DEVELOPMENT OF FISH POND MONITORING AND AUTOMATION SYSTEM

ABU NEC2018 056

DEVELOPMENT OF FISH POND MONITORING AND AUTOMATION SYSTEM

J. Tsado1, M. B. Mustapha2and M. J. Atta3

1
Engr. Dr. Tsado Jacob, HOD, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Federal University of Technology,
Minna. tsadojacob@futminna.edu.ng 08113933645
2
Engr. Dr. Babagana Mustapha, Senior Lecturer, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of
Maiduguri. bgmustaphaee@yahoo.com 08062390386
3
Corresponding Author: Muhammad Jamiu Atta; Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Federal University
of Technology, Minna. muhammadbaye@gmail.com 07053989349
Abstract: Automated system of fish farming has become inevitable due to the immense importance of fisheries aquaculture. The
efficiency of any fish rearing system depends on monitoring and control of pond water quality parameters. Adequate feeding is
also important for efficient fish rearing as well as reliable power source. This work uses sensor network consisting of temperature,
pH, turbidity, and water level sensors to measure water quality parameters and then relay the readings to the pond manager
through a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) module. Automatic feeding system controlled by servo motor and
timer for adequate feeding of the fishes is also developed. The turbidity sensor is used to prevent feed wastage (and hence water
pollution). Readings obtained from the sensors are also displayed on liquid crystal display (LCD). An automatic water circulation
system controlled by pumping machines and filters for pond water purification is also developed. The water level sensor ensures
that the fish pond is filled with water only to the optimum level. Microcontrollers (Arduino Uno) programmed using C++
language are used for effective automation and control of the system. Each sensor is interfaced with the microcontrollers through
Analog to Digital Converters (ADC). This system is powered with a photovoltaic (PV) system consisting of solar panel, deep
cycle battery, and charge controller. With this design, an efficient system which gives much higher productivity than the manual
fish rearing system is obtained. This work will improve the efficiency of fish rearing system which is an integral aspect of the
Nigerian economy. This will create employment for large percentage of the population and hence lead to diversification of the
economy.
Keywords: Aquaculture, Fish pond, sensor networks, Arduino.

1. INTRODUCTION quantity produced locally (Ozigbo et al., 2014).

The need for an automated and controlled system of fish
farming in our world of today has become inevitable due to
the ever growing importance of fisheries aquaculture. This
importance is being reflected in terms of human consumption
of fish and as a source of income for individuals and nations.
Aquaculture, which is the cultivation of aquatic organisms
(fish, aquatic plants and other organisms) in a controlled
aquatic environment either for commercial, recreational, or
consumption purposes, is one of the fastest growing industries
in the world due to the rapid increase in the demand for fish
and other seafood as major sources of protein. The tremendous
growth in human population globally has also led to a
proportional growth in the demand and supply of fish.
Fisheries aquaculture provided about 52.5 million tonnes of
fish in 2008 with this statistics increasing to about 55.1 million
tonnes in the year 2009 and a forecast of about 57.2 million
tonnes being made for the year 2010. (Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, 2010).
n Nigeria, aquaculture production is one of the productive and
profitable sectors contributing about 4.4% of the Gross
Domestic Product (Thompson and Mafimisebi, 2014). Nigeria
is one of the major inland fish producing countries in the
world, having a total production ranging from 182.264 and
304.413 tonnes between 2004 and 2008 (Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, 2010). Despite this
production level, the current demand for fish massively
surpasses the available supply, such that in 2014, it was
estimated that the demand for fish was about four times the
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Attempt to bridge this gap between the demand and supply of
fish and fish products has led to various work in the area of
automation and control of the aquaculture system. This
research work would therefore seek to develop a fish pond
monitoring and automation system which would provide an
efficient fish rearing system.
Cahyono and Lestari (2017) carried out a research work on the
automation of fish pond water circulation by using Arduino
Uno based control system. Their work was based on the fact
that the success of any freshwater aquaculture system depends
on some factors, one of which is the pond water quality
parameters (that is dissolved oxygen level, pH). The purpose
of their work was to automate fish pond water circulation by
using Arduino Uno microcontroller to control the pH level of
the pond water. They also used water level sensor to measure
the level of water in the fish pond. The recommendations they
made at the end of their work in order to improve upon it was
that the control system be updated such that the fish pond
manager can have a real time update of the fish pond condition
through a GSM SMS system.
Harun et al. (2018) developed a real time fish pond monitoring
and automation system using Arduino. The aim of their work
was to develop a system which will automate the daily
operations associated with the fish pond which usually
includes monitoring water levels, temperature and feeding of
the fish. In their work, they made use of a fish pond located in
 DEVELOPMENT OF FISH POND MONITORING AND AUTOMATION SYSTEM

Malacca, Malaysia. They made use of various sensors to
measure water, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen (DO)
levels which were then incorporated with an aerator and water
supply pumps using a programmable controller called
Arduino. The gap associated with their work which can be
improved upon is the absence of a GSM module to send a
mobile update to the pond manager even when there is no
internet connection. Also, an independent power source is
required for such a system so as to avoid any downtime in
operation due to power failure from grid supply.
This research work is aimed at developing a fish pond
monitoring and automation system that improves on the
efficiency of fish rearing. The objectives set to be achieved
includes monitoring pond water quality parameters using
wireless sensor network, developing an automatic feeding
system that reduces feed wastage and water pollution, and also
developing an automatic water circulation system.
2. MATERIALS AND METHOD
The methodology adopted in this research work to achieve the
set aim and objectives is as outlined:
- Design of the monitoring and control system to automate the
fish pond activities.
- Mechanical construction of the design prototype to
demonstrate the workability of the system.
- Design of the independent power source (solar power
system) to continuously power the entire system.
Shown in Figure 1 is a block diagram of the control and
monitoring system for the fish pond:
SERVO MOTOR
LCD
PH SENSOR
AND ITS ADC
PRESET
MICROCONTROLLER UNIT
BUTTONS
TURBIDITY
SENSOR AND
WATER ITS ADC
LEVEL
TEMPERATURE
SENSOR
SENSOR
The specifications of these sensors are shown in table 1
The temperature sensor employed in this work is the LM35, a
temperature sensing device manufactured by Texas
Instruments with specifications as shown in table 1. The main
consideration for the selection of this temperature sensor is its
wide range of temperature measurement and its cost.
A pH sensor is an instrument used to measure the hydrogen
ion concentration (which indicates the level of acidity of
alkalinity) in a solution. The term ‘pH’ which is short for
‘pouvoir hydrogene’, is derived from French and it stands for
‘hydrogen power’. The scale, which measures the level of
acidity (or alkalinity) of a solution is called the pH scale and it
ranges from 0 to 14, where from 6 down to 0 indicates
increasing acidity, 7 indicates neutral, and 8 up to 14 indicates
increasing alkalinity. The pH sensor used in this research work
is the Arduino liquid pH sensor. The device is powered by a 5
V supply, and it has the ability to measure pH from 0 to 14 to
give an analog output data corresponding to the pH of the
pond which is read by the controller.
The turbidity sensor is used in this research work to ensure
that feeds are not wasted thereby reducing operating cost and
reducing water pollution. It is a 5V component outputs analog
voltages based on the clarity of the water in the pond. This
will enable the controller to decide whether to feed the fishes
in the next cycle of feeding or not. The technique used is that
if the feed dropped for the fishes are not consumed, the system
will not release new feed.
The water level sensor is used to monitor the water at the
underground tank. If the water from the pond gets to a certain
level, it finds its way to an underground tank after passing
through a filtering system. The system will then ensure that
the water is pumped to an over-head tank which will then be
used again in a re-circulatory system. This is achieved through
the use of a floater linked to a shaft which is fastened to a 10
KΩ potentiometer. This will aid the generation of analog
voltages which are read by the controllers’ analog to digital
converter. Note that any value of potentiometer can be used,
the most important thing is that it is connected to have a
varying voltage when the level of water spins the spindle.

REAL WATER GSM

TIME PUMP MODULE
CLOCK

Figure 1: Block Diagram of the Control and Monitoring System of the Fish Pond

2.1 Design of the Monitoring and Control System to

Automate the Fish Pond Activities
Four main sensors were used in the monitoring and
automation of this system; a temperature sensor to measure the
temperature of the pond water, a pH sensor to measure the pH
of the water, a water level sensor to monitor and control the
water level within the pond during draining of polluted water
from the pond and refilling with clean water, and a turbidity
sensor to measure the turbidity of the pond water to determine
whether or not the dropped feeds have been eaten by the
fishes.

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 DEVELOPMENT OF FISH POND MONITORING AND AUTOMATION SYSTEM

system so that change in oxygen level due to temperature can

be monitored.

Other parameters which may also be monitored in an effective

fish production system are salinity, nitrogen compounds
(ammonia, nitrates and nitrites), hydrogen sulphide, and
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and their acceptable
levels are as presented in Table 2.
The flow chart for the program is shown in Figure 2.

The sensors take readings of the water quality parameters,

which are analogous physical properties and convert them to
analogous electrical quantities. These analogous electrical
quantities were then passed through an analog to digital
converter which converted them to digital electrical quantities
to aid the digital optimization. The digital equivalent of the
physical quantity were then fed to the controller for
processing. Timing of the entire system and keeping track of
date was achieved using DS1307 Real Time Clock (RTC).
The controller is connected to a 16 X 2 alphanumeric Liquid
Crystal Display (LCD) which is used to display the readings
processed by the controller. SIM8001 Global System for
Mobile communication (GSM) module is interfaced with the
controller to send an update to the pond manager, through a
Short Message Service (SMS), on the status of the water
quality parameters and the feed condition.

The sensors discussed above will all be employed in the

design of the prototype which will be used to demonstrate the
workability of this system.
TABLE 2: ACCEPTABLE POND WATER QUALITY CONDITIONS FOR
OPTIMUM FISH PRODUCTION
The readings of these sensors will be collected through
Parame Arduino ATMEGA328 microcontroller. The collected data
General Desired Condition
ter
will then be sent through a Global System for Mobile
Temperature (°C) 26 – 30
communication (GSM) module to the fish pond manager.
pH (index 0 - 14) 7.0 – 8.5
Dissolved oxygen ˃ 4.0 Besides sending acquired data through a GSM module, data
(mg/L) will also be monitored and displayed on a 16X2 alphanumeric
Salinity (ppm) 15 – 32 Linear Crystal Display (LCD). This is to enable to pond
Nitrogen compounds Ammonia: ˂ 0.15mg/L manager to have an update on the status of the pond displayed
Nitrate and nitrite: ˂ 4.5mg/L on site without only depending on a GSM message. Timing of
Hydrogen sulphide ˂ 0.1
the entire system and keeping track of date will be achieved
(mg/L)
Biochemical Oxygen [5 day (50/30mg/L)] using DS1307 Real Time Clock (RTC).
Demand (BOD) (mg/L)
The specifications of the Arduino Uno R3 microcontroller are
shown in and Table 3.

Table 2 shows the acceptable conditions for optimum fish

production in Nigeria (Ozigbo et al., 2014). Solar radiation is
the major source of heat in water bodies. In artificial ponds
where the depth usually does not exceed 2metres, there is very
little fluctuation in temperature between the water surface and
water bed. This temperature is maintained by natural
phenomena whereby heat is transferred within the water body
mainly due to convection while heat is lost due to evaporation.

The pH of fish blood is averagely 7.4, that is, slightly alkaline,

hence the pond water has to be slightly alkaline as well,
ideally 7.4, but an acceptable range is from 7.0 – 8.5.

The amount of oxygen present in a typical fish pond depends

on certain conditions such as temperature, atmospheric
pressure, and also feeding pattern. Oxygen becomes less
soluble in water as temperature and pressure increases, hence
a temperature sensor is necessary in any fish pond monitoring
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2.3 Design of the Independent Power Source (solar power

system)
An independent power source (solar power system) will be
used to power the designed system. The choice of this
independent power source to power the system is necessary
due to the epileptic nature of power supply from the national
grid and as a result of the fact that the controller circuit will
need to be constantly powered at all times so that there will
not be any failure in carrying out the control of all the various
sections of this system. This power circuit consists mainly of
three main components which are the solar panel, the battery,
and the charge controller. It will be noted that the inverter is
included in the design of the solar power system because all
the loads used in the system design are Direct Current (DC)
loads. The energy requirement of each of the components is
considered and determined, and hence the total energy
requirement of the system was determined. This total energy is
then used to determine the sizing of the components of the
solar power system.

3.0 EXPECTED RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A prototype will be developed to demonstrate the workability
of the designed system. This developed prototype with the
implemented sensor network will be used to rear the African
catfish (Clarias gariepinus) for a period of about one month.
During this period, water quality parameters (temperature and
pH) will be measured at intervals and graphs plotted to show
their variation. At the end of this experimental period, the
Figure 2: The flow Chart of the control program
yield from this designed system will be compared from that
from a manually operated fish pond which was used to rear the
TABLE 3: SPECIFICATION OF THE ARDUINO UNO R3 CONTROLLER same type and quality of fish for the same period of time.
ELECTRICAL
S/N PARAMETERS
CHARACTERISTICS CONCLUSIONS
1. Micro-controller ATMEGA328 A fish pond monitoring and control system was designed in
2. Operating Voltage 5V this research work. It involves the use of sensor networks to
3. Recommended input 7V-12V measure water quality parameters. An automatic water
voltage
4. Input voltage limit 6V-20V
circulation system was also designed which includes filter
5. Digital input output 14 system that purifies the pond water during the circulation
pin process. Also, an automatic feeding system was designed
6. Analog pins 6 coupled with use of turbidity sensor to ensure that the feeding
7. DC current at input 40mA system is effective (thereby reducing feed wastage and water
output pin
pollution). The collected data is forwarded to the fish pond
8. Flash memory 32kB
9. SRAM 2kB manager as an SMS through a GSM module. The data is also
10. EEPROM 1kB presented on an LCD screen on site of the pond. Finally, a
11. Clock speed 16MHz prototype system will be developed to demonstrate the
workability of the designed system. After successful
implementation of the designed system, it will be seen that this
system gives much higher fish productivity compared to the
2.2 Construction of the Design Prototype
The mechanical construction of the prototype for this research manually operated system. Also, rate of water pollution will
work will be done from locally sourced materials which will be greatly reduced, thereby reducing disease outbreak within
be able to serve the purpose for which this research work is the pond and hence fish mortality will be greatly reduced.
intended. This prototype will consist of a single hopper
(feeder) made from an aluminum foil and three plastic bowls ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
of about 30cm2 in size to represent the fish pond, underground Muhammad Jamiu Atta would like to expresses his sincere
tank, and the over-head tank. Plastic piping system fitted with gratitude to Engr. Ephraim Michael, Scientific Equipment
a filter system will be used to link the various sections for an Development Institute, Minna, Niger State and also Mr.
effective water recycling process. This prototype will also Isiyaku Babagana, Department of Electrical and Electronics
contain a servo motor (used to achieve the motion of the lead Engineering, Minna, for their academic assistance in the area
to open or close the fish feed hopper as at when due) and of design and interfacing of wireless sensor networks with a
submersible pumps (used to achieve pumping of water microcontroller and also design of a photovoltaic system to
between the pond, the over-head water tank, and the power the entire system.
underground tank).

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