reef-pi :: An opensource reef tank controller based on Raspberry Pi.

[IronRising]

Hi All,

Looks like all 3 of the issues are fixed. Ill leave the solutions below in case it will help anyone else.

I am now able to access the Reef-Pi using Mixedreef.local after installing Apples mDNS. I used the Bonjour print service to install it. https://support.apple.com/kb/DL999?locale=en_US . So both the IP and the Local name works great.

Turning off my 5Ghz network and just running the 2.4Ghz now lets me access the Reef-Pi from any device. The Wifi's were named different things but i guess it was still causing issues.

The Pi did not lose connection last night for the first time after installing the Watchdog. Hopefully this keeps up. Set up of watchdog below. You can also have the watchdog monitor for Pi lock ups and force reboot. I have not set that up yet.

#Install and configure watchdog.

sudo apt-get install watchdog

# access watchdog conf file.

sudo nano /etc/watchdog.conf

# The below settings will set up Watchdog to monitor the internet for connection and restart the wireless if it detects no connection. These should be all be in the conf file and should just need to be uncommented. But these can be added anywhere.

interface = wlan0 # use interface wlan0 if Wifi and eth0 if lan
ping-count = 3 # how many times you want it to ping. I picked 3
ping = 192.168.***.*** # Pick which IP you want to ping. I picked my router.
interval = 300 # how many second in-between checks. I set mine to 300 which is 5 minutes

Hope this can help if needed.

 

[Simonv92]

Another probably stupid question, in the ATO the Alert After is calculated in the hour (if in the hour it exceed the max second of use it will disable) or every single time the sensor trigger?
Thank you!

 

[Sral]

Another probably stupid question, in the ATO the Alert After is calculated in the hour (if in the hour it exceed the max second of use it will disable) or every single time the sensor trigger?
Thank you!

It's not stupid at all, I fell over that as well ^^

It is cumulative and I think it only resets one re-enabling the ATO. So if the limit is 600s (e.g. you know your pump empties your ATO container in 600s), the alert triggers after 6 days when the ATO runs 100s every day.

 

[Sral]

New to this not to the automation side of things though. I'm thinking of ditching my apex to go reefpi.

Can I monitor ph,temp, salinity and orp with reefpi?

Will reefpi test alk with a ph probe and dosing pumps like a hydros will?

What can I control as far as pumps and lights? Will it send 0-10v signals ?

Hi and welcome to this part of the forum !

You can absolutely monitor pH, Conductivity and ORP.
ORP is less common, but works no problem. you can even measure it with a pH board when you connect an ORP probe to it and transform the „pH“ value back to the measured voltage.

Alkalinity is a bit more difficult, but should work in principle as well. Do you by any chance know how that works ?
I’m thinking that it measures the pH drop after dosing specific chemicals and calculates the alkalinity from that ?

Control is a clear: yes. If you build for it you can output any signal, but 0-10V is a standard due to kessil interfaces, etc.

You can have a look at a more pre-build design at Robo-Tank (Canadian).
BTW @robsworld78, how is the sensor coming along ?

 

[ColoredRock]

I’m thinking that it measures the pH drop after dosing specific chemicals and calculates the alkalinity from that ?

A DIY Alkalinity Test: By Randy Holmes-Farley - REEFEDITION

Alkalinity is one of the most important measurements that a reef aquarist can make. It can become rapidly depleted in many aquaria, requiring frequent measurement in order to maintain stable levels.

www.reefedition.com

 

[Sral]

A DIY Alkalinity Test: By Randy Holmes-Farley - REEFEDITION

Alkalinity is one of the most important measurements that a reef aquarist can make. It can become rapidly depleted in many aquaria, requiring frequent measurement in order to maintain stable levels.

www.reefedition.com

Okay, thanks a lot !
Weirdly, the trident mentions that it doesn’t have a pH probe that requires calibration, so I guess it does have a colorating test liquid.

 

[ColoredRock]

Okay, thanks a lot !
Weirdly, the trident mentions that it doesn’t have a pH probe that requires calibration, so I guess it does have a colorating test liquid.

Yes trident uses a colorimeter /titration method.. here is some info on the topic of dyes used.

Alkalinity titration using methyl orange indicator

I plan to try titration to measure saltwater alkalinity and as I don’t yet have a pH meter thought I might see how it went using an indicator. Still waiting on supply of standard 0.1N HCl so I haven’t tried this yet. Here in the UK an indicator TA4 is marketed for alkalinity testing, after...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ColoredRock]

DIY Raspberry Pi Colorimeter

A Raspberry Pi Colorimeter With E-Paper Display

A Raspberry Pi Colorimeter With E-Paper Display: I had been starting to work on this idea in 2018, being an extension of a previous project, a colorimeter. My intension was to use a e-paper display, so the colorimeter could be used as a stand-alone solution without the requirements for an externa…

www.instructables.com

 

[IronRising]

@Ranjib

Also wanted to say that tying to control an ATO in a macro also locks up my ATO page.

 

[Sral]

@Ranjib

Also wanted to say that tying to control an ATO in a macro also locks up my ATO page.

Yes, unfortunately macro control is a bit … buggy at the moment.

 

[Hugo_Fish]

I do not know if it was stated in the guide or the past, or blessed to some.. but what I'm telling you is from God, to me, to you ... If you are using the PH EZO board and the light on the top left is not Blue (if it is Green or changing from Green to Teal) then you are in UART. There is a way to change this in software or you can get a Switcher?(forgot what they call it..) but why waste money... when you can just short the board and sweat bullets you know what I mean? what is life without living once, I lived once .. and it was terrifying... To change this manually you will need to short the board. to do this, you will need to,

1. Put the EZO on one of the training Bread boards..forgot what they are called..
2. Plug ground into ground
3. Plug PGND to TX (from one side to the other.)
4. Supply 3.3v or 5v to the board.
5. When the light turns to Blue ground (pull the lever Kronk, WRONG LEVER!!)

take off the wire you are using to short PGND and TX and plug the ground back in. It should now stay Blue.

Congratulations, you are now in I2C.

The software should be able to see the EZO.. or you can be like me and forget to plug back in the SDA and the SCL.. -.-

By the way, the Hex will be set to a Default of 99. so when you set up the driver, most likely this is the address.

https://www.instructables.com/UART-AND-I2C-MODE-SWITCHING-FOR-ATLAS-SCIENTIFIC-E/ <--- other instructions

<--- This is a youtube reel if you want to see it in action.

 

[Simonv92]

Hi, which sensor are you using to monitor your sump level? I've tryed the DFRobot SEN0205
but I'm having problems since the probes are not waterproof and when the return pump turn off the sensor will be fully underwater...

Liquid_Level_Sensor-FS-IR02_SKU__SEN0205-DFRobot

wiki:This is a Arduino compatbile photoelectric water liquid level sensor that is operates using optical principles.

wiki.dfrobot.com

 

[Hugo_Fish]

Hi, which sensor are you using to monitor your sump level? I've tryed the DFRobot SEN0205
but I'm having problems since the probes are not waterproof and when the return pump turn off the sensor will be fully underwater...

Liquid_Level_Sensor-FS-IR02_SKU__SEN0205-DFRobot

wiki:This is a Arduino compatbile photoelectric water liquid level sensor that is operates using optical principles.

wiki.dfrobot.com

When I do water changes my sensor is submerged and I never have a problem... But I would test it out before you actually use it on your tank

 

[Simonv92]

When I do water changes my sensor is submerged and I never have a problem... But I would test it out before you actually use it on your tank

I have already burn out 2 SEN0205 due to underwater... I think that these sensors are not waterproof... Or at least mine aren't...

 

[Hugo_Fish]

Mmmm I know there is a way to use a float switch... Unsure.. but what you can try to do is use waterproof heat sink

 

[Sral]

Mmmm I know there is a way to use a float switch... Unsure.. but what you can try to do is use waterproof heat sink

I'd also try and make the sensor more water proof, silicone and heatshrink would be my first try.

Another way would be the kind of sensor mentioned in this thread

 

[Ranjib]

this is a wifi drop out issue.. check if your pi is doing power saving tricks. The .local based access from other computer is not reliable as it depends on mDNS (bonjour in Apple and avahi in linux) and can be flaky based on home wifi router, device. Use IP directly to access reef-pi.


for wifi drop out: https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?t=339699

this is not a reef-pi specific issue

 

[Ranjib]

Hi All,

Looks like all 3 of the issues are fixed. Ill leave the solutions below in case it will help anyone else.

I am now able to access the Reef-Pi using Mixedreef.local after installing Apples mDNS. I used the Bonjour print service to install it. https://support.apple.com/kb/DL999?locale=en_US . So both the IP and the Local name works great.

Turning off my 5Ghz network and just running the 2.4Ghz now lets me access the Reef-Pi from any device. The Wifi's were named different things but i guess it was still causing issues.

The Pi did not lose connection last night for the first time after installing the Watchdog. Hopefully this keeps up. Set up of watchdog below. You can also have the watchdog monitor for Pi lock ups and force reboot. I have not set that up yet.

#Install and configure watchdog.

sudo apt-get install watchdog

# access watchdog conf file.

sudo nano /etc/watchdog.conf

# The below settings will set up Watchdog to monitor the internet for connection and restart the wireless if it detects no connection. These should be all be in the conf file and should just need to be uncommented. But these can be added anywhere.

interface = wlan0 # use interface wlan0 if Wifi and eth0 if lan
ping-count = 3 # how many times you want it to ping. I picked 3
ping = 192.168.***.*** # Pick which IP you want to ping. I picked my router.
interval = 300 # how many second in-between checks. I set mine to 300 which is 5 minutes

Hope this can help if needed.

Yay , thank you for sharing the details. Much appreciated

 

[DanTheReefer]

Hi everyone, adding dosing pump to my pi4 with Leviathan 1.0 hat build and having issues getting dosing pump to turn on. Trying to check my ReefPi config without any hardware attached. I feel like I should be measuring 3.3V between ground (Pin 39) and GPIO18 (pin 12) when I calibrate the dosing pump but I’m getting 0. Assuming this is the reason my pump isn’t running. If anyone has suggestions or sees config errors please let me know, thank you!

 

[yury88]

It’s not that the WiFi is unstable itself, it’s more that the code regularly causes memory leaks that we haven’t been able to fix yet.

Every time that happens, the ESP has to reboot, resetting the WiFi connection.

It’s fixable, we just haven’t found the solution yet. There is hope though.

My ESP32 also randomly rebooting almost every day.
It's control power strip with refugium light, so it's easy to see when my refugium light turning on at night.
Main problem that ESP do not save Pin state after reboot.
I'm not a big fun of Arduino, so can't give the solution, but already thinking to rewrite this on Micropython