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

[Des Westcott]

Hey there everyone, I wanted to drop a quick thank you for all the work that folks have put into this project and for Ranjib for making it happen, this platform is fantastic and I'm super happy to be using it!

On thing I've had a lot of trouble with: I have a multistep Macro that I use for auto-water changes, it works great when I run it manually. However It never runs at all when I try to call it from a timer. I'm using 4.0, I'll likely update to 4.1 in the near future now that I know it's available.

Is there a log somewhere that I can take a look at to see why this timer isn't apparently doing anything? I don't mind spending some time to troubleshoot, but I can't seem to find anywhere that will tell me the what the heck is happening.

Hi

It's an old issue.

Timers triggering Macro's and Macro's triggering other Macro's can only trigger them in reverse. The Macro has to have the "make reversible" box ticked and then the Macro has to be written in reverse. Both in order and and state. I've written a detailed post of this before - I'll see if I can find it.

 

[Des Westcott]

Happy New Year to all.

My year didn't start off well, with a leaking tank, but it was just a plumbing issue from the previous owner and I have managed to sort it out.

I had to pull out all my electrical stuff to get access to where the problem was, so decided to fast-track my Robo-Tank install, which I have to say is going very well. I'm very happy with the Robo-Tank stuff.

While setting up my ATO, I tried once again to get an ATO to trigger a Macro, but I failed again. Is it just me or is this feature still buggy? I created a simple Macro turning an equipment item on for 5 sec and then back off. I then tried to trigger this with a float switch. It does not work as expected. Maybe my expectations were unrealistic. I expected it to sense the float switch (sensor) position, run the Macro if required, when the Macro is complete, to check the sensor and then run again (or not) depending on sensor status.

I did try all combinations of Macro's in reverse and "Make Reversible". I also tried the "One Shot" feature not fully realising it's ability / purpose, but figured it out soon enough.

Can anyone please confirm whether it's just me or is it possible to get an ATO to trigger a Macro.

 

[Mono]

You can leave it blank. It’s there for different sensors, for example tds sensors use mg/l.
pH is a logarithmic value and does not have unit

Hey, Ranjib, I did want to take a moment (or more than a moment, perhaps a minute) to say thank you. I just fired up my Raspberry PI 3B+ which had been sitting on my desk for a year and I really appreciate what you've done for the community with this project. So, Thank You!

 

[Mono]

Oops...errant post.

 

[Schreiber]

System Clock Time Different From reef-pi time? How to fix?

Try stepping through this guide. Giving it a little kick in the pants by changing the time zone, then resetting the system may fix it. I've never seen the actually go out of sync like this though.

 

[Mono]

Try stepping through this guide. Giving it a little kick in the pants by changing the time zone, then resetting the system may fix it. I've never seen the actually go out of sync like this though.

Yeah, it was my newbie bad. Just had to refresh the page. Guess I have to get used to some quirks. Thanks

 

[Mikeneedsahobby]

Happy New Year to all.

My year didn't start off well, with a leaking tank, but it was just a plumbing issue from the previous owner and I have managed to sort it out.

I had to pull out all my electrical stuff to get access to where the problem was, so decided to fast-track my Robo-Tank install, which I have to say is going very well. I'm very happy with the Robo-Tank stuff.

While setting up my ATO, I tried once again to get an ATO to trigger a Macro, but I failed again. Is it just me or is this feature still buggy? I created a simple Macro turning an equipment item on for 5 sec and then back off. I then tried to trigger this with a float switch. It does not work as expected. Maybe my expectations were unrealistic. I expected it to sense the float switch (sensor) position, run the Macro if required, when the Macro is complete, to check the sensor and then run again (or not) depending on sensor status.

I did try all combinations of Macro's in reverse and "Make Reversible". I also tried the "One Shot" feature not fully realising it's ability / purpose, but figured it out soon enough.

Can anyone please confirm whether it's just me or is it possible to get an ATO to trigger a Macro.

I haven’t tried this myself. My ato is running from the ato tab only. I run a macro triggered by a timer to run awc. This is written in reverse order and is reversible.

 

[Des Westcott]

I haven’t tried this myself. My ato is running from the ato tab only. I run a macro triggered by a timer to run awc. This is written in reverse order and is reversible.

Yeah. My ATO runs just fine as well and I've had my AWC working for over a year now. All good.

HOWEVER, I want to set up physical button to trigger a specific Macro. To run my "Feed" Macro. This should be possible if you can trigger a Macro from an ATO. The ability is there in there in the UI to chose whether you want your ATO to trigger Equipment or a Macro. I'm just unable to get it to do it.

 

[Mikeneedsahobby]

Yeah. My ATO runs just fine as well and I've had my AWC working for over a year now. All good.

HOWEVER, I want to set up physical button to trigger a specific Macro. To run my "Feed" Macro. This should be possible if you can trigger a Macro from an ATO. The ability is there in there in the UI to chose whether you want your ATO to trigger Equipment or a Macro. I'm just unable to get it to do it.

Got it! Makes sense.

 

[Ranjib]

Hey, Ranjib, I did want to take a moment (or more than a moment, perhaps a minute) to say thank you. I just fired up my Raspberry PI 3B+ which had been sitting on my desk for a year and I really appreciate what you've done for the community with this project. So, Thank You!

Thank you

 

[Martin Lowry]

Hey smart electrical people. I have a question about transistors.

The background. I have found that the jebao dp4s doser is not strong enough for my ato and awc needs. (Water storage in basement half the house away from the tank). I am planning to switch to a kamoer khs 12v dosing head. The dp4 pulls about 0.15a at 12v The kamoer pulls 0.8a at 12v. I currently have a @Michael Lane dosing adapter that uses a uln2803a transistor.

I believe the uln2803a is rated for 0.5a output per channel. Can I tie two channels in parallel on input and output sides two get 1.0a? Is this enough for a motor with 0.8a requirement? Or should I tie three channels together?

if none of this will work can you suggest a transistor to use with the kamoer pump?

thanks.

Not sure if it will help but I just setup my ATO and AWC trash cans in the basement and I used Neptune Systems PMUP v2's ($39.99 or 49.99 with the 24v power pack) as they claim 14' head.

 

[Martin Lowry]

using reef-pi for couple of non reef tank related use case :)

anyone into model railroad ??

Nice! Is it N or HO gauge? I have a 4'x10' HO setup in the basement with little to no landscaping done as yet. I think it's going to be a multi-year project. How are you using Reef-Pi with your layout?

 

[Ranjib]

Nice! Is it N or HO gauge? I have a 4'x10' HO setup in the basement with little to no landscaping done as yet. I think it's going to be a multi-year project. How are you using Reef-Pi with your layout?

N scale. Buiilt to spend the next few years fun times with my son. Funny, my reef keeping journey (and reef-pi) started with him, 5 years back :-).

Using reef-pi to do basic DC controls that the bachman controller do, forward/reverse and speed control. The mp3 driver in reef-pi was added for this :-), my son uses it to make the train sound (crossing , horn etc). I intend to use it for IR motion sensors (Crossing) and street lights (timers, and broken lights flickering etc) as well, but that's far down the road. No plan for encoder/dcc yet. My setup is not exactly model railroad, as in I'm not recreating a specific time and location, but the parts, techniques are same, except you may see paw petrol of some weird kids stuff in there.. because you know.. Ryan thinks that cool :-)

 

[Martin Lowry]

N scale. Buiilt to spend the next few years fun times with my son. Funny, my reef keeping journey (and reef-pi) started with him, 5 years back :).

Using reef-pi to do basic DC controls that the bachman controller do, forward/reverse and speed control. The mp3 driver in reef-pi was added for this :), my son uses it to make the train sound (crossing , horn etc). I intend to use it for IR motion sensors (Crossing) and street lights (timers, and broken lights flickering etc) as well, but that's far down the road. No plan for encoder/dcc yet. My setup is not exactly model railroad, as in I'm not recreating a specific time and location, but the parts, techniques are same, except you may see paw petrol of some weird kids stuff in there.. because you know.. Ryan thinks that cool :)

Awesome! We started with a Bachman DCC box set. My Son liked it so much that we then made the layout table in the basement and added a Digitrax DCC throttle. Then added a Digitrax USB module and PC running some open Source railroad software. Then we added a WiFi module and we can now use Tablet or Smart Phone running the Engine Driver app as throttles for the Loco's and operating switch with DCC encoders in them. Seems like the sky's the limit with this DCC stuff. :D The problem we found is designing the track layout so we can run multiple Loco's at the same time without crashes. Progress has slowed as my boy's are into gaming and that takes allot of their time. :(

 

[StlSalt]

I added my temp sensor to the Raspberry Pi, but I must have configured something wrong. It says my temp is 185 in the reef-pi dashboard. Any ideas why?

 

[elysics]

I added my temp sensor to the Raspberry Pi, but I must have configured something wrong. It says my temp is 185 in the reef-pi dashboard. Any ideas why?

Is your sensor cable crossing or in the vicinity of any power cables?

 

[StlSalt]

Is your sensor cable crossing or in the vicinity of any power cables?

No I'm an idiot. Still learning the GPIO pins. I had the ground on the wrong pin. It's reporting properly now.

 

[StlSalt]

Double post

 

[Malaclypse13]

Thank you for the kind words and sharing the specific issue with the macro. Is the macro reversible?

Thanks for the response! I think Des Wescott referenced an earlier post about this specific problem, I did not know this was a known issue, guess I my search skills need a little work.

The macro is not reversible, though it's simple enough I could probably write a dedicated one for the timer that will do what I need it to. Thinking in reverse is going to be a bit of a twist, but that should be fine.

 

[Malaclypse13]

Hi

It's an old issue.

Timers triggering Macro's and Macro's triggering other Macro's can only trigger them in reverse. The Macro has to have the "make reversible" box ticked and then the Macro has to be written in reverse. Both in order and and state. I've written a detailed post of this before - I'll see if I can find it.

Thanks for the hint, I'll use the handy search feature to see if I can dig it up and go from there.