Personal Online Aquarium Log

[Reefland]

As my current project for Reefland.com and it's members starts to wrap up, it is time for me to start planning for the next project, probably not to start development until '04. I post this here as the fate of the next project will depend solely on you, the members of Reefland.com.

Most people would agree than a complete aquarium log would be helpful and useful but sometimes maintaining them can be a pain simply because the commercially available logs don't require everything we want/need or they have everything we need but it is a painful task to sit down and hand write all of the info.

As my current project nears completion, I wonder how many of you would find a Personal Online Aquarium Log useful and most importantly, would you use it?

Please use the poll to let me know if it is worthwhile to develop and let me know in this thread what options you would like to have.

Thanks,
Scott Z.

[zhenya]

Scott,

I think it is a brilliant idea and I personally would love to see what format you are thinking of. I was never able to maintain any reasonable type of log but would love to have one if it was simplified to use and easy to get access to.

You are a genious dude!

[Reefland]

The format would be similar to what we have here in the BB and the Gallery. What I mean is the layout would look the same and functionality would be the same as far as online forms are concerned. Obviousy, the overall layout would be dependant on the options offered in the log.

Each member would have a personal log that was assigned to their username and would have the option to make the log private or public; that is one thing that I know for sure.

Everything else would be what you folks wanted in regards to what type of information is stored. Some givens would be tank parameters by date; maintenance performed by date, livestock added by date, etc.

Scott Z.

[Poseidon]

Very COOL!!!

it would be awesome to have bullet points you can select for Ca and Alk Values SG so on.... things that typically fall in a particular range, maybe have a OTHER option where we could type in a value...

[kevinpo]

I would like to give it a try. I have a written log from 1995 until today but it is a couple of notebooks long now. It takes a while to look up the date I bought a fish/coral. It would be nice if there was a search function so we could look up just fish, corals by family, or tests. Also a graph function to plot calcium, alkalinity, PH etc. Am I overboard, dreaming, or both?

Regards,
Kevin

[Reefland]

Am I overboard, dreaming, or both?

Neither. ;) Just the type of feedback I am looking for.

Scott Z.

[Penguin]

I've been meaning to keep a log for a while but I've been too lazy to actually do it. Having it right here on the site would be convenient though since I visit the site frequently already. Features-wise I'd like to be able to enter values for the common water parameters, livestock additions, equipment maintenance, water changes, and general observations.

[Rook]

I agree the idea is great. I would worry though about putting so much time and info into an on-lline program, where the on-line provider could close down at any given time (hopefully not). Just would not want to lose the info.

Otherwise I like the idea and would like to try it. What would be cool is if it could give you a warning if there were any potential problems with you parameters, such as sudden changes or high pH, etc. Also (going over-board) if you could set it up to give certain reminders, like personal financial planners do. "Time to do a water change".

[Reefland]

Rook,

I appreciate your concern however Reefland.com has been online for over 5 years now and there are no plans or concern for the site shutting down. However I have a solution for your concern as it is legitimate.

Current Feature List:
We'll list the basics first:

1. Ability to enter all types of tests that may be performed, stored by date and easily retrievable through various methods of sorting (by date, by test type, etc.) with the ability to plot trends. The data entry could have drop down boxes for the most common values or a box to type the value in if outside of the "norm". Done. SZ
2. Ability to enter livestock additions and provide observations about those additions sorted by date. This would mean that you could look at a high level overview of the additions sorted by date and then be able to click on the addition to enter/view comments you have made about that particular addition, sorted by date. Done SZ
3. Ability to enter tank maintanence details including date, maintanence performed and general observations about the equipment, sorted by date.

Now let's list some advanced features:

1. Ability to download data in CSV, Tab Delimited or XML formats for local storage.
2. E-mail notification reminders (set by user) to perform tests, do water changes or other maintanence defined by the user.
3. Ability to make log public or private (viewabel by anyone or just yourself).
4. Linked up with Personal Photo Gallery for picture additions.

Other ideas or thoughts?
Scott Z.

[Rook]

Definately very cool idea.

[Reefland]

Just making some additional notes here.


Water Test Entry:
Test Performed
Date Performed
Results
Test Kit Brand
Schedule Next Test Date
Comments
Done. SZ

Livestock Entry:
Common Name
Scientific Name
Date Purchased
Purchased From
Cost
Comments - Additional comments can be added at any time
Done. SZ
Feeding Requirements
Size
Color
Can add into Comments. Will wait for feedback to determine if separate entry is needed.

Maintanence Entry:
Maintanence Performed
Date
Comments
Next Due Date - Select next scheduled date for e-mail reminder
Maintanence Entry Types:

1. Water Change
2. Sump Cleaning
3. Skimmer Cleaning
4. Pump Cleaning
5. Light Bulb Changes, with date changed and next date due
6. Carbon Addition/Changes

I know I'm missing some good ones so I'm looking for help there.

[kevinpo]

How about:
Light bulb type (wattage and K rating), replacement schedule, and position. Email notification for replacement due.

Regards,
Kevin

[Reefland]

Definitely, added info above.

[Penguin]

Carbon addition or change.

[Reefland]

Just posting some more thoughts.

Customizable Home Page to display user selected equipment and next scheduled maintenance date. Homepage will also display either the X most recent tests performed or the most recent results of any of the selected tests.

I'll get the carbon in there as well Penguin.

Scott Z.

[Poseidon]

Wow this is really growing into a very cool LOG... hope we can put it all to use

[Wind]

hey.. it would be cool.. and see how it goes and take it from there. then maybe offer it for us to use perosnally at home? hehe ;)

how bout a place to liste equipment? and material or inventory?.. i unno just a thought because i think this idea is cool...

[Reefland]

I have already started some of the development of this project but it will take some time to complete especially as development time will be minimal through the holidays. I can tell you though (or maybe I am partial) that this will be a very complete package that will have every option anyone would need. As with any other "prgram", I expect that it will be released in stages, Alpha, Beta, Release Canidate and then Final and I would also expect it to become an ongoing development project as new feature suggestions are recommended and accepted. I for one think that this will be a very nice resource for hobbyist and as this will be my largest project to date, hope that it will be utilized to it's fullest.

Wind,
Offering something that could be used locally (on your PC) would be neat but is well beyond my capabilities. My development will stop with the web.
I will definitely consider adding an Inventory Listing for products but will have to figure some of the logistics of that, like how to determine when the particular product is low and display that information.

Now, I need a bit of help. These are the water parameter tests that I have coded currently, am I missing anything?
Alkalinity
Organics
Ammonia
Oxygen
Boron
Ph
Calcium
Phosphate
Carbon
Salinity
Copper
Specific Gravity
Iodine
Silicates
Magnesium
Strontium
Nitrite
Temperature
Nitrate

[saltwaterdave]

awesome idea I would defnitely use that!!! I can't really think of anything to add to it at the moment but I will think of something.
David

[64Ivy]

Sounds fantastic to me. Most parameters I'm interested in have already been covered. Reads like quite the massive undertaking though; can you do something like this without server problems down the line?