Current artefact state

Biotope Shrimp Mini v1 and whole-system architecture

What Biotope is right now

Biotope is a premium modular freshwater life-support platform that turns a desired aquatic world into the right hardware, maintenance rhythm and monitoring stack.

Fewer reactive water changes, better scheduled maintenance, early drift detection.

Next enquiry

#1

Write the Gate 0 bench setup and calibration protocol

The equipment list and OS Lite dashboard exist. The next clarity comes from turning them into a safe first bench build: sensor placement, pump calibration, wiring/control, emergency stop and 3-day dry/wet test script.

Overall clarity 72%
Critical gaps 5
Queued enquiries 5
Build phase 1

Current shape

The product in working form

  • Biotope Engine remains the centre: solids-first filtration, protected bio core, flow telemetry, maintenance ritual, control brain, leak detection and module dock.
  • The first sellable product path is now Biotope Shrimp Mini: a lower-cost, shrimp-first and fish-aware proof of managed freshwater stability.
  • Coldwater Max stays in the background as the harder flagship path, not the first physical build. It can move forward again if Thermal Core S performs much better than expected.
  • Shrimp Mini now has a falsifiable Mule 1 test spec: Source Match, Stability Exchange, Cycle Commissioning, Drift Watch, Bioload Approval and Fail-calm must pass concrete thresholds.
  • Launch matching logic still has five operational profiles: Coldwater, Shrimp, Planted low-tech, Planted high-tech and Cichlid, with Shrimp now leading v1.
  • The ecosystem moat should be proprietary where safety and intelligence matter, but open where hobbyists need flexibility.
  • The app is the cockpit: the Mule 1 section now has an OS Lite dashboard for Source Match, Stability Exchange, Cycle Commissioning, Drift Watch, Bioload Approval and Fail-calm states.
  • Validation now runs in two parallel lanes: a Waterbox 57L Shrimp Mini mule for proof of product differentiation and a tower / Breathing Bio-Core bench path for future architecture.

What has traction

Category thesis Strong

Biotope is a premium modular freshwater life-support platform: choose the world, Biotope matches the life-support.

First offer Pivoted to Shrimp Mini

Shrimp Mini is now the first sellable product and v1 mule because it is cheaper, faster and still tests whether Biotope can create real stability differentiation.

Coldwater Max Flagship in background

Coldwater Max remains the hard-mode proof and future flagship, but is no longer the first physical product unless Thermal Core S outperforms expectations.

Shrimp Mini mule Falsifiable spec set

Mule 1 now has pass/fail thresholds, direction-killer conditions and decision gates from bench through 60-90 day product gate.

OS Lite dashboard First runnable model added

The artefact now includes editable mule inputs, computed state cards, runtime-control options, setup protocol, cycling guidance and a grouped equipment shortlist.

Engine core Architecture direction found

The Engine is solids management + protected biology, not a premium canister filter. Shrimp Mini uses a simpler baseline first while tower architecture is tested.

Launch profiles Operational profile matrix set

Five first profiles remain, but Shrimp becomes the v1 commercial wedge while fish-aware guidance is kept carefully bounded.

Ecosystem moat Boundary model set

Life-support layer is proprietary/certified; hobby-expression layer stays open where safe. Exact standards and compatibility labels still need research.

Can I start cycling?

Yes, you can get the tank cycling now. The cycling stats are valuable, but not so critical that you should delay bacterial growth. Treat early cycling as useful pre-seeding unless you have the minimum log running from day one.

Do now

  • Set up the tank with inert substrate/hardscape/plants if chosen, dechlorinated water, heater if needed for cycling, return pump, 225 micron sock and Matrix/equivalent Bio-Core.
  • Start a fishless cycle only. No shrimp or fish until Cycle Commissioning passes.
  • Log the start date, water source, dechlorinator, substrate, media, temperature, pH, GH/KH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and any ammonia dose.
  • If you cannot log everything yet, at least log date, temperature, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

Cycle Commissioning evidence starts when readings are logged consistently and the final ammonia/nitrite challenge is recorded. Earlier cycling still helps mature the Bio-Core.

Runtime control

What actually switches the pump?

Manual timed calibration First hour/day, before buying or wiring controls.

A pump calibration sheet: run pump for 10, 20, 30 and 60 seconds into a measuring cylinder, calculate ml/sec, then calculate seconds for 47.5 ml.

Programmable dosing pump If you want the fastest low-code path.

A dosing schedule: 12 doses/day at 47.5 ml each, with manual or external sensors used to decide whether the schedule should be enabled.

ESP32 + MOSFET/relay pump controller Best Mule 1 path once you want automated fail-calm logic.

A small controller that reads level/leak/source-ready signals and switches 12V waste/refill pumps for calibrated durations.

Raspberry Pi + relay/MOSFET If local dashboard/logging is more important than tiny embedded control.

A local script/dashboard that triggers pumps through a relay/MOSFET board and writes exchange logs.

Setup protocol

From tank start to first safe exchange

Step 1

Start tank cycling as a biological pre-seed

  • Build the Waterbox baseline: return pump, sock/Capture, Matrix Bio-Core and normal heater/light if needed.
  • Use dechlorinated source water.
  • Start fishless cycling and log the basic readings.
  • Keep side-system automation disconnected from the tank.

Exit: Tank is wet, circulating, dechlorinated, and first log entry exists.

Step 2

Bench calibrate the waste pump manually

  • Put pump inlet in a cup of water and outlet into a measuring cylinder.
  • Run pump manually for 10, 20, 30 and 60 seconds.
  • Record ml moved and calculate ml/sec.
  • Calculate runtime for 47.5 ml: seconds = 47.5 / mlPerSecond.
  • Repeat later the same day to see drift.

Exit: Mean pump volume error is within +/-10% and single-event error is within +/-15%, or pump is rejected.

Step 3

Build the side-system on the bench

  • Place fresh reservoir, waste reservoir, pump, tubing and leak tray on a bench or in a storage tub.
  • Do not connect to the aquarium yet.
  • Install fresh-low, waste-high and leak sensors on the actual containers/tray.
  • Use the controller/timer to run waste and refill into test containers only.

Exit: Fresh-low, waste-high and leak states can stop pump commands before water reaches the aquarium.

Step 4

Choose runtime control

  • Fastest route: programmable dosing pump for waste, with schedule disabled manually when OS Lite says paused.
  • Better mule route: ESP32 or Raspberry Pi switches the 12V pump through MOSFET/relay after checking fail-calm inputs.
  • Use a physical inline switch or switched power strip as a manual emergency stop.
  • Log every pump command: planned ml, runtime seconds, actual ml, source state, fail state and user intervention.

Exit: The pump can be commanded for the calculated runtime and can be blocked by simulated fail states.

Step 5

Run Gate 0 dry/wet bench

  • Day 0: dry-run logic with no water movement.
  • Day 1: run with water in cups/reservoirs only.
  • Day 2: simulate fresh empty, waste full, leak, sensor disagreement and source mismatch.
  • Day 3: repeat normal exchange cycles and failure states.

Exit: No uncontrolled drain/refill/leak, and every unsafe state pauses fluid transfer.

Step 6

Only then connect exchange to the tank

  • Connect waste draw to the rear chamber only after bench pass.
  • Place refill outlet where it cannot siphon uncontrolled water.
  • Run the first tank-connected exchange while watching it.
  • Keep exchange disabled when unattended until it has passed repeated supervised cycles.

Exit: Gate 1 no-livestock wet runtime can begin.

Gaps blocking momentum

Resolve these to make the product feel inevitable

Critical

Gate 0 now needs hardware choices and first calibration

The tank can begin cycling, but automated water movement must not touch the aquarium until pump timing, level sensing, leak detection and source checks work on the bench.

Critical

Stability Exchange must prove it beats bucket anxiety

This is the strongest Shrimp Mini differentiator. If slow exchange creates complexity without visible stability benefit, the v1 wedge weakens.

High

Fish-aware must not become fish-promising

People will add fish or try to use Shrimp Mini for fish, but broad fish compatibility could overload v1 and create bad outcomes.