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

[Dave's Reef]

Mine boots from a USB SSD with no SD card needed.

Raspberry Pi Boot from USB​

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My understanding that it only works with Raspberry Pi 2B v1.2 and up My Reef-pi is running on Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.2 ​

Anyone do this?

 

[Schreiber]

Hi! Here I am using 12v dc pumps, and they are working perfectly, I use them with the PCA9685 controller connected to a board with 4 MOSFETs that control the 4 dosing heads.

Interesting setup!


Are you able to control speed running them this way?

 

[Moises Longhi]

Interesting setup!


Are you able to control speed running them this way?

Yes, by the signal received at the pca9685 controller when transmitting to the mosfet it controls the rotation, in this configuration I fine-tune the dosage.

 

[Ranjib]

My main display tank stats … ph drop indicates water change

 

[Vnomus]

It's 12v 6rpm. I haven't covered the motor but it's probably not a bad idea....

Ok, after a week wet testing, a bunch of updates posted, including an integrated housing for the motor per Ranjib s suggestion (Thanks!)....

 

[bishoptf]

My main display tank stats … ph drop indicates water change

Here are some of mine...

Fun Fact I have alerts on return pump power and ato storage so I get text messages when either one hits a threshold. I have been testing some of @robsworld78 PH monitor and can say positively that they are a nice piece of hardware, the one I had used previously was getting interference and had lots of spikes, the new one from Rob works like a treat. I also have a newer version to test out also, hopefully have that up and working but here is a close up of my PH for a day with drops where I carbon dosed (drop ph when dosing vinegar):

Now if I could just get it to help with the algae and other tank issues I have things would be great :)

 

[robsworld78]

Here are some of mine...

Fun Fact I have alerts on return pump power and ato storage so I get text messages when either one hits a threshold. I have been testing some of @robsworld78 PH monitor and can say positively that they are a nice piece of hardware, the one I had used previously was getting interference and had lots of spikes, the new one from Rob works like a treat. I also have a newer version to test out also, hopefully have that up and working but here is a close up of my PH for a day with drops where I carbon dosed (drop ph when dosing vinegar):

Now if I could just get it to help with the algae and other tank issues I have things would be great :)

Thanks for sharing, it's nice to see my circuit was an improvement, it always makes me feel good that it's doing better than others considering how much effort I put into it.

 

[bishoptf]

Thanks for sharing, it's nice to see my circuit was an improvement, it always makes me feel good that it's doing better than others considering how much effort I put into it.

Now if I could just convince him to come out with a long powerstrip version...:)

 

[bishoptf]

So talking about skinny powerstrip version, I am attempting to make a copy of a DJ powerstrip, not with a PCB but just an off the shelf relay strip and outlets and was poking around the inside of a dj powerstrip and noticed a couple of things. They state on the strip that its rated for 15amps total but that one plug will also support 15amps. The cheap 5v relay strip that I purchased the relays are rated for 10amp max. No big deal but when I was poking around the inside of the DJ I noticed all of the wiring was 16ga which from my understanding only supports 10amps. Just something to keep in mind, probably not an issue from most of what we run but really surprised to see 16ga wire being used in the strip, I then noticed that the power cord on the strip was also 16ga, lol.

 

[GaryE]

So talking about skinny powerstrip version, I am attempting to make a copy of a DJ powerstrip, not with a PCB but just an off the shelf relay strip and outlets and was poking around the inside of a dj powerstrip and noticed a couple of things. They state on the strip that its rated for 15amps total but that one plug will also support 15amps. The cheap 5v relay strip that I purchased the relays are rated for 10amp max. No big deal but when I was poking around the inside of the DJ I noticed all of the wiring was 16ga which from my understanding only supports 10amps. Just something to keep in mind, probably not an issue from most of what we run but really surprised to see 16ga wire being used in the strip, I then noticed that the power cord on the strip was also 16ga, lol.

When I first setup my system, I did that with a crappy $20 harbor freight 48" power strip and a bunch of relays.. It all failed about 6 months in. And after all was said and done, didn't really save anything..

 

[bishoptf]

When I first setup my system, I did that will a crappy $20 harbor freight 48" power strip and a bunch of relays.. It all failed about 6 months in. And after all was said and done, didn't really save anything..

Yeah not really planning on running with it, will be used for testing, also give me something to see if I can figure out the 3d design. If I wanted to make something more production worthy I would do what @robsworld78 has but lay it out in a long strip vs the block, thats the right idea just want long and skinny vs short and stubby. :)

 

[robsworld78]

Now if I could just convince him to come out with a long powerstrip version...:)

Maybe one day I'll look at it again, I have been asked a few times about it. The reason I have it this way is so there's lots of room between outlets for AC adapters, never cool when you can't use a plug due to one of them. It also gets harder for a shipping box.

 

[bishoptf]

Maybe one day I'll look at it again, I have been asked a few times about it. The reason I have it this way is so there's lots of room between outlets for AC adapters, never cool when you can't use a plug due to one of them. It also gets harder for a shipping box.

Yeah understand it causes all kinds of issues, having to make the enclosure 2-piece and glue together since my 3d print bed is not big enough...wait this may be a good reason to get a bigger 3d printer...hmmmm ;)

 

[Vnomus]

Now that I've got the mechanical part of the rollermat done, I'm thinking it would be great if it could be controlled/monitored by the reef-pi. I guess it would require tying it into the GPIO pins. Basically I just want to monitor when it activates and for how long. In case of a malfunction (float stuck open=doesn't activate for some period, or float stuck closed = keeps running) and maybe be able to calculate the fleece consumption rate (time to change the roll).

So would any of the existing drivers support that, or is that something I'd need to code? (I code C#/.Net by day, no Go exp but I suppose I can try something new).....

 

[bishoptf]

Now that I've got the mechanical part of the rollermat done, I'm thinking it would be great if it could be controlled/monitored by the reef-pi. I guess it would require tying it into the GPIO pins. Basically I just want to monitor when it activates and for how long. In case of a malfunction (float stuck open=doesn't activate for some period, or float stuck closed = keeps running) and maybe be able to calculate the fleece consumption rate (time to change the roll).

So would any of the existing drivers support that, or is that something I'd need to code? (I code C#/.Net by day, no Go exp but I suppose I can try something new).....

I assume its power via an outlet, something easy at least to monitor some aspects would be to plug it into a Kasa TP-link power strip outlet that has energy monitoring capability. You can then create an analong PH input and monitor the electricity usage. You can then create thresholds etc based on the usage, something easy to do and provides some data, here are screenshots for my return pump.

Looks nicer in grafana:

That also shows you where the pump was turned off and back on, also have it send me a text when that happens etc, I do the same thing for the water level in my ATO storage bin, just something to think about. :)

 

[Ranjib]

Now that I've got the mechanical part of the rollermat done, I'm thinking it would be great if it could be controlled/monitored by the reef-pi. I guess it would require tying it into the GPIO pins. Basically I just want to monitor when it activates and for how long. In case of a malfunction (float stuck open=doesn't activate for some period, or float stuck closed = keeps running) and maybe be able to calculate the fleece consumption rate (time to change the roll).

So would any of the existing drivers support that, or is that something I'd need to code? (I code C#/.Net by day, no Go exp but I suppose I can try something new).....

Why not control it as an ATO? if i understand correctly , the float switch inside the roller mat filter is the one controls when to run the dc motor to roll the fleece.

 

[Vnomus]

Tom/Ranjib, thanks for the advice. Just waiting on some stepdown converters now. I have a bunch of TP-Link plugs but they don't seem to offer any native load-based control/rules, just monitoring. Am I missing some Kasa-native functionality? Looks like a Sonoff S31 flashed with Tasmota could but that seems a bit over complicated for my needs.

 

[Vnomus]

Tom/Ranjib, thanks for the advice. Just waiting on some stepdown converters now. I have a bunch of TP-Link plugs but they don't seem to offer any native load-based control/rules, just monitoring. Am I missing some Kasa-native functionality? Looks like a Sonoff S31 flashed with Tasmota could but that seems a bit over complicated for my needs.

Ok, got the converters and wire it up to GPIO17. However, when I add it in as Input, the ATO driver seems to be setup to poll which is problematic as I could easily miss an event. Is there any way to set it as a pure trigger?

 

[Ranjib]

Ok, got the converters and wire it up to GPIO17. However, when I add it in as Input, the ATO driver seems to be setup to poll which is problematic as I could easily miss an event. Is there any way to set it as a pure trigger?

No. right now reef-pi everywhere uses poll based sensor reading. You can use API to trigger on demand.

 

[bishoptf]

So @robsworld78 @GaryE @Schreiber @Ranjib or anyone else that can let me know if this logic is flawed. I have been slowly working on a DIY relay so I could test some one of the portions of the @Michael Lane reefpi hats. He had a 10 pin section that could drive 5v relays so I made one up and its working but I wanted to use a 9 pin cable, much easier to find vs 10 pin. Basically he has 8pins for gpio and one for gnd and one for 5v which makes 10, but do I need to extend ground from the reef-pi or for the relay unit could I use the ground connection in the relay box? If I can use the ground in the box for the relay unit then I would be left with 9pins, similar to the dj-8 connection which funny doesnt have ground either. I am thinking I can just use the ground in the box but thought I would ask.

Wiring has been a pain and still think there has to be a better way to mount and get access but here is what I have come up with, keep in mind its a work in progress and I would make changes to the 3d stuff but this is what I have at the moment, 2 sections since it's longer than my 3d bed, need a larger printer :)

If anyone is interested in more details let me know, 7 outlets are wired NO and one is wired NC. Like I said there are things I would change in the 3d model but at 8hr to print a side its good enough, lol.

Let me know what you guys think about the ground and if I am off base, thanks. :)