Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I didn't know SSR's were available in a NO config?

Bundy - this is what I am gonna use: Air pump

my apologies to the BYA member who suggested this originally, just can't remember who it was, I thank you though - Age Of Aquariums is over near Murray's

lol dang......... the 5th pin(on the one I saw) must be there to hold it up ..or was it a boy SSR?

oh well...... how bout a standard one then, I know they worked well on our monitoring systems either as an aux o/p or a mimic panel visual alert for power failures

actually Ive never used an SSR's lmao, just thought of them for longevity on the i/p side...

LOL at least you're honest

But you are right, they are the go for life span, but standard relays are like 5x cheaper for what we need

Ok, from memory USB gear can be piggy backed. That means that with the right plugs/hubs etc, you can hookup a large number of sensor (input) and servos (output) to one controller (CPU/Motherboard).

Sorry, I cant help you with how you address multiple UBS devices, but it's sure to be in the Kit doco or on the net, somewhere.

Gnoll110

Looks like a winner , lets us know how it goes, I bought some fish today YEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, Im sure they said thankyou when I let em go in the tank, they also looked lost coz of all the space rofl....AND they ate the lil bit of food I put in ( couldnt help it, I couldnt resist sprinkling a lil bit of stuff in for em)

I have one of those pumps from Age of Aquariums and although it works well, it is only suitable for aquariums up to 200 litres. Also, it runs all the time, not just when the power is out. I am not sure how to adjust it for running only when power is out. Anyway, if anone wants it, pm me and maybe we could do a deal as I now have a fail over switch waiting to be wired up to run 12 volt dc bilge pump which will run only when power is out. Disadvantage is, it only covers power outages, not pump failures, which is another entire issue. I have a 3000 lmhr cont pump that is only 35 watts, which I think I will use for aeration on 24/7 and turn the system off during the night.

I just had a play with the 12 volt pump on Les' advice, and it seems that while the power is on, you can turn it right down, and no air will come out, although it does still humm away quietly. When the power goes off, the airflow stokes up. So in this way, it works a treat. I have left it in this mode to see how hot the unit is in the morning, at the moment it has been running all weekend and is warmish.
I am sure the capacity of the pump ie how many litres it is good for is related to the amount of fishies in the tank, but without a DO meter, how would we ever know how much real oxygen this type of device is putting out. Is simply breaking the surface with little bubbles enough?

To calculate the efficiency of the pump - count the dead fish the following morning

Mon, AM was working on air lift pump theory recently which worked very well with small bubbles - now you can be lazy and wait til AM gives you the link or go looking for it yourself - okay I'll look too

Ok, ready for the SMART RELAY GOSSIP?

Smart relay specs

LIST price of $145 +gst and the specs on it.......................bloody hell

easiest thing to do is read the specs and ask questions.

I'll answer one before you ask...............yes, 127 function blocks are ENOUGH

It looks ideal steve, It looks very simple and compact. We use the lego mindstorms sets at work to teach basic robotics, program looks a lot like lego's software.

Although 'from $145' caught me... add $35 for the PC cable + add $35 for the LCD and keyboard. It doesn't have enough outputs for my application but if you can afford it... go for it, nothing simpler!!

Hey Steve they look pretty good. Have you checked out PICO Controllers?
They are more expensive for the average punter but I would think with your background you would qualify for a substantial discount.

Tim, if you look closely they come standard with the display! not that you'd use them, but you can enable buttons on the display to do "things"

Royale will check the link later, have just popped home to get some gauges.................... i'm terribly disorganised as you can tell