Smart Aquarium Monitoring and Controlling

system using Internet of things and sending

notification using IFTTT server
List of task that this system can perform:

1. Find the water is dirty or not : pH sensor will always check the pH level of the aquarium water. The safe pH range for
aqua water is 6.8 to 8.4. If the pH value will not fall in this range then this system will automatically change 1/4 th tank
water in order to maintain the safe pH value for fishes.

2. You can feed fishes automatically. With the use of keypad you can feed the time (Hour, Minute, Sec, Duration) and at
the set time the feeder will turn on for a particular duration. The main problem that a fish keeper faces is to turn off
the filter so that the food will remain on the water surface. In this system you can also control the filter On and Off
time. You have to select the time for which to turn off the filter.

3. In this system I have used two Ultrasonic sensor, One for sensing the food level in the feeder and other one is for
sensing the water level of the tank. Once the food inside the feeder falls to a particular level or the feeder gets empty ,
It will send a notification to your smart phone to fill up the feeder.

4. If the water level of the tank goes to down it will turn on the solenoid valve to let the water enter and it will always
maintain the water level.

5. To remove the water I have used water pump which is connected to the relay.

6. You can also control the light of the aquarium with the help of the keypad. Simply select the hour and minute at which
you have to turn on and off the light.
7. Temperature sensor is used to sense the water temperature and a heater is used to maintain the water temperature.
The sensor will always check the temperature. Water temperature is a crucial factor for aquarium fishes. If there is a
variation in the temperature then it will effect the health of the fishes and can create dieses.

8. IFTTT server is used to send the message at your number.

9. A Real time clock module and a display is used to show the time and data of the following sensors.

10. List of Electronics item:

• Arduino mega . Bread Board

• Esp8266 . Power booster circuit

• LCD . 4x4 keypad
• RTC module . 4- channel relay module
• pH sensor
• Ultrasonic sensor
• Solenoid valve
• Heater
• Aquarium filter
• water pump
• Servo motor
• Aquarium Light
• Temperature sensor
• Power Adaptor
 Arduino Mega

• The Arduino Mega 2560 is a

microcontroller board based on the 
ATmega2560
• Input voltage - 7-12V
• 54 Digital I/O Pins (14 PWM outputs)
• 16 Analog Inputs
• 256k Flash Memory
• 16Mhz Clock Speed
• It is the acting as the Master in case of
Esp8266.
• 12v , 1 Amp adaptor is being used for
powering the board.
 ESP8266-01

• Esp8266 is being used for providing

the internet connectivity to Arduino
mega and sending the notification.
• It is connecting to the network
provided in the code then at fixed
condition it is calling the IFTTT server
and running the webhook service.
• It is communicating with mega by
Serial communication.
• Esp8266 is a SOC and doesn’t need
any microcontroller to manipulate
hence in this project I am just using it
as a Wi-Fi shield for Mega.
 Nokia LCD Module
• Nokia 5110 lcd module was originally
developed to be used with the iconic
Nokia 5110 mobile phone. So it is
capable of displaying alphanumeric
characters, draw lines and other
shapes and even displays a bitmap
image. All this is possible because of
its (84×48) monochrome pixels.
• Here Lcd is used to print all sensor
values and the time so that user can
get real time data.
• It is also used as a output device in
case of selection menu from the
keypad.
• Initially it print the Adafruit logo then
after as soon as Esp gets connected
to the network, it starts printing the
time and all sensors values.
 RTC Module
• RTC means Real Time Clock. RTC
modules are simply TIME and DATE
remembering systems which have
battery setup which in the absence
of external power keeps the module
running. This keeps the TIME and
DATE up to date. So we can have
accurate TIME and DATE from RTC
module whenever we want.
• I used RTC module for providing the
real time clock so that user can set
the time for feeding and turning off
and on the bulb.
• RTC module is connected to the i2c
pin of the mega.
• On display the real time with date
and day will be always visible.
 pH Sensor
• pH stands for power of hydrogen, which is a
measurement of the hydrogen ion
concentration in the body. The total pH scale
ranges from 1 to 14, with 7 considered to be
neutral. A pH less than 7 is said to be acidic
and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are
basic or alkaline.
• The pH of an aquarium tends to drop over
time due to the breakdown of organic
material, and the best way to prevent this is
through regular partial water changes.
• Set pH range used in the project is
6.8 < pH > 8.0
• Beyond this range the water pump will
remove 1/4th tank water and allow the mega
to let solenoid enter fresh water. By removing
quarter water and inserting fresh water the
pH value will get within the range.
 Ultrasonic Sensor
• An ultrasonic sensor measures the
distance of an object using ultrasonic
sound waves. It uses a  transducer to
send and receive ultrasonic pulses
that relay back information about an
object's proximity
• In this project I used two ultrasonic
sensors.
• One is being used for sensing the
food level in the feeder. While other
one is being used for sensing the
water level of the tank.
• As soon as the feeder gets empty it
will call the Wi-Fi function present in
the code and allow it to send the
notification.
 Solenoid valve
• A solenoid valve is an
electromechanically operated valve.
Solenoid valves differ in the
characteristics of the electric current
they use, the strength of the
magnetic field they generate, the
mechanism they use to regulate the
fluid, and the type and
characteristics of fluid they control.
• Solenoid value allows the water to
enter in the tank.
• It is directly connected to the tab
water supply.
• This one is working on 24v dc supply.
 Heater
• The temperature of your aquarium is
an important factor for the comfort
and well-being of your fish.
• Fish typically need water
temperatures of 80 degrees
Fahrenheit or higher; in order to
reach and maintain these
temperatures, a water heater is
necessary.
• This heater is fixed to a particular
temperature. Whenever the
temperature goes down to fixed one,
it will automatically turn on the
heater in order to maintain the water
temp. inside the tank.
• It is connected to the relay, which is
being controlled by the Mega.
 Filter
• One of the most important parts of
fishkeeping is water filtration. Just
like an air filter cleans the air we
breathe, an aquarium filter cleans
the water your fish breathe. It also
helps keep your aquarium looking
pristine.
• A filter basically cleans the water of
debris, removes the toxic buildup of
ammonia and nitrates, and aerates
the water so your fish can breathe
• It is connected to the relay.
• User can control the time to turn on
and off the filter.
 Water Pump

• Water pump is used to remove the

water when the pH level of the tank
goes beyond the fixed value.
• It will remove 1/4th tank water when
the water gets dirty.
 Servo motor

• In feeder servo motor is used to feed

the foods to the fishes.
• By turning at particular angle it is
opening and closing the feeder
outlet.
 Aquarium Light

• Aquarium light is one of the most

important things in aquarium. As for
plant light is important same for
fishes is also true.
• Fishes needs light for proper growth.
But at night we should turn off the
light in order to let them rest.
• In this project user can control the
light on and off time using keypad.
• By pressing “ # ” user can feed first
light off time and after light ON time.
 Temperature sensor

• In this project, I used waterproof

temperature sensor.
• It will give us the temperature of the
water based on this reading, the
heater will turn On and Off.
• This sensor has very good range of
temperature reading.
 Power Adaptor

• To power up the whole circuit, I used

12v, 1 Amp power adaptor.
• This adaptor is powering both the
Esp8266 and the mega.
 Breadboard

• There are many devices which are

running on +5v and +3.3v. Hence to
full fill the power port extension, I
used breadboard.
• RTC and Esp8266 is also connected
directly to the breadboard.
 Power booster

• Power booster is used for powering

the Esp8266.
• Since esp8266 required higher
current for it operation and that
amount of current can not provided
with Mega. Hence I used a custom
made Power regulator which is
taking 12v, 1Amp as input and is
giving 5v and 3.3v output.
 4x4 Keypad

• I used a custom made 4x4 keypad

module to select the feeding time as
well as light on, off time.
• There are total 8 output: 4 are for
the rows while the other 4 are for
the columns.
• Keypad is connected to the digital
pins of the Arduino Mega.
 4-channel Relay

• To control the Ac appliance, I used 4

channel relay module.
• At first channel Heater , at 2nd Light ,
at 3rd Filter and at 4th water pump are
connected.
• This relay board is being controlled
by Arduino mega. At one side the
controlling pin are connected to the
mega while other side the AC
appliances are being connected.
 Complete Project

• This is the circuit of the complete

module.
• Everything is placed on the top of
the aquarium tank.
• Lcd module and Keypad are placed
on front side of the tank.