CS.52 – Digital Aquarium Monitor for Ammonia, pH, and Temperature

• Daniyal Khokhar
• Simon Sazian

In the aquarium hobby, maintaining proper and consistent water quality is the most vital part to keeping any sort of aquatic creatures healthy and thriving in the tank ecosystem. In an aquarium ecosystem, fish waste, detritus, and decaying organic plant matter may all contribute to ammonia levels over 0 ppm (parts per million). Any ammonia over this threshold is toxic to almost all aquatic life, and can build up over time if the tank is not properly cycled or maintained. Similarly, maintaining proper pH and temperatures for the aquatic life is of utmost importance to keeping the animals healthy. Currently, water testing requires the rigorous process of filling individual test bottles with tank water, adding in specific dosing of signaling chemicals, and manually having to color match the test water to a reference card. This process is the same to indicate the ppm of ammonia in the water, the pH to its acid/basic value. Similarly, temperature is usually measured using a temperature strip attached to the tank, which is often inaccurate with a wide spread. With our project, we hope to be able to automate the testing process for these different aquarium metrics such as ammonia, pH, and temperature, all of which are vital for any successful fish keeper to know. To accurately measure ammonia and pH, we will be using automated color-matching of chemical-treated tank water to the known reference values for each metric. For temperature, we will use a waterproof probe to get more accurate readings of the water. Accurate measurements of these metrics will ensure the safety of one’s aquatic animals, and make for an all-around easier and more enjoyable fish keeping experience.