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

b4tn · Oct 25, 2018

Michael Lane said:
That field should not have any validation at 60 seconds. There may be confusion Second field on the left half of the screen. The timer uses a Cron like format, so Day Of Month, Hour, Minute, and Second define when the timer should be executed. The schedule in your screenshot is set to run every minute on the 10th second.

I think you could set up the sump light schedule as shown below (saved on http://reef-pi.herokuapp.com). It starts at 19:00, then turns back off after 43,200 seconds (60 * 60 * 12).

I plan to improve the duration component to let you choose seconds/minutes/hours as the unit, but that probably won't be done before the v2 final release.

Ok, that makes perfect sense. Thanks. I thought I tried that field also and it was locked by validation but I went back and you are right it lets me enter however many seconds I want. Thanks!

b4tn · Oct 25, 2018

Ranjib said:
This is looking awesome, its nicer than my own build. I love the fact that you aligned the Pi corners with the enclosure. USB and all the ports are now accessible. Very, very cool.

It will be helpful to take measurements (volts) and do thorough testing of the build before combining new circuit. The doser pump and ph circuit both will add extra complexity in wiring, knowing your current readings now will help you troubleshoot things later. The dosers build incorporates l293d and can draw as much as 600 mA current, theres a chance they can interfere with other circuits, particularly pH circuit. Make sure you use a voltage isolator.
Things get complicated as you combine the high current and low current things, as we need more sophisticated safety measures, some of which is very hard to get in through-hole form factors. I have struggled with this consistently, particularly if lights are involved. All the lm2596 boards are rated for 3A, and the perfboards also I think has around that limit. But again, from all the information you have provided, I think you are still below these limits, just be thorough and measure as you go. If you have access to oscilloscope knowing the pwm signal is also very useful. Recently, theres 5V dosing pump available via adafruit. If you use those, you can directly power it via pca9685 I think. you dont need an l293d, you'll loose the ability to control pump direction though.
The adafruit guide will be based on l293d and 12v pumps, since thats what I used when I built my doser and I have photos/circuits for those. But something to consider, if you want to simplify circuits.

Thanks, I wanted to place it so that I could have acces to all ports without having to re do jumpers and remove the board. I also wanted to use Ethernet instead of WiFi since my router is right next to my reef tank.

When I was putting my parts together I specifically found a 3 amp power supply just for that reason. I do like the idea of using a 5 volt pump though and will have to look into it. Once I get all the relays and stuff complete I am going to get a current measurement of everything under load and see where I stand.

Ranjib · Oct 25, 2018

b4tn said:
Thanks, I wanted to place it so that I could have acces to all ports without having to re do jumpers and remove the board. I also wanted to use Ethernet instead of WiFi since my router is right next to my reef tank.

When I was putting my parts together I specifically found a 3 amp power supply just for that reason. I do like the idea of using a 5 volt pump though and will have to look into it. Once I get all the relays and stuff complete I am going to get a current measurement of everything under load and see where I stand.

I like this strategy

b4tn · Oct 25, 2018

I have been unable to change the user name and password in reef-pi from the screen. Is there a file I can access from the console or am I doing it wrong in reef-pi?

Ranjib · Oct 25, 2018

b4tn said:
I have been unable to change the user name and password in reef-pi from the screen. Is there a file I can access from the console or am I doing it wrong in reef-pi?

Stop reef-pi service and use the reef-pi command to reset your password using

Code:

sudo systemctl stop reef-pi.service
sudo reef-pi reset-password -user reef-pi -password reef-pi
sudo systemctl start reef-pi.service

LionHeart2017 · Oct 25, 2018

im being really thick today, ive installed reef-pi, its confirmed running, I open up chromium and I cant remember what to type to access reef-pi, I cant find it in the instruction either on the install guide, just says you should be able to access reef-pi through your browser,,,, help

LionHeart2017 · Oct 25, 2018

I just installed, i cant find what I need to type in browser to access reef-pi, ahhh, please help as I cant find it in the install guide

speedstar · Oct 25, 2018

Wow had a terrible night with my controller, not sure if I took a dirty power hit or what. It started with the lights not turning off, and continues with loss of the temp sensor. Unit was accessible the whole time. This has got me thinking. When it lost the temp sensor, it defaulted to 32 degrees turning on the heater. I assume you should always just set your heater a degree or so above the controller so its internal thermostat runs the show in the event of a failure. I had it cranked up a bit more. Luckily i was around for this oddness this evening and the temp never went over 80.1. SO as much as it is most likely common knowledge be sure to keep your heaters built in thermo in range.
Only error was loss of temp sensor

b4tn · Oct 25, 2018

LionHeart2017 said:
I just installed, i cant find what I need to type in browser to access reef-pi, ahhh, please help as I cant find it in the install guide

Do you know the ip address of your raspberry? You can just type that for example http://192.168.1.3 or whatever your ip is, or you can type http://whateveryounamedit.local. It has to be from a computer attached to your home network though unless you set up port forwarding

LionHeart2017 · Oct 25, 2018

b4tn said:
Do you know the ip address of your raspberry? You can just type that for example http://192.168.1.3 or whatever your ip is, or you can type http://whateveryounamedit.local. It has to be from a computer attached to your home network though unless you set up port forwarding

I'll try the second, I found it couple of weeks ago, just today it's been one of them days where everything goes wrong and doesn't go as planned, I have access to the raspberry pi through vnc, just couldn't find what to type into the browser

LionHeart2017 · Oct 25, 2018

ive now found it, had to type'' localhost/80'' into the browser address bar, is this normal behaviour or I set it up wrong

I don't see this mentioned anywhere, or instructions on actually how to access reef-pi once its installed which isn't clear, well not clear enough for me, as I can only really follow instructions lol

pickupman66 · Oct 25, 2018

How about corals.

Ranjib · Oct 25, 2018

LionHeart2017 said:
ive now found it, had to type'' localhost/80'' into the browser address bar, is this normal behaviour or I set it up wrong

I don't see this mentioned anywhere, or instructions on actually how to access reef-pi once its installed which isn't clear, well not clear enough for me, as I can only really follow instructions lol

I have mentioned this here,
https://learn.adafruit.com/reef-pi-installation-and-configuration/raspberry-pi-configuration
Let me know if this is not clear, I’ll update the guide accordingly

Mendeln · Oct 25, 2018

Ranjib said:
Adafruit guide on how to build a kessil controller + Actinic/LED strip controller using reef-pi has been published https://learn.adafruit.com/reef-pi-lighting-controller
happy reefing,

there is a small typo at configuration and testing...
"There are three Kessil connectors, J1 to J3, connected to pin 0, 1 and 2,3 and 3,4 respectively."
this should be 4 and 5 or?

Ranjib · Oct 25, 2018

Mendeln said:
there is a small typo at configuration and testing...
"There are three Kessil connectors, J1 to J3, connected to pin 0, 1 and 2,3 and 3,4 respectively."
this should be 4 and 5 or?

Yes, thank you so much for pointing it out. I’ll update the guide

LionHeart2017 · Oct 25, 2018

Ranjib said:
I have mentioned this here,
https://learn.adafruit.com/reef-pi-installation-and-configuration/raspberry-pi-configuration
Let me know if this is not clear, I’ll update the guide accordingly

For a complete noob like me, it's not clear to me, I need instructions like,

Once reef-pi is installed open your web browser on your raspberry pi and type ....and hit enter

I need fool proof instructions [emoji2]

Ranjib · Oct 25, 2018

Ranjib said:
Yes, thank you so much for pointing it out. I’ll update the guide

Done. I have updated the guide. Thanks again. Let me know if you find any other errors

Ranjib · Oct 25, 2018

LionHeart2017 said:
For a complete noob like me, it's not clear to me, I need instructions like,

Once reef-pi is installed open your web browser on your raspberry pi and type ....and hit enter

I need fool proof instructions [emoji2]

acknowledged