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Build It Yourself

Nicholas White edited this page Aug 3, 2024 · 15 revisions

Assemble the AquaPi from Parts

Save some money and buy the parts yourself and assemble it yourself! The best DIY experience! This is a quick guide and may not be fully detailed,, because you're doing it yourself, you may already know what you're doing, and as such, support is limited. Do this at your own risk of equipment failure.

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3D Models

STL Models of Cases and Mounts for 3D Printing.

Parts

Basic Materials

PLA Filament
To print various cases and mounts, see above for models. Can use whatever you want.
M3 Screws
Screws to attach custom circuit board(s) to case.
PG7 Cable Glands
To connect to printed case and seal assembled sensor cables to case.
Solder Seal Wire Connectors
To connect cables to sensors.
JST Wire Connectors
Connects 4-pin cables to EZO circuits
Heat Shrink Tubing w/Adhesive
To seal and waterproof sensor cables when connected.

Cables

You will only need one Power Brick and Cable but I buy these in 'bulk'.
USB Power Brick
USB Power Cable

Micro USB Panel Mount
To connect to the ESP32 DevKit and printed case.
3-Pin Cable
For Dallas temperature sensor or any 3 pin sensors.
4-Pin Cable
For EZO circuits, I2C or 4 pin sensors.

Microcontroller and Circuit Board

ESP32 DevKit Board
Connects to AquaPi circuit board, but can be used with any custom HAT boards or connecors. This is what controls everything and where the AquaPi software is installed on. (I'm sure you already knew that!)
You can use any ESP32 board and any method to connect your sensors to your pins, but the following is what I use for the AquaPi I sell.
AquaPi Circuit Board
My custom circuit board with Power and Indicator LEDs, a resistor for Dallas Probes, and terminal blocks for I2C and many GPIO pins. See Circuit Diagram
Raspberry Pi 5
A Raspberry Pi to run Home Assistant on. This is the brains of the Home Automation. Learn how to use this to maximize your aquarium automation experience. (If you're here, you may already know this as well and already have a Home Assitanct instance!) (A RPi 4 will work as well)

Sensors

Dallas (DS18B20) Temperature Sensor
To connect to one of the 3-Pin Cables, can be daisy chained.

Water Level
Optical Infrared Sensorx2
LOW is pin: 33, HIGH is pin: 32
4-Pin Cable Splitter
To connect 2 IR sensors to a single cable. Connect power(red -> red) and gnd(green -> black) for both sensors. Then, connect the cable signal wire (yellow, pin: 33) to the signal wire of one of the IR sensor's signal wire (yellow -> yellow), you will not use the remaining wire on the the cable (blue) for this sensor. Now, do the same for the other IR sensor, but connect cable signal wire (blue, pin: 32) to the signal wire of one of the IR sensor's signal wire (blue -> yellow), you will not use the remaining wire on the the cable (yellow) for this sensor.
WaterLevelBracket
My custom mount for these sensors. Note that this is a magnetic mount and has a void in the middle for the magnet to be inserted during the print.

Water Leak
Currently in-progress

Atlas-Scientific EZO Circuits
I provide support for most (hopefully all) EZO circuits. These are connected to the 4-Pin cables, via I2C protocol. Connect yellow cable wire to the corresponding TX/sda pin on the EZO board. Connect blue cable wire to the corresponding RX/scl pin on the EZO board. You can use whatever is easiest for you to do this, but for my custom EZO cases, I use JST connectors to connect the cables to the isolator boards.

Optional

Heat Shrink Tubing, Color
To color code sensors for easy identification.
2-Pin Cable
For any 2 pin (binary) sensors.
3-Pin Cable Splitter
To daisy chain Dallas sensors.
4-Pin Cable Splitter
To daisy chain EZO sensors.
Calibration Solutions, pH & ORP
To calibrate pH and ORP.
Calibration Solutions, pH, ORP and Conductivity
To calibrate pH, ORP and Conductivity.
Kasa Power Strip
To control various pumps or equipment with Home Assistant.

More Information

This is my personal Amazon List of AquaPi parts I use or parts I plan to use. It changes at lot and may not be fully complete. Use as a reference.

Screenshot 2024-02-22 000808 PXL_20230529_200205979 PXL_20240224_022516268~2

AquaPi for ESPHome

The Aquarium meets the Smart Home!

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