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

[16Reefer170]

On this note, I have also made a website page on additional resources on reef-pi, outside the guides and website. https://reef-pi.github.io/additional-documentation/resources/ . This page has links for reef-pi build threads, api usage, press releases etc.

Check it out and let me know if you would like to see any other categories, and if there are some other popular/helpful link that I have missed/I should be adding.

Wow, this is perfect. What a wonderful resource!

 

[bishoptf]

Its not a reef-pi build but something else I am working on, an old pi2 in a sandwich meat container. It actually works pretty well, the sides are kind of flimsy without the lid but thought this might give some folks some ideas when looking for a small container, I think its a keeper.

 

[crusso1993]

Its not a reef-pi build but something else I am working on, an old pi2 in a sandwich meat container. It actually works pretty well, the sides are kind of flimsy without the lid but thought this might give some folks some ideas when looking for a small container, I think its a keeper.

Where's the beef?

 

[bishoptf]

Where's the beef?

lol, I was up late last night looking for something to mount a Pi in and I couldn't find any of the micro usb power supplies and since I had ordered some of the buck converters I started looking for something else to mount it in. Saw a stack of these and it was like Eureka, they actully work pretty well and the lids snap on them, if it was a pi zero it would have a bunch of space.

 

[Bigtrout]

Ha, well that would do it, haven't used the macro functions so something new to fiddle with...woot!

Yes the macros are powerful, I use one to shut off all my canister filters for 5 minutes at feeding time to avoid sucking food into the filters, then it turns them back on so I dont have to remember.

 

[Ranjib]

Its not a reef-pi build but something else I am working on, an old pi2 in a sandwich meat container. It actually works pretty well, the sides are kind of flimsy without the lid but thought this might give some folks some ideas when looking for a small container, I think its a keeper.

Oh yeah . Tupper wires are actually one of my favorites. I mount these arcade buttons on them as well, and my son loves them. Cheap, easy to cut holes. A dremel is all you need

 

[buddy.]

So I am having a couple of problems that hopefully I can sort out.

Firstly, my temperature sensors drop out randomly. Today they randomly dropped out while I was not home and the heater got stuck on and my tank got to 102F.
It also failed to send an alert (alerts had been working previously)
I use a titanium heater that usually runs from its own controller but I decided to try reef-pi t control it.
If I power off my reef-pi and turn it back on, all the sensors are working again.

The other problem is that my metal halide does not turn off when I shut the relay off in the equipment tab. I tried other equipment on that outlet and it works perfectly, just seems the MH gets stuck on.

Just an update on this, I removed all temperature probes except for two and it has been stable. Ill try to add a probe every few days to see if I can find the culprit.

For some reason my google app password for alerts stopped working, so I generated a new password and this seems to be working again. I also created an adafruit.io account and set up alerts for extra safety.

I still need some help on how I can get my relay board to turn off my metal halide light.

 

[theatrus]

Just an update on this, I removed all temperature probes except for two and it has been stable. Ill try to add a probe every few days to see if I can find the culprit.

For some reason my google app password for alerts stopped working, so I generated a new password and this seems to be working again. I also created an adafruit.io account and set up alerts for extra safety.

I still need some help on how I can get my relay board to turn off my metal halide light.

Just to check - have you tried another relay on the board? Do they all do this?

One option is to still cascade relays. What I mean by this is use the existing relay to switch a larger relay, and in turn that larger relay switches your load. You would use a relay with a 240V coil voltage in this application, for example:

https://www.digikey.com/product-det...mc-div/G7L-2A-T-CB-AC200-240/Z5243-ND/1816486

This is an oversized relay in terms of amps, but you should be able to find something similar locally (240V contact, 240V coil, single pole).

 

[buddy.]

Just to check - have you tried another relay on the board? Do they all do this?

One option is to still cascade relays. What I mean by this is use the existing relay to switch a larger relay, and in turn that larger relay switches your load. You would use a relay with a 240V coil voltage in this application, for example:

https://www.digikey.com/product-det...mc-div/G7L-2A-T-CB-AC200-240/Z5243-ND/1816486

This is an oversized relay in terms of amps, but you should be able to find something similar locally (240V contact, 240V coil, single pole).

Yup I tried a relay on the other board and its the same. I can get it to turn off eventually by toggling the switch several times.
Thanks for that link, I will have a look at getting that set up.

On to a different topic, I just got a bunch of errors related to the adafruit.io account. It seems that everything is working on my adafruit account and the error is vague so I am not sure if it means anything.

 

[Zekth]

We may have to add the context of the error in this report. Nothing else on the console?

@Ranjib you think it's revelant to add more informations in this part? BTW i really have to clean this UI

 

[crusso1993]

On this note, I have also made a website page on additional resources on reef-pi, outside the guides and website. https://reef-pi.github.io/additional-documentation/resources/ . This page has links for reef-pi build threads, api usage, press releases etc.

Check it out and let me know if you would like to see any other categories, and if there are some other popular/helpful link that I have missed/I should be adding.

Perhaps an additional resource for those wanting to employ reef-pi to FW tanks like @Bigtrout build and if @Tom Bishop documents a build for his FW system.

Here is Bigtrout's build...
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-reef-pi-build-freshwater-style.531338/

 

[Ranjib]

Perhaps an additional resource for those wanting to employ reef-pi to FW tanks like @Bigtrout build and if @Tom Bishop documents a build for his FW system.

Here is Bigtrout's build...
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-reef-pi-build-freshwater-style.531338/

I have added bigtrout ‘s thread already , it’s just not published yet.

 

[Ranjib]

We may have to add the context of the error in this report. Nothing else on the console?

@Ranjib you think it's revelant to add more informations in this part? BTW i really have to clean this UI

There are two common issues when the adafruit.io integration , 1) having space in names, which causes encoding issues , 2) reaching the free account limit (10 feeds among others ) . Alternatively if we can document /streamline the diagnosis of these two issues, it will be helpful as well

 

[sector9]

I added another Sparkfun temperature probe to my build but I am having issues with some of the readings. As you can see from the temperature graph, I will randomly get erroneous temperature readings of -1000 to -3000 from this new probe.

I know people have reported problems with extending the cable for their sensors but both cables for my temperature sensors are exactly the same length. I am running the latest release of reef-pi 2.0
I occasionally get errors like "temperature sub-system. Failed to read sensor Display. Error:First line of device file does not ends with YES" but not at the times associated with these erroneous readings.

Any ideas on what could be causing the issue?

Another problem has been email alert notifications. I receive the "test" email without problems but I realized that I am not receiving other notification emails. For example, I set this probe to send alerts if temp is below 77 and nothing was sent. There is an error message "535 5.7.8 Username and Password not accepted. Learn more at 5.7.8 https://support.google.com/mail/?p=BadCredentials k18sm21237749ioa.39 - gsmtp" but if there's a problem with the username or password, how come the test email comes through without difficulty?

I thought I would follow up on my post. I made a change so that both probes weren’t being read at the same time (I.e. one probe checks the temperature every 600 seconds and the other probe checks every 601 seconds) and I haven’t had any further issues over the past 2 months with the erroneous temp readings.

For the record, I also bought a battery powered Fisher Scientific temp probe that has an alarm function for $10 off eBay. This gives me a backup alarm if my temp is way out of line.

 

[16Reefer170]

I also get the {“error “:” not found.... I think it is due to exceeding the feed limit (or maybe a leftover space in my names). Is there a way in reef-pi to exclude specific items from feeding to adafruit? I only need to send the temp & ATO data, however I would like to add 1 or 2 more temp sensors.

 

[Ranjib]

I also get the {“error “:” not found.... I think it is due to exceeding the feed limit (or maybe a leftover space in my names). Is there a way in reef-pi to exclude specific items from feeding to adafruit? I only need to send the temp & ATO data, however I would like to add 1 or 2 more temp sensors.

Not currently. But this is something i defiitely want to support

 

[bishoptf]

Perhaps an additional resource for those wanting to employ reef-pi to FW tanks like @Bigtrout build and if @Tom Bishop documents a build for his FW system.

Here is Bigtrout's build...
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-reef-pi-build-freshwater-style.531338/

Yeah I never did write anything up, I started reading through @Bigtrout thread and I had no idea that @Michael Lane was making pre-built hats, holy cow that is some awesome work. That hat makes things pretty easy to add the various components, I kind of wanted to do more soldering and get better with circuits but man thats the quick path to success. I will try to write something up if folks think it will be beneficial.

@Bigtrout are you running co2 or just running a low tech setup, your crypts look really nice, I'd like to know more about the ph probes that you mentioned I think in your build thread, sounds like @Michael Lane is building them also? How do I find out more information about them, I would like one also to just monitor stuff, I am close to having my co2 build complete, just need to find a co2 tank and a couple more items. I wouldn't use it to control my co2 but would like to just record and maybe alert if something is off.

 

[Bigtrout]

Yeah I never did write anything up, I started reading through @Bigtrout thread and I had no idea that @Michael Lane was making pre-built hats, holy cow that is some awesome work. That hat makes things pretty easy to add the various components, I kind of wanted to do more soldering and get better with circuits but man thats the quick path to success. I will try to write something up if folks think it will be beneficial.

@Bigtrout are you running co2 or just running a low tech setup, your crypts look really nice, I'd like to know more about the ph probes that you mentioned I think in your build thread, sounds like @Michael Lane is building them also? How do I find out more information about them, I would like one also to just monitor stuff, I am close to having my co2 build complete, just need to find a co2 tank and a couple more items. I wouldn't use it to control my co2 but would like to just record and maybe alert if something is off.

The hat has everything you need, either as a connector or pin breakout. The ONLY weakness is if you need more than 9 pwm channels, because even though it has a built in pca9685, only 9 of the 16 are useable. That becomes a non issue when reef pi allows multiple pca9685 addresses.

I am not running co2, but im not low tech either. I run 2 beamswork lights and am putting 90 par to the substrate. Medium high light, overstocked fish. Lots of flow. The fish fertilize the plants! I have almost perfect water from my tap so I do a 15 to 20 percent water change every 1 to 2 weeks. Heck im trimming half a 5 gallon bucket of plants out every 2 weeks, I dont need more growth, lol.

I got my ph board from @Jonathan Troutt and will only monitor PH. The ph driver for the board is not quite ready yet. But you can find details on the board in the links @Ranjib just consolidated. JT bought a bunch of boards and the components and assembled them for a few of us, I think @Diamond1 has one from him as well. Still up in the air on a ph probe, but the american marine pinpoint ph probe is the one that I have been researching. Good reviews at a decent price. You need to make sure its a double junction probe, and is rated for continuous use(in saltwater for reefers).

If i were to run co2, id love to just have reef pi be able to control a gpio output to a solenoid on the co2 system.

 

[bishoptf]

The hat has everything you need, either as a connector or pin breakout. The ONLY weakness is if you need more than 9 pwm channels, because even though it has a built in pca9685, only 9 of the 16 are useable. That becomes a non issue when reef pi allows multiple pca9685 addresses.

I am not running co2, but im not low tech either. I run 2 beamswork lights and am putting 90 par to the substrate. Medium high light, overstocked fish. Lots of flow. The fish fertilize the plants! I have almost perfect water from my tap so I do a 15 to 20 percent water change every 1 to 2 weeks. Heck im trimming half a 5 gallon bucket of plants out every 2 weeks, I dont need more growth, lol.

I got my ph board from @Jonathan Troutt and will only monitor PH. The ph driver for the board is not quite ready yet. But you can find details on the board in the links @Ranjib just consolidated. JT bought a bunch of boards and the components and assembled them for a few of us, I think @Diamond1 has one from him as well. Still up in the air on a ph probe, but the american marine pinpoint ph probe is the one that I have been researching. Good reviews at a decent price. You need to make sure its a double junction probe, and is rated for continuous use(in saltwater for reefers).

If i were to run co2, id love to just have reef pi be able to control a gpio output to a solenoid on the co2 system.

Guess I need to contact @Jonathan Troutt and see about a ph probe. I have pretty much the opposite going on, since I have betta's no other fish in my tanks, I have some shrimp and a couple snails but my bioload is pretty low. My lights are capable of pumping out a lot of light but would tend to have algae problems if I do that, still trying to find the right mix, trying low doses of ferts etc, just haven't got it dialed in quite yet. Thats what I am planning on doing is controlling my co2 solenoid with reef-pi, using a clibbard mouse and its normally closed so if I loose power co2 shuts off, at least that is the theory haven't tested it yet. Here is my regulator build:

Well they probably don't want us clogging up the reef-pi thread with a bunch of FW jabber, so I'll read more through your build thread, nice case BTW.

 

[b4tn]

Guess I need to contact @Jonathan Troutt and see about a ph probe. I have pretty much the opposite going on, since I have betta's no other fish in my tanks, I have some shrimp and a couple snails but my bioload is pretty low. My lights are capable of pumping out a lot of light but would tend to have algae problems if I do that, still trying to find the right mix, trying low doses of ferts etc, just haven't got it dialed in quite yet. Thats what I am planning on doing is controlling my co2 solenoid with reef-pi, using a clibbard mouse and its normally closed so if I loose power co2 shuts off, at least that is the theory haven't tested it yet. Here is my regulator build:

Well they probably don't want us clogging up the reef-pi thread with a bunch of FW jabber, so I'll read more through your build thread, nice case BTW.

You actually have me thinking. Which is a bad thing lol. I was digging through pictures and found a single pic of my planted tank from 2005. Do I need another tank?