AUTOMATIC OPERATION OF AERATORS BY USING IOT

TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

One of the most common issues in the field of aquaculture is the deficiency of oxygen in the
pond. To overcome this situation, the farmers started a new technique called AERATION.
The process of combining water with oxygen with an external source is known as aeration.
This process might be easier for observation but, it needs a lot of human effort and cost for
maintenance. An automated aeration system can reduce mechanical work and maintenance
expenses and can increase the efficiency of the system. Therefore by using a DO (Dissolved
Oxygen) sensor and temperature sensor and some other mechatronic elements, a new device
is invented. The readings of both the DO sensor and temperature sensor can control the
aeration process in the lake. An app is designed in such a way that the farmer can monitor the
system from any location. One main advantage is the system automatically turns off the
aerators when there is no necessity of working. Hence the usage of intake power can be
reduced. We hope this automated aeration system can overcome the problems in aquaculture
and be favourable for farmers.

Objectives

 To control and operate the aerators by using IOT (Internet of Things) technology.
 To monitor the condition of the water in aqua fields at any point of time from any
location.
 Maintenance and Inspection of the pond is easy and no need of human effort.

1. Introduction

Aquaculture is the process of farming of water animals such as fish, prawn, and crab, etc.
under controlled conditions. This process is also known as aqua farming. China is the first
country to start aquaculture in 2000 B.C in Jiahu. Ancient Egyptians have started farming
fish in lake Bardawil, 3500 years ago.
In the initial days, the aqua farmers maintained their ponds with low risk because they had
a plethora of feed and other requirements like oxygen and has less pollution. Due to the
fewer problems, the aquaculture is successful in olden days. But there is a common
problem in cultivating sea animals is the deficiency of oxygen content in water. To
improve the oxygen percentage in ponds, farmers introduced a new technique called
Aeration.

The process of combing or mixing the atmospheric air (oxygen) with water to increase the
amount of oxygen content in water is known as aeration. For mixing process aerators are
used. The aerators are fixed on the shaft and it is rotated with the help of a D.C. motor.
The edges of aerators are made in such a way that it can lift some water. So that the water
is mixed with the air and it increases the oxygen level in the pond. This results in the
healthy respiration of sea animals in the pond.

Fig.1. Interacting with Aqua farmers about the problems and difficulties faced by them

For this aeration process a continuous human observation is required even at night time
also. According to DO level and weather conditions we should run the aerators otherwise
the oxygen content in the pond will decreases and leads to death of the fishes. Majority of
farmers run the aerators according to time bases only but not on the basis of DO level and
temperature, due to this there is a chance to wastage of power and aerators may be
damaged due to heavy loads. Based on the journals that are published regarding aqua
culture and aeration in ponds, it is clear that water in an aqua pond should be maintained
with a minimum dissolved oxygen level of 5 mg/L. If DO level in water goes below 5
mg/L, then the growth rate and survival of water animals are affected and sometimes may
leads to the death. It is hard to maintain required Dissolved oxygen value and salinity of
water without any mechanical aeration system. But our project allows the aerators to run
only when the DO level and temperature levels are not in desired range.

Therefore the aqua farmer faces the following problems.

 Due to the lack of oxygen levels there may be failure of ponds.
 Continuous human observation is needed.
 Aerators may be damaged due to heavy loads.
 Nitrogen based wastes can cause oxygen depletion in coastal environments.
To overcome the above mentioned problems we introduce a smart aqua system, which
works on IOT base.

2. Working Principle of the system

Monitoring Application

An application is developed in such a way to monitor the pond condition from any
location. By using this App farmer can know the dissolved oxygen level, temperature of
the pond water and the working of the aerators. This is made possible with the help of
internet of things (IOT) technology.

The wi-fi module (ESP8266) is the only component that is responsible for the working of
entire application. It sends and receives the internet signal and passes the information to
the relay module. Then the relay module acts as switch and works according to program.
 2.1 Manual mode

Manual means it can be controlled or operated with the aid of human. The designed
application is set with manual mode to help the farmers to control the aerators in
emergency situations. Those situations include failure of DO sensor and temperature
sensor and also in cases like improper working of the system. The figure 2.1 shows the
working of the application. On the screen of the application, it is provided with a mode
option where it can be changed to auto or manual and vice versa. As we can see in the fig
2.1, initially the two motors are in OFF position. One can run the motor by just tapping on
the motor option. Soon when we tap on the OFF button it changes to ON position, means
the motors are in running condition. We can also see the condition of the motors on screen
as well. This is how we control the motors in case of manual mode.

Fig. 2.1App in Manual mode

2.2 Auto Mode
In the auto mode, the application will be working based on the coding program by itself
without any human interference as shown in fig 2.2. The sensors in the system senses all
the readings and works according to the code. Initially after checking the authentication, it
senses the DO value and then allows the aerators to rotate if the value is not in the desired
range (5 mg/L ) and otherwise it will be in rest condition. Later, it senses the temperature
value and runs the system only if the value is greater than the 32 oC. A human cannot
operate aerators when it is set to auto mode.

Fig.2.2 Application in Auto mode

In our application the constraints are given based on dissolved oxygen in water and
temperature of water. Aerators should run when the dissolved oxygen in water is less or
when temperature of water increases the desired value. However, these conditions will
change depending upon type of weather condition and salinity of water on that region.
Hence, by observing those conditions some standard values are taken and those are given
to application. When the values obtained through DO sensor and temperature probe
sensor is below or crossing the values of standard values, then automatically motor 1 and
motor 2 will start rotates. Parallelly, the values of DO sensor and temperature probe is
viewed on the screen which can be seen by aqua farmers at any time.

Fig 2.2 Automatic Operation of Aerators using IOT technology

 Advantages of Automatic operation of Aerators using IOT technology
system

 This system can increase the production rate in Aqua culture.

 It can reduce the human effort.
 It is easy and in expensive to construct.
 It occupies less space for installation.
 It can multiply the profits that are earned on aqua ponds.
 Its effective working can reduce the consumption of fuel or energy intake.
 The aerators can be operated automatically and manually also.
 The working condition of aerators can be monitored at any location with the help
Internet of Things (IOT) technology.
 The dissolved oxygen (DO) values and temperature values can also be observed
through the application.
 It can be installed in both fish and prawn cultured ponds.
 It can increase the dissolved oxygen (DO) level and reduces the temperature of
water in the aqua ponds.
 The maintenance cost of this system is very low.

Conclusion

This project enables the farmers to monitor the condition of aerators at any location with
the help of Internet of Things technology. Our project eliminates all the problems faced by
the aqua farmers with the traditional methods. Finally, our project ensures to increase the
production rate of water animals in aqua culture and it reduces the fuel cost for the working
of system and increase profits to the farmers. It may result in great reduction of human
effort with automation of aeration and helps aqua farmers to multiply their profits.