Fishtank Webcam

[Andrew]

I would like to setup a wireless webcam for my tanks, but i am not sure about the best way to go about this.
It would be for personal use, and more for night time viewing to see fry feeding, etc, so i assuming i will also need some night time lighting.

My tanks are in a hut roughly 100 feet from my pc.

I remember Russell used to have a webcam on one of his tanks, and have searched McEve's posts on zebrapleco about her webcam, but i couldn't find any threads on what either used to set up their webcams.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[scatz]

I used to put my cam corder onto night vision and just tape the fish i wanted to see at night, only got a couple of hours but it always gave me an idea of when they were coming out and how they acted once it was pitch black.
i dont see why a web cam couldn't work in the same way, but dont know enough about the different types to be able to point you in the right direction, although i'm certain there would be things available

 

[weisel]

u can get a wireless infra-red cam for comps, just link it up and your of. you can set it to record for aslong as you want to. ive also heard you can get a motion cam so will record for 10/20 etc seconds when something moves. hope this helps you.

peace

 

[Andrew]

Thanks Brian
It is just to see what they get up to at feeding time and after lights out, but also hopefully get some pictures of them acting naturally, as the only way i can get pictures of them is to catch them and put them in a tub.

I was going to borrow a friends camcorder, but i couldn't trust the condensation in the hut not to damage it.
I was hoping a waterproof webcam with some moonlight lighting and a wireless conection would let me record images when i wanted.

Hut lights go out at 9.30pm, so i would have a few hours to try to capyure some good footage.
Hopefully Russell can remember what he used.

 

[smart]

i do think you will need a night cam as brian sugested. i have a night light on one of my tanks, great for watching them as they are happy to come out, but i have tried filming them but the footage was too dark. i have used a baby monitor in the past that has a camera on it as it had night vision. only thing is you need to angle the camera as the night vision leds reflect back off the glass

 

[FF MkII]

Any of these any good? http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=Night vision camera&source=15

 

[Irene0100]

also check out baby alarms. I bough my daughter one with a camera and led lighting..Scatz might still have it in the loft?

 

[SmithRC]

Sorry for the late show

I've used 2 different methods, both were wired to my pc - so the distance might be an issue... USB cabling "shouldn't" work at that distance...

If you don't mind spending a bit of cash. grab a wireless IP camera - It'll be a nice solution

I used a cheap wired webcam - used in daylight conditions - If you get one with the IR LEDs you can always get an IR spotlight to run along side for extra night vision.

the other one used our camcorder with night mode and an aforementioned IR spotlight..
But as the Zeb take it was setup on was it the bedroom, The Mrs was not at all happy with a camcorder on a tripod, sat at the end of the bed!

 

[Andrew]

Thanks Russell
When i was searching for wireless ip cameras, y-cams seem to be the new thing; http://www.y-cam.com/
This one is a decent price, though they are all around the same price; Y-Cam Black Infrared Day/Night Fixed Wireless-G Network Camera - YCB002

What kind of image would you get with infra red, i have a light above the tanks i am thinking of watching and for the odd night, i could try leaving the light on overnight on the tank, though i don't know if this would upset the fish.

 

[MiB1986]

i use a totally different method, i use a vehicle reverseing camera, like the ones from Vision Techniques or Autosonics they are a very senstive camera and at night work wonderful as they have high power infared LEDS in them and because they are designed for a vehicle they come with like 30 metres of cable standard although most go upto about 100 metres and pump the standard video output into my HDD recorder for my tv swap it to line 1 for the scart and recorder onto the HDD. in the morning watch it back and speeed it up alot,

works for me....

 

[chinaman]

Here is a snapshot taken from my wireless IP camera. there is a bit of reflection on the glass. I had to get an antenna cable to get it to work as the insulation seems to kill the wifi when I shut the door.....

cheers

 

[thegeeman]

i use a totally different method, i use a vehicle reverseing camera, like the ones from Vision Techniques or Autosonics they are a very senstive camera and at night work wonderful as they have high power infared LEDS in them and because they are designed for a vehicle they come with like 30 metres of cable standard although most go upto about 100 metres and pump the standard video output into my HDD recorder for my tv swap it to line 1 for the scart and recorder onto the HDD. in the morning watch it back and speeed it up alot,

works for me....

Now thats a good idea. :clap::clap:

This the sort of thing?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/REVERSING-PARKING-REAR-VIEW-BUMPER-CAMERA-SENSORS-C2-/200451622856?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2eabd907c8#ht_619wt_939

Cheers

thegeeman

 

[Breamlegend]

good idea