Jason's ReefPi Build

I'll lead with my questions, then give you my build plan/process:
Open Questions:

1. I don't have the lights option on the top ribbon. Any thoughts why it's not showing?
2. I want to control my lights but am not to that part of the build process. That said, my quick searches haven't snagged me a reference or lead to follow. Any advice for how to figure out the integration? (I have Relassy lights: )
3. Protein Skimmer auto dump the junk, has anyone done this? (I haven't spent any time on it, but have thoughts)

I have successfully installed ReefPi and tested with an LED and have my hardware on order (should all be here by Friday). I'll start small with just a temp and move up from there.

Hardware (to grow as I integrate it):

• Raspberry 2 B
• ReefPi V5, (I have texting notifications and remote access working)

I already have float switches to auto-kill my protein skimmer if the catch gets full and auto refill my freshwater RODI tank when low.

ReefPI not integrated yet, to be completed list:

• Power Controller
• Temp monitor (with auto kill switch & text if hot/cold)
• ATO
  • Text if water below bottom float (& water change low point)
  • ATO refill point (&water change refill point)
  • Test if water above high water point
• Auto water change (I had ATO and water change on a doser, but terrible use of the tiny motors, I'll redo this)
• Water overflow sensors (on top tank, on top of sump, in sump liner and on floor [yes, I've had a leak or two over the years...])
• Protein skimmer dump time (I'm assuming there isn't a good way to automate the dump?)
• Lights (I have Relassy, wanting to integrate them but haven't researched this beyond I haven't found someone doing it)
• Doser (at this point, I'm doing things just b/c I can )
• Salinity: Salinity hand testers are cheap, there's surely a way to integrate this just for fun.
• PH, if there's a cost effective approach, I'm interested. Right now I don't track it at all
• Put in battery backup w/ text notification of power issue (and drop all but the most required power)

 

[Jason Judd]

A second question. I use float sensors to trigger several different activities. I realized last night that I have direct wired these into the gpio pins. Should I be wiring these through a pull up resistor and a ground instead of directly hitting the gpio? Or equivalently I could ask, are you using the pis internal resistors as pul ups or should I have been doing this differently.

An example: I am using a float in a tote to tell me when the tote gets low on water. I use the ATO with a macro to tell me the float has triggered. Right now I push power from the 3.3v pi pin through the float and back to the gpio pin with no pull up resistance or current resistance. Is this a bad idea? (I'm a blossoming electronics noob here... have a career in software development, but this is my first dive into hardware)

 

[robsworld78]

A second question. I use float sensors to trigger several different activities. I realized last night that I have direct wired these into the gpio pins. Should I be wiring these through a pull up resistor and a ground instead of directly hitting the gpio? Or equivalently I could ask, are you using the pis internal resistors as pul ups or should I have been doing this differently.

An example: I am using a float in a tote to tell me when the tote gets low on water. I use the ATO with a macro to tell me the float has triggered. Right now I push power from the 3.3v pi pin through the float and back to the gpio pin with no pull up resistance or current resistance. Is this a bad idea? (I'm a blossoming electronics noob here... have a career in software development, but this is my first dive into hardware)

The method you have the float connected is ok. I'm not sure about the status of the Pi pullups, they aren't likely used so it would be good to add a pulldown resistor in your case. If you run 3.3v through float as you do you want pulldown resistor, if you run a ground through the float you would use a pullup resistor, 4.7k to 10k would be good. Without a pullup/pulldown it's possible the GPIO is "floating" when no 3.3v is going to it causing it to turn on/off randomly. I don't know if that's really a problem with Pi's but a resistor will make sure it's always set HIGH or LOW when it should be.

 

[Jason Judd]

Thanks Rob. I haven't seen it yet, but sometimes the system has quirks, so I was wondering if this was it. I have to pull the board to do another change so will do this while I'm there.