Aquarium's Evolution

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"NetMax" wrote in message
...
I'm going to make a prediction that the next major leap in aquarium

design will be the canopy. I've watched technologies evolve,
filters,
filter media, heaters, lighting technologies, feeding systems and
water
parameter related equipment. Occasionally some of these
technologies
have imbedded themselves into the canopy. For example, 8 years
ago, an
Italian aquarium manufacturer had an auto-feeder built into a
canopy with
T6 fluorescent lighting. They were a little ahead of their time.
Marineland has a line of tanks with their filters built into the
canopy,
and the design has persisted, even with many drawbacks.

The canopy of the future will resemble what we have today, but will
be
much bigger, possibly 8 to 12" thick. It will incorporate things
like:

1. Filter system
- integrated biowheel, and sponge media which would be serviced
through a
hatch in the canopy.
- backwash capability into overflows (see para. 7. below)

2. Storage
- nets, test kits etc

3. Heater
- why use precious aquarium real-estate for an unsightly heater

4. Food storage
- empty/mix all your dried fish foods, pellets, flakes,
freeze-dried etc
into a compartment which is sealed when the hatch is closed.
- there is a screw-type feeder with rubber blades (to keep humidity
away
from the food) operated/programmed from a keypad (integrated into
the
canopy)
- level indicator (proximity switch) provides visual indicator of
low
food levels (ie: by reversing light operation to get your
attention)
- filters would automatically turn off for 10 minutes during
feeding

5. Light System
- staged lighting, programmed from same keypad
- dawn/dusk lights, small halogen making a spot light effect, with

ripples shadowing the substrate, used to transition to/from
nightfall and
daylight main lighting
- main lights (two CF groups, morning 1/2 on, mid-day all on, and
evening
1/2 on again)
- programmed variability (cloudy periods) to reduce algae
(currently done
with timers set to 1 hour off)
- twilight lighting (typically red or actinic) not programmed, set

manually, for those bottle of wine by the fire late evenings.

6. Ventilation & Cooling
- all that lighting will require that the ballasts are in a
separate
vented area (separate from the air under the canopy)
- stainless steel tubing (with cooling fins) replaces conventional
hoses,
allowing atmospheric cooling using a small fan triggered by a
thermocouple.

7. Water/Atmospheric control
- pH regulated through CO2 injected inside canopy (or skip to next
item)
- low pH amber/tannic appearance through black-water concentrate
pellets,
or processed/compressed leaf pellets
- kH regulated through baking soda pellets
- continuous monitoring of conductivity (TDS control)
- plumbed directly into home's DWV and cold water supply line (for

continuous water changes through a drip system)
- thermocouple (replaces thermometer), to activate dynamic cooling

(para.6) and reduce lighting to cool as required. (heater's
thermocouple
would be a separate unit in-line with heating elements).
- backwash cycle which would pulse water in through the gravel,
trapping
mulm in screens located near overflow pipes

8. Power distribution
- plug the canopy in and all peripherals connect to canopy's
integrated
GFI protected power bar.

9. Water Purification option
- clear plastic bell fits on top of canopy (semi-integrated),
housing
various bog/terrestrial plants whose roots would strip out any
remaining
NO3 from non-planted tanks (silk plants would make a come back, but
some
people will always want real plants).

10. Live Food option
- habitat section in canopy for growing small creatures (ie: white
worms
in earth, feeding off decay from mechanical filtration stage, or
mysis
shrimp hatchery etc). Hatchery occupants will randomly 'escape'
into
main tank to be eaten.


Did I miss anything? Today, this equipment & electronics exist
separately, much of it in high volume consumer goods, except for:
a) the canopy itself (fairly straightforward mould with several
options
and expansion panels to include odd sized aquarium dimensions).
b) the canopy horizontal filter (plastic moulds) utilizing twin
(redundancy) generic powerheads
c) the controller and fairly straightforward programming
d) integration of all the components

Alone, I could prototype this in about 6 years (it is that easy),
so a
group of people could probably get one into pre-production testing
in 12
months, and into production, 6 months after that.

The question is, would it sell. Would you buy one? Is it
complete,
anything missing?
--
www.NetMax.tk



I would definitely buy one when starting a new tank and if the price
was relatively reasonable (reasonable can extent to quite high for me
- - maybe $200-$400 usa dollars for a 120 gallon tank or larger). My 3
tanks are established so I wouldn't need to buy the whole shabang in
the case of a breakdown as likely only one component would need to be
replaced. Your idea would look awesome too compared to people having
cables, cords, tubes and pipes spewed out all over the place. You go
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"Daniel Morrow" wrote in message
...
"NetMax" wrote in message
...
snip

I would definitely buy one when starting a new tank and if the price
was relatively reasonable (reasonable can extent to quite high for me
- - maybe $200-$400 usa dollars for a 120 gallon tank or larger). My 3
tanks are established so I wouldn't need to buy the whole shabang in
the case of a breakdown as likely only one component would need to be
replaced. Your idea would look awesome too compared to people having
cables, cords, tubes and pipes spewed out all over the place. You go

Thanks! When I sold aquarium set-ups, I'd often get customers who
inherited a tank (just the glass), and they wanted to buy everything
else. I explained that there were 4 cost drivers, and the order (from
most expensive to least expensive, over the 1st year) was usually:

1. equipment (canopy, lights, filters etc)
2. decorations, plants, fish, and their maintenance (foods, water
treatment etc).
3. stand
4. tank (!)

Economically, you're usually much better off with existing equipment,
stands and fish, and just buying a tank, than doing the reverse, but
emotionally, people rarely buy a tank to put under that spare heater ;~),
so tanks drive the industry. I'd have to design the canopy for existing
tanks, for hobbyists who were being successful and wanted to take it to
another level.
--
www.NetMax.tk

"coolchinchilla" wrote in message
...
NetMax wrote:
I'm going to make a prediction that the next major leap in aquarium
design will be the canopy.

Such a design would be great, but probably out of my price range. One
thought for this, consider the needs of sal****er folks because they're
probably the ones with the funds to spend on such a canopy. For
example, they need Metal Halides (sp) (superbright lights) if they keep
a reef.

Good luck!
coolchinchilla

Good idea. I'll need to seek advice when I get to that stage then, as my
experience with sal****er is too limited.
--
www.NetMax.tk

NetMax wrote:
I'm going to make a prediction that the next major leap in aquarium
design will be the canopy.

Such a design would be great, but probably out of my price range.
One thought for this, consider the needs of sal****er folks because
they're probably the ones with the funds to spend on such a canopy.
For example, they need Metal Halides (sp) (superbright lights) if
they keep a reef.

Good luck!
coolchinchilla

NetMax wrote:
"Justice" wrote in message
news:Cmxdf.106716$y_1.10145@edtnps89...

NetMax wrote:

"Gill Passman" wrote in message
k...


Liz wrote:


OK, got it. I would then go with redundant filters and a flow meter
(something that can detect current) that could be connected to
_something_ (auto-dialer, computer, whatever) to send you a message.

I'm sure we'll all be interested in anything you come up with.

Liz

PS: Hubbies are so useful sometimes, aren't they? G

Yep...I'll keep you all posted. I'm going to make this part of my tank
upgrade project which will be set up with redundancy - I've got to
sell my car before I'm allowed to order the new tank (it's surplus to
requirements)

Gill

PS and yep they are g - he's also great at getting the Fluval's
restarted after maintenance - I end up with blisters and arm ache


In regards to the overtemperature monitoring, I would guess that this
would not be too difficult to locate. Ideally, one of the digital
aquarium remote thermometers would have a high limit detector, which
you could IO to a simple automotive type 12V relay open circuiting a
defective heater. This may be more work that it's worth, but the
expression is, once bit twice shy ;~).

In regards to the water flow detector, I prefer to use multiple
filters for a simple low-tech approach to redundancy. If you really
wanted a flow detector, then they do exist. Coincidentally, the post
below appeared in another newsgroup just a few days ago. I will
reprint it as the fellow was looking for feedback.

cut % paste begins:===============


Hi there

My name is Denis Gibbs, and I am a Director of a British Company
called
Before the Event Ltd, located at Cheltenham UK

I am a retired Marketing Director of a very large US Company, and I am
also
the inventor of a new water leak detector.
This was originally designed for washing machines etc. UK and US
patents
have been issued, and there is enormous interest in the traditional
field.

However something quite interesting has arisen - with particular
applications to aquaria. We are about to bring to the market a device
which
can plug into the water input tube of a fish tank. Just cut the
existing
tube and insert. This device - which has no moving parts - can monitor
whether water is present or not in the input tube If the pump fails,
or the
input tube becomes detached from the pump, then an alarm is given.
Special
electronics have been designed so that the battery - which operates
the
electronics - only looks at the circuit once per minute, and then only
for
about 50 millisecs. This really does conserve the battery. Although
the
present design covers an audible alarm, it would be possible to send
an
alarm signal to a mobile phone.
Or do virtually anything with the electronic circuitry.

Additionally we have incorporated an anti-syphon gizmo, which opens
the
inlet water pipe to air when then water flow ceases.
No more water all over the carpet.

I'm writing to you really just to get your reaction about the new
product.

Is such a device of interest to aquarium enthusiasts? Particularly in
the
US. If so, we can probably make it available in you country.

I look forsward to hearing from you.

Regards

Take Care

Denis Gibbs

cut % paste ends:===============

Maybe you can contact him and offer to test it. Positive results
could then be relayed to the newsgroup.
hth

for overheating you cold interprate a small radiator unit say on sold
for the pc market that would at least be adding cooler water to the
point needed seeing as you already have pumps set up for filration just
plunbing design.


Sounds like a good idea. Living in Canada, I haven't been very motivated
to find ways to cool my tanks (Edmonton is probably similar ;~)

i wish it is much colder here -30 not uncommon but less humed -20 here
frome my experience -10 there

, but this
is a real problem for many folks to the south. It would be possible to
have a stainless steel finned radiator along the back of the tank. I'm
not sure if the convection cooling achieved would be very strong, but
with controlled lighting (switching off when the water is too warm) the
radiator would probably offset the heat added by the powerhead, so the
tank could be made to run at room temperature (that's already progress).

I could add a couple of hose connectors, so that buyers in really warm
climates could add a coil of stainless steel tubing (instead of the
finned radiator), which they would run through their fridge or freezer.
Then the system needs a tiny thermostat valve, but it should work fine.

"fish lover" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 20:43:27 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

"fish lover" wrote in message
. ..
On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:35:36 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:
snip

Few more things I can think of may help:
1. I would prefer to have the intake/return water pipes built into the
canopy. I hate to cut all kind of holes into my tank cover to fit in
the pipes.

Agreed. as the filter and pump is integrated into the canopy, there
should be no cut-outs or visible plumbing to see.

2. As for the filter system, I would like to have something allows
easy change of media without stopping the filter system. That's one of
the things I hate about the cannister filter system. Also, you may
want to leave the filter media exposed to air so a pro ling power
outage will not kill all your good bacterias. I'm worred one of these
days my cannister filter systems will be dead after an hour or so of
power outage.

I don't understand why they don't build canister filters out of clear
plastic. They have been doing this for years with many HOBs. I like and
dislike the filter media on the Eclipse. It's great that you see it and
can change it without turning the pump off (or am I thinking of the Hagen
mini-tanks?), but gravity-fed water doesn't utilize filter media as
efficiently as force-fed. In itself, this can be a good thing, as the
detritus does not penetrate as deeply into the media, so it is less
likely to become clogged beyond repair, but it requires a significantly
greater surface area with different grades of filtering material (can't
have everything clog the surface of the first filter encountered). The
approach may be to filter the particulates down through several stages of
different densities of washable foam media, starting with a coarse open
cell and ending with a fine closed cell sponge. Engineering a good
design would be time consuming, (and take a lot of space) but the result
could be an extremely robust and user friendly system. Most of the
under-surface of the canopy's top could be dedicated to filtration mats,
easily accessible from above and exposed to air (some minimal ventialtion
with louvers opposite from the vents for the lighting ballasts). I would
be curious to see what powerpacks are economically available by the time
I do this. It might not be unreasonably to include a tiny dc powerhead
running off of a 12V lantern battery (perhaps making this powerhead the
only pump, and the battery on a continuous recharge circuit from the ac
mains?).

3. Since you are building the system anyway, you may want to add some
of the monitor devices such as digital temputure display (I just
bought one on ebay for $5 plus S&H). Really neat thing.

Definitely. This is a technology which will be less expensive and more
accurate than anything else soon. My inclination would be to have a
small readout, but a wide flat multi-colour LED which would remain green
for a set temperature range, turning yellow for anything slightly outside
that range, and red for anything else. Realistically, this is what we
need. In the trade, I rarely read thermometers (it would take too long
with over a hundred tanks). I would simply touch the glass as I walked
by for an approximate range.

4. Your idea of having a small storage area for fish food and things
like that is eally good. I keep my fish food on top of my tank and
they just don't look good. Too much storage may not needed. Just a
small area to keep the dry food and things.

This is something that has so far gotten mixed reviews. My concern is
that heat and humidity are the worst enemies of fish food, breaking down
the vitamins and promoting mold. If the food is not exposed, then I
would need to ensure the storage area did not get too warm. I might not
specifically design a storage area, but I would keep one in mind as there
is usually odd shaped cavities which could be utilized for storage with
little or no design compromises.

5. One thing you may want to keep in mind is to reduce any possible
sudden noise from all the moving parts of the canopy. Some fish are
sensitive to that. If you open a door to reach soemthing in the canopy
and it ratles, that may not be good for the fish. Adding a soft pad to
some of the doors may be a good idea. Slide doors or open from the
sides maybe better than the doors that open up and down.

You might be surprised to learn what an engineering challenge that can
actually be, with the tolerances of mass production. The $$$ that car
manufacturers put into finding the precise material, shape, reinforcing,
and sound that moving parts make is almost unbelievable, and this is not
just car doors, but down to the way the cup holder progressively pops up
and out like it was motorized.

Rather than increasing the costs by running high tolerances and many
little parts, I'd try to take a more holistic approach with the design,
keeping it simply, relatively easy to assemble, less little plastic
do-dads to break, and use strips of urethane pads on two-sided tape (or
wedged into a groove) just as you have suggested. It should feel as
solid and professional as it looks, and works.

thanks for the feedback!
--
www.NetMax.tk

Hey, maybe one of these days I can buy one from you!

Good luck.

"Kevin Livingston" wrote in message
...
Shortened for ease of reading:

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
The canopy of the future will resemble what we have today, but will be
much bigger, possibly 8 to 12" thick. It will incorporate things
like:

1. Filter system
- integrated biowheel, and sponge media which would be serviced
through a hatch in the canopy.
- backwash capability into overflows (see para. 7. below)

I agree but I would say that the hobbyist should be able to add modules
as she/he sees fit. I would also say that an optional UV sterilizer
module could be added to the final stage.

UV module, check )


2. Storage
- nets, test kits etc

That could be easily part of the stand.

True, but I'm not a carpenter and didn't want to get involved in stands.

3. Heater
- why use precious aquarium real-estate for an unsightly heater

I would also add an optional chiller module too.

Check, discussed in another post.

4. Food storage
- empty/mix all your dried fish foods, pellets, flakes, freeze-dried
etc into a compartment which is sealed when the hatch is closed.
- there is a screw-type feeder with rubber blades (to keep humidity
away from the food) operated/programmed from a keypad (integrated into
the canopy)
- level indicator (proximity switch) provides visual indicator of low
food levels (ie: by reversing light operation to get your attention)
- filters would automatically turn off for 10 minutes during feeding

I don't think I could buy into that. Another poster metioned the joys
of having one's fish great you as you feed them. It's kind of like when
Duncan Heinz cake mixes first came out. Everything was included in the
mix so that the busy mom/wife could "just add water" and be done but so
many women at that time camplained that they felt that they weren't
trully baking if eggs and other "liquid" ingredients were powdered and
that they could add them themselves. So Duncan Heinz (and others)
changed the formula to allow for the "baker" to add "liquid"
ingredients his/herself. Why the history lesson? To illistrate what you
might run into with "too much automation".

I think the missing operative is too much automation *too fast*. Duncan
would probably find less resistance to the all included recipe now, but I
think a key element (not to critique your example), is that 'perception
is reality', and dried butter and eggs were perceived to lack the quality
of the real thing.

I will however take the resistance to too much automation to heart.

5. Light System
- staged lighting, programmed from same keypad
- dawn/dusk lights, small halogen making a spot light effect, with
ripples shadowing the substrate, used to transition to/from nightfall
and daylight main lighting
- main lights (two CF groups, morning 1/2 on, mid-day all on, and
evening 1/2 on again)
- programmed variability (cloudy periods) to reduce algae (currently
done with timers set to 1 hour off)
- twilight lighting (typically red or actinic) not programmed, set
manually, for those bottle of wine by the fire late evenings.

Let's not forget "moon light" LEDs to make nocturnal effects. Maybe
even adding "phases" would be good.

) relatively inexpensive (LED lighting). I wonder if advances in LED
technology will even allow for their use as the only light source,
variable in intensity and frequency (different colours) right down into
the infra-red. I wasn't planning on designing this hood anytime soon, so
we shall see.

6. Ventilation & Cooling
- all that lighting will require that the ballasts are in a separate
vented area (separate from the air under the canopy)
- stainless steel tubing (with cooling fins) replaces conventional
hoses, allowing atmospheric cooling using a small fan triggered by a
thermocouple.

No arguments here.

7. Water/Atmospheric control
- pH regulated through CO2 injected inside canopy (or skip to next
item)
- low pH amber/tannic appearance through black-water concentrate
pellets, or processed/compressed leaf pellets
- kH regulated through baking soda pellets
- continuous monitoring of conductivity (TDS control)
- plumbed directly into home's DWV and cold water supply line (for
continuous water changes through a drip system)
- thermocouple (replaces thermometer), to activate dynamic cooling
(para.6) and reduce lighting to cool as required. (heater's
thermocouple would be a separate unit in-line with heating elements).
- backwash cycle which would pulse water in through the gravel,
trapping mulm in screens located near overflow pipes

Again no arguments.

8. Power distribution
- plug the canopy in and all peripherals connect to canopy's
integrated GFI protected power bar.

9. Water Purification option
- clear plastic bell fits on top of canopy (semi-integrated), housing
various bog/terrestrial plants whose roots would strip out any
remaining NO3 from non-planted tanks (silk plants would make a come
back, but some people will always want real plants).

Can't give much thought on thst one.

10. Live Food option
- habitat section in canopy for growing small creatures (ie: white
worms in earth, feeding off decay from mechanical filtration stage, or
mysis shrimp hatchery etc). Hatchery occupants will randomly 'escape'
into main tank to be eaten.

Too much complication IMHO

complication, yes, but my motivation is a pet peeve close to my
heart. As important as a HOB filter is, what aquariums *really* need is
an HOB hatchery which would randomly release creatures into the water to
be eaten by the fish. The problem is that my fish are bored. Their
tank-mates have been selected with some scientific rigour. Their
environment was researched, and they are generally in the biggest
aquarium that I can afford them. They are happy, healthy and bored.

Along with boredom, their food supply is a little too artificial, double
feedings of dry processed foods with the occasional frozen treat when
their caretaker remembers to do it. Their digestive system would be a
lot happier with a more irregular diet scattered throughout the day, plus
the thrill of finding a live creature swimming around, and then the
chase, the catch, the satisfaction of beating your tank-mates, the
swallow... and then if fish could smile ).

From Oscars to Neon tetras, fish like to spend most of their time in the
pursuit of a meal. This is what they were hard-wired in nature to do.
Eat, sleep, spawn, roam and avoid being eaten. In the confined
controlled space of an aquarium, they eat (boring), sleep (boring), spawn
(ok, though their choices of mates are always very limited), roam (to the
end of the tank and back), and stay alive (usually no predators are in
with them). Boring.

So while the design of a hatchery would certainly be a complication, I
would like to include it for the sake of their mental health ;~).

Did I miss anything? Today, this equipment & electronics exist
separately, much of it in high volume consumer goods, except for:
a) the canopy itself (fairly straightforward mould with several
options and expansion panels to include odd sized aquarium
dimensions).
b) the canopy horizontal filter (plastic moulds) utilizing twin
(redundancy) generic powerheads
c) the controller and fairly straightforward programming
d) integration of all the components

I would add that it should be easy on the hobbyist and that optional
modules can be added or removed depending on the hobbyists desires.

A recurring theme I've been hearing. This will be an interesting design.

Alone, I could prototype this in about 6 years (it is that easy), so a
group of people could probably get one into pre-production testing in
12 months, and into production, 6 months after that.

The question is, would it sell. Would you buy one? Is it complete,
anything missing?
--
www.NetMax.tk

Anyway these are jusy MY opinions

.....and I thank you for taking the time to write them ).

Statistically, every single opinion expressed represents a large number
of similar opinions which were not expressed, so you're actually speaking
on behalf of *many* people.

cheers
--
www.NetMax.tk

"Kevin Livingston" wrote in message
...

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
"Kevin Livingston" wrote in message
...
Shortened for ease of reading:

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
snip

Too much complication IMHO

complication, yes, but my motivation is a pet peeve close to my
heart. As important as a HOB filter is, what aquariums *really* need
is an HOB hatchery which would randomly release creatures into the
water to be eaten by the fish. The problem is that my fish are bored.
Their tank-mates have been selected with some scientific rigour.
Their environment was researched, and they are generally in the
biggest aquarium that I can afford them. They are happy, healthy and
bored.

Along with boredom, their food supply is a little too artificial,
double feedings of dry processed foods with the occasional frozen
treat when their caretaker remembers to do it. Their digestive system
would be a lot happier with a more irregular diet scattered throughout
the day, plus the thrill of finding a live creature swimming around,
and then the chase, the catch, the satisfaction of beating your
tank-mates, the swallow... and then if fish could smile ).

From Oscars to Neon tetras, fish like to spend most of their time in
the pursuit of a meal. This is what they were hard-wired in nature to
do. Eat, sleep, spawn, roam and avoid being eaten. In the confined
controlled space of an aquarium, they eat (boring), sleep (boring),
spawn (ok, though their choices of mates are always very limited),
roam (to the end of the tank and back), and stay alive (usually no
predators are in with them). Boring.

So while the design of a hatchery would certainly be a complication, I
would like to include it for the sake of their mental health ;~).


HOB hatchery? I wonder how that would work?

I let you know as soon as I invent it ;~) (or someone else beats me to
it). Basically you would sprinkle in some eggs (perhaps mysis shrimp, or
some nemotodia) into a box hanging on the back of the tank, and they
would hatch, and begin reproducing. You would need to feed them, or if
they had access to the organic matter in the filters, that might work, or
else some plants, or regular feedings with flake food. The hatchery
would be connected to the tank through a grill large enough for them to
get into the tank, small enough to keep your fish out. Ideally this
grill is located near your filter return, so you would have a vortex
action slowly & continuously drawing a bit of water out.

I'm thinking/working on a larger scale unit to test some ideas. Probably
start with Mollies in an algae scrubber tank plumbed into my main tank,
to see how much of a continuous food chain I can get going. Fish poop,
poop dissolves and feeds floating plants and algae in high light area,
Mollies eat algae and drop fry, fry feed fish, fish poop.

Once operational, I'll look into scaling it downwards towards a
sea-monkey type set-up, continuously dropping live 'something' into the
tank. Depending on the fish, this could be done in a variety of ways.
Imagine an ant colony with openings under the water (lots of fish like to
eat ants). The trick is to find a critter whose escape would not cause
us trouble, and that it could establish a sustainable colony.

Some hobbyists have come close with a nemotodia colony growing in their
HOB filter (looks like tubifex worms), but that was scaled wrong to be
enough benefit for the fish.
--
www.NetMax.tk

Shortened for ease of reading:

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
The canopy of the future will resemble what we have today, but will be
much bigger, possibly 8 to 12" thick. It will incorporate things like:

1. Filter system
- integrated biowheel, and sponge media which would be serviced through a
hatch in the canopy.
- backwash capability into overflows (see para. 7. below)

I agree but I would say that the hobbyist should be able to add modules as
she/he sees fit. I would also say that an optional UV sterilizer module
could be added to the final stage.


2. Storage
- nets, test kits etc

That could be easily part of the stand.

3. Heater
- why use precious aquarium real-estate for an unsightly heater

I would also add an optional chiller module too.

4. Food storage
- empty/mix all your dried fish foods, pellets, flakes, freeze-dried etc
into a compartment which is sealed when the hatch is closed.
- there is a screw-type feeder with rubber blades (to keep humidity away
from the food) operated/programmed from a keypad (integrated into the
canopy)
- level indicator (proximity switch) provides visual indicator of low food
levels (ie: by reversing light operation to get your attention)
- filters would automatically turn off for 10 minutes during feeding

I don't think I could buy into that. Another poster metioned the joys of
having one's fish great you as you feed them. It's kind of like when Duncan
Heinz cake mixes first came out. Everything was included in the mix so that
the busy mom/wife could "just add water" and be done but so many women at
that time camplained that they felt that they weren't trully baking if eggs
and other "liquid" ingredients were powdered and that they could add them
themselves. So Duncan Heinz (and others) changed the formula to allow for
the "baker" to add "liquid" ingredients his/herself. Why the history lesson?
To illistrate what you might run into with "too much automation".

5. Light System
- staged lighting, programmed from same keypad
- dawn/dusk lights, small halogen making a spot light effect, with ripples
shadowing the substrate, used to transition to/from nightfall and daylight
main lighting
- main lights (two CF groups, morning 1/2 on, mid-day all on, and evening
1/2 on again)
- programmed variability (cloudy periods) to reduce algae (currently done
with timers set to 1 hour off)
- twilight lighting (typically red or actinic) not programmed, set
manually, for those bottle of wine by the fire late evenings.

Let's not forget "moon light" LEDs to make nocturnal effects. Maybe even
adding "phases" would be good.

6. Ventilation & Cooling
- all that lighting will require that the ballasts are in a separate
vented area (separate from the air under the canopy)
- stainless steel tubing (with cooling fins) replaces conventional hoses,
allowing atmospheric cooling using a small fan triggered by a
thermocouple.

No arguments here.

7. Water/Atmospheric control
- pH regulated through CO2 injected inside canopy (or skip to next item)
- low pH amber/tannic appearance through black-water concentrate pellets,
or processed/compressed leaf pellets
- kH regulated through baking soda pellets
- continuous monitoring of conductivity (TDS control)
- plumbed directly into home's DWV and cold water supply line (for
continuous water changes through a drip system)
- thermocouple (replaces thermometer), to activate dynamic cooling
(para.6) and reduce lighting to cool as required. (heater's thermocouple
would be a separate unit in-line with heating elements).
- backwash cycle which would pulse water in through the gravel, trapping
mulm in screens located near overflow pipes

Again no arguments.

8. Power distribution
- plug the canopy in and all peripherals connect to canopy's integrated
GFI protected power bar.

9. Water Purification option
- clear plastic bell fits on top of canopy (semi-integrated), housing
various bog/terrestrial plants whose roots would strip out any remaining
NO3 from non-planted tanks (silk plants would make a come back, but some
people will always want real plants).

Can't give much thought on thst one.

10. Live Food option
- habitat section in canopy for growing small creatures (ie: white worms
in earth, feeding off decay from mechanical filtration stage, or mysis
shrimp hatchery etc). Hatchery occupants will randomly 'escape' into main
tank to be eaten.

Too much complication IMHO

Did I miss anything? Today, this equipment & electronics exist
separately, much of it in high volume consumer goods, except for:
a) the canopy itself (fairly straightforward mould with several options
and expansion panels to include odd sized aquarium dimensions).
b) the canopy horizontal filter (plastic moulds) utilizing twin
(redundancy) generic powerheads
c) the controller and fairly straightforward programming
d) integration of all the components

I would add that it should be easy on the hobbyist and that optional modules
can be added or removed depending on the hobbyists desires.

Alone, I could prototype this in about 6 years (it is that easy), so a
group of people could probably get one into pre-production testing in 12
months, and into production, 6 months after that.

The question is, would it sell. Would you buy one? Is it complete,
anything missing?
--
www.NetMax.tk

Anyway these are jusy MY opinions

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
"Kevin Livingston" wrote in message
...
Shortened for ease of reading:

"NetMax" wrote in message
...
The canopy of the future will resemble what we have today, but will be
much bigger, possibly 8 to 12" thick. It will incorporate things like:

10. Live Food option
- habitat section in canopy for growing small creatures (ie: white worms
in earth, feeding off decay from mechanical filtration stage, or mysis
shrimp hatchery etc). Hatchery occupants will randomly 'escape' into
main tank to be eaten.

Too much complication IMHO

complication, yes, but my motivation is a pet peeve close to my heart.
As important as a HOB filter is, what aquariums *really* need is an HOB
hatchery which would randomly release creatures into the water to be eaten
by the fish. The problem is that my fish are bored. Their tank-mates
have been selected with some scientific rigour. Their environment was
researched, and they are generally in the biggest aquarium that I can
afford them. They are happy, healthy and bored.

Along with boredom, their food supply is a little too artificial, double
feedings of dry processed foods with the occasional frozen treat when
their caretaker remembers to do it. Their digestive system would be a lot
happier with a more irregular diet scattered throughout the day, plus the
thrill of finding a live creature swimming around, and then the chase, the
catch, the satisfaction of beating your tank-mates, the swallow... and
then if fish could smile ).

From Oscars to Neon tetras, fish like to spend most of their time in the
pursuit of a meal. This is what they were hard-wired in nature to do.
Eat, sleep, spawn, roam and avoid being eaten. In the confined controlled
space of an aquarium, they eat (boring), sleep (boring), spawn (ok, though
their choices of mates are always very limited), roam (to the end of the
tank and back), and stay alive (usually no predators are in with them).
Boring.

So while the design of a hatchery would certainly be a complication, I
would like to include it for the sake of their mental health ;~).


HOB hatchery? I wonder how that would work?

Anyway these are jusy MY opinions

....and I thank you for taking the time to write them ).

Statistically, every single opinion expressed represents a large number of
similar opinions which were not expressed, so you're actually speaking on
behalf of *many* people.

cheers
--
www.NetMax.tk