Jeremys Reef PI Build

[JeremyKnight]

Hey guys I have been stumbling along with this build and have come to a place where I need some advice. I have added the temp probe but the updated UI page is different than the original guide. What do the additional features mean? Or can you point me to a post with the updated information? and how would i go about having the temp sensor information control the heaters?

I’m using rj45 jacks to connect the temp sensors to the system. Does anyone know how long the cable can be before I need a signal booster?

Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[Ranjib]

Welcome to reef2reef. I have tested with up to 7 feet of temp sensor wire. Do you see a sensor in your temperature module drop down many?
I have not been able to update the adafruit guide due to time constrain, but the old instructions should be valid, there were new fields added in the UI, but you can play with those later, they are not necessary for the initial setup. Please share UI screen shots if you are facing difficulty in specific places

 

[garbled]

Are the temp sensors DS18B20's? If so, in my home automation, I have them running at like 100' lengths off 5V.. if it's running off 3.3v from a PI, maybe less than that? They are slightly flaky at 100' though, so.. not quite that much would be ideal maybe?

 

[JeremyKnight]

I have finally got everything sorted out with the temperature probes. They have been reading the ambient temperature for about a week now. I calibrated them today by using rodi ice cubes and rodi water, and let them get to 32 degrees and set the temp at 32. So I’m comfortable that they are reading correct.

@Ranjib is there a way to change the display text for the equipment so the text is over the red and green bars? When the UI is pulled up on a phone or tablet the equipment device can’t be displayed for every device.

here is an updated photo of the PI case with the jacks installed.everything is coming along!

 

[JeremyKnight]

Hey guys and gals, is there a way to connect the jeabo dcp sine wave pumps to the reef pi using the PWM pins? I want to use two jeabo pumps to create random flow by ramping up and down. But I don’t want them to turn completely off.( or I would just use ac pumps)

any help or pointing on the right direction would be greatly appreciated!
@Ranjib

 

[JeremyKnight]

Hey guys and gals, is there a way to connect the jeabo dcp sine wave pumps to the reef pi using the PWM pins? I want to use two jeabo pumps to create random flow by ramping up and down. But I don’t want them to turn completely off.( or I would just use ac pumps)

any help or pointing on the right direction would be greatly appreciated!
@Ranjib

Bump

 

[Ranjib]

I have finally got everything sorted out with the temperature probes. They have been reading the ambient temperature for about a week now. I calibrated them today by using rodi ice cubes and rodi water, and let them get to 32 degrees and set the temp at 32. So I’m comfortable that they are reading correct.

@Ranjib is there a way to change the display text for the equipment so the text is over the red and green bars? When the UI is pulled up on a phone or tablet the equipment device can’t be displayed for every device.

here is an updated photo of the PI case with the jacks installed.everything is coming along!

Looking good. Right now there’s no easy way to change that equipment bar. Good news is the next release will have an alternate equipment widget , that you can use to display as well as control equipment straight from the dashboard

 

[Ranjib]

Hey guys and gals, is there a way to connect the jeabo dcp sine wave pumps to the reef pi using the PWM pins? I want to use two jeabo pumps to create random flow by ramping up and down. But I don’t want them to turn completely off.( or I would just use ac pumps)

any help or pointing on the right direction would be greatly appreciated!
@Ranjib

No idea . Are they controllable ? Need some details . Generally pumps use Bldc controller, a dedicated circuit that you can control by pwm (from pi or pca9685) .

 

[JeremyKnight]

Looking good. Right now there’s no easy way to change that equipment bar. Good news is the next release will have an alternate equipment widget , that you can use to display as well as control equipment straight from the dashboard

That’s a really awesome update!

 

[JeremyKnight]

No idea . Are they controllable ? Need some details . Generally pumps use Bldc controller, a dedicated circuit that you can control by pwm (from pi or pca9685) .

The pump is a sine wave dc controlled pump it has a controller.

 

[Ranjib]

The pump is a sine wave dc controlled pump it has a controller.

does it allow external control?

 

[JeremyKnight]

Well this week I finally found some time to finish the plumbing for the new heating system. The reef pi will eventually be hooked up to this to maintain a set temperature after a few months of testing. The idea is the hot water from my gas home water heater will circulate through 50 feet of 1/2” plastic PEX tubing transferring the heat to the saltwater. There is a small recirculating pump that will be controlled by the PI to flow the hot water through the PEX. This is the first major step in being able to heat the 1000 gallon display tank in the future.

 

[JeremyKnight]

@Ranjib there are no ports on the controller box to plug in anything. I was thinking there would be a way to completely remove the factory control box and create a driver through reefpi. From what I have found online they use a 0-5v “sine wave” to control the speed of the pump.

 

[JeremyKnight]

The reef pi is officially online and controlling the temperature of the tank.
But there is more- the tank is being heated by my house water heater!

 

[Weasel1960]

Well done

 

[JeremyKnight]

I have finally gathered the parts for the ph sensor. My question is, can I build this directly on the reef pi controller I already have for the power controller and temperature sensors? Or do I have to use the pi zero?

 

[Ranjib]

You can. The only thing you have to be aware of power consumption. Checkout for pi being undervoltage. Otherwise if you can deal with the circuit complexity, go for it. Mine are like that, ph, ato, temp all in one. except light.

 

[JeremyKnight]

You can. The only thing you have to be aware of power consumption. Checkout for pi being undervoltage. Otherwise if you can deal with the circuit complexity, go for it. Mine are like that, ph, ato, temp all in one. except light.

Thanks for the input!

I am however stuck. Do I need to build the ph bread board if I have the atlas scientific isolated carrier board?

 

[JeremyKnight]

Ok I’m completely lost with the ph controller. I have it hooked up to the pi but I cannot figure out how to get reef pi to see it since the user interface is different from the guide. Please help

 

[JeremyKnight]

Well I got the ph board hooked up and mounted on a little acrylic shelf in the Pi box. I still need to mount the pin break out board. But it’s coming together. I need to figure out how to set up the ph sensor in reef pi. I’m not a computer guy and I’m looking for help with the new interface.