We just got a Yellow Belly Slider last night. I want to do some monitoring/controlling of the tank. Looking for input and opinions. I'd prefer all zigbee since it will stick with my theme of "mission critical" only on zwave but WiFi wouldn't be out the question.
Here's what I have so far in terms of ideas/plans:
Water level monitor
Water temp monitor
Basking area temp
Some kind of monitor for power that I haven't sorted out yet but it's got a heat lamp, water heater and a pump/filter. Control of these might be nice too but mostly just a way to detect issues.
Will also be putting a contact sensor on the lid.
Also, to top it all off, I'd like to put a compact camera just for fun.
I know a lot of people here are into fish which this is a very similar situation so I thought I would see what kind of ideas I can get. Any advice is appreciated!
In order to monitor water level, you need a water leak sensor with a remote probe. Although it does not meet your Zigbee criteria, I have had good success with the Ecolink water sensor. It has proven to be reliable.
Having remote temperature sensor probes would be ideal, but I have not found any that are Zigbee or Z-wave. There are numerous temperature/humidity sensors that you might consider as well as other types of sensors that have temperature readouts. I control my bathroom exhaust fans using these Tuya based Zigbee temp/humidity sensors. They are small enough to be inconspicuous.
Hate to been seen to be banging the same drum, but...
Konnected // nodemcu will tick all of those boxes.
Water level monitor - cheap as chips. Handful of ds18b20's. Contact sensors. Add a few 5v relays if you wish to also add lights, heater etc.
I would encourage you to also look into something like this to be used as a redundancy too:
Inkbird ITC-306A-WiFi Aquarium Temperature Controller Aquarium Thermostats Fish heater thermostat with Dual Heating Socket for Marine Tank Fish Shrimp Tortoise（No Timer） https://amzn.eu/d/0f09BjUw
There's no programming, but there are some steps to follow.
This may be of use:
I'd be tempted to avoid using any h/a software for controls. I'd stick with using h/a for monitoring only. Keep it simple for the actual controls, don't let hubitat or anything else control it.
Check out this in a little more detail. Very straightforward stuff IMO.
=)
For water level, if be tempted to use a float switch. High enough? No issue. Drops too low? Switch activates. Easy to see status via a contact sensor setting in konnected.
Third Reality has a Zigbee plug with built-in power monitor. I can confirm, no programming for the Konnected NodeMCU, just some configuration. They can also take a DHT22 temperature and humidity sensor.
I would recommend something more dedicated to aquarium purposes. Like a Neptune Systems controller. They have a lot of options and accessories. Used ones can also be found if you do not need/want new. Their controller should be able to handle most everything (depending on the sensors you want/get) but there is also a driver for Hubitat to read it's status and even do some override control if needed.
