OP
OP
Too much tech stuff, time to add some reef related photos 
reef-pi :: An opensource reef tank controller based on Raspberry Pi.
- Thread starter Ranjib
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- controller raspberry-pi
- Tagged users Ranjib
Below are pictures of my setup using the same led kit. Hope it can help. I can take more specific picture tonight if you want!!!
Ryan115
Well-Known Member
@Ranjib
I was thinking about the timers and how to make them more intuitive/user friendly.
First thing, is it possible to have them editable, rather than having to delete and make it over again?
The other thing that I was thinking about, is setting it up more like an event with start time and duration. Rather than having to set both a start time and an end time, you could set time, Off/On and duration of event.
I see the possibility for mistakes being made when you are defining both occurrences.
For example, if you were to create a skimmer off time and then mistakenly create the off time again rather than turning it back on, it would stay off indefinitely.
This may be a rare occurrence, and mostly unneeded. But I have been trying to think of a scenario where you aren't just setting a time for the event to start and the duration that it lasts.
I was thinking about the timers and how to make them more intuitive/user friendly.
First thing, is it possible to have them editable, rather than having to delete and make it over again?
The other thing that I was thinking about, is setting it up more like an event with start time and duration. Rather than having to set both a start time and an end time, you could set time, Off/On and duration of event.
I see the possibility for mistakes being made when you are defining both occurrences.
For example, if you were to create a skimmer off time and then mistakenly create the off time again rather than turning it back on, it would stay off indefinitely.
This may be a rare occurrence, and mostly unneeded. But I have been trying to think of a scenario where you aren't just setting a time for the event to start and the duration that it lasts.
Last edited:
Kampo
Active Member
Feature idea/request
Would it be possible to make the light channel names editable? Instead of channel 1 channel 2...etc we could have white blue violet lime...etc. My salt light could have up to 6 channels and would be easier to keep track of what's what with more descriptive labels
Would it be possible to make the light channel names editable? Instead of channel 1 channel 2...etc we could have white blue violet lime...etc. My salt light could have up to 6 channels and would be easier to keep track of what's what with more descriptive labels
OP
OP
It is, in 1.1
Kampo
Active Member
ok upgraded to 1.1, i don't see anything different. where is the options for the min/max? also looking for a way to change channel names?
OP
OP
Do a hard refresh of your browser (Ctl +shift +f5), probably the old version ui is cached in your browser
OP
OP
I agree, having an ability to define the start time when equipment will be on and then a duration after which it will off is a good feature. Other than everything you have already said, I see potential use of such feature for automating dosing regiment.
OP
OP
Did you get this sorted? Let us know. I think I have shared this already, but this is how in 1.1 the lighting UI and chart looks like, notice the channel specific settings are all editable,
and the chart shows the user defined channel names instead of channel-1, channel-2 etc
OP
OP
Wanted to share something very interesting I am observing with my temperature controller readings.
One of my pico tank, which has a aqueon heater , almost evert alternate day shows a 1 degree sudden change in temperature. i.e. it is set to keep temperature at 78. But in reality it keeps the tank temperature around 77.1 to 77.3, but every alternate days it will jump to 78.1 and hover in between 78.3 to 78.4
I am not too worried about this, since this is a zoa dominated tank, and the changes are not way outside tolerance level. All my hydor or fluval heaters do not show this. I am yet to find out why this happens, but I will not be using freshwater equipment again .
Other than that, the heater itself is not very bad at keeping the temperature at range, from the minute wise graph, its very clear it kicks in every half an hour to keep the temperature within 0.2F variance.
One of my pico tank, which has a aqueon heater , almost evert alternate day shows a 1 degree sudden change in temperature. i.e. it is set to keep temperature at 78. But in reality it keeps the tank temperature around 77.1 to 77.3, but every alternate days it will jump to 78.1 and hover in between 78.3 to 78.4
I am not too worried about this, since this is a zoa dominated tank, and the changes are not way outside tolerance level. All my hydor or fluval heaters do not show this. I am yet to find out why this happens, but I will not be using freshwater equipment again .
Other than that, the heater itself is not very bad at keeping the temperature at range, from the minute wise graph, its very clear it kicks in every half an hour to keep the temperature within 0.2F variance.
Ryan115
Well-Known Member
So do you not have reef-pi controlling this, and just going by the internal thermostat of the heater?Wanted to share something very interesting I am observing with my temperature controller readings.
One of my pico tank, which has a aqueon heater , almost evert alternate day shows a 1 degree sudden change in temperature. i.e. it is set to keep temperature at 78. But in reality it keeps the tank temperature around 77.1 to 77.3, but every alternate days it will jump to 78.1 and hover in between 78.3 to 78.4
I am not too worried about this, since this is a zoa dominated tank, and the changes are not way outside tolerance level. All my hydor or fluval heaters do not show this. I am yet to find out why this happens, but I will not be using freshwater equipment again .
Other than that, the heater itself is not very bad at keeping the temperature at range, from the minute wise graph, its very clear it kicks in every half an hour to keep the temperature within 0.2F variance.
I am running an Aqueon Pro 250 on my tank, and I set the heater thermostat about 0.5-1 deg higher than what I have reef-pi controlling the temperature. So now when it drops below threshold, the heater relay comes on, and the heater is already below it's threshold so it starts heating right away. Also this works as a secondary backup if the relay were to ever become stuck on.
This is on a 5 minute interval on temp control on reef-pi.
OP
OP
My aqueon (its a cheap 10$ , 25W heater from petco) is set to 78, while reef-pi temperature controller is set 77->79. So , reef-pi will only start toggling relays once the temperature goes out of range.So do you not have reef-pi controlling this, and just going by the internal thermostat of the heater?
I am running an Aqueon Pro 250 on my tank, and I set the heater thermostat about 0.5-1 deg higher than what I have reef-pi controlling the temperature. So now when it drops below threshold, the heater relay comes on, and the heater is already below it's threshold so it starts heating right away. Also this works as a secondary backup if the relay were to ever become stuck on.
This is on a 5 minute interval on temp control on reef-pi.
I dont think its a big deal for corals as long as its not swinging wildly and its inside that temperature range,
Ryan115
Well-Known Member
What is confusing me though is how your tank would stay at 78. Mine settings are similar, so when the tank is below 77 the heater relay turns on and the heater begins heating the tank. But once the tank is >77 the relay is turned off.
Is your somehow only turning the relay off when the tank is >79?
OP
OP
yes thats the logic. In its current state reef-pi controller will only take corrective action if the heater acts up, if the heater keeps the temperature within 77->79, reef-pi temperature controller will not take any corrective measures. reef-pi will only start the heater if the temperature falls below 77 or turn it off if the temperature is above 79, i have tested that.
Does that answer your question ?
Ranjib, ran into a small issue. The the web interface of my reef-pi will not connect. Reef-pi is running with no errors and it's sending telemetry just fine as well, but no web interface. It's on a static ip and I've rebooted it, but still no interface. I'm assuming the web server has crashed but not sure how to check it and restart it.
OP
OP
I doubt that the webserver will crash. it can happen, but i doubt it very much. The code in that side is pretty solid
Do you know the IP of your pi ?Can you ssh into it, if so, you can login via ssh and check log
Code:
sudo systemctl status reef-pi.service
Code:
curl -u reef-pi:reef-pi http://localhost/api/equipmentsIf you cant ssh, it means Pi's IP has changed, you can find the new ip from your home router admin console. You can also configure it to have a static IP (i know you have already mentioned it, but i dont know exactly how you are doing this)
If you go back couple of pages, I have also reported the same issue. reef-pi working fine, but I lost web UI connectivity. That was purely due to network connectivity lost (comcast service inturruption). In the meantime, I have configured pi to restart wifi network everynight, so in case network goes down, pi will reconnect it every midnight as part of the wifi restart process, reef-pi process does not get touched.
For the long run, i have already started working on a physical interface (posted a video of the same couple of pages back), which will give a minimal workflow using a button and LED display. As of now, I plan to support IP display and shutdown using it. I might extend it to support wifi restart and displaying tank summary. I was super stuck with the network unreachable issue, i was not able to shutdown my controller safely, thats not acceptable.
Let me know what you think, and if your problem is resolved ,
Ryan115
Well-Known Member
My controller does not follow that logic. Once my tank reaches 77, the heater is turned off completely. Between 77 and 79 nothing is on. I dont have a cooler, but if I did it would only turn on above 79.
So on yours the heater is on if it is below 79? Does the cooler only come on above 77 or above 79? Or at 78 are both heater and cooler on?
Here are my settings.
OP
OP
When I say heater is on I mean heater's own thermister is turning it on (as in the led of the heater is turned on) or heater is runniung. As such my heater is always on, since reef-pi didnt take any action against it, due to the temperature being within the specified range. Apologies for my confusing statements :0( .
OP
OP
BTW @Ryan115 , timer features , still work in progress,
Existing timer , that works against equipment
New reminder target,
Existing timer , that works against equipment
New reminder target,
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