My Internet Controlled 29 Gallon Tank With Live Webcam.

[plecostomus-mad]

i have to agree with the last statement above

 

[WaveJam]

what if more than one person was moving something at the same time? id bet everyone would see on their screen what ever they pressed,

Not true. The actions are processed in the order that they are received, so it doesn't matter if there are 10 people pressing buttons. The actions happen sequentially.

you would have to have electrical wires running to the bottom of your tank and under your gravel to make the crocs mouth open,

Not true. As I stated earlier in this thread. There is NOTHING inside the tank that wasn't purchased from an aquarium store with the exception of a water level sensor.

i think its pointless, if you don't have the time to look after your fish with your own hands then you shouldn't have fish.

I disagree. I do admit that the scuba diver and croc are unnecessary and just eye candy (I did those mainly for my kids), but your missing the potential of the project. First I want to say that not everyone stays around the house all day to feed and look after their fish. My job requires me to travel sometimes without any notice or prep time. Its nice to be able to feed them remotely, turn the tank lights on or off, I get notified when the water level is low and I can actually add some remotely. I also get notified if the water temp is off. And I'm working on a way to get notified about PH levels (almost done and yes, I'll have a way to adjust water quality levels). And bottom line, yeah guilty as charged, I like to be able to peek in on my fish while I'm on the road. Sometimes that's the closest feeling I get of physically being at home.

Anyways, you are definitely allowed your opinion and I honor that. But people, simply put, I didn't mean to raise a fish ethics conversation or sell anything here. You all are showing off your great work and that's all I wanted to do. Mine is maybe a bit more on the high tech side vs traditional. But it may be useful for some folks. Hopefully the politics of this will end.

And to those of you with the compliments. Thank-you! I'm glad you enjoyed my project. To those that doubt... I can only say... Its NOT rocket science and very doable!

Take care...

 

[CrystalClear16]

I think it is fantastic. I don't know anyone who can check on my fish so if I were to take a two week holiday I would be in trouble!

 

[Theplayboy]

I want one now!

 

[RegalTang]

So this is in your house? Is it not weird seeing things go on and off all the time lol

 

[WaveJam]

I don't know anyone who can check on my fish so if I were to take a two week holiday I would be in trouble!

Exaaaaactly! You hit the nail on the head. Thanks for the comment/compliment.

 

[WaveJam]

So this is in your house? Is it not weird seeing things go on and off all the time lol

Yep... Ummm, not really. It doesn't get the hits that it used to. It was VERY weird though when I first put it online. I was sitting in my office (the tank is in my home office) and literally all of the sudden the tank started going crazy. Back then I had the ability to turn on the main tank light and accent lighting available on the web interface. And, wow, it was blinking like a cheap plastic Christmas tree. It was kind of funny, but I was stumped on how so many people were finding my brand new site. Within on hour I had well over 5,000 hits. I finally pulled the plug because I was a bit freaked out.

Still not knowing where all the hits came from, a friend of mine sent me an email with a web link and the text, "Hey, your fish are famous!". This story on TUAW is what funneled thousands to my site:

http/www.tuaw.com/2008/12/15/found-footage-petes-fishcam/

To this day, I don't know how he found my site. So, after recovering from that event, I decided to make only certain features available and added a few more features. Then a few months later, I wrote to the author of the first article and braced for impact on the next story:

http/www.tuaw.com/2009/10/01/found-footage-new-and-improved-tankedcam-now-with-even-more-ipho/

But just so you know. I envision this as a private interface between you and your tank (there are many different ways to achieve privacy). Mine, is open to the public, simply because I want it to be.

 

[chrisbassist]

The question still stands though... How are you making web clicks into actions?

I'm okay up to a certain point...

It's pretty easy to setup your own server, a relatively old computer can do the trick with a little OSS. The interface could be built however you like (HTML) and you could use something relatively simple like JavaScript to send messages to the server when a button is clicked, with it checking the state of the object to show the right buttons (is the light already on or off?) but I get confused on then taking those messages from the server and using them to control things which weren't designed to be controlled externally.

I can imagine lights and certain pumps would be relatively simple by using some kind of computer controlled on/off switch on the power to the units, but what about the feeder?

Even the simple bits would take me a long time to figure out but at least I'd know where to start...

 

[chrisbassist]

Sorry, just decided to use my brain for a moment, you would want to use Ajax instead of JavaScript so you don't need to reload the page when sending actions.
Otherwise you'd be interupting the video stream which would annoy the hell out of me. Having to wait for the most data heavy part of the page each time you want to do something, and kinda ruins the visual feedback of what you've done.

 

[vancouver]

What is with all the negativity?

This is purely for entertainment.. If you don't enjoy it, go away.