reef-pi :: An opensource reef tank controller based on Raspberry Pi.

[MaccaPopEye]

hello members of the community

Im from India n a student in sciences so im pretty sure my electronics n electrical skills n knowledge is pretty downfall. But im really keen in building up a complete DIY LED lighting system for my Aquarium one being in a 2ftx2ft n a new one which im to start of 4ftx2ft. As im still a student i really can not go for the expensive lighting options. So im looking to Build one completely from scratch with Leds heatsinks n etc.

so i got few questions before i start.

1. Is it possible for me Who only has electrical skills from physics classes back from 12th grade at school n will i get d required parts in india?

2. can i use this program to control for individual spectrum channels?

3. can i control it over d phone or an app after completion of the instal?

if there is anybody out there who is building sucha project n has a thread pls tag me in. im already following Jim00's rasberry pi build thread.

i request u pls help me out.

thanx in advance

1. I can't really answer that as I don't know what your year 12 physics course covered. You would need a fairly decent understanding of the basics to ensure you are doing everything right with the wiring and components as well as the heat exchange. But you can always watch a bunch of YouTube videos as there is a few out there. I also can't say if you will be able to get the parts or not but I assume you should be able to get most of it from ebay or aliexpress.

2. Yes Reef-Pi can control up to 16 PWM channels.

3. Yes you can access Reef-Pi through your phones browser app but to do this away from your home you would need to set up some kind of port forwarding or something (a few people have done this).

Have you looked into the SB Reef lights or other Chinese black box LEDs like Mars Aqua? They are probably a fair bit cheaper than a DIY LED would be and they have been shown to grow coral fine. I would recommend 1 or 2 for the 2'x2' tank and 2 or 3 for the 4'x2' tank.

 

[sjeff35]

Nope :-/
These are all 2.0 things ... none is documented.. all that work is pending. I am waiting for the alpha release, after that I'll cease feature work and focus on the documentation and bug fixing. I want the UI/screen shots in guides to be consistent with the final release.
Any help on this would be welcome :) .

@Ranjib
I would help, but I'm afraid I'm really not much help!!! :) Being so new to all of this I have nothing to offer.

If there is anything you think I might be able to help with, please, don't hesitate to ask. I'll jump right in!

 

[Ranjib]

hello members of the community

Im from India n a student in sciences so im pretty sure my electronics n electrical skills n knowledge is pretty downfall. But im really keen in building up a complete DIY LED lighting system for my Aquarium one being in a 2ftx2ft n a new one which im to start of 4ftx2ft. As im still a student i really can not go for the expensive lighting options. So im looking to Build one completely from scratch with Leds heatsinks n etc.

so i got few questions before i start.

1. Is it possible for me Who only has electrical skills from physics classes back from 12th grade at school n will i get d required parts in india?

2. can i use this program to control for individual spectrum channels?

3. can i control it over d phone or an app after completion of the instal?

if there is anybody out there who is building sucha project n has a thread pls tag me in. im already following Jim00's rasberry pi build thread.

i request u pls help me out.

thanx in advance

Namaste.
I am the author of reef-pi, I am from India, and I am a microbiology graduate. I learned electronics as I developed reef-pi. I am sure you can learn too. Its not a matter of what background you have, it more of a factor of how much time/patience you have and access to mentors (which is where internet come in). You have to check the availability of resources at your end by yourself. i.e. the cost of LED, heatsink etc. I know Pi itself is around Rupees: 5K.

As others have mentioned reef-pi can easily control 18 LED channels, assuming you are also getting the pca9685 breakout board. And yes you can control your lights from phone or tablet or computer when they are in the same network (if you are outside home, you need to setup port forwarding to access reef-pi from internet).

I doubt very much that a scratch build will cost less than the cheaper blackboxes, but I am not sure.
For a scratch build, you are looking at individual LEDs (most go for cree), heat sinks, drivers (like meanwell ldd-h), powersource . This is just the light, conroller will require Pi, pca9685, power adapter. I'd recommend starting a dedicated build thread in the DIY section if you are serious about it.

 

[Ranjib]

@Ranjib
I would help, but I'm afraid I'm really not much help!!! :) Being so new to all of this I have nothing to offer.

If there is anything you think I might be able to help with, please, don't hesitate to ask. I'll jump right in!

You are already helping this project by testing :-) . Appreciate that a lot.

 

[Hookster15]

I have been using the reef -pi for a few months now, i dont have led lights so no light control but i'm glad to have it on my tank. i do have a battery backup for the fact that i'm using a 24 volt power supply to run my power heads.

sorry have dual monitors on screen shot.

 

[ramkokz]

Namaste.
I am the author of reef-pi, I am from India, and I am a microbiology graduate. I learned electronics as I developed reef-pi. I am sure you can learn too. Its not a matter of what background you have, it more of a factor of how much time/patience you have and access to mentors (which is where internet come in). You have to check the availability of resources at your end by yourself. i.e. the cost of LED, heatsink etc. I know Pi itself is around Rupees: 5K.

As others have mentioned reef-pi can easily control 18 LED channels, assuming you are also getting the pca9685 breakout board. And yes you can control your lights from phone or tablet or computer when they are in the same network (if you are outside home, you need to setup port forwarding to access reef-pi from internet).

I doubt very much that a scratch build will cost less than the cheaper blackboxes, but I am not sure.
For a scratch build, you are looking at individual LEDs (most go for cree), heat sinks, drivers (like meanwell ldd-h), powersource . This is just the light, conroller will require Pi, pca9685, power adapter. I'd recommend starting a dedicated build thread in the DIY section if you are serious about it.

It's true that getting a black box is an more inexpensive option but I'm more into DIY stuff .it excites me so much n also I'm looking forward to further upgrade d unit to run an ATO if I'm successful.

I'm looking into getting parts thru AliExpress or digi-key or arrow .N I'm definitely looking into getting only Cree LEDs.

Tnks a ton for replying to my comnt.

N yes dependin on my progress, if I manage to pull it off well I shall make a thread on making diy led from scratch.

 

[Ranjib]

I have been using the reef -pi for a few months now, i dont have led lights so no light control but i'm glad to have it on my tank. i do have a battery backup for the fact that i'm using a 24 volt power supply to run my power heads.

sorry have dual monitors on screen shot.

I am happy that its working out for you. Let us know if you have any feedback, positive or negative, does not matter.
Thank you again for trying out reef-pi, users like you help us testing/validating of what we are building.

 

[Ranjib]

It's true that getting a black box is an more inexpensive option but I'm more into DIY stuff .it excites me so much n also I'm looking forward to further upgrade d unit to run an ATO if I'm successful.

I'm looking into getting parts thru AliExpress or digi-key or arrow .N I'm definitely looking into getting only Cree LEDs.

Tnks a ton for replying to my comnt.

N yes dependin on my progress, if I manage to pull it off well I shall make a thread on making diy led from scratch.

Got it.
Design your light fixture first, like how much wattage, what different colors , specific LEDs etc. Once you have dial down the wattage and channels, we'll be able to decide on the driver, and then finally reef-pi parts. Go for drivers that can take 5v pwm control signal, and you should be fine ..

 

[sjeff35]

Did I order the wrong DB9 connectors for the power brick??? What are those sharp prongs on each end for? Any ideas???
Thanks

 

[Ranjib]

Did I order the wrong DB9 connectors for the power brick??? What are those sharp prongs on each end for? Any ideas???
Thanks

these are right angle header male db9 connectors, they are good for soldering into
pcb/perf board directly which is then mounted. I think you are better off with a panel mount connector. Like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EZQICYU/

It does not matter whether you are getting male or female connector. Just ensure your connector cable is appropriate, i.e. the connector cable will connect your pi housing (i.e. the connector that i just shared before) with the adj powerstrip.

 

[Erica-Renee]

Did I order the wrong DB9 connectors for the power brick??? What are those sharp prongs on each end for? Any ideas???
Thanks

You can use them just solder wire to the pins or use a small piece of pcb board . I use the these
https://www.amazon.com/SinLoon-Ribbon-Connector-Adapter-Motherboard/dp/B01MFBMZZF/ref=sr_1_65?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1534380023&sr=1-65&keywords=db9+connector

Cut the end connector off and put crimp connectors on them like for jumper wires ..
You can find them much cheaper..

 

[Michael Lane]

The sharp prongs are to provide strain/stress relief. They may be connected to the outer shroud of the connector, but I would confirm by checking with a meter.

 

[Michael Lane]

Panel mount is probably a better idea though since PCBs are priced by area and connectors are pretty large.

 

[MaccaPopEye]

Yes the standard options are ok, I only don't understand why it states 5 boards, normally it's 10 (which you probably don't need). Also used Green as color, but if red is the same price and your preference, that's ok :D. I think I tried Black and it became more expensive, so I stayed at Green. Please wait with the PWM board, I've made a new PCB the size of the PI which should fit directly on the HAT

I tried soldering the PCA9685 but it didn't work due to several reasons:
* My eyes couldn't see the tracks clearly while soldering although I normally can see close very sharp. Could have been the light condition.
* Wrong solder iron tips (sharp, was bending the housing pins and damaging silk screen). Looking at more youtube video's it became clear they mostly used broader/flat solder tips
* Shaking hand, which is a decease I unfortunately have since youth

Found on youtube an interesting video where you just position the chip with a normal solder iron (bottom/left and upper right which worked fine for me), then just place solder paste over all pins and then solder with the hot air gun.
have a look from 5:45 at

Also found a lot of other video's showing that SMT components like resistors position themselves when hot air is applied. I do know however from my former employer that components may 'flip up', applying solder paste for high volume production in a reflow production line (meaning millions of components) is critical (meaning reaching low PPM values). As a trial I also ordered a stencil for the PWM board from JLCPCB, there are interesting video's for this as well, for instance:

In the meantime I have:
* Ordered the new board as shown above, used standard shipping this time, not DHL. In the Inet I found usually 17 day's shipping time. Have to wait anyway for the other equipment as well.
* Ordered different solder iron tips (broad and SMT specific) (14USD)
* Electronic magnifying glass (48 Eur)
* Hot air solder station (40 Eur) with solder paste (18 Eur)

Both the 5 boards instead of 10 and the colour was just me playing around with the options (I forgot I had changed those before I took the screenshot), all of the other options are more what I was asking about. I don't need 10 boards so I figured I would only get 5, but the price doesn't change so you might as well get 10 haha. And the colour does change the price, green is free but adding any other colour increases the cost (I think black was WAY more than the others though).

Are you still going to try and use SMT for the PWM board? I ordered a SMT PCA9685 yesterday when I ordered all of the other parts for the HAT and the PWM board (it wasn't expensive to add it). But I also have a breakout board PCA9685 if you decide to go that route. Just let me know when the PWM board is tested and I can order! :) They look really awesome!

 

[wykat]

Both the 5 boards instead of 10 and the colour was just me playing around with the options (I forgot I had changed those before I took the screenshot), all of the other options are more what I was asking about. I don't need 10 boards so I figured I would only get 5, but the price doesn't change so you might as well get 10 haha. And the colour does change the price, green is free but adding any other colour increases the cost (I think black was WAY more than the others though).

Are you still going to try and use SMT for the PWM board? I ordered a SMT PCA9685 yesterday when I ordered all of the other parts for the HAT and the PWM board (it wasn't expensive to add it). But I also have a breakout board PCA9685 if you decide to go that route. Just let me know when the PWM board is tested and I can order! :) They look really awesome!

Hi, yes of course I will solve the PCA9685 SMT issue. There are several options that's why I ordered all that equipment ;). Not everybody will need that.
* Cheapest solution would be to use "solder sucking wick" after short cutting all the footprints :p
* Simplest way would be the hot air solder solution. I know my previous company repair people used them for repairing boards which failed on the reflow line, but I never was involved in that (better I should have ;) )
* Using the stencil for adding paste
* and maybe the magnifying tool may help, let's see

For the digital magnifying tool I could have used my digital camera in live view mode but somehow it makes fun solving these issues :)

edit:
PS: I've started to work on a stencil paste tool as well based on https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:373060 . The solution on Thingiverse is unfortunately too small to fit the PI PCBA footprint and since I plan to use other solutions on that footprint as well I'm redesigning this tool to fit the PI footprint :)

 

[sjeff35]

these are right angle header male db9 connectors, they are good for soldering into
pcb/perf board directly which is then mounted. I think you are better off with a panel mount connector. Like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EZQICYU/

It does not matter whether you are getting male or female connector. Just ensure your connector cable is appropriate, i.e. the connector cable will connect your pi housing (i.e. the connector that i just shared before) with the adj powerstrip.

You can use them just solder wire to the pins or use a small piece of pcb board . I use the these
https://www.amazon.com/SinLoon-Ribbon-Connector-Adapter-Motherboard/dp/B01MFBMZZF/ref=sr_1_65?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1534380023&sr=1-65&keywords=db9+connector

Cut the end connector off and put crimp connectors on them like for jumper wires ..
You can find them much cheaper..

I must have got a bad batch or these were not made for PCB board mounting. The pins don't align with the boards.

Oh well, I have 15 of them now if I ever can find a use for them :cool:

 

[MaccaPopEye]

Hi, yes of course I will solve the PCA9685 SMT issue. There are several options that's why I ordered all that equipment ;). Not everybody will need that.
* Cheapest solution would be to use "solder sucking wick" after short cutting all the footprints :p
* Simplest way would be the hot air solder solution. I know my previous company repair people used them for repairing boards which failed on the reflow line, but I never was involved in that (better I should have ;) )
* Using the stencil for adding paste
* and maybe the magnifying tool may help, let's see

For the digital magnifying tool I could have used my digital camera in live view mode but somehow it makes fun solving these issues :)

edit:
PS: I've started to work on a stencil paste tool as well based on https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:373060 . The solution on Thingiverse is unfortunately too small to fit the PI PCBA footprint and since I plan to use other solutions on that footprint as well I'm redesigning this tool to fit the PI footprint :)

Have you thought about just making the PCB compatible with the PCA9685 breakout board that Ranjib uses? Even if you just soldered a bunch of pins to the PCB and used jumper wires to attach the PCA9685 breakout board to it, I think that might be the easiest route, especially for new people. Although the SMT is a much cleaner and compact option.

 

[Ranjib]

good morning

 

[wykat]

Have you thought about just making the PCB compatible with the PCA9685 breakout board that Ranjib uses? Even if you just soldered a bunch of pins to the PCB and used jumper wires to attach the PCA9685 breakout board to it, I think that might be the easiest route, especially for new people. Although the SMT is a much cleaner and compact option.

yes I have. Problem is height and disassembly.

 

[wykat]

yes I have. Problem is height and disassembly.

I probably was a little short cut here.

Yes I thought about using the breakout board in between 2 layers of PI boards. I looked at low height connectors for the 16*3 pin's, etc. but didn't find a suitable solution making it 'managable'.