It was inevitable. Everything in the connected home is smart these days, from vacuums to appliances to lights. Why not a smart aquarium?
That’s the concept and upcoming product from a small company called Bluenero, which operates primarily out of the Republic of Armenia. The company has launched an Indiegogo campaign that’s already raised surpassed its $25,000 goal by $10,000. Founder and CEO Vahe Tumanyan tells Digital Trends the company is now aiming to raise $1 million for the new smart aquarium.
Also going by the name Bluenero, the aquarium comes in sizes of 16 gallons, 26 gallons, and 36 gallons, and even though a recent update said the aquariums would only be manufactured in three sizes, Tumanyan confirms that Bluenero is indeed making an 8 gallon Bluenero Mini version, perfect for offices and rec rooms.
The company was founded after CEO Tumanyan bought a clownfish — that’s the adorable orange fish you see in Finding Nemo — for his office and had the toughest time managing limited space, water purity issues, and feeding times.
The Bluenero Smart Aquarium is pretty cool if you’re into technology and fish. It has an automatic food feeder that can distribute food to fish for a week. Naturally, there’s an accompanying app that uses Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to let customers set a feeding schedule as well as setting the right temperature for your fishy friends — Bluenero is designed equally for saltwater and freshwater fishes. Currently, the auto feeder only supports dry food, but the company says it may upgrade that feature in the future.
Full spectrum LEDs let users set mood lighting as well and a built-in HD camera lets users zen out to the sight of their fish anytime they want. On-board sensors also measure the ph level, temperature, and water level, while a 7-stage premium filtration unit keeps the water clean. The unit’s on-board technology also dramatically reduces noise levels compared to traditional fish tanks.
The idea was launched about a year ago, and a small but dedicated team of fish keepers, professional aquarists, and product engineers have fielded suggestions and feedback from fish keepers around the world during some serious research and development. The company is scheduled to start shipping units to backers starting in September of 2019, but as always, estimates are subject to change.
The prices are also pretty reasonable considering the amount of hardware wired into the aquarium. The Bluenero Premium (16 gallons) starts at $399, while the XL Premium (25 gallons) is $599, all the way up to the Bluenero XXL Premium (36 gallons) at $749. Meanwhile, the Bluenero Mini (8 gallons) is a steal at just $199.
Bluenero is about a year away from a release date, so confidence is high that customers will have happy fish bubbling around them soon. However, we still caution, as always, to please keep your wits about you when it comes to crowd-based products.
Updated in September of 2018 to confirm the Bluenero Mini and a release date of September 2019.
