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

Celsius
That's pushin 200 degrees f if my math is right.

 

Fahrenheit, I am sure it would be fine but adding a fan wont hurt and I have a little one laying around from another project.

 

80C = 176F, I can't remember equations but Google does. At 80-85C the pi slows processes down to preserve itself. But 80F is only 26-27C. Just was asking to clarify. You can put a temp icon in the toolbar of Raspbian, right click on the toolbar-add/remove panel items-add and scroll down to temp monitor and hit add.

 

Yes it's kinda scary to see my pi running so hot. I put a 12v fan next to it and got it down to 55 celsius.
I'll add the temp icon after work tonight.

 

I used the same heat sink epoxy I use for LED lights and my laser builds. Way overkill but i'll post up the brand and part later tonight

 

Sorry to ask, but which post? Believe I've answered all but in the "heat of the fight" may have overlooked one
Thanks for all your good work!

 

I couldn't stop myself...

 

On its way...thanks for the heads up.
Now I can stop bringing my Weller Station home from work every time I need it.

 

You did answer , the thread on your PCB HAT

 

Hi,
Just starting to look into making DIY controller and stumbled upon Reef-Pi and the community that follows. Before I get too deep into supplies and planning, I was hoping someone could give me a list of what capabilities the Reef-Pi can provide so far?

I would basically like to have the following functions myself if possible:
Water Temp Monitoring and Control
Outlet controls for pumps skimmer etc.
Salinity Monitoring
PH Monitoring
Convert my SB Reef Light to be controlled
Dosing pump control
Display to tablet wirelessly if possible or Attached screen
Notifications if anything out of the norm via email or text

Can these be done and are there any other cool functions that can be done?
Thanks and I look forward to the journey!

 

All of the above can be done with reef-pi except salinity monitoring. It can also do ATO. I believe that @Ranjib and company figured with an ATO system salinity monitoring wasn't really needed.

 

As @Diamond1 mentioned, most of these can be done except salinity monitoring. I intentionally punt on it, since its expensive, requires frequent calibration and I could not see a compelling reason to have it (compared to other features). If you are new to electronics, I would also recommend to start simple and aim for multiple controller instead of one thing that does all of it (to keep circuit complexity at minimum). The dosing pump control will be improving in coming days to include stepper motors and few other goodies. Salinity monitoring has been a constant ask for the community, and if I get extra time then I might shoot for it in our next release cycle.

 

I am pretty familiar with electronics and some programming however, have never messed with Raspberry Pi or Arduino type setups, if were to use multiple controllers can they all be linked together into a single dashboard or would it be a dashboard for each controller/function.

 

that is exactly what we are working for next release . currently not, but soon..

 

So I saw a video already about SB Reef Light and converting, but can the SB Reef Light Timer version be converted to work with Reef-Pi and can it do more functions other than channel dimming, such as storm effect etc. Although I haven't seen documented evidence that those affects are truly beneficial to coral, it would still be cool to have

 

I don't know the specifics about sb reef lights, I'll let someone with experience on them chime in. On the light module feature, reef-pi currently support manual dimming, auto mode (12 intensity profile with 2 hour intervals and linear interpolation in between them), diurnal mode. We'll be incorporating a notion of custom profile for variable DC equipment (such as light and wavemakers) in next release that will allow users to do storm or any other arbitrary simulation with lights.

With all that being said, I also want to call out that reef-pi UI is backed by API, which is very powerful and let you extend reef-pi in pretty much any manner that you want. Put other way you can write few lines of python to use jacks api (variable DC output) to achieve the storm effect .. right now.

 

@Ranjib Would the dc light control your talking about be able to run dimmable flourescent ballasts like these? https://webbuilder.asiannet.com/957/files/SD218-40.pdf
I'm considering a hybrid light system with both LEDs and t5hos.

 

Definitely should be able to control that ballast.

 

I'm trying to figure out how to do it with current reef pi software and I'm not sure how to convert the light control in reef pi from pwm to 0-10v dc or if it's even possible.
I'm thinking I can do it with L293D chip that the dosing pumps use and declare the jacks in the light control tab.

 

Isnt that what @Ranjib does in his adafruit guide?