I want to measure the level of water or nutrient in a reservoir that holds about 2 gallons of liquid (Ikea UPPSNOFSAD) and my approach is, so far, to use a LIDAR Time of Flight (TOF) sensor.
I’ve gotten very good results with a VL53L4CD. I only need about 150mm although the sensor will read to 1300mm. Maybe not to water but I can’t easily test that. The sensor appears accurate to better than I can measure sticking a tape measure down to the top of the liquid. The reservoir and top are black to prevent algae, so there is little or no ambient light
I’ve gotten unusable results with a VL6180X TOF sensor.
My question is: has anyone tried the VL53L0X or VL53L1X TOF sensors or can the recommend one they have had success with?
I’m perfectly fine with the VL53L4CD performance but wonder if there is a less expensive alternative as I’m planning on ~8 reservoirs and 8 sensors.