Brian60077
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- Joined
- Oct 28, 2024
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- Chicago Northside
- What state or country do you live in
- Illinois
That looks awesome and something id be interested in
IKEA 1.7L Pico Build (Custom PCB /3D Printing)
- Thread starter Polymate3D
- Start date
- Tagged users None
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Polymate3D
Active Member
Day 19 - General Update
Some corals, specifically the Kenya Trees and the alien eye zoas have been removed. The Kenya trees were sold to a local person and the alien eye zoas where taking up too much space. There now in my 34L frag tank.
We now have our first algae setting in on the glass, and there is a Hirsuta in the middle(Experiment piece. I don't expect it to survive but this whole aquarium is a test), along with a small piece of Xenia. The later is getting bashed about by the crab so we will see if any survives!
Otherwise nothing to report. In selling the Kenya trees I had to do a 50% water change which is the 1st change done. Some point this week I will look at doing some tests and see how the numbers look.
The Yellow Goby is rather happy in there, occasionally swimming and using his hiding space in the middle or behind the pump. He is much quicker to react to food going in than he was in the EVO and so is starting to look a little bigger in the tummy.
Otherwise there is nothing to report. Later this week I will do the tests, small water change no doubt and clean it up to look nice again. Once I have new numbers, I will post them up!
- Paul
Some corals, specifically the Kenya Trees and the alien eye zoas have been removed. The Kenya trees were sold to a local person and the alien eye zoas where taking up too much space. There now in my 34L frag tank.
We now have our first algae setting in on the glass, and there is a Hirsuta in the middle(Experiment piece. I don't expect it to survive but this whole aquarium is a test), along with a small piece of Xenia. The later is getting bashed about by the crab so we will see if any survives!
Otherwise nothing to report. In selling the Kenya trees I had to do a 50% water change which is the 1st change done. Some point this week I will look at doing some tests and see how the numbers look.
The Yellow Goby is rather happy in there, occasionally swimming and using his hiding space in the middle or behind the pump. He is much quicker to react to food going in than he was in the EVO and so is starting to look a little bigger in the tummy.
Otherwise there is nothing to report. Later this week I will do the tests, small water change no doubt and clean it up to look nice again. Once I have new numbers, I will post them up!
- Paul
OP
OP
Polymate3D
Active Member
Day 23 - 1st Water Tests
Small update. Need to clean the glass as we have a bit of algae (Cheap toothbrush. Hand doesn't even touch the water).
The 1st water tests are in and very uneventful. When I started I put in a fresh mix of saltwater with a salinity of 1.023. Here are the results after 23 days.
Salinity = 1.024
PH = 8.2
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10ppm
Phosphate = 0.15ppm
Temperature is still 25.1c +/-0.2c
So the key parameters on this 1.7L Pico are stable, even with it taking me 3 weeks to do water changes. So far in those 23 days, around 0.4L of the 1.7L has been changed.
Corals are starting to look happier except the hirsuta. I think just not enough light.
I am already lining up the changes I would make, but the tank will be changed rather than started in a new form this time. I don't plan on ordering new boards or parts just yet either so I can possibly learn some more.
- Paul
Small update. Need to clean the glass as we have a bit of algae (Cheap toothbrush. Hand doesn't even touch the water).
The 1st water tests are in and very uneventful. When I started I put in a fresh mix of saltwater with a salinity of 1.023. Here are the results after 23 days.
Salinity = 1.024
PH = 8.2
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10ppm
Phosphate = 0.15ppm
Temperature is still 25.1c +/-0.2c
So the key parameters on this 1.7L Pico are stable, even with it taking me 3 weeks to do water changes. So far in those 23 days, around 0.4L of the 1.7L has been changed.
Corals are starting to look happier except the hirsuta. I think just not enough light.
I am already lining up the changes I would make, but the tank will be changed rather than started in a new form this time. I don't plan on ordering new boards or parts just yet either so I can possibly learn some more.
- Paul
It's looking good.
OP
OP
Polymate3D
Active Member
Thanks!
Yeah it is just kind of working currently. I have made notes on things to improve though. About to post the update now. I am just letting it run daily though with no maintenance like most Pico's seem to have. Just feeding and turning the light on and off.
OP
OP
Polymate3D
Active Member
Day 27 - Observations and Yellow Goby
So above is how the yellow goby was looking 17 days ago when he moved into this little Pico aquarium. Very skinny and at times was pale as well. This is after around 5 months in a Fluval EVO. Most of that time was on his own except coral and some crabs.
Here is the same goby 17 days in. The indent in around his tummy is less pronounced and he is often seen on the 3D printed live rock, on the glass, having a little swim at the top, and most of all, perching in the gorgonian coral. He is more vibrant than before and isn't shy. Rarely goes into the middle where his little hiding cave is.
Observations
The hirsuta coral looks basically dead at this stage, and the 2 Zoas are reaching up, implying lighting is not really enough for this, or is not capturing the correct wavelengths. This was just a single 30000K white LED, so the next board will be expanding the quantity and variety of LED's. Currently the plan is a lower kelvin white paired with a 410<420nm Violet LED to help capture Chlorophyll A better than a standard LED can. Power consumption will be the same, but the PUR percentage should be higher, meaning a higher percentage of that light is being used for photosynthesis.
Heating is also being pushed harder now it is colder here. I still haven't seen lower than 24.9c but my power meter shows that overnight the heater is almost always on, so heating is marginal.
Everything else is...simply working. I have a new more advanced code lined up, but I will complete a new board and 3D printed parts before I consider that with livestock. The current board does have an additional LED point so I may solder a LED to that and see how it goes, but currently just going to let the aquarium run for longer.
That sums things up for the moment. I think the next change will be the 3D printed live rock but I need to design a new one and print it before I can consider this.
I think the future of this thread for a while is going to be pretty boring, but that's good news if it is!
- Paul
So above is how the yellow goby was looking 17 days ago when he moved into this little Pico aquarium. Very skinny and at times was pale as well. This is after around 5 months in a Fluval EVO. Most of that time was on his own except coral and some crabs.
Here is the same goby 17 days in. The indent in around his tummy is less pronounced and he is often seen on the 3D printed live rock, on the glass, having a little swim at the top, and most of all, perching in the gorgonian coral. He is more vibrant than before and isn't shy. Rarely goes into the middle where his little hiding cave is.
Observations
The hirsuta coral looks basically dead at this stage, and the 2 Zoas are reaching up, implying lighting is not really enough for this, or is not capturing the correct wavelengths. This was just a single 30000K white LED, so the next board will be expanding the quantity and variety of LED's. Currently the plan is a lower kelvin white paired with a 410<420nm Violet LED to help capture Chlorophyll A better than a standard LED can. Power consumption will be the same, but the PUR percentage should be higher, meaning a higher percentage of that light is being used for photosynthesis.
Heating is also being pushed harder now it is colder here. I still haven't seen lower than 24.9c but my power meter shows that overnight the heater is almost always on, so heating is marginal.
Everything else is...simply working. I have a new more advanced code lined up, but I will complete a new board and 3D printed parts before I consider that with livestock. The current board does have an additional LED point so I may solder a LED to that and see how it goes, but currently just going to let the aquarium run for longer.
That sums things up for the moment. I think the next change will be the 3D printed live rock but I need to design a new one and print it before I can consider this.
I think the future of this thread for a while is going to be pretty boring, but that's good news if it is!
- Paul
OP
OP
Polymate3D
Active Member
Day 30 - Pump clogged and stopped
Minor update. I cleaned the algae of the jar and this ended up in the pump and stopped the impeller from spinning. A simple lift out of the water and back in resolved it and nothing was lost or a issue.
Adding the filter section which was never finished would of helped this, so will get on that. Also will adjust the power delivery to the impeller from 0.3W to 0.4W so it has a little more power.
1st month of running has been super easy
Minor update. I cleaned the algae of the jar and this ended up in the pump and stopped the impeller from spinning. A simple lift out of the water and back in resolved it and nothing was lost or a issue.
Adding the filter section which was never finished would of helped this, so will get on that. Also will adjust the power delivery to the impeller from 0.3W to 0.4W so it has a little more power.
1st month of running has been super easy
OP
OP
Polymate3D
Active Member
Day 40 - Multiple Updates
So spent a bit of time letting the tank run. The 1st observation after so long is that a hermit crab in this size just tramples over the same corals all the time, and there slowly dwindling away because of this constant harassment. He is now out of the aquarium and into my Fluval EVO.
The Yellow Goby seems very happy still, so he still remains. Knowing the crab was going but the goby was staying, I designed a new 3D printed rockwork for the aquarium.
The new rock maintains the same porous design, but there is a nice size cave now at the back, along with 3 locations for coral frags. The centre is empty to give more space for the goby. The low profile makes sure the goby has swimming space above, and there is a big enough gap around the rock to clean the glass and allow the goby to go down the sides if they wish too.
The pump now finally has a mechanical filtration section too. The tube in the centre is a small region to fit activated carbon if desired. I am currently just using a filter floss. This should help pick up detritus before water changes.
Speaking of water changes, no more have been done yet. I will be letting the Pico tank settle again after all the changes and observe. When I do a water change, I will run the same tests as before to see how it is going.
This picture shows a better perspective of the space the yellow goby has. He is at the back left on this picture perching like he does. So many photos are of him at the front as he likes to be ready for feeding time which is a hole at the front!
That concludes the update. 40 days straight of 25.1c +/-0.2c. Water loss continuously minimal, and been super easy to run so far. The changes have been done to see if the light does the job or not, with designs to accommodate dual LED's if it does appear to be a requirement.
I am behind the scenes collating all my circuit board designs and working them into 1 main design which will cover up to 5L Pico aquariums, whilst still running off a simple 5V, 2.1A USB supply.
- Paul
So spent a bit of time letting the tank run. The 1st observation after so long is that a hermit crab in this size just tramples over the same corals all the time, and there slowly dwindling away because of this constant harassment. He is now out of the aquarium and into my Fluval EVO.
The Yellow Goby seems very happy still, so he still remains. Knowing the crab was going but the goby was staying, I designed a new 3D printed rockwork for the aquarium.
The new rock maintains the same porous design, but there is a nice size cave now at the back, along with 3 locations for coral frags. The centre is empty to give more space for the goby. The low profile makes sure the goby has swimming space above, and there is a big enough gap around the rock to clean the glass and allow the goby to go down the sides if they wish too.
The pump now finally has a mechanical filtration section too. The tube in the centre is a small region to fit activated carbon if desired. I am currently just using a filter floss. This should help pick up detritus before water changes.
Speaking of water changes, no more have been done yet. I will be letting the Pico tank settle again after all the changes and observe. When I do a water change, I will run the same tests as before to see how it is going.
This picture shows a better perspective of the space the yellow goby has. He is at the back left on this picture perching like he does. So many photos are of him at the front as he likes to be ready for feeding time which is a hole at the front!
That concludes the update. 40 days straight of 25.1c +/-0.2c. Water loss continuously minimal, and been super easy to run so far. The changes have been done to see if the light does the job or not, with designs to accommodate dual LED's if it does appear to be a requirement.
I am behind the scenes collating all my circuit board designs and working them into 1 main design which will cover up to 5L Pico aquariums, whilst still running off a simple 5V, 2.1A USB supply.
- Paul
I like the new aquascape, it's looking good. How do you print it that pours? No issues with that?
OP
OP
Polymate3D
Active Member
0 top layers or perimeters / walls. I find gyroid infill produces the best 3D internal structure and set typically at 18% fill ratio to give things like amphipods enough space to get in and start calling it home.
I think various infill rates would result in a better ecosystem but still early days for the concept. I use bottom layers to create a base and the end part is weighed down by the sna or crush coral flooring. On its own it is way too light.
- Paul
OP
OP
Polymate3D
Active Member
Day 51 - Minor Update
I have been rather unwell the past week, and so the little Pico has basically just been running along with me just feeding the Yellow Goby. He seems to love it in there and is always out. Basically doesn't use the cave area.
So the only water change so far was on day 19. 32 days ago or about a month. I recently found the pump was making a bit of noise from some water loss over this past 2 weeks. Measured 1.026 so put in 100ml (0.1L) of fresh RO water and that is it.
With the crab out now, the Zoas do open up but still aren't super happy. I hope to feel better and get a water change done on Monday. That way I can also test the water and see what 35+ days of no water changes on this Pico does. 2 mushrooms where added and there doing just fine, as is the GSP and the gorgonian. There is also a couple of yellow polyps which where floating around the bottom of my main tank, so there settling in there too!
So minor update, but the 1.7L has gone over a month with no water change and no big issues we can currently see. The tests will let us all know how it has effected things.
- Paul
I have been rather unwell the past week, and so the little Pico has basically just been running along with me just feeding the Yellow Goby. He seems to love it in there and is always out. Basically doesn't use the cave area.
So the only water change so far was on day 19. 32 days ago or about a month. I recently found the pump was making a bit of noise from some water loss over this past 2 weeks. Measured 1.026 so put in 100ml (0.1L) of fresh RO water and that is it.
With the crab out now, the Zoas do open up but still aren't super happy. I hope to feel better and get a water change done on Monday. That way I can also test the water and see what 35+ days of no water changes on this Pico does. 2 mushrooms where added and there doing just fine, as is the GSP and the gorgonian. There is also a couple of yellow polyps which where floating around the bottom of my main tank, so there settling in there too!
So minor update, but the 1.7L has gone over a month with no water change and no big issues we can currently see. The tests will let us all know how it has effected things.
- Paul
OP
OP
Polymate3D
Active Member
Day 69 - Major Update - Last of 2024
The above images really say it all. Light is really not enough. Even these new mushrooms are desperately reaching for more light. This seems to be the projects biggest issue, and so a new 3D printed lid is being made tomorrow for the aquarium. You can see the render below:
The new lid will have 2 LED's to double the output, and the new LED will be a 450nm Royal Blue LED. The LED's are also raised higher to blend prior to reaching the corals. I have tried to let the tank just run but this is clearly what needs to be done.
Water Tests:
The aquarium has now had it's second water change done today. This means this 1.7L Pico reef went 50 days (Day 19 to Day 69) with no water change!
This was mainly due to illness on my end. So how did it fair?
Salinity = 1.026
PH = 8.2
Ammonia = 0ppm
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 15ppm
Phosphate = 0.15ppm
Calcium = 420ppm
Magnesium = 1280ppm
Alkalinity = 11dKh
So for major tests are not a issue. Salinity would of been slightly higher if I did not add 100ml RO part way through. This was with the feeding lid off though as well.
What this does show is the design is doing what it is intended to do other than lighting. It maintains temperature at 25.1c +/-0.2c, generates a good flow and keeps water quality stable, even on a small volume of water like this.
Circuit Board Code Update
So the code running this aquarium has gone through it's 1st major revamp. This is mainly to just improve on how it performs and make it easier to alter.
The previous one controlled the 3 heating modules independently, giving 1.25W, 2.50W or 3.75W of heating. This was checked every 15 seconds and could result in sudden 0W to 3.75W swings. Not a problem for the temperature, but it did create some voltage drop which could effect light output.
Because of this, the new code runs all 3 modules together but on a very rapid switching process. This enables 1% or 0.0375W changes, and it cannot change from 0% to 100% within a short time span either. This will make voltage drop a non issue as it will gradually drop slightly or rise over multiple minutes. To be clear, we are talking voltage swings of 5.03V down to 4.85V. Nothing major, but it was a key area I could improve.
I have also made it so adjusting the pumps power is also easier. In a further pump design I may also make it vary the flow rate over time to reduce dead zones in the aquarium.
Yellow Goby
The Yellow Goby has now been in this aquarium 59 days. He is much more filled out than he was, rarely hides in his cave, and enjoys perching all over the place. He gets fed 2 or 3 times a day on a few little pellets and just seems super happy in there. I see him more often than in the EVO and he is healthier, so I have no intentions on taking him out at this time. It honestly feels like a perfect home for a little goby!
Conclusion
Lighting needs to be improved. Pico aquarium is a stable system and the yellow goby loves it in there. Corals are still not very happy, but the new lid will be 3D printed tomorrow and new LED added to focus on the chlorophyll within should hopefully start to turn this around.
See you in the next update
- Paul
The above images really say it all. Light is really not enough. Even these new mushrooms are desperately reaching for more light. This seems to be the projects biggest issue, and so a new 3D printed lid is being made tomorrow for the aquarium. You can see the render below:
The new lid will have 2 LED's to double the output, and the new LED will be a 450nm Royal Blue LED. The LED's are also raised higher to blend prior to reaching the corals. I have tried to let the tank just run but this is clearly what needs to be done.
Water Tests:
The aquarium has now had it's second water change done today. This means this 1.7L Pico reef went 50 days (Day 19 to Day 69) with no water change!
This was mainly due to illness on my end. So how did it fair?
Salinity = 1.026
PH = 8.2
Ammonia = 0ppm
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 15ppm
Phosphate = 0.15ppm
Calcium = 420ppm
Magnesium = 1280ppm
Alkalinity = 11dKh
So for major tests are not a issue. Salinity would of been slightly higher if I did not add 100ml RO part way through. This was with the feeding lid off though as well.
What this does show is the design is doing what it is intended to do other than lighting. It maintains temperature at 25.1c +/-0.2c, generates a good flow and keeps water quality stable, even on a small volume of water like this.
Circuit Board Code Update
So the code running this aquarium has gone through it's 1st major revamp. This is mainly to just improve on how it performs and make it easier to alter.
The previous one controlled the 3 heating modules independently, giving 1.25W, 2.50W or 3.75W of heating. This was checked every 15 seconds and could result in sudden 0W to 3.75W swings. Not a problem for the temperature, but it did create some voltage drop which could effect light output.
Because of this, the new code runs all 3 modules together but on a very rapid switching process. This enables 1% or 0.0375W changes, and it cannot change from 0% to 100% within a short time span either. This will make voltage drop a non issue as it will gradually drop slightly or rise over multiple minutes. To be clear, we are talking voltage swings of 5.03V down to 4.85V. Nothing major, but it was a key area I could improve.
I have also made it so adjusting the pumps power is also easier. In a further pump design I may also make it vary the flow rate over time to reduce dead zones in the aquarium.
Yellow Goby
The Yellow Goby has now been in this aquarium 59 days. He is much more filled out than he was, rarely hides in his cave, and enjoys perching all over the place. He gets fed 2 or 3 times a day on a few little pellets and just seems super happy in there. I see him more often than in the EVO and he is healthier, so I have no intentions on taking him out at this time. It honestly feels like a perfect home for a little goby!
Conclusion
Lighting needs to be improved. Pico aquarium is a stable system and the yellow goby loves it in there. Corals are still not very happy, but the new lid will be 3D printed tomorrow and new LED added to focus on the chlorophyll within should hopefully start to turn this around.
See you in the next update
- Paul
OP
OP
Polymate3D
Active Member
Day 86 - Pico being broken down, and summary
Over here in the UK we have had some colder weather, and temperatures in the house at night have dropped down to 17c (62f) and I have been seeing for 2 days in a row the temperature drop into the high 23's and the power draw is at 100% heating the whole time, showing the 3.75W of heating is not coping. It is delivering around +6.5c.
With this in mind, the Yellow Goby has been moved to my Fluval Flex and the corals are being moved after this update. I could run the heating higher, but this is a situation I expect the setup to be able to deal with, and with a new board just shipped, I think this is a good stage to call it on this test and start gearing up for the next one.
So what have I learnt in this 86 day test?
(1) Pico reef aquariums can be made to have a stable temperature, power permitting
The setup was super stable with a +/-0.2c tolerance up until this colder weather where it just doesn't have enough power to keep up. It also highlights how a power cut would impact a small Pico quickly, so a Addition UPS will be considered as a option moving forwards.
(2) Yellow goby was happy in this size tank
I know many people really stick there nose up, but he fattened up and was happy in this tank the whole time. Now in a Fluval Flex 34L between tests on his own. I used the fish size guide from Jay Hemdal before doing this, and in the test, I can say this size worked IMO.
(3) Lighting needs refinement
The new dual light has worked better this past 2 weeks but the blending is still not great, so a revised lid which blends both more quickly will be needed. I am using the same LEDs on the Flex and growing corals, so its just a matter of intensity and blending I need to resolve here.
(4) DC Pump / filter works great
No concerns with this side of things. It is plenty powerful enough and having the pump code controlled is really helpful for getting the power delivery just right.
(5) 3D Printed lid is really good for evaporation loss
In the 86 days, the 1.7L aquarium had 0.2L of fresh RO water topped up and had 2x 0.3L water changes. That was it. The 3 months of running used less than 2.5L of salt water, so running this for half a year on a 10L jerry can should be very easy.
(6) Water quality has remained good throughout
I was expecting very high nitrate or phosphate at least in this small aquarium, but the highest I ever saw was well within the numbers I would like, and with very little water changes. Even with the goby being fed daily with that biological load.
(7) Curved aquariums at this size suck
The distortion to your view on such a small cylinder tank is just horrible to be honest with you, so this will be the last time I use this IKEA jar for this purpose. Yes it works, and you could use it, but the acrylic cubes are much more my choice for this size aquarium.
So what is changing on the new board?
The new board has tweaks more than a radical change. The heating is no longer 3 modules running from transistors and instead is 1 big module controlled by a MOSFET. The heating is also being increased from 3.75W to 4.45W, a 19% increase. The design is capable of pushing this up to 5W without having to completely revise the board.
A internal thermistor has been added so I can make sure internal temperatures are safe. LEDs remain the same circuit but the current limiting resistors are spread across more off them to keep them cooler. Wasn't a issue on the current board, but I like to have large margins, especially when the cost difference is small.
Connectors for most parts will now be external instead of internal. This will make removal and access much easier. wires to the board are not soldered now either (Except power) and are using connectors. This again is done to make it easier but also a better experience to replace parts if needed.
The final edition is cooling, which can deliver the same power rating the heating module can towards cooling. This means a 5V fan or even a 5V fan + TEC setup should be possible, giving us hopefully a -2c cooling option with no evaporation concerns. Not required, but nice to have. Certainly nice to have on the next test aquarium which will hopefully run into the peak of summer to test this option out as well.
What aquarium container will you use next?
I have so far used a 10cm acrylic cube and this IKEA jar. my next test will be done either on the 10cm acrylic cube (0.7L) again, or to test the heating abilities a 15cm acrylic cube (2.7L) may be used. Test fitting for the board is being done on the 10cm cube. As for when the next one will be started, until I have the boards in hand, designed and 3D printed the parts and passed my initial tests, it is hard to say. Maybe as soon as a month. Possibly longer.
What I will do is make a post after this one with a link to the new build when it starts, so if you like the post or comment, you should get a notification when I do this.
Thanks for joining me on this journey of development for Pico's. It isn't over yet!
- Paul (Polymate3D)
Over here in the UK we have had some colder weather, and temperatures in the house at night have dropped down to 17c (62f) and I have been seeing for 2 days in a row the temperature drop into the high 23's and the power draw is at 100% heating the whole time, showing the 3.75W of heating is not coping. It is delivering around +6.5c.
With this in mind, the Yellow Goby has been moved to my Fluval Flex and the corals are being moved after this update. I could run the heating higher, but this is a situation I expect the setup to be able to deal with, and with a new board just shipped, I think this is a good stage to call it on this test and start gearing up for the next one.
So what have I learnt in this 86 day test?
(1) Pico reef aquariums can be made to have a stable temperature, power permitting
The setup was super stable with a +/-0.2c tolerance up until this colder weather where it just doesn't have enough power to keep up. It also highlights how a power cut would impact a small Pico quickly, so a Addition UPS will be considered as a option moving forwards.
(2) Yellow goby was happy in this size tank
I know many people really stick there nose up, but he fattened up and was happy in this tank the whole time. Now in a Fluval Flex 34L between tests on his own. I used the fish size guide from Jay Hemdal before doing this, and in the test, I can say this size worked IMO.
(3) Lighting needs refinement
The new dual light has worked better this past 2 weeks but the blending is still not great, so a revised lid which blends both more quickly will be needed. I am using the same LEDs on the Flex and growing corals, so its just a matter of intensity and blending I need to resolve here.
(4) DC Pump / filter works great
No concerns with this side of things. It is plenty powerful enough and having the pump code controlled is really helpful for getting the power delivery just right.
(5) 3D Printed lid is really good for evaporation loss
In the 86 days, the 1.7L aquarium had 0.2L of fresh RO water topped up and had 2x 0.3L water changes. That was it. The 3 months of running used less than 2.5L of salt water, so running this for half a year on a 10L jerry can should be very easy.
(6) Water quality has remained good throughout
I was expecting very high nitrate or phosphate at least in this small aquarium, but the highest I ever saw was well within the numbers I would like, and with very little water changes. Even with the goby being fed daily with that biological load.
(7) Curved aquariums at this size suck
The distortion to your view on such a small cylinder tank is just horrible to be honest with you, so this will be the last time I use this IKEA jar for this purpose. Yes it works, and you could use it, but the acrylic cubes are much more my choice for this size aquarium.
So what is changing on the new board?
The new board has tweaks more than a radical change. The heating is no longer 3 modules running from transistors and instead is 1 big module controlled by a MOSFET. The heating is also being increased from 3.75W to 4.45W, a 19% increase. The design is capable of pushing this up to 5W without having to completely revise the board.
A internal thermistor has been added so I can make sure internal temperatures are safe. LEDs remain the same circuit but the current limiting resistors are spread across more off them to keep them cooler. Wasn't a issue on the current board, but I like to have large margins, especially when the cost difference is small.
Connectors for most parts will now be external instead of internal. This will make removal and access much easier. wires to the board are not soldered now either (Except power) and are using connectors. This again is done to make it easier but also a better experience to replace parts if needed.
The final edition is cooling, which can deliver the same power rating the heating module can towards cooling. This means a 5V fan or even a 5V fan + TEC setup should be possible, giving us hopefully a -2c cooling option with no evaporation concerns. Not required, but nice to have. Certainly nice to have on the next test aquarium which will hopefully run into the peak of summer to test this option out as well.
What aquarium container will you use next?
I have so far used a 10cm acrylic cube and this IKEA jar. my next test will be done either on the 10cm acrylic cube (0.7L) again, or to test the heating abilities a 15cm acrylic cube (2.7L) may be used. Test fitting for the board is being done on the 10cm cube. As for when the next one will be started, until I have the boards in hand, designed and 3D printed the parts and passed my initial tests, it is hard to say. Maybe as soon as a month. Possibly longer.
What I will do is make a post after this one with a link to the new build when it starts, so if you like the post or comment, you should get a notification when I do this.
Thanks for joining me on this journey of development for Pico's. It isn't over yet!
- Paul (Polymate3D)
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