I'm a tech nerd and agree Bamabass has some pretty cool technology but YouTube didn't pay me to do what he did and doesn't pay for my posts, so I'm with you, that's out of my pond budget.
Easy solution, start your own YouTube channel!
You shoot great stuff at your pond. However, I don't know if that is enough content.
Perhaps when you travel, you could shoot stuff at other members' ponds? Or do a ride-along with your local fish supplier? I suspect he would be fine with it when the logo on the side of his truck is included in your video.
Might as well try to get paid on stuff you already enjoy doing for free. With your tech background I bet you could find some contacts with good information about the difficulty and effort to monetize YouTube content.
