My 75 Gallon Reef-Pi build.

[ahnuts72]

I'm still cycling my tank(freshwater for now) but i thought i would get started on the build thread.
I have finally got my boards in and have started my build.

I layed out and had boards made from Micheal Lane's schematics from tindie.
Next are the ph boards from him as well.(as soon as my wallet gets a little fatter)
I hope its ok to post the link if not let me know and I'll take it off.
www.tindie.com/products/ranthalion/ml-reef-pi-hat-goby/

First time surface mount soldering after 5 years of not touching a iron what a way to get back into my electronics hobby.
And i just got a 3d printer so been going a little crazy with it.

This is what I'm using for my case.

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C3W77GF/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the power center.
I had already ordered the case but you could probably build the whole thing in this it is huge for a pdc.
The wire gauge is a little small but everything is crimp on connectors so wouldn't be to hard to up its size if its not big enough.(I think its 20 gauge)
And you could omit the switches i left them just in case i need to shut something off in a hurry I'm gonna print a cover for them so they don't accidentally get turned off.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037GPLOE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s04?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the power supply.
It is tiny.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DECXUD0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s05?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Everything is 5 volt or 3.3 volt I am running my relay board at 3.3 volt signal and 5 volt to the jumper connector.

These are the lights i have got.
They are 3.3 volt pwm or analog dimming either one works.
These are the 20 inch long versions they are a little narrower spacing on the leds but they have 16 inch ones like everyone else has.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074DRJK18/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are the water level sensors.
Be careful they are 5 volt sensors.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0811GRVJH/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

t

I'm using this 12 volt pumpfor my top off pump.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NCK682L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s05?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is small and pumps a respectable stream of water but not so much that it disturbs anything in the tank.

This is what I'm using for my cable runs.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TLCLY1P/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is where I'm at. All connections tested and everything works so far.

 

[ahnuts72]

And after further tinkering with the lights mind you its been several years since i messed with this stuff
as far as i can tell from a quick look around they are using the pot as a voltage divider and the switch is pulling the pwm pin to ground to shut them off.
And if the pwm line is floating they go full brightness.
When I had everything mocked up with a standalone pca driver board it would shut the lights off when set to 0 percent the chip i have on my board now at 0 percent the lights don't turn off like they did before they just get dim.
Im gonna try get the scope out and see what the pwm waveform looks like tomorrow.

 

[crusso1993]

I'm still cycling my tank(freshwater for now) but i thought i would get started on the build thread.
I have finally got my boards in and have started my build.

I layed out and had boards made from Micheal Lane's schematics from tindie.
Next are the ph boards from him as well.(as soon as my wallet gets a little fatter)
I hope its ok to post the link if not let me know and I'll take it off.
www.tindie.com/products/ranthalion/ml-reef-pi-hat-goby/

First time surface mount soldering after 5 years of not touching a iron what a way to get back into my electronics hobby.
And i just got a 3d printer so been going a little crazy with it.

This is what I'm using for my case.

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C3W77GF/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the power center.
I had already ordered the case but you could probably build the whole thing in this it is huge for a pdc.
The wire gauge is a little small but everything is crimp on connectors so wouldn't be to hard to up its size if its not big enough.(I think its 20 gauge)
And you could omit the switches i left them just in case i need to shut something off in a hurry I'm gonna print a cover for them so they don't accidentally get turned off.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037GPLOE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s04?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the power supply.
It is tiny.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DECXUD0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s05?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Everything is 5 volt or 3.3 volt I am running my relay board at 3.3 volt signal and 5 volt to the jumper connector.

These are the lights i have got.
They are 3.3 volt pwm or analog dimming either one works.
These are the 20 inch long versions they are a little narrower spacing on the leds but they have 16 inch ones like everyone else has.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074DRJK18/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are the water level sensors.
Be careful they are 5 volt sensors.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0811GRVJH/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

t

I'm using this 12 volt pumpfor my top off pump.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NCK682L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s05?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is small and pumps a respectable stream of water but not so much that it disturbs anything in the tank.

This is what I'm using for my cable runs.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TLCLY1P/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is where I'm at. All connections tested and everything works so far.

Thanks for sharing. Really like the attention to detail and your thorough explanations. You have a great looking set up!

 

[trustychords]

Look really nice @ahnuts72! How did you cleanly cut the hole for the blue 15-pin connector? I am having a heck of a time getting a clean cut in ABS plastic for a similar connector.

 

[ahnuts72]

Thanks @crusso1993 for the positive comment.
All I'm liking now is the ph probe and figuring out how I'm going to turn the lights off and on without using one of the outlets on my power center been several years since i was into my electronics hobby but its all slowly coming back to me.

@trustychords I 3d printed the panel since the punches for the d holes for the 4 pin connectors and the 15 pin d connector are outrageous and i just got my printer so i have been having a ball with it.

Maybe use the connector to scribe the shape out and drill a small hole and use a coping saw to cut it out.

 

[ahnuts72]

Here is a mount for the level sensor I 3D printed it clips under the rim and over the side and is held on quite good it keeps the water level just above the bottom of the trim so anyone using a 75 gallon rimmed tank without a sump this would work for.
If anyone wants the stl or fusion 360 file ill put it up.

 

[ahnuts72]

These level sensors are working good so far.

 

[Ranjib]

L293d or uln2803a should be able to switch almost 30v dc power supply.. or use any other type of power MOSFET/relay. Michale lane and couple of others create ph board now, it should be significantly cheaper from other alternatives.
Setup looks awesome :0-) , keep us posted.

 

[ahnuts72]

Thanks @Ranjib
Yeah these drivers aren't like a lot of other ones they have no voltage controlled on/off like the Mars Aqua they are turned off by pulling the pwm pin low the 3.3v line is just supplying power to the pot for the voltage divider as far as i can tell,the switch on the pot is just connecting the pwm line straight to ground to shut off the lights.
But its been several years since i messed with this stuff
So I'm just trying to figure out what way out of the several ways i want to use.

 

[ahnuts72]

I'm assuming they are using a driver like this i have to pull a light apart again and see if they haven't lasered the info off the chip so I can see which one they are using.
The behavior of the light follows this exactly though except when i mocked it up using the standalone pca board I had they turned off at 0 percent on the sliders but with the chip on the boards i had made they stay on just dimmed.
Almost like the pwm duty cycle isn't going all the way to 0.

 

[ahnuts72]

I just checked and the pca9685 only goes down to 650-700mv at 0 percent and if i remember when i was testing the lights before the shutoff threshold on the lights was around 400mv so for some reason this pca chip isnt going as low at 0 percent as the one on the standalone pca board i have.

If anyone has any thoughts.

 

[ahnuts72]

Ok the more i dive in turning the lights off with the pwm signal wont work anyways the led will turn off but the fans continue to run 24/7 so they will also need a relay in place of the outside switch. so might as well leave them on the relay board for off and on.
Otherwise they are working perfectly turn on and off with a timer and ramp up and down with the light control.

The ATO is working great not one single hiccup with the optical sensors or the pump so far.

Moved the heater control to reef-pi and use the controller on the heater as a backup the hysteresis must be atleast 1 degree on the heater controller cause now instead of 1 degree swings I'm around .5 or so give or take.

 

[sse1990]

I have the same lights and am looking at using reef-Pi to control them. I am waiting for my boards from Robo-Tank to arrive. How did you end up wiring them up for PWM? From what I seen when opening them up, I could unplug the knobs and tie that wiring to the reef-Pi.

 

[Ranjib]

I just checked and the pca9685 only goes down to 650-700mv at 0 percent and if i remember when i was testing the lights before the shutoff threshold on the lights was around 400mv so for some reason this pca chip isnt going as low at 0 percent as the one on the standalone pca board i have.

If anyone has any thoughts.

Which version of reef-pi you are using?

 

[ahnuts72]

I have the same lights and am looking at using reef-Pi to control them. I am waiting for my boards from Robo-Tank to arrive. How did you end up wiring them up for PWM? From what I seen when opening them up, I could unplug the knobs and tie that wiring to the reef-Pi.

I just unplugged them and ran ground from pi to the ground pin on connector and the pwm line from pca chip to the pwm line and left the 3.3 volt line floating.
Then set them up in reef-pi like normal set the jacks to active low you have to pull the pwm to low to dim them so the sliders match up otherwise they will be backwards.

 

[ahnuts72]

Which version of reef-pi you are using?

3.3.1 but its kinda a moot point after i thought about it for a while as the power to everything else stays on even if i could get them to go all the way to zero there is no power control on the switches just 3.3V,PWM and ground so the fans would run nonstop even with the leds off so i would still have to have a relay to turn off the main power.
They go plenty dim enough for me at lowest around 5 or 6 percent so not to big of a deal.

 

[ahnuts72]

Almost ready for fishes!!

Have two apontogeon crispus and two aponogeton ulvaceus to finish coming in and the Hygrophila corymbosa should take off anytime now as well.

The Ludwigia and Cryptocoryne are doing good as well.
Ill try to get some pics of the stand as soon as its covered and all plus there may be a 125 in the future as well if i can bring myself to dig in my secret stash.

 

[ahnuts72]

My "corals" are doint great!

And I have 6 of these little guys 1 week left in quarantine then they get to move to their new home.

 

[Ranjib]

I just checked and the pca9685 only goes down to 650-700mv at 0 percent and if i remember when i was testing the lights before the shutoff threshold on the lights was around 400mv so for some reason this pca chip isnt going as low at 0 percent as the one on the standalone pca board i have.

If anyone has any thoughts.

There was a bug in pca9685, for 0 and 100% we have to set specific flags to avoid that residual voltage issue. I'll check with 3.3 again,

 

[Ranjib]

My "corals" are doint great!

And I have 6 of these little guys 1 week left in quarantine then they get to move to their new home.

Looks awesome