While on vacation I took the opportunity to test out the life support gear with a real habitat, in a real lake. Depth was about 4 feet, power coming in from the solar panels averaged 39 watts, power draw from the air pump and heaters totaled 8 watts.
Looks like I was overly conservative in prior estimates. In the Summer at least, this should prove to be more than necessary by a long shot. It's nice to have that safety margin when lives are on the line.
Not much to see underwater as I kicked up a lot of sand and debris walking around, emplacing the habitat. I didn't get many photos as the battery ran out soon after this and I forgot the charger for this specific type of camera battery. Fuck you, Olympus, let me charge your camera the same way I charge my phone!
This one's a bit more clear, the debris cloud has settled but it's off kilter. Still gives a good idea of what conditions are like in the lake and what sort of scenery a hamsternaut would see outside the habitat.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteHave you factored in any kind of heating? At night it gets really cold under water. It might be worth looking into a heat mat similar to the types they use in a vivarium. It would probably need its own solar panel and battery so it can give off more heat at night.
I think adding basic climate control for the heat pad would be pretty easy, their are a number of raspberry pi projects that you could just get a kit with heat sensors, etc. for under $100.
This is an example of what I mean and why it is useful. sure this about plants, but it should give you the right idea. like I said there are hundreds of projects like this.
https://www.carnivorousplants.co.uk/resources/raspberry-pi-terrarium-controller/
good luck!
Doesn't water have phenomenal heat capacity, meaning that nighttime vs daytime temperatures would be very similar? I'd think your seasonal cycles would be much more worrying than night/day cycles.
DeleteYes, all of my habitats from the beginning have had integrated resistive heaters for that exact reason.
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