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

[Bigtrout]

@Bigtrout and others, appears that they have discontinued the sale of the DJ powerstrips. I know we now have the option of using the tplink smart interfaces but not sure I want or need to go down that path for my new build. I am looking on ebay for used relay packs and there are several. My question is if I want to go through and replace the internal relay with something better what would your recommendation be? Best bang for buck relay etc.

Thanks in advance! :)

Bang for the buck is an 8 channel relay from amazon, 4 outlets, an enclosure and build your own relay pack. If you are comfortable with ac mains wiring this is the cheapest and imho best way to go. Advantages are you can wire the relays either normally open or normally closed.
I wired mine normally closed so that if my raspberry pi fails the relays are closed and equipment is still on. If the relay board fails...10 bux and swap it out rather quickly.

I personally would not mess with a used dj strip. They use the same type relay as youd be using to roll your own.

Now if you want to get fancy you can sink alot of money into better relays but space becomes a premium with better commercial type relays.

 

[bishoptf]

Bang for the buck is an 8 channel relay from amazon, 4 outlets, an enclosure and build your own relay pack. If you are comfortable with ac mains wiring this is the cheapest and imho best way to go. Advantages are you can wire the relays either normally open or normally closed.
I wired mine normally closed so that if my raspberry pi fails the relays are closed and equipment is still on. If the relay board fails...10 bux and swap it out rather quickly.

I personally would not mess with a used dj strip. They use the same type relay as youd be using to roll your own.

Now if you want to get fancy you can sink alot of money into better relays but space becomes a premium with better commercial type relays.

Thanks for the reply, I thought you built yours but couldn't remember.

Yeah I'm comfortable with AC wiring I've done a good bit, the problem i have is the enclosure part, what did you use for an enclosure? If you know of any good build how to's for the relay stuff shoot me a PM etc, some of the ones I've seen cobbled together not really how I'd want to have it, for me it was always figuring out a decent enclosure.

Update: This one looks pretty decent https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/another-reef-pi-build.506894/page-4, but would like something more compact, always the dang enclosure. I keep almost getting a 3d printer and that would be nice to print something out for the enclosure. Wiring looks really straight forward, nothing difficult there that I see.

 

[bishoptf]

We'll have DLI web pro and shelly one (pm) support in 2020.

Thanks I figured there was something in the work just wasn't sure. I saw some references to possibly a larger tank, what size are you thinking you will want to do?

 

[Ranjib]

Thanks I figured there was something in the work just wasn't sure. I saw some references to possibly a larger tank, what size are you thinking you will want to do?

I would like to do the water box frag 85.3 or 105.3, but not sure yet.
the house I purchased is 100 year old , but remodeled right before we bought it (kinda fixer upper). The seller did roof, floor, drywall etc.. but lot of things still needs to be done. I think I’ll be busy weigh hvac, water heater and electrical upgrades for next 6 months and then focus on the new tank. By then I’ll have some more confidence on how big tank I can manage and how much plumbing I can do to reduce water change burden.
Till then I plan to focus a lot on wood working , garden/landscape and electrical stuff. Expect Shelly/sonoff integration to come out as part of that, along side home assistant and may be sprinkler system/mqtt .. etc

 

[bishoptf]

I would like to do the water box frag 85.3 or 105.3, but not sure yet.
the house I purchased is 100 year old , but remodeled right before we bought it (kinda fixer upper). The seller did roof, floor, drywall etc.. but lot of things still needs to be done. I think I’ll be busy weigh hvac, water heater and electrical upgrades for next 6 months and then focus on the new tank. By then I’ll have some more confidence on how big tank I can manage and how much plumbing I can do to reduce water change burden.
Till then I plan to focus a lot on wood working , garden/landscape and electrical stuff. Expect Shelly/sonoff integration to come out as part of that, along side home assistant and may be sprinkler system/mqtt .. etc

Yes once you get a house the projects never seem to end, always something else to work on. Electrical is interesting in an old house, I would assume its been upgraded at some point and hopefully they did a proper job with ground etc. If its two wire circuits they are interesting things to retrofit, at least around here for the older 2-wire homes GFCI are the outlets to meet code since they do not rely on a ground to trip. I have a friend with an older house like built back in the 60's and thats what he used to replace outlets that had been *cough* replace with the normal 3-wire outlets that didn't have a ground.

Sounds like you will be busy and probably learning a lot of new things, congrats again on the house, going to go look up the waterbox frag boxes. :)

 

[robsworld78]

Hi, so I wanted to introduce myself to everyone, I’m Rob and I love aquarium controllers. :) About 5 years ago I started building a controller of my own Robo-Tank, it’s pretty cool but expensive for a few reasons, limited web access and the display ran on an Arduino so it was slow to load like the 90s. A few months ago I decided I was going to use a Raspberry Pi to get away from the Arduino display and have a web page communicate with the controller.

Someone mentioned I should build some hardware for Reef-pi but I didn’t think Ranjib would appreciate that, man was I wrong, he’s been very welcoming, thanks! Doing the web app would be a big learning curve for me which is why I never had it, Arduino code is easy compared to what would be needed for an app so I thought instead of trying to re-invent the wheel I would help contribute to Reef-pi and help it grow.

I’ve been spending some time with it and impressed, great job Ranjib. One thing that’s definitely lacking is setup info, and I fully understand why, so I plan to make a nice set of manuals and such and keep them updated, hoping I can bug some of you for info on features I’m not sure about.

I love making boards, I’m not a professional by any means but can do ok and have been involved with electronics basically my whole life. What I want to do for Reef-pi is make a variety of hardware and patch cables so it’s easy to connect equipment. I love how expandable Reef-pi is, with the right hardware skies the limit and I have lots of ideas.

Open-source concept is fairly new to me, even though Reef-pi is open-source I still viewed it as Ranjib’s software and never imagined I could do this, so to be fair everything I make will be open-source as well. I have to figure out the Git-hub and such but once I get things finalized I’ll just post files on my site for now. I also make 3D cases for everything so those will be available as well.

Well here’s my first Reef-pi prototype. :)

I have a smaller version without pH and a nice 8 outlet AC power bar that plugs in the DB9's.

 

[That Crusso Kid]

Hi, so I wanted to introduce myself to everyone, I’m Rob and I love aquarium controllers. :) About 5 years ago I started building a controller of my own Robo-Tank, it’s pretty cool but expensive for a few reasons, limited web access and the display ran on an Arduino so it was slow to load like the 90s. A few months ago I decided I was going to use a Raspberry Pi to get away from the Arduino display and have a web page communicate with the controller.

Someone mentioned I should build some hardware for Reef-pi but I didn’t think Ranjib would appreciate that, man was I wrong, he’s been very welcoming, thanks! Doing the web app would be a big learning curve for me which is why I never had it, Arduino code is easy compared to what would be needed for an app so I thought instead of trying to re-invent the wheel I would help contribute to Reef-pi and help it grow.

I’ve been spending some time with it and impressed, great job Ranjib. One thing that’s definitely lacking is setup info, and I fully understand why, so I plan to make a nice set of manuals and such and keep them updated, hoping I can bug some of you for info on features I’m not sure about.

I love making boards, I’m not a professional by any means but can do ok and have been involved with electronics basically my whole life. What I want to do for Reef-pi is make a variety of hardware and patch cables so it’s easy to connect equipment. I love how expandable Reef-pi is, with the right hardware skies the limit and I have lots of ideas.

Open-source concept is fairly new to me, even though Reef-pi is open-source I still viewed it as Ranjib’s software and never imagined I could do this, so to be fair everything I make will be open-source as well. I have to figure out the Git-hub and such but once I get things finalized I’ll just post files on my site for now. I also make 3D cases for everything so those will be available as well.

Well here’s my first Reef-pi prototype. :)

I have a smaller version without pH and a nice 8 outlet AC power bar that plugs in the DB9's.

Welcome!

Those are some nice enclosures and I know I'm not the only one that will be very interested in everything you add!

 

[bishoptf]

Hi, so I wanted to introduce myself to everyone, I’m Rob and I love aquarium controllers. :) About 5 years ago I started building a controller of my own Robo-Tank, it’s pretty cool but expensive for a few reasons, limited web access and the display ran on an Arduino so it was slow to load like the 90s. A few months ago I decided I was going to use a Raspberry Pi to get away from the Arduino display and have a web page communicate with the controller.

Someone mentioned I should build some hardware for Reef-pi but I didn’t think Ranjib would appreciate that, man was I wrong, he’s been very welcoming, thanks! Doing the web app would be a big learning curve for me which is why I never had it, Arduino code is easy compared to what would be needed for an app so I thought instead of trying to re-invent the wheel I would help contribute to Reef-pi and help it grow.

I’ve been spending some time with it and impressed, great job Ranjib. One thing that’s definitely lacking is setup info, and I fully understand why, so I plan to make a nice set of manuals and such and keep them updated, hoping I can bug some of you for info on features I’m not sure about.

I love making boards, I’m not a professional by any means but can do ok and have been involved with electronics basically my whole life. What I want to do for Reef-pi is make a variety of hardware and patch cables so it’s easy to connect equipment. I love how expandable Reef-pi is, with the right hardware skies the limit and I have lots of ideas.

Open-source concept is fairly new to me, even though Reef-pi is open-source I still viewed it as Ranjib’s software and never imagined I could do this, so to be fair everything I make will be open-source as well. I have to figure out the Git-hub and such but once I get things finalized I’ll just post files on my site for now. I also make 3D cases for everything so those will be available as well.

Well here’s my first Reef-pi prototype. :)

I have a smaller version without pH and a nice 8 outlet AC power bar that plugs in the DB9's.

Welcome,

Welcome!

Those are some nice enclosures and I know I'm not the only one that will be very interested in everything you add!

+1 Welcome!

 

[Bigtrout]

Hi, so I wanted to introduce myself to everyone, I’m Rob and I love aquarium controllers. :) About 5 years ago I started building a controller of my own Robo-Tank, it’s pretty cool but expensive for a few reasons, limited web access and the display ran on an Arduino so it was slow to load like the 90s. A few months ago I decided I was going to use a Raspberry Pi to get away from the Arduino display and have a web page communicate with the controller.

Someone mentioned I should build some hardware for Reef-pi but I didn’t think Ranjib would appreciate that, man was I wrong, he’s been very welcoming, thanks! Doing the web app would be a big learning curve for me which is why I never had it, Arduino code is easy compared to what would be needed for an app so I thought instead of trying to re-invent the wheel I would help contribute to Reef-pi and help it grow.

I’ve been spending some time with it and impressed, great job Ranjib. One thing that’s definitely lacking is setup info, and I fully understand why, so I plan to make a nice set of manuals and such and keep them updated, hoping I can bug some of you for info on features I’m not sure about.

I love making boards, I’m not a professional by any means but can do ok and have been involved with electronics basically my whole life. What I want to do for Reef-pi is make a variety of hardware and patch cables so it’s easy to connect equipment. I love how expandable Reef-pi is, with the right hardware skies the limit and I have lots of ideas.

Open-source concept is fairly new to me, even though Reef-pi is open-source I still viewed it as Ranjib’s software and never imagined I could do this, so to be fair everything I make will be open-source as well. I have to figure out the Git-hub and such but once I get things finalized I’ll just post files on my site for now. I also make 3D cases for everything so those will be available as well.

Well here’s my first Reef-pi prototype. :)

I have a smaller version without pH and a nice 8 outlet AC power bar that plugs in the DB9's.

Nice boards and enclosures!!!

That is ths magic of open source. The community. Everyone can add to the project in their own way. You can make a nice board and enclosure. Others can add ideas. Some can help on the software end. Im pretty much a hardware and troubleshooting guy so I try to cruise the threads here and help out people who need help with a build.
The other great thing is how modular reef pi is. You can customize your build to your needs. All in all it makes for a great experience. I know its easy to go buy a 1000 dollar controller and just hook it up but you can build a reef pi thats just as capable for less than a quarter of that and get a learning experience and sense of accomplishment when its your own controller running your tank!

 

[Bigtrout]

Thanks for the reply, I thought you built yours but couldn't remember.

Yeah I'm comfortable with AC wiring I've done a good bit, the problem i have is the enclosure part, what did you use for an enclosure? If you know of any good build how to's for the relay stuff shoot me a PM etc, some of the ones I've seen cobbled together not really how I'd want to have it, for me it was always figuring out a decent enclosure.

Update: This one looks pretty decent https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/another-reef-pi-build.506894/page-4, but would like something more compact, always the dang enclosure. I keep almost getting a 3d printer and that would be nice to print something out for the enclosure. Wiring looks really straight forward, nothing difficult there that I see.

I built an all in one enclosure. All my boards, ph and real time clock module, mosfet pwm modules, power supplies and outlets are all in one box. I used a 10 dollar parts box from Home Depot as my case. Its not glamourous but functional. Theres enough room for expansion but its still small enough to mount under my stand even with a 40 breeder sump.

 

[That Crusso Kid]

Its not glamourous but functional.

Sounds a lot like what people have been saying about me my whole life! :p

 

[AquaRaider44]

Hello,

I think this is a question for @Ranjib but might be for someone else who is good at this stuff.

I would like to figure out how to delete all recorded data in the database before a date. For example, delete everything before January 22 1 month ago. I still want to keep all calibrations and settings.

The reason being that I opened this bug and it is stuck showing wrong info https://github.com/reef-pi/reef-pi/issues/1054

If deleting certain date ranges is not possible is it possible to delete all the recorded data but keep all calibrations and settings.

 

[Des Westcott]

Hello,

I think this is a question for @Ranjib but might be for someone else who is good at this stuff.

I would like to figure out how to delete all recorded data in the database before a date. For example, delete everything before January 22 1 month ago. I still want to keep all calibrations and settings.

The reason being that I opened this bug and it is stuck showing wrong info https://github.com/reef-pi/reef-pi/issues/1054

If deleting certain date ranges is not possible is it possible to delete all the recorded data but keep all calibrations and settings.

Hi

Try follow this

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

@Ranjib tried what you posted above and it seemed to have worked. Definitely fixed the historical graph, however it's still using the 0-12 scale so small changes (in 0.XX's) are hard to see. Is there a way to force 5-10 range? Or did I miss something?... Which is possible because of the wall of...

www.reef2reef.com

Is for editing graphs, but should work to delete all data for a range.

 

[Badfish2too]

Hi, so I wanted to introduce myself to everyone, I’m Rob and I love aquarium controllers. :) About 5 years ago I started building a controller of my own Robo-Tank, it’s pretty cool but expensive for a few reasons, limited web access and the display ran on an Arduino so it was slow to load like the 90s. A few months ago I decided I was going to use a Raspberry Pi to get away from the Arduino display and have a web page communicate with the controller.

Someone mentioned I should build some hardware for Reef-pi but I didn’t think Ranjib would appreciate that, man was I wrong, he’s been very welcoming, thanks! Doing the web app would be a big learning curve for me which is why I never had it, Arduino code is easy compared to what would be needed for an app so I thought instead of trying to re-invent the wheel I would help contribute to Reef-pi and help it grow.

I’ve been spending some time with it and impressed, great job Ranjib. One thing that’s definitely lacking is setup info, and I fully understand why, so I plan to make a nice set of manuals and such and keep them updated, hoping I can bug some of you for info on features I’m not sure about.

I love making boards, I’m not a professional by any means but can do ok and have been involved with electronics basically my whole life. What I want to do for Reef-pi is make a variety of hardware and patch cables so it’s easy to connect equipment. I love how expandable Reef-pi is, with the right hardware skies the limit and I have lots of ideas.

Open-source concept is fairly new to me, even though Reef-pi is open-source I still viewed it as Ranjib’s software and never imagined I could do this, so to be fair everything I make will be open-source as well. I have to figure out the Git-hub and such but once I get things finalized I’ll just post files on my site for now. I also make 3D cases for everything so those will be available as well.

Well here’s my first Reef-pi prototype. :)

I have a smaller version without pH and a nice 8 outlet AC power bar that plugs in the DB9's.

Hey! Is that mine?

 

[robsworld78]

Thanks for the welcome everyone and @Badfish2too soon it could be, you never know.

 

[Ranjib]

Hi, so I wanted to introduce myself to everyone, I’m Rob and I love aquarium controllers. :) About 5 years ago I started building a controller of my own Robo-Tank, it’s pretty cool but expensive for a few reasons, limited web access and the display ran on an Arduino so it was slow to load like the 90s. A few months ago I decided I was going to use a Raspberry Pi to get away from the Arduino display and have a web page communicate with the controller.

Someone mentioned I should build some hardware for Reef-pi but I didn’t think Ranjib would appreciate that, man was I wrong, he’s been very welcoming, thanks! Doing the web app would be a big learning curve for me which is why I never had it, Arduino code is easy compared to what would be needed for an app so I thought instead of trying to re-invent the wheel I would help contribute to Reef-pi and help it grow.

I’ve been spending some time with it and impressed, great job Ranjib. One thing that’s definitely lacking is setup info, and I fully understand why, so I plan to make a nice set of manuals and such and keep them updated, hoping I can bug some of you for info on features I’m not sure about.

I love making boards, I’m not a professional by any means but can do ok and have been involved with electronics basically my whole life. What I want to do for Reef-pi is make a variety of hardware and patch cables so it’s easy to connect equipment. I love how expandable Reef-pi is, with the right hardware skies the limit and I have lots of ideas.

Open-source concept is fairly new to me, even though Reef-pi is open-source I still viewed it as Ranjib’s software and never imagined I could do this, so to be fair everything I make will be open-source as well. I have to figure out the Git-hub and such but once I get things finalized I’ll just post files on my site for now. I also make 3D cases for everything so those will be available as well.

Well here’s my first Reef-pi prototype. :)

I have a smaller version without pH and a nice 8 outlet AC power bar that plugs in the DB9's.

Welcome to reef2reef, home of reef-pi. We are delighted to have you among us Rob. Thank you for making robotank hardware reef-pi compatible , this will provide North American users even more options to choose from. I really appreciate the help with manuals and documentation. We have been lacking on that significantly

let us know if you need any help and please drop us a post here as and when new hardware become available

 

[robsworld78]

Welcome to reef2reef, home of reef-pi. We are delighted to have you among us Rob. Thank you for making robotank hardware reef-pi compatible , this will provide North American users even more options to choose from. I really appreciate the help with manuals and documentation. We have been lacking on that significantly

let us know if you need any help and please drop us a post here as and when new hardware become available

Thanks Ranjib and I understand why manuals are last on the list, it's the least I can do.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

For a relatively technical person I am drawing a blank on how to hook up a Kasa HS103
Based on an earlier post I found this

Use reef-pi 3.0,
1) Go to Configuration -> drivers -> New driver (type: hs103, address: "IP:9999" , use proper ip)
2) Go to connectors -> outlets -> new -> create an outlet and associate it with the newly created driver (pin 0)
3) Create a new equipment or associate an existing equipment with the new connector

For the IP section would it just be the local IP or do you need to know the port #? How can I find the port number of my switch? I think I once logged on to my router but completely lost the log in information...

 

[AquaRaider44]

Hi

Try follow this

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

@Ranjib tried what you posted above and it seemed to have worked. Definitely fixed the historical graph, however it's still using the 0-12 scale so small changes (in 0.XX's) are hard to see. Is there a way to force 5-10 range? Or did I miss something?... Which is possible because of the wall of...

www.reef2reef.com

Is for editing graphs, but should work to delete all data for a range.

Thank you!
I did manage to solve it

Hopefully @Ranjib will add a check to make sure that all the graph data is in logical order.

 

[Ranjib]

For a relatively technical person I am drawing a blank on how to hook up a Kasa HS103
Based on an earlier post I found this

Use reef-pi 3.0,
1) Go to Configuration -> drivers -> New driver (type: hs103, address: "IP:9999" , use proper ip)
2) Go to connectors -> outlets -> new -> create an outlet and associate it with the newly created driver (pin 0)
3) Create a new equipment or associate an existing equipment with the new connector

For the IP section would it just be the local IP or do you need to know the port #? How can I find the port number of my switch? I think I once logged on to my router but completely lost the log in information...

You have to specify the port, use 9999 if you are not sure.