NeonRabbit's 5th Reef-Pi (Leviathan)

[NeonRabbit221B]

So after winning @Schreiber Leviathian give away I wanted to dedicate a thread to the construction of my build which will eventually use the board. As I am currently not receiving a pay check this will likely be a slower build than previous attempts but I wanted to give an insight into anyone looking to use his presoldered board and determine how much work is actually cut out. My immediate draw to this project is that it will likely mean less soldering for me which is personally a great challenge. In previous builds I often have to desolder and resolder joints due to my shaky hands but still love the thrill of the setup.

I will do following his build guides "by the book" and using his designs 1-for-1 which may mean some additional purchases. I will likely start with the relay boards and outlet connections, connectors and work around the items I do not currently own.

Let the journey begin!

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I started my 3D prints last night for the main body. Cutting some wire for the relays tonight. Excited to have more than 8 outlets to work with!

 

[Ranjib]

Looking forward

 

[Schreiber]

Awesome Both your & Ranjib's boards are ready to go, I'm just trying to find a place I can print the shipping labels, lol. Everywhere I would normally print them is currently closed due to the pandemic. I'll shoot you a message when it goes out though, hopefully I'll find a way in the next couple of days!

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Sent you an email... I can't figure out a good way to do cable management for my relays and didn't see anything in the documentation. I got everything printed for a 12 outlet though!

 

[Sharir]

I will be running the raspberry pi 4B for my reef pi build I was wondering if you could link multiple raspberry pis together into nodes to exicute code faster?

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I will be running the raspberry pi 4B for my reef pi build I was wondering if you could link multiple raspberry pis together into nodes to exicute code faster?

My immediate response is what are you trying to do that requires multiple raspberry pis to run a reef-pi build? I do not know off hand as I have never had to do it. Maybe @Ranjib can answer?

 

[Sharir]

I want to run a 300000 gallon propagation system in my basement

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

The case printed nicely. I used supports at 20% infill and combined it took me about 2 days. I tried wiring it with 2 stacked 8-channel but it was doubtful to have behind the relays for wiring. I decided that I would have 2 always on outlets and use a 2-channel relay. For the white wire I used a 10' extension cord I accidentally bought off amazon and never returned

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Lookin good!

 

[Bigtrout]

I will be running the raspberry pi 4B for my reef pi build I was wondering if you could link multiple raspberry pis together into nodes to exicute code faster?

There has been talk of implementing having reef pi nodes and a master reef pi to run them all, but not sure if this is going to be implemented. Give a shout to @Ranjib

 

[Bigtrout]

The case printed nicely. I used supports at 20% infill and combined it took me about 2 days. I tried wiring it with 2 stacked 8-channel but it was doubtful to have behind the relays for wiring. I decided that I would have 2 always on outlets and use a 2-channel relay. For the white wire I used a 10' extension cord I accidentally bought off amazon and never returned

For cable management small zip ties work well once everything has been tested!

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Project update!

Finally reached a point of calling the project complete after it has been sitting in a state of limbo for some missing parts. The build has used most of the key items in levethian but is largely just a hardware update just for the heck of it rather than a massive upgrade but gave me some additional flexibility.

2x Optical
2x Float
Ph
3 Temperature Sensors
10 Controllable Outlets
2 Always on
Dosing

Adding two additional controllable outlets is a nice touch and I swapped out my Ezo board for Lane's pH board which is 10x easier and $40 cheaper. As an overall review of @Schreiber Levethian I wanted to build a pros cons list vs building it per the original instructions on Adafruit.

Pros
-Cut out a large amount of soldering which I dislike
-I love his design and enclosure as it is fairly easy to open up, change and snap it back in place. Its breathable so the circuits dont overhead (and the pi is outside the project enclosure for easy upgrading/replacement)
-Its already wired if I want to go ahead and upgrade my terrible Fluval Evo lights to Kessils or upgrade to allow for more controllable outlets
-I got to support someones hobby life (ehh... kinda) by using 3rd party hardware!

Cons
-I traded soldering for making additional connectors using the JSH plugs which are arguably harder! Hindsight is 20/20 I guess haha
-PCA is set to be lighting only but could have been expanded on for additional dosing
-3D enclosure didn't have a spot for a panel mount pH but was quick work with a drill. (old version of the 3D parts?)
-All of my other connectors had threads too short to go through the enclosure wall. Tried and failed to hot glue them in place before I just bought new ones
- Had to extend all the plugs with additional wire as this is only really intended to be relatively far from the tank (which i do prefer as it hides the clutter)

Over I do like the new build and can highly suggest getting the board. Additional plus if you have a 3D printer! Thanks again Brandon!

 

[Schreiber]

I wanted to build a pros cons list vs building it per the original instructions on Adafruit.

Pros
-Cut out a large amount of soldering which I dislike
-I love his design and enclosure as it is fairly easy to open up, change and snap it back in place. Its breathable so the circuits dont overhead (and the pi is outside the project enclosure for easy upgrading/replacement)
-Its already wired if I want to go ahead and upgrade my terrible Fluval Evo lights to Kessils or upgrade to allow for more controllable outlets
-I got to support someones hobby life (ehh... kinda) by using 3rd party hardware!

Cons
-I traded soldering for making additional connectors using the JSH plugs which are arguably harder! Hindsight is 20/20 I guess haha
-PCA is set to be lighting only but could have been expanded on for additional dosing
-3D enclosure didn't have a spot for a panel mount pH but was quick work with a drill. (old version of the 3D parts?)
-All of my other connectors had threads too short to go through the enclosure wall. Tried and failed to hot glue them in place before I just bought new ones
- Had to extend all the plugs with additional wire as this is only really intended to be relatively far from the tank (which i do prefer as it hides the clutter)

Over I do like the new build and can highly suggest getting the board. Additional plus if you have a 3D printer! Thanks again Brandon!

That's awesome!! Glad it worked out well for you

Just wanted to address a few of the cons for you (and anyone else reading).

-JST plugs- I hate them, lol. That's why I offer the board with pin headers as well. While the JST connectors are more secure overall, the pin headers are 100x easier to work with & unless you've got your enclosure open to make changes. In that case, you could accidentally disconnect one while working on something else, but they'll never come off of their own accord despite lacking locking tabs.

-PCA- I actually have 2 extra channels from the PCA that aren't dedicated to lighting! I just don't advertise that fact, as I generally aimed this towards people wanting to make their build as simple as possible. But if you take a look at the top left of your board, you'll see 2 pads labeled PWM 14 & 15. Those are tied to channel 14 & 15 of the PCA9685PW & can be used for whatever you want, including dosing!

-Enclosure- What size enclosure did you wind up going with? The 16 outlet one had a pH mounting hole from the start. I actually just finished my re-design for the 8 outlet last Friday & the 12 outlet this morning before work to include a mounting spot for a pH connector as well. I'll have to upload those sometime this weekend for everyone else to have access to them!

-Connector threading- Yep, that wasn't just a you problem. My first set of 3.5mm panel jacks I used for the design must have had longer threads. I could get them to stay if I reeeaaalllly tried, but it was very difficult. I increased the indent on the inner side from 0.5mm to 0.85 mm & it made a massive difference. They install very easily now. I'll be uploading that re-design as well soon. I doubt you want to tear yours apart just for that, but just something to know is available in the future!

-Extended plugs- Not much to be helped there unfortunately, until someone figures out a good, affordable way to wirelessly transmit signals like this, lol. That'd be the dream!

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

That's awesome!! Glad it worked out well for you

Just wanted to address a few of the cons for you (and anyone else reading).

-JST plugs- I hate them, lol. That's why I offer the board with pin headers as well. While the JST connectors are more secure overall, the pin headers are 100x easier to work with & unless you've got your enclosure open to make changes. In that case, you could accidentally disconnect one while working on something else, but they'll never come off of their own accord despite lacking locking tabs.

-PCA- I actually have 2 extra channels from the PCA that aren't dedicated to lighting! I just don't advertise that fact, as I generally aimed this towards people wanting to make their build as simple as possible. But if you take a look at the top left of your board, you'll see 2 pads labeled PWM 14 & 15. Those are tied to channel 14 & 15 of the PCA9685PW & can be used for whatever you want, including dosing!

-Enclosure- What size enclosure did you wind up going with? The 16 outlet one had a pH mounting hole from the start. I actually just finished my re-design for the 8 outlet last Friday & the 12 outlet this morning before work to include a mounting spot for a pH connector as well. I'll have to upload those sometime this weekend for everyone else to have access to them!

-Connector threading- Yep, that wasn't just a you problem. My first set of 3.5mm panel jacks I used for the design must have had longer threads. I could get them to stay if I reeeaaalllly tried, but it was very difficult. I increased the indent on the inner side from 0.5mm to 0.85 mm & it made a massive difference. They install very easily now. I'll be uploading that re-design as well soon. I doubt you want to tear yours apart just for that, but just something to know is available in the future!

-Extended plugs- Not much to be helped there unfortunately, until someone figures out a good, affordable way to wirelessly transmit signals like this, lol. That'd be the dream!

Great to know about the extra PCA channels which i figured would be used but I must have missed the pads! I build the 12 outlet model. Luckily I found connectors that worked with it.

 

[t951]

Brandon,
I look forward to the updated enclosure designs!
I am going to try and build your power relay design because I cannot figure out how to connect a ULN2803A doo-hickey to make the ADJ SC8 work.

t.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Brandon,
I look forward to the updated enclosure designs!
I am going to try and build your power relay design because I cannot figure out how to connect a ULN2803A doo-hickey to make the ADJ SC8 work.

t.

If you are uncomfortable with wiring and electronics then use caution! You will be working with mains power which can kill you. Post pictures of wiring, double check wiring and use a multimeter! It easier than the ULN2803 route as the wires are not tiny.

 

[Ranjib]

Brandon,
I look forward to the updated enclosure designs!
I am going to try and build your power relay design because I cannot figure out how to connect a ULN2803A doo-hickey to make the ADJ SC8 work.

t.

Kasa or dli smart powerstrip are not an option ?

 

[t951]

Ranjib,
If I did get a Kasa, then I would be managing it separately from reefpi, correct? I love the ability to have it all controlled by reefpi. Is there a way to control a kasa via reefpi?

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Ranjib,
If I did get a Kasa, then I would be managing it separately from reefpi, correct? I love the ability to have it all controlled by reefpi. Is there a way to control a kasa via reefpi?

You can control it via reef pi and set it up as equipment. It works well for anything that might not be next to the tank too which I love.