Do you really need to DIY PWM boards for everything?

[strich]

I'm currently researching a potential reef tank build where I have a lot of deep control over every facet of the tank. As an experienced programmer I am even excited to do so!
One thing I'm not particularly interested in DIYing however is the raw hardware - I'm less interested in building hardware controller boards for individual devices (pumps, lights, etc) and more interested in building the software of an over-arching controller that can collect and act on all the probe data.

Are there a subset of brands (Kessil?) for various parts of a reef setup that have built-in controllers with some kind of API access to control and monitor them? What options do I have to outsource the hardware side of things (apart from the main controller itself) and focus on the software?

 

[biznatch]

Robotank. Has everything assembled already so you just focus on the reef-pi config. I have just the controller on my 15g, and the full kit (powerbar/sensor/DC extension) on my 135g. Works great. Rob is awesome and quick to respond with any questions.

 

[Sral]

Another option might be any kind of smart socket that has Tasmota or similar. Not sure, but I think there are even dimmable smart sockets.

Problem is always that communication protocols might not be open source or even openly described.

 

[DanTheReefer]

There are breakout boards for a lot of circuits. For example, for the PWM dosing pump control I got this breakout board so I just had to connect header pins from pi to the board vs the circuit constructed in the guide. Just be cautious - in this case I didn’t realize the board was voltage regulated to 5V and was planning to power over the 3.3V pi pin. When I plugged in the 12V power supply it handed 5V to my 3.3V rail and was rapid power cycling the pi. Seems like nothing got hurt but feel like I learned a lesson in there somewhere haha

 

[strich]

Great info thanks. When it comes to lights it seems a lot of brands must have their own firmware that the app uploads a light cycle config to. I'm not sure how any of these solutions could control that?

 

[DanTheReefer]

Great info thanks. When it comes to lights it seems a lot of brands must have their own firmware that the app uploads a light cycle config to. I'm not sure how any of these solutions could control that?

The 10V PWM seems to be increasingly less common, Kessils still support as far as I know. Most other lights seem to have a proprietary protocol. Occasionally I’ve seen some converted to the 10V PWM as viparspectra. If you find a two channel LED where the controller is outside of the fixture (maybe selling a separate dimmer with DC plug connectors), you may be able to drop in one of these meanwell power supplies with 10V PEM built in.

PWM Series Mean Well Constant Voltage Dimming Power SUpply

Wave makers and return pumps seem like they get harder to break out as time goes on. If the pump can’t be disconnected from the DC power supply in for a rough time.

Some things that are easy to break out without doing much in terms of custom circuits:

Dosing pumps driver


Temp probe


WiFi Outlets


ATO sensor:


PH: EZO PH circuit on isolated carrier board (also robotank version which is cheaper)

 

[strich]

Cheers. So the Kessils for example, can you actually play with the individual color grades or only basic dimming of the whole unit?

 

[xCROv]

I don't know about supported, but some devices that I have found as easily accessible right now are Reefi lights and RedSea controllers / equipment. Both of which are accessible over LAN and are not that challenging to get working. I've gotten several of my RedSea devices imported into HomeAssistant right now.

 

[Lingwendil]

Kessil lights are supported in that you can both dim them and adjust the color/white balance.