Assisted Dosing of Aquatic Environments For Maintaining Water Quality Therein, and Systems, Methods, Apparatuses, and Software Relating Thereto
Methods of assisting human users with dosing of aquatic environments, such as aquariums, pools, hot tubs, ponds, etc., that utilize automated monitoring systems that continually monitor various parameters of the water in the aquatic environments. When one or more measured water parameters of an aquatic environment are out of tolerance, a dosing calculator uses water-quality information from a monitoring system to generate dosing instructions for a human user that instruct the user how to dose the aquatic environment with one or more additives that will put the one or more parameters back into tolerance. In some embodiments, input from a user is used to switch the monitoring system to a dosing mode from a normal monitoring mode to track the progress of the dosing more closely than the normal monitoring mode would.
1 . A method of assisting a human user with dosing water in an aquatic environment with one or more additives to keep a water-quality parameter of the water within an acceptable range, the method comprising:
receiving data concerning the water-quality parameter from a water-quality monitoring system monitoring the water of the aquatic environment;
automatedly analyzing the data to determine whether or not the water-quality parameter is out of the acceptable range;
when said analyzing reveals that the water-quality parameter is out of the acceptable range, automatedly determining dosing requirements for the one or more additives that, if added to the water in the aquatic environment, will put the water-quality parameter back into the acceptable range;
automatedly issuing an alert to the human user indicating that dosing is required to bring the water-quality parameter back into the acceptable range; and
automatedly issuing dosing instructions that are based on the dosing requirements and are understandable by the human user.
2 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein said receiving data includes receiving data from a water-quality monitoring system having a chemical indicator apparatus submerged in the water, wherein the chemical indicator apparatus includes a plurality of immobilized dye based chemical indicators.
3 . A method according to claim 2 , wherein said receiving data includes receiving data from a water-quality monitoring system having a chemical indicator disc submerged in the water, wherein the chemical indicator apparatus is rotatable by a corresponding monitoring unit.
4 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the aquatic environment is an aquarium, and said receiving data includes receiving data from a water-quality monitoring system monitoring the water of the aquarium.
5 . A method according to claim 1 , further comprising receiving a response from the human user indicating that the human user is dosing the water and, in response to receiving the response, causing the water-quality monitoring system to enter a dosing monitoring mode in which the water-quality monitoring system monitors the water-quality parameter at a different rate than when the water-quality monitoring system is in a normal monitoring mode.
6 . A method according to claim 5 , wherein said automatedly issuing dosing instructions includes automatedly issuing dosing instructions containing a dosing rate limitation selected to inhibit the human user from dosing the one or more additives too quickly in attempt to avoid causing a detrimental effect in the aquatic environment.
7 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein said automatedly issuing an alert includes automatedly issuing an alert to a smartphone.
8 . A method according to claim 1 , further comprising receiving information about the aquatic environment, and using the information to automatedly generate the dosing instructions so that the dosing instructions are specific to the aquatic environment.
9 . A method according to claim 8 , wherein said receiving the information includes receiving the information via a user interface.
10 . A method according to claim 8 , wherein said receiving the information includes receiving information indicating a user-desired growth rate for coral or an aquatic plant, the method further comprising automatedly generating the dosing instructions as a function of the user-desired growth rate.
11 . A machine-readable hardware storage medium containing machine-executable instructions for executing a method of assisting a human user with dosing water in an aquatic environment with one or more additives to keep a water-quality parameter of the water within an acceptable range, said machine-executable instructions comprising:
a first set of machine-executable instructions for receiving data concerning the water-quality parameter from a water-quality monitoring system monitoring the water of the aquatic environment;
a second set of machine-executable instructions for analyzing the data to determine whether or not the water-quality parameter is out of the acceptable range;
a third set of machine-executable instructions for, when said analyzing reveals that the water-quality parameter is out of the acceptable range, determining dosing requirements for the one or more additives that, if added to the water in the aquatic environment, will put the water-quality parameter back into the acceptable range;
a fourth set of machine-executable instructions for issuing an alert to the human user indicating that dosing is required to bring the water-quality parameter back into the acceptable range; and
a fifth set of machine-executable instructions for issuing dosing instructions that are based on the dosing requirements and are understandable by the human user.
12 . A machine-readable hardware storage medium according to claim 11 , wherein said first set of machine-executable instructions includes machine-executable instructions for receiving data from a water-quality monitoring system having a chemical indicator apparatus submerged in the water, wherein the chemical indicator apparatus includes a plurality of immobilized dye based chemical indicators.
13 . A machine-readable hardware storage medium according to claim 12 , wherein said first set of machine-executable instructions includes machine-executable instructions for receiving data from a water-quality monitoring system having a chemical indicator disc submerged in the water, wherein the chemical indicator apparatus is rotatable by a corresponding monitoring unit.
14 . A machine-readable hardware storage medium according to claim 11 , wherein the aquatic environment is an aquarium, and said first set of machine-executable instructions includes machine-executable instructions for receiving data from a water-quality monitoring system monitoring the water of the aquarium.
15 . A machine-readable hardware storage medium according to claim 11 , further comprising machine-executable instructions for receiving a response from the human user indicating that the human user is dosing the water and, in response to receiving the response, for causing the water-quality monitoring system to enter a dosing monitoring mode in which the water-quality monitoring system monitors the water-quality parameter at a different rate than when the water-quality monitoring system is in a normal monitoring mode.
16 . A machine-readable hardware storage medium according to claim 15 , wherein said fifth set of machine-executable instructions includes machine-executable instructions for issuing dosing instructions containing a dosing rate limitation selected to inhibit the human user from dosing the one or more additives too quickly in attempt to avoid causing a detrimental effect in the aquatic environment.
17 . A machine-readable hardware storage medium according to claim 11 , wherein said fourth set of machine-executable instructions includes machine-executable instructions for issuing an alert to a smartphone.
18 . A machine-readable hardware storage medium according to claim 11 , further comprising machine-executable instructions for receiving information about the aquatic environment, and for using the information to generate the dosing instructions so that the dosing instructions are specific to the aquatic environment.
19 . A machine-readable hardware storage medium according to claim 18 , wherein said machine-executable instructions for receiving the information includes machine-executable instructions for receiving the information via a user interface.
20 . A machine-readable hardware storage medium according to claim 18 , wherein said machine-executable instructions for receiving the information include machine-executable instructions for receiving information indicating a user-desired growth rate for coral or an aquatic plant, said machine-executable instructions further comprising machine-executable instructions for generating the dosing instructions as a function of the user-desired growth rate.