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Aquarium management programs or apps? Anybody using something?

TallDragon

TallDragon

Member
Joined
5 Mar 2013
Messages
211
Is anybody in this forum using some 'tool' to keep track of their maintenance activities, tank parameters, expenses... details which goes deeper than posting a journal on a forum, and is for personal use?
I ran across http://www.aquarimate.com/ and then there is http://www.seneye.com/ with it's online dashboards from sensors. or the PC based http://www.aquariogest.net/

And I was curious if anybody here is using these tools?
I'd love to hear from people who are 'into' keeping track of all the details on their tank - are they using pen&paper, spreadsheets, etc. ... is there a market out there for such 10$ apps, or do these applications only make sense if there is sensors and doser devices connected?

Thanks for feedback and thoughts... on what is good... and if there is value in using these.
Would you pay for something like this?
 
I use my memory (did I do such and such last week) and just looking at tank. Is flow reduced, clean filter.

Did keep a piece of paper with filter cleaning record, but never filled it in.

I did use a spread sheet to record tank & fish spending, but figures got too large and dangerous, and would have been used against me, by my wife if it ever got found out :angelic:. So no longer filled in.
 
Hi all,
Much the same as "ian_m", except I put the back of my hand against the glass first thing in the morning (check temperature), and then I have a look.
ian_m said:
did use a spread sheet to record tank & fish spending, but figures got too large and dangerous, and would have been used against me, by my wife if it ever got found out. So no longer filled in.
Click to expand...
I think we've probably all "been there, done that".

cheers Darrel
 
Hi TallDragon, Expenses :eek: There Top secret Its all stored in my head. So the Wife cannot find out. But i am very forgetful :D And that comes in very handy.
All the rest i look at the tank and see what needs changing or adjusting plus regular weekly water changes :)
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,
Much the same as "ian_m", except I put the back of my hand against the glass first thing in the morning (check temperature), and then I have a look. I think we've probably all "been there, done that".
cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
So Darrel @dw1305, as an expert ... a quick question then... if I would ask you what your biggest 'pain' point is with regards to building and maintaining a tank, and you could tell a team of skilled engineers (electrical engineers + computer programmers) about your problem... what product they should develop that you would willingly spend money on, what would it be? -- (for example: the Twinstar sterilizer really solves the 'pain' of algae on startup)
--- Perhaps a mobile phone apps and sensor are better for newbies like me, who believe that we need some 'training wheels' at first, to not mess up... and kill plants and fish :nailbiting:. -- I am also scared about leaving the tank behind for a couple of days (business trip, holiday), as the automated dosing kits are quite pricey. Your thoughts?
 
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TallDragon said:
So Darrel @dw1305, as an expert ... a quick question then... if I would ask you what your biggest 'pain' point is with regards to building and maintaining a tank, and you could tell a team of skilled engineers (electrical engineers + computer programmers) about your problem... what product they should develop that you would willingly spend money on, what would it be? -- (for example: the Twinstar sterilizer really solves the 'pain' of algae on startup)
--- Perhaps a mobile phone apps and sensor are better for newbies like me, who believe that we need some 'training wheels' at first, to not mess up... and kill plants and fish :nailbiting:. -- I am also scared about leaving the tank behind for a couple of days (business trip, holiday), as the automated dosing kits are quite pricey. Your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Water changes is the biggest problem I have. CO2 and lighting is a pain initially, can take a while to get to that sweet spot, but after you overcome that and you can stick to a consistent dosing regime, water changes is the biggest hassle. Waddling back and forth from the bathroom carrying a heavy bucket of water trying not to let it splash every where!
 
Hi all,
TallDragon said:
as an expert ... a quick question then... if I would ask you what your biggest 'pain' point is with regards to building and maintaining a tank, and you could tell a team of skilled engineers (electrical engineers + computer programmers) about your problem... what product they should develop that you would willingly spend money on, what would it be? -- (for example: the Twinstar sterilizer really solves the 'pain' of algae on startup)--- Perhaps a mobile phone apps and sensor are better for newbies like me, who believe that we need some 'training wheels' at first, to not mess up... and kill plants and fish
Click to expand...
dw1305 said:
I wouldn't take any notice of the expert bit, it is a bit like Rincewind's hat saying "Wizzard" in the works of Terry Pratchett
Click to expand...
The real problem is that I don't really think that are enough parameters you can measure meaningfully to develop an app. that would work. Despite being a bit of a fraud, I have got access to ~ £100,000's of analytical kit, and a technicians who know how to use it, but it still can't tell you what is "wrong" with a tank.

Some parameters you can measure, temperature is a straight forward measurement, so having an app. that alerts you via your mobile phone when the tank temperature falls, or rises, above certain thresholds is definitely possible, and the same would apply for conductivity in a marine tank.

That was partially why I started developing (really mainly just adapting ideas from <Diana Walstad's book> and the <"Skeptical Aquarist"> web site) low. tech KISS solutions like the <"Duckweed Index">.

They were deviced as simple techniques that hopefully make the intervals between inadvertantly killing your fish longer. They don't have any "bells or whistles" and need a minimum of kit or water testing etc, but hopefully create environments that are fairly robust and stable.

From my "day job", I knew that actively growing plants are the single factor that makes tank management easier, and this is, at least, partially to do with their beneficial effects on water/substrate oxygenation. This effect is especially true of emergent or floating plants wth access to aerial levels of oxygen and CO2.

So for me the first thing was to develop a planted tank method where oxygen availability always exceeded biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The main problem with this is that we can't actually measure BOD. There is more here on BOD: <"Wood for Tanks">.

I distilled what I knew into this page, I wrote it a while a go, specifically for rheophilic plec keepers and it has had a few different homes, but it still pretty much summarises my "method": <"Aeration and dissolved oxygen in the aquarium">.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi,
i'm using my google calendar. just write the tank events with a specific colour.
it sincronizes with tablet, phone and pc.
specific software is too much for my need's, just a hobby.
I'm very good in forgetting so google agenda keep's important dates in my hand (like birth-date's or meetings)
cheers
 
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Google Calendar is all you need. Anything else like the sites OP suggests get used for a week then thrown away. Seneye looks like fun initially, but do you really need to know your par levels, nitrate etc every day? If you do then you're probably doing something wrong...
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all, The real problem is that I don't really think that are enough parameters you can measure meaningfully to develop an app. that would work. Despite being a bit of a fraud, I have got access to ~ £100,000's of analytical kit, and a technicians who know how to use it, but it still can't tell you what is "wrong" with a tank.

Some parameters you can measure, temperature is a straight forward measurement, so having an app. that alerts you via your mobile phone when the tank temperature falls, or rises, above certain thresholds is definitely possible, and the same would apply for conductivity in a marine tank.

That was partially why I started developing (really mainly just adapting ideas from <Diana Walstad's book> and the <"Skeptical Aquarist"> web site) low. tech KISS solutions like the <"Duckweed Index">.

They were deviced as simple techniques that hopefully make the intervals between inadvertantly killing your fish longer. They don't have any "bells or whistles" and need a minimum of kit or water testing etc, but hopefully create environments that are fairly robust and stable.

From my "day job", I knew that actively growing plants are the single factor that makes tank management easier, and this is, at least, partially to do with their beneficial effects on water/substrate oxygenation. This effect is especially true of emergent or floating plants wth access to aerial levels of oxygen and CO2.

So for me the first thing was to develop a planted tank method where oxygen availability always exceeded biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The main problem with this is that we can't actually measure BOD. There is more here on BOD: <"Wood for Tanks">.

I distilled what I knew into this page, I wrote it a while a go, specifically for rheophilic plec keepers and it has had a few different homes, but it still pretty much summarises my "method": <"Aeration and dissolved oxygen in the aquarium">.

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
Hi Darrel, Superb Read <"Aeration and dissolved oxygen in the aquarium"> :clap: Can i please use this link and post the info on to others :)
 
Hi all,
Greenfinger2 said:
Can i please use this link and post the info on to others
Click to expand...
Thank you, and yes, please do.

I wrote the article after I got to know a couple of Bristol based "L. number" breeders, and particularly the late, great Bob Marklew ("macvsog23"). He was an engineer by profession, and an extremely skilled and observant fish keeper over ~40 years. Have a look at this thread to see what I mean: <"Lamontichthys llanero tank setup?">.

There are more details of the actual background to "Aeration and ......," in this thread on "PlanetCatfish" <"Achieving high oxygenation">.

The article was originally hosted on "Plecofanatics", which doesn't exist any more, and unfortunately the forum posts by Bob etc. (which were extremely informative) have been lost.

cheers Darrel
 
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