Smart Pond Management
The customer needed an automated solution to manage devices in a garden pond, with the primary goal of maintaining optimal water temperature. During the summer, the water would overheat, negatively impacting the fish in the pond. Devices like the waterfall pump and UV lamp were operated manually, which didn’t allow for efficient and flexible temperature regulation. The aim was to create a system that would enable automation based on water and air temperature measurements while being easily controllable via a mobile app.
We developed an application in FileMaker that allows automated control of all pond devices. For measuring water temperature, we used a Raspberry Pi with an external thermometer. The Raspberry Pi was placed in a chamber near the pond to also monitor the temperature of the equipment and prevent damage. For gathering air temperature data, a weather station was integrated, sending data to the FileMaker database.
The application is programmed to automatically start the waterfall when water cooling is needed. In the spring, the waterfall can also be activated to warm the water. The UV lamp is controlled via the app, and its status is monitored. Notifications about the UV lamp's activation or deactivation, as well as alerts regarding any issues, are sent to the user via push notifications or email.
The devices are controlled using remotely operated sockets connected to the Raspberry Pi. Every 5 to 15 minutes, the temperature data is checked, and the application decides, based on defined rules, whether to start or stop the respective devices. These rules, including action definitions, can be modified via the user interface. The solution also allows for manual control of the devices through the mobile app.
