What is Marine Assistant?
Marine Assistant is a DIY Reef Monitoring and Automation system. With the Marine assistant you can connect a wide range of sensors and probes, enabling you to automate many tasks of your reef tank.
What can it monitor:
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Water levels with float or optical sensors
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Temperature
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Water leaks
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PH, TDS, EC and ORP
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Power usage
What can it Controll:
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12v Divices directly, LEDs for alarms, 12v solenoid valves...
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240v wirelessly, Using standard smart plugs control all your Pumps and 240v equipment
Using the Infomation gathered from the various sensors you can create various automations. Create your own ATO or turn your return pump off if a leak is detected.......
Designed to be easy to assemble requireing minimal tools the Marine assistant is cost affective and can be assembled by almost anyone! Kits are available here in the store and they include all the correct components needed.
My vision for Marine Assistant.
With Marine Assistant I wanted to Create something that was Easy to Build but doesnt compremise on features. I have tested other Reef Computers and have made a few observations that bothered me, First being the Price, many of them come at a premium price putting them out of reach of some. Also a Lack of Third party sensor compatibily. Marine Assinstant can work with a wide range of manufacturers, wether you want to spend 30€ on a PH sensor from ebay or 200€ on a Lab grade sensor, marine assistant can be adapted to work with both. With Marine Assistant you are not fixed into any sensor system, use what ever you want.
Using Home Assistant for the Software ensures there is constant development and updates, HA is a well used and widespread automation software and perfect for our use. You can create your own Automations and Dashboards Easliy and exactly how you want them to look. It is all local on your home network so no cloud service is needed.
Here I have created online Step by step Guides on building your Hardware to installing and setting up your software, then adding sensors setting up automations and your dashboard.
I am constantly developing the project myself, working on new hardware and developing new code. I have many ideas for the future. Lighting, Dosing pumps.......
How much does a set-up cost?
One of the big upsides to marine assistant is the savings you can make compaired to the competition.... more money for livestock. Here is a breakdown of the aproximate cost of the parts to build a basic setup. Inclcuded in this setup are 2 float switches and an optical sensor for an ATO, Two Temperature sensors, a PH sensor and EC sensor to monitor PH and salinity and 6x mains voltage smart plugs to turn on and off your Return pump, Lights, Skimmer, Heater, Power heads and Media Reactors.
Items | Price |
|---|---|
Pi-Hat kit | 25€ |
Sensor module Kit | 25€ |
Float switches | 5€ |
Optical sensor (1x) | 15€ |
Temperature sensors (2x) | 15€ |
Smart plugs (6x) | 50€ |
PH sensor (1x) | 40€ |
EC Sensor (1x) | 35€ |
3d printed parts | 15€ |
Wire / Other parts | 20€ |
TOTAL COST | 245€ |
All prices are estimates and serve only as a guide to what a simple but complete setup could cost, depending on the sensors you buy and how many the price can change.