Hi folks!
I recently set up my first reef-pi (for my first reef tank) and I thought I'd share my experience. I'm a software engineer by trade and I enjoy tinkering, so I was excited to find out about this project! Hopefully I'll be able to contribute going forward.
Build details:
- standard components (rpi4, pca9685 for lights, and ADJ power strip)
- single controller box with 12v, 10v, and 5v circuits
- two temperature probes (one in display, one in sump)
- dedicated float switch for sump overflow
- single 0-10v jack controlling two Nicrew 100w lights
Enclosure
I've been printing various parts for my tank build (overflow lid, light mounts, pod hotel, etc) and wanted to try designing a custom enclosure. I haven't made anything this complicated before so it was a good learning experience. Everything is tailored to my specific components but I'm happy to share the models.
And here's how everything looks wired up. Not the cleanest job but I'm happy with the results.
Lights
I initially planned to have each Nicrew 100w on a separate jack to control independently. However these lights suffered from some major jitter below ~50%, even with the PCA9685 driver set to 1500 . I ended up going with a single 0-10v jack and using the extra space for a simple low-pass filter. Luckily the Nicrews include a 0-10v output jack for daisy chaining! With the LPF I can get a very steady output down to 7%, where the lights just shut off.
Here's a pic of the LPF I took while testing, I believe the capacitor is 1uf.
Temperature
I'm using two of the cheaper stainless steel DS18B20 probes that I wrapped in heat shrink and capped with some extra silicon - we'll see how long they last. I've had some issues getting both probes to register, it seems random whether either or both actually show up after a reboot.
Emergency Shutoff
I'm currently using the XPAqua Duetto ATO for top-off, but I wanted to include a redundant float switch to directly control power to the ATO. I have this float switch wired in via an AUX jack using one channel and ground. I might rig up a second float switch to the unused channel to handle water at different levels.
Right now I run my ATO and skimmer on separate reef-pi ATOs with the float switch as a reversed Inlet. This way reef-pi will kill my ATO if it dumps too much water in, and it automatically shuts off my skimmer when e.g. I turn off the return pumps.
Monitoring
I LOVE that reef-pi exports Prometheus metrics! I have Prometheus and Grafana running on my home lab so integration was super easy.
Next Steps
I'm pretty happy with where my reef-pi is at, but I definitely plan to include a PH probe. I'm currently waiting to see if ML Reefkeeping's PH board will be in stock after this month, if not I'
I'm pretty happy with where my reef-pi is at, but there's definitely a few things left to do:
- PH probe: currently waiting to see if ML Reefkeeping's PH board will be in stock
- Wave makers: I have two Jebao SLW-20's I'd like to control. I'd like to poke around with an NRF24L01 to see if I can use the slave mode directly
- Dosing pump: I'm currently trying out all-for-reef so not a huge need at this point, maybe in the future
And here it is tucked away in the back of my sump area where no one will ever see it
I recently set up my first reef-pi (for my first reef tank) and I thought I'd share my experience. I'm a software engineer by trade and I enjoy tinkering, so I was excited to find out about this project! Hopefully I'll be able to contribute going forward.
Build details:
- standard components (rpi4, pca9685 for lights, and ADJ power strip)
- single controller box with 12v, 10v, and 5v circuits
- two temperature probes (one in display, one in sump)
- dedicated float switch for sump overflow
- single 0-10v jack controlling two Nicrew 100w lights
Enclosure
I've been printing various parts for my tank build (overflow lid, light mounts, pod hotel, etc) and wanted to try designing a custom enclosure. I haven't made anything this complicated before so it was a good learning experience. Everything is tailored to my specific components but I'm happy to share the models.
And here's how everything looks wired up. Not the cleanest job but I'm happy with the results.
Lights
I initially planned to have each Nicrew 100w on a separate jack to control independently. However these lights suffered from some major jitter below ~50%, even with the PCA9685 driver set to 1500 . I ended up going with a single 0-10v jack and using the extra space for a simple low-pass filter. Luckily the Nicrews include a 0-10v output jack for daisy chaining! With the LPF I can get a very steady output down to 7%, where the lights just shut off.
Here's a pic of the LPF I took while testing, I believe the capacitor is 1uf.
Temperature
I'm using two of the cheaper stainless steel DS18B20 probes that I wrapped in heat shrink and capped with some extra silicon - we'll see how long they last. I've had some issues getting both probes to register, it seems random whether either or both actually show up after a reboot.
Emergency Shutoff
I'm currently using the XPAqua Duetto ATO for top-off, but I wanted to include a redundant float switch to directly control power to the ATO. I have this float switch wired in via an AUX jack using one channel and ground. I might rig up a second float switch to the unused channel to handle water at different levels.
Right now I run my ATO and skimmer on separate reef-pi ATOs with the float switch as a reversed Inlet. This way reef-pi will kill my ATO if it dumps too much water in, and it automatically shuts off my skimmer when e.g. I turn off the return pumps.
Monitoring
I LOVE that reef-pi exports Prometheus metrics! I have Prometheus and Grafana running on my home lab so integration was super easy.
Next Steps
I'm pretty happy with where my reef-pi is at, but I definitely plan to include a PH probe. I'm currently waiting to see if ML Reefkeeping's PH board will be in stock after this month, if not I'
I'm pretty happy with where my reef-pi is at, but there's definitely a few things left to do:
- PH probe: currently waiting to see if ML Reefkeeping's PH board will be in stock
- Wave makers: I have two Jebao SLW-20's I'd like to control. I'd like to poke around with an NRF24L01 to see if I can use the slave mode directly
- Dosing pump: I'm currently trying out all-for-reef so not a huge need at this point, maybe in the future
And here it is tucked away in the back of my sump area where no one will ever see it