By: Ramesh Rajandran

This project was designed to make the cleaning process of an aquarium easier. Changing the aquarium water can take hours and it is not an easy task.

Two Solenoid Valves are used which work as Make Up and Draining Valves. The draining solenoid valve will energize when the pH level of the water is below the minimum level (5.8pH) or higher than the maximum level (7.8pH). The Turbidity Sensor will perform checks, and if the level is high the Drain Solenoid will energize to initiate the draining process.

Each and every move of this project is controlled by an EEPROM. It takes 23 minutes and 12 seconds to drain the water from a 9167 cm³ aquarium and 24 minutes and 53 seconds to replace the drained water.

The specially designed food-feeder box is made up of a 9 volt motor together with a gear to churn the food. A small hole is made on the box to allow the flow of the food into the aquarium. The automatic food feeder works on a 24-hour basis and also each time the make up process stops.

This project will ensure that the pH and turbidity of the water is well maintained. Besides this, it reduces the time spent maintaining the aquarium. With this design one can safely go on holiday for a few days without needing friends or neighbors to help feed the fish and clean the aquarium water.

What Aqua Kleen Does

• Automatically drains the water
• Automatically makes up the water
• Controls the level of water in the aquarium
• Displays the pH level of the water
• Automatically controls the pH of the water
• Feeds the fish at a predetermined time
• Automatically controls the turbidity of the water

Common Problems Faced by Aquarium Caretakers

• Difficulty in changing the aquarium water
• Difficulty in maintaining the pH of the water in an aquarium
• Difficulty in feeding the fish
• Difficulty in controlling the turbidity of the water in an aquarium

What is Needed

• An automatic control system to maintain proper living condition for fish in an aquarium. Any aquarium tends to build alkali level and get cloudy when water is not changed at the right time.
• A system to control the alkalinity and cloudiness of the water. Existing systems clean water through a filter or recycle it. However upon filtering, only solid dirt can be removed.
• An automatic food-feeding device that will feed the fish at a specific set time. Caretakers usually forget to feed their fish, which leads to hunger.

What Has Already Been Done

A search of books and the Internet was done. An automatic aquarium water changer was found. It works continuously and changes 5 gallons of water every hour. It

• does not check for turbidity,
• does not check for alkalinity,
• wastes water.

Water filters work continuously filtering the aquarium water. They

• do not check for turbidity,
• do not check for alkalinity,
• are unable to remove dirt particles dissolved in water,
• waste electricity.

Bibliography

• Stadelmann, Peter. (1991). "Tropical Fish: Setting up and Taking Care of the Aquariums". PP: 24-3
• Scott, W. Peter. (1995). "Complete Aquarium". PP: 12-19
• Schliwen, Ulrich. (1992). "Aquariums: Expert Advice on Setting up and Planting a Tank and O". PP: 25-32
• Mills , Dick / Brown, Deni. (1996). "101 Essential Tips: Aquarium Fish". PP: 1- 17

Related Links on SEED Web Site

ISEF 2000

For 3 days in May, 13 Schlumberger people visited several hundred science projects and were deeply impressed by the young scientists and the quality of the work they saw presented.

SEED Connectivity Grant Program

Ramesh Rajandran is a student at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Ismail II in Malaysia. He is also the school's Director of Information Technology and has been instrumental in implementing the SEED Connectivity Grant Program.

Related Links on Other Web Sites

ISEF

This web site has complete information about the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair including rules and procedures for entering your own project.