, with most being in between. Some, like Ebola will be more easily contained some like this new one are easily transmittable. These days we have scientists looking for them and finding them more quickly. One day a big bad one will his somewhere. It's not this one, though.

Here in the States we were terribly unconcerned about what what happening in other parts of the world so I'm sure it will spread throughout our country. We are supposed to be making more masks, which likely come from China who is under tariffs and has an immense demand for them at home.

I'm in the high risk to die demographic. I don't care as long as I'm around long enough to see how this plays out.

[ConCaDia]

Well, I can only wish you the best until it all blows over. I'm quite looking forward to advancements in AI and Neural Networks working on our side to battle and prevent such virus problems.

I believe it will be the hit that the global economy takes, that will give us the most problems. Major supply chains are broken, and while an opportunity for many, it's devastating for others.

[LizStreithorst]

Wait it out and know that it will get better (unless it gets worse, jk) It sounds like a fascinating project that I could never fully understand but would be awe struck by. You know how it goes, you do your best, and hope for the best.

[ConCaDia]

Thanks and best wishes! See you in the forums :)

[pastry]

What's your water source if full automation? Tap with remote ball valve? Or tap to storage tanks then to aquarium plumbing? Please share! Especially if you can break it down so a dumb rock (me :antlers: ) can understand. If anyone starts speaking engineer language on me then I'm lost in the sauce.

[ConCaDia]

It's Tap>Sock>Carbon>Dosing and treatments (Sodium thiosulfate etc.)>Holding storage with aeration, flow, heating, testing>Out to tank - that in a nutshell, is the flow, and it is all automated. I oversee it on my phone/laptop and monitor it etc. but it is all automated and logged. I'm trying my best to not be a slave to the hobby!

In fact, I am building some more systems shortly, so I will probably document each step for you all to enjoy

[pastry]

Holy crap... love the phone monitoring. All right, if you have ever seen the show Big Bang Theory than you are probably one of the scientists and pretend I am Penny. I definitely want to hear more details when you have the time! That's awesome!

[ConCaDia]

haha, I've seen an episode or two, but never gave it an honest try. The automation certainly is a time saver, however, I'm only really just beginning to recoup the time it spent programming the systems! At least I now have the ability to copy to newly built hardware. Very little configuration required now, just putting hardware together....adults Lego! Of course there are the expensive systems out there that enable automation, but I prefer to build and customise my own...because it's fun and I'm a nerd!