Table of Contents
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Table of Contents
Summary of Contents for Robo-Tank Basic
- Page 1 User Manual (V4.05 Nov 2017) *Major Update and Edited by Iain Bonnes...
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
Contents Introduction....................................3 Version Comparison Chart ................................4 Robo-Tanks Features................................... 5 Setting Up the Controller & Display ............................10 Where Do I Connect It?................................. 10 Pin Outs for Connecting Devices – 4 Pin & RJ45 Connectors....................12 Start Up Screen ..................................12 Understanding the Home Screen.............................. - Page 3 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Manual Feeding..................................30 Controlling the AC Power Outlets............................. 31 Customizing AC Power Outlet Icons ............................31 Scheduling the AC Power Outlets ............................32 Manual AC Power Outlet Control ............................33 Storm Mode with Lightning Effects ............................34 Setting Up the Storm Mode ..............................
- Page 4 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Calibrating a Conductivity (EC) Probe ..........................55 Warning Message When Updating Calibration Data ...................... 56 General System & Internet Settings ............................57 Synchronizing the Display with the Controller ........................57 Restoring the Controller to Default Settings ........................... 58 Auto-Dim Level &...
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Page 5: Introduction
This manual covers all the software features in Robo-Tank and how to use them. Robo-Tank has the features to control all the equipment on your freshwater or saltwater aquarium. You can control 16 AC power outlets, 16 channels for LED's using 12-bit resolution, 8 dosing pumps, 8 dosing pump stirrers, 7 temperature sensors, an automatic fish fisher, basic Internet control, 4 flow meters, email alerts, an automatic top off system, DC accessories, Atlas Scientific circuits, powerheads/circulation pumps and much, much more. -
Page 6: Version Comparison Chart
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual *Deluxe & Basic Versions Version Comparison Chart Equipment Deluxe Version Basic Version 5V PWM Dimmable LED Channels Dosing Pumps Switchable AC Power Outlets Temperature (Humidity) Sensors Atlas Scientific Circuits LED Channels for Cooling Fan... -
Page 7: Robo-Tanks Features
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Robo-Tanks Features 16 Channels For Controlling LED's 12-Bit PWM signal 0-5v (0-100%) 4095 steps for very smooth dimming Control all 16 channels independently Display adjustment sliders have a low setting so you can fine tune the low end of your LED's... - Page 8 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual 10 schedules available for each outlet, can be set for specific days of the week. Turn AC outlet on with schedule and off with custom rule or vice versa Turn AC outlets on or off using custom rules Control AC outlets from the internet (phone or computer) ...
- Page 9 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Schedule 2 automatic feedings per day for your fish any days of the week Data Logging / Graphs Data stored on SD card Each parameter has its own folder and new file created every day...
- Page 10 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Create rules using up to 5 optical sensors, switches or any analog/digital Arduino sensor Create rules using the 4 flow meters Set level for parameter to activate rule Turn any outlet on or off using any sensor or parameter...
- Page 11 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Receive email when fish are fed Receive email when dosing pump runs Receive email when ATO starts and stops Receive email showing all the current water parameters Local Audio Alerts 22 different parameters are monitored...
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Page 12: Setting Up The Controller & Display
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Setting Up the Controller & Display Setting up the controller and display is straight forward. Simply plug the controller into a 12V transformer, then connect th e display using a standard Cat5/Cat6 Ethernet patch cable. This cable can be up to 100m long, depending on where you want to locate the controller and display. - Page 13 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual On the front and right hand side, are located all the connections for LED lights, various pumps, sensors, and probes. The primary connectors used are green 4 pin 3.5mm pluggable terminal block connectors, with the exception of the connections for the Display, and the 8 dosing pumps, which use standard RJ45 connectors.
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Page 14: Pin Outs For Connecting Devices - 4 Pin & Rj45 Connectors
This is the ‘Splash’ screen you will see, if you have the display connected, when Robo-Tank starts up. Once you have configured Robo-Tank, it will continue to operate normally, if you remove the display, it doesn’t have to be connected for normal operations. -
Page 15: Understanding The Home Screen
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Understanding the Home Screen This is the Home screen for the controller, and is what you always see, after the ‘Splash screen’. If you have 8 AC outlets configured, you will see the screen to the left, and if you have 16 outlets configured, the one below it. -
Page 16: Home Screen Hidden Features
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual If an outlet is green it means that outlet is on, if it’s red that outlet is off. If you press the outlets area on the Home screen you go to the Power screen. If you press any outlet using this screen that outlet will go in manual mode, all other outlets stay in auto-mode. -
Page 17: Status Screens Only Accessible From The Home Screen
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Status Screens Only Accessible from the Home Screen All screens displaying the status of equipment or sensors can only be viewed from the home page using the custom docks or pressing the section of the screen you want info for. -
Page 18: Settings Menu
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Navigating the Controller Navigating around the controller is easy using the touch screen interface. Touch different parts of the screen for different actions, some actions requiring pressing and holding the display for a longer period. -
Page 19: Hardware Menu
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Hardware Menu One thing to remember, most of the changes you make, (95%), will save immediately when you make the change, a few, save when you leave the page, (but, if for some reason you stay on a screen, after changing a setting, and the screen times out and returns to the Home screen, it will automatically save the changes unless a power outage occurs before the display returns to home page automatically). -
Page 20: Heaters
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Heaters The controller has a high level of logic built in to control all the hardware you have connected. So you can run 3 water heaters independently and safely. Controlling Three Water Heaters Independently From the Home screen press: Settings >... -
Page 21: Dosing Pumps
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Dosing Pumps The controller is capable of controlling 8 DC Dosing Pumps allowing you to fertilize your plants or whatever you can come up with. Each pump has its own set of schedules. The controller tracks how many doses are remaining in each reservoir, when a reservoir is empty the dosing pump won’t run, press the Refill Bottle button when you fill it up. -
Page 22: Scheduling The Dosing Pumps
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Scheduling the Dosing Pumps From the Home screen press: Settings > Schedules > Dosing, and you will see the DOSING SCHEDULE screen to the left, where you can change the schedule for each of the dosing pumps. -
Page 23: Magnetic Stirrers
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Magnetic Stirrers If you need to dose something that should be shaken or stirred before use, then here’s your answer, automatically stir the liquid before dosing commences, ensuring the correct concentration is delivered to the tank. Some examples are fertilizers and trace element additives, for planted tanks, or a commercial Calcium supplement, iron or silicate supplement for the reef tank. -
Page 24: Custom Rules
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Custom Rules Custom rules are a powerful way to control most of the equipment connected. When you go to the Custom Rules screen, you get a list view. Each screen shows 5 rules. At the top it'll tell you how many are active. If there's more than 6 rules, press Next, bottom right hand corner, to toggle through them. - Page 25 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Once you have selected the parameter, you get a page that allows you to setup what happens. In the example below, it’s humidity levels. At the top it'll show you the parameter you selected, in this case: Set Levels For Humidity.
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Page 26: Port Assignment - Assigning Hardware Ports To Sensors/Equipment
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Port Assignment - Assigning Hardware Ports to Sensors/Equipment From the Home screen, press: Settings > Hardware > Port Assignments, and you will see the PORT ASSIGNMENTS screen, at left, where you can customize some of the ports for different sensors and equipment. -
Page 27: Flow Meters
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Flow Meters The controller is capable of monitoring 4 DC Flow meters allowing you to monitor the flow through your filters and tank, and alert you to any possible issues. If you have the Flow meters displayed on the Home screen, press that, or if you have it on one of the Home screen “Docks”... -
Page 28: Led Light Control
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual LED Light Control Robo-Tank can control up to 16 channels of LED’s independently. There’s 4 different light modes which can be changed easily. Setting the LED Intensity for Each Daily Light Mode From the Home screen press: Settings > Lights, and... -
Page 29: Switching To The Temporary Light Mode
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Switching to the Temporary Light Mode From the Home screen press: Lights, and you the TEMPORARY LIGHT MODE screen, to the left, you can start and adjust the temporary light mode. Using the temporary light mode bypasses the daily light schedule. -
Page 30: Editing The Schedule For Each Daily Light Mode
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Editing the Schedule for Each Daily Light Mode When you press one of lines, under MODE, in the screen above, you will see a screen similar to the one below. was pressed, and you’re editing the transition from High Sun Mid Sun. -
Page 31: Feeding The Fish
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Feeding the Fish The controller can handle one auto fish feeder to feed your fish 2 times a day. (4 times a day coming soon). Feeding Cycle Settings From the Settings screen you can access the FEED SETTINGS screen, shown on the left. -
Page 32: Scheduling The Feeding Cycle
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Scheduling the Feeding Cycle From the Home screen press: Settings > Schedules > Feeding, and you get the FEEDING SCHEDULE screen, on the left. Here you can set when the feed cycle starts. You can set 2 feed schedules per day. -
Page 33: Controlling The Ac Power Outlets
Controlling the AC Power Outlets Robo-Tank can control up to 16 AC power outlets using schedules and sensors to control them, and of course manual control using the display or through the internet. You can also customize each of the AC outlet icons on the controller so you never forget what you have plugged in or get confused with what you're trying to control. -
Page 34: Scheduling The Ac Power Outlets
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Scheduling the AC Power Outlets From the Home screen, press: Settings > Schedules > Power, and you see the screen to the left, the POWER SCHEDULE screen. Each icon, on the left, represents 16 different outlets. -
Page 35: Manual Ac Power Outlet Control
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Manual AC Power Outlet Control From the Home screen, press the Power status area, on the right side of the screen, and you see one of the two POWER screens on the left. If you... -
Page 36: Storm Mode With Lightning Effects
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Storm Mode with Lightning Effects The controller has a storm mode feature which allows you to have a lightning show running and have the powerheads create more turbulence (powerhead control being added). The storm starts by dimming the lights to a level you select, based on the settings you select the controller randomly chooses how long the transition runs and when the lightning starts. -
Page 37: Adjusting The Led Intensity For The Storm
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Adjusting the LED Intensity for the Storm Press: Cloud Target, on the screen above you get the screen on the left, LIGHTNING STORM MODE. When the screen loads the LED’s will automatically go to the intensity selected in this window. This allows you to see the light level you’re adjusting to. -
Page 38: Customizing The Controller
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Customizing the Controller You can customize many of the important aspects of the controller, choose the water parameters to view on the home screen, view temperatures in Celsius or Fahrenheit, view times in 12hr or 24hr format, adjust the date and time, change the LED sliders to match the colors of your LED’s for each channel, customize the icons for each of the 16 AC power outlets and... -
Page 39: Customizing The Home Dock
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Customizing the Home Dock Press Home Dock, and you go to the CUSTOMIZE HOME PAGE DOSK screen, this is where you customize the Home screen docks, (up to 2 docks), which display at the bottom of the home screen. -
Page 40: Customizing The Led Slider Colors
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Customizing the LED Slider Colors From the home screen press: Settings > Customize > Sliders, gets you to the CUSTOMIZER SLIDER COLOR screen on the left, for customizing the LED slider colors. You can choose from 8 different colors and assign one of them to each of the 16 LED channels. -
Page 41: Setting Custom Labels
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Setting Custom Labels Several of the labels for sensors and devices can be customized, specifically temperature, humidity sensors, and dosing pumps. *with the addition of an on-screen keyboard, there will be more customizable labels to come in future updates. -
Page 42: Setting The Date And Time On The Controller
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual To change the labels, under the section, //dosing pumps, go to the line: dosingpump1, and highlight Conditioner, and type Fertilizer Now go to the next line: dosingpump2, and highlight Nitrogen, and type Iron... -
Page 43: Setting Up Local Weather Sync With Openweathermap
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Setting up Local Weather Sync with OpenWeatherMap To do this, the controller uses OpenWeatherMaps’s weather data to display your local weather data, to mimic sunrise/sunset times based on your location, and coming in a future update, it will use that data to simulate local weather conditions; clouds, lightning, &... - Page 44 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual 4. Type in a username, your email address and a password and click “Create Account”. And a “pop up” screen will open. *see the image below. 5. Select a “Purpose” for using the API from the list such as Education and then click “Save”, (no company name is required).
- Page 45 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual This takes you to the following screen, showing the API key. 7. Highlight and copy the “Key” shown in the image above to your clipboard. 8. Now, open the “weathAPI.txt” file on the controller SD card, this is located in the “System” folder, and paste the “Key”...
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Page 46: Setting Up The Local Weather On The Controller
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Setting up the Local Weather on the Controller From Home screen, if you have selected it to be displayed. (*Future update will have it as an option to add to the Home Dock). -
Page 47: Controller Alerts
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Controller Alerts The controller is setup to give different alerts based on any of the water parameters or some of the actions performed by the controller. There’s audio and visual alerts locally, the display has a small but loud buzzer that goes off when a water parameter goes out of range. -
Page 48: Automatic Top-Off (Ato) System
From the Home screen if you press: Service, you get the screen on the left. These are the basic settings for the ATO system. You can select a water level when the pump is activated and how often the controller checks the water level. -
Page 49: Sensors And Probes For Controller
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Sensors and Probes for Controller The controller can run a combination of 7 Temperature sensors, 4 of which can be set to read a DHT22 or DS18B20 sensor, 2 pH probes, an ORP probe, a DO probe and an EC probe. Using the 5 probes you can read 9 different water parameters. The controller only works with Atlas-Scientific stamps (circuits). -
Page 50: Atlas-Scientific Probes
CO2 concentration, you must manually enter the KH value from the latest KH water test you performed. Enter in the KH value, (from using a standard basic KH test kit), on the screen above, in the area to the bottom left, using the up or down arrows. -
Page 51: Calibrating A Circuit To A Probe
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Calibrating a Circuit to a Probe Select the probe you wish to calibrate, (be sure you have correctly connected it to the controller). Before doing any calibrations on the Atlas circuits you have to select the buffer solutions you have for each of the different probes. -
Page 52: Calibrating A Ph Probe - Ph1 & Ph2
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Calibrating a pH Probe – PH1 & PH2 Atlas EZO PH circuits can be calibrated several ways: 1 (Mid) Point Calibration 2 (Mid & Low)Point Calibration 3 (Mid, Low & High) Point Calibration A pH (potential of Hydrogen) probe measures the hydrogen ion activity in a liquid. - Page 53 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Below this are the instructions, to complete the calibration, follow these steps and press OK after waiting 2+ minutes. There is no limit how long it takes to complete a step, you can leave the probe in the solution for 20 minutes if you like, and press OK, just be sure to leave it in the buffer solution for more than 2 minutes.
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Page 54: Calibrating An Orp (Oxidation/Reduction Potential) Probe
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Calibrating an ORP (Oxidation/Reduction Potential) Probe Atlas EZO ORP circuits can only be calibrated only one way: 1 Point Calibration An ORP probe, measures electron activity in a liquid. The ORP readings represents how strongly the electrons are transferred to or from substances in a liquid. -
Page 55: Calibrating A Dissolved Oxygen (Do) Probe
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Calibrating a Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Probe Atlas EZO DO circuits can be calibrated 2 ways: 1 Point Calibration 2 Point Calibration For this calibration, if you’re doing a 2 Point Calibration*, you will require a DO calibration solution, a 0mg/L solution, (available from Atlas). -
Page 56: Important - Calibrating A Do Probe Using A 0Mg/L Calibration Solution
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual In this case, calibrating with a solution is slightly different from the other probes, in that you insert the probe directly into the solution bottle, ensure it is clean and dry, before you do. Swirl it around to eliminate any trapped air, leave it in the solution for 1:30 minutes to stabilize, and then press OK. -
Page 57: Calibrating A Conductivity (Ec) Probe
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Calibrating a Conductivity (EC) Probe Atlas EZO EC circuits can be calibrated 2 ways: One Time Dry Calibration 2 Point Calibration A One Time Dry Calibration, is just that. It is only performed ONCE, when a probe is new and being used for the first time. -
Page 58: Warning Message When Updating Calibration Data
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual There is no limit how long it takes to complete a step, you can leave the probe in the solution for 20 minutes and press OK, just be sure to leave it in the buffer solution for more than 2 minutes. -
Page 59: General System & Internet Settings
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual General System & Internet Settings From the home screen, press: Settings > System, and you will see the SYSTEM SETTINGS screen, to the left, where you’re able to adjust different settings for the controller, this includes the ability to set the display brightness and auto-brightness feature, restore default vales and sync the system. -
Page 60: Restoring The Controller To Default Settings
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Restoring the Controller to Default Settings This is the RESTORE DEFAULT SETTINGS screen you get when you press: Restore Defaults, on the SYSTEM SETTINGS screen. This will restore all the settings in the controller to the default values, this is how you received it. -
Page 61: Internet Settings
*NOTE: you can use any mix of letters, (lower and upper case), numbers and special characters. For Robo-Tank to get a Local IP address, you need to have your local network configured to use DHCP (which is typically default), to assign IP addresses to local devices on the network automatically. If you haven’t set this up, refer to your modem/router manual on how to configure it. -
Page 62: Graphs & Logs
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Graphs & Logs Robo-Tank collects multiple sensor, probe & equipment data, which is logged and the majority of which, can be displayed in customized graphs. There's a total of 22 graphs, and one log, one for each of the parameters that can be currently read and recorded, and a log of equipment status changes. -
Page 63: Sensor Graphs
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Sensor Graphs When viewing the graph you see the parameter reading on the top left side. Below the Sensor Reading, you can change the graph view, switching between Daily, Weekly, Bi-weekly and Monthly. -
Page 64: Setting Up Robo-Tank Email Alerts
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual At the bottom right it displays which page your viewing of how many pages for that day, and you can switch between pages by pressing Previous Page / Next Page. To exit this screen, press Exit at bottom right. - Page 65 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Setup your login information for your Alerts. You can use any username and password, you won’t need to remember this information. When you finish setting up your login information you’ll see the following page. This is the dashboard for emails sent through the SMTP2GO system.
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Page 66: Set Up Email Alerts On The Controller
Set Up Email Alerts on the Controller Now you need to set up Robo-Tank to use your account to send you alerts. Browse the microSD card that’s on the controller, (plugged into your w5100 Ethernet shield), and you should see the following list of files. - Page 67 Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Now you can configure the controller to send the different alerts. From the Home screen press: Settings > Web Alerts, and you see the WEB ALERTS screen, at left. Here you can enable/disable different alerts. If the box is checked the alert is enabled.
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Page 68: The Web Page
The Web Page You can access Robo-Tank from the Internet and see the current status of your system, as well as any alerts. You can respond to these, via the web page, turning an AC outlet (device) on or off, and even resuming auto-mode. -
Page 69: Updates
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Make the following changes: 1. Replace YOUR_IP_ADDRESS with the IP address assigned by your Internet provider. 2. Replace YOUR_PORT_NUMBER and replace it with the port number you setup your camera to use, (don’t delete the colon between the IP address and the port number). -
Page 70: Acronyms & Abbreviations In This Manual
Robo-Tank DIY All-In-One Aquarium Controller User Manual Acronyms & Abbreviations in this Manual Automatic Temperature Control Automatic Top Off Carbon Dioxide Direct Current Dissolved Oxygen. The actual amount of oxygen that is in the water. It is expressed in milligrams per liter.