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

[Ranjib]

I extended mine between the plug and sensor with telephone wire, soldered and heatshrink. I've had no problems

you have a reef-pi build ? or its related to something else, just curious

 

[pickupman66]

Disk space looks fine, it did lock up I believe at the OS level, Ranjib mentioned watchdog, and I agree need to enable something that if the OS hangs you are notified. Will think about this and see what the easiest yet reliable solution.

Let's get someore data points, what Linux raspbian version do you have installed and when was the last time you did OS updates?

Do a uname -a at the command prompt and report back.

Linux raspberrypi 4.14.62-v7+ #1134 SMP Tue Aug 14 17:10:10 BST 2018 armv7l GNU/ Linux


NO, I have not updated Raspbian since initial install. @Ranjib would you prefer I move this over to my build thread?

 

[stefanm]

There is no way 12v and 5 volts should shock you. Be careful you may have 120v floating around somehow.
Check your power supply wiring. Are they wall warts or enclosed supplies?
Check that your 120v hot and neutral are not swapped, which could bring your entire case to 120v if the hot is grounded by mistake. Do you have a wiring picture we can look at?

I'm not in the US and we have 220~240 volts on mains, on a good day, the potentially offending PSU's are 2 pin, so should work either way, I'll swap them out and see if the problem persists. I did gander though some of the RPI forums and others had experienced similar, fingers crossed I'll get this sorted this week.

 

[Ranjib]

Linux raspberrypi 4.14.62-v7+ #1134 SMP Tue Aug 14 17:10:10 BST 2018 armv7l GNU/ Linux


NO, I have not updated Raspbian since initial install. @Ranjib would you prefer I move this over to my build thread?

It’s ok, this is a very serious thing. I do like if it’s in your thread, as it sets some realistic expectations and we can see some timeline of build start to first serious issue happening etc,,,

 

[pickupman66]

OK. I will go cross post what I have done there.

Link to build thread

 

[dmolavi]

Quick question on parts - I have 8 LEDs that I'm going to mount to the top of my enclosure. Rather than have them soldered in, I'd like some sort of quick connect/disconnect capability, like a terminal block or something along those lines, that can be easily mated/demated if need be. Arrow has a bajillion things, obviously, but i'm not sure of the proper term for the part that i'm looking for...any insight?

 

[dmolavi]

I'm thinking this (plus it's mate) are what I need:
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/phoenix-contact/1844167/277-14190-ND/5189089

@theatrus, you're more well versed than I in this...would you agree this would serve it's purpose?

 

[theatrus]

I'm thinking this (plus it's mate) are what I need:
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/phoenix-contact/1844167/277-14190-ND/5189089

@theatrus, you're more well versed than I in this...would you agree this would serve it's purpose?

Looks pretty chonky, plus you need both ends. Perhaps use a 10-20pin ribbon cable with a normal square header and an IDC plug?

 

[bigcheese]

Disk space looks fine, it did lock up I believe at the OS level, Ranjib mentioned watchdog, and I agree need to enable something that if the OS hangs you are notified. Will think about this and see what the easiest yet reliable solution.

Hey all, new to the thread, not new to the Pi or Linux. Unfortunately very well versed in picking through syslog.. ;)
@pickupman66 , when did you get that last email message about the ATO pump (in the real world)? I always get suspicious when there's a big gap in timestamps, especially when they're followed by an NTP update message. Slewing time > 5 minutes usually has a supremely detrimental effect of all things running on *nix. I've seen big changes even corrupt filesystems (although is more common when stepping the system time backward).
This is one of the few times we could absolutely correlate the real-world time vs. what's in syslog.

 

[Ranjib]

Hey all, new to the thread, not new to the Pi or Linux. Unfortunately very well versed in picking through syslog.. ;)
@pickupman66 , when did you get that last email message about the ATO pump (in the real world)? I always get suspicious when there's a big gap in timestamps, especially when they're followed by an NTP update message. Slewing time > 5 minutes usually has a supremely detrimental effect of all things running on *nix. I've seen big changes even corrupt filesystems (although is more common when stepping the system time backward).
This is one of the few times we could absolutely correlate the real-world time vs. what's in syslog.

The time slew was after the system restarted.

 

[bishoptf]

@Tom Bishop awesome diagnosis man :) , love it , very methodical , I would do the exact same step. We are lucky to have you with us. Really appreciate it.

Eh I'm just trying to help out, I can help with the system stuff, I need to come up to speed on more of the code workings but really would like to help where I can to free your time up to do great stuff. I still would like to help out with the code stuff but trying to help out where I can, @pickupman66 was running an older kernel which could be the major issue. I'm running the latest kernel and while our configurations could be different mine has been up for 28days so far and not a blip.

 

[geekengineer]

I'm new to this forum and this project. I haven't been able to go through all of the history yet. Is there anyone who has done a water changing system on the reef-pi? Is there any plans to implement other sensors? for example ORP, salinity, or dissolved Oxygen. etc.

I had been implementing a hydroponics solution using a pi and I could see how I might be able to borrow from that hardware to do something similar with this reef-pi setup.

 

[theatrus]

I'm new to this forum and this project. I haven't been able to go through all of the history yet. Is there anyone who has done a water changing system on the reef-pi? Is there any plans to implement other sensors? for example ORP, salinity, or dissolved Oxygen. etc.

I had been implementing a hydroponics solution using a pi and I could see how I might be able to borrow from that hardware to do something similar with this reef-pi setup.

I’ll probably work on a setup to do an AWC, which is the next step in tank automation for me. I’m doing the logistics work, like adding the drain fitting in the garage :)

The pH board should be able to support ORP just fine. To be honest I have no clue what it is in my tank or really care to control it.

 

[geekengineer]

Thanks.. I'm not sure how important those other sensors are anyway, but I was just curious if anyone has tried to implement them. I really need to have AWC for my next setup if I go through with it. I am just not good at keeping up with water changes and it just a got to have at this point. Maybe eventually I could even go as far as auto salt water mixing.. lol

 

[Ranjib]

I'm new to this forum and this project. I haven't been able to go through all of the history yet. Is there anyone who has done a water changing system on the reef-pi? Is there any plans to implement other sensors? for example ORP, salinity, or dissolved Oxygen. etc.

I had been implementing a hydroponics solution using a pi and I could see how I might be able to borrow from that hardware to do something similar with this reef-pi setup.

I personally want support for humidity sensor. The ph board can also be configured to work with orp sensor. I dont know what and how I'll use EC/Salinity or ORP sensors in particular hence never bothered with these. Which mean I am unlikely to do the legwork :-). but if someone else wants to do this, I am more than welcome to shepherd/incorporate those features.
The timer and macro features are pretty powerful already. I know another thread here was attempting to do some auto feeding with reef-pi (dosing pump). In 3.0 we'll make these two features even more powerful. I am still worried about the learning curve involved in effectively using these. I am thinking of similar to 1.0 guides , 2.0 guides should cover some workflow automation, like water changes, auto feeding, photoshoots, titrations etc. Its lot of work though :-/ .. documentations

 

[Bigtrout]

I agree with expanding documentation, its hard sifting thru a big thread sometimes to find answers. Everyone has their talents, and I thank all those that are good at coding and those that have designed and built the various hats and boards, they are a definite help to get a working reef pi to someone who builds for the first time.

The whole reef pi community is very helpful when someone has a problem, and I try to help when I can. My specialty is on the hardware end and troubleshooting, which is what I try to help others with.

It may help in the documentation end of things to expand the guides for some of the common equipment that is used instead of going strictly by the guides. For example, those that dont or cant source the ADJ power bar, and use an 8 channel relay. I would be willing to help in that respect. Since alot of work was put into designing hats for reef pi, perhaps a guide comparing the various hats and what features each one allows would help people decide how to proceed best for their individual reef/turtle/frog/planted aquarium.

 

[Zekth]

[Double post]

 

[Zekth]

We've not spent so much time on documentation unfortunately. @Ranjib has done a good job on the adafruit one but most of the answer are lost in many threads.
One of my goal for the future is to have a proper Development / use documentation for Reef pi.

 

[dmolavi]

I'd be more than happy to assist with docs, including Pico board docs.

 

[KevinDodge]

I am new to this board as well and have not been able to read through all 400 pages.

You talk of a V3 of reef-pi. Is this already in progress? Is it a major redesign or just minor revisions? Is there information somewhere on what the V3 design will be like? I would love to help. I have half written multiple versions of a reef-pi controller myself only to lose interest. I would much rather contribute to an active community :-)