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

[elysics]

Interesting info, can you send pictures of the damage and how you fixed it ?

I heard that the DS18B20 are prone to fail but never knew why. Thanks a lot in advance !

Didn't take pictures at the time sadly but the VCC line was completely rusted through. The others were spotless. The initial failure mode was that i was getting temperature spikes that started at 39-40°C and then shot up to 85°C, sometimes they stayed there until i wiggled the cable, i thought my connector was bad, sometimes it went away on it's own. Eventually, it was constantly reporting 85°C and no amount of wiggling changed that.

Here are some of the remains of the white glue, you can still see traces of rusted copper.

What i did to fix it was completely remove that white stuff, shorten the cable and to-92 legs until i was left with shiny metal, and soldered them back together. Heatshrinked the individual lines and another heatshrink around the outer cable isolation the exposed lines and half of the to-92 package. Then i potted the whole thing in a plasticstraw shroud with some hot melt, temporarily until i get my hands on some silicone.

If you are going to buy new ones, buy the to92 chips and do the cabling and potting yourself from the start, much cheaper and less ******.

 

[DWKDiver]

Didn't take pictures at the time sadly but the VCC line was completely rusted through. The others were spotless. The initial failure mode was that i was getting temperature spikes that started at 39-40°C and then shot up to 85°C, sometimes they stayed there until i wiggled the cable, i thought my connector was bad, sometimes it went away on it's own. Eventually, it was constantly reporting 85°C and no amount of wiggling changed that.

Here are some of the remains of the white glue, you can still see traces of rusted copper.

What i did to fix it was completely remove that white stuff, shorten the cable and to-92 legs until i was left with shiny metal, and soldered them back together. Heatshrinked the individual lines and another heatshrink around the outer cable isolation the exposed lines and half of the to-92 package. Then i potted the whole thing in a plasticstraw shroud with some hot melt, temporarily until i get my hands on some silicone.

If you are going to buy new ones, buy the to92 chips and do the cabling and potting yourself from the start, much cheaper and less ******.

I sealed mine years ago before using. Used heat shrink tubing on top of rubberized under coating paint at the top of metal piece. It seals and STIFFENS the wire so it doesn't bend easily, which I believe helps even more. ALWAYS use an alarm for water temperate just in case. I also have a backup heater in the tank NOT on controller, just set the ON temp a little below set temp of controller heater. All this from experience!

 

[DWKDiver]

I have Rob's board and it is great. Get the latest full blown version, better than the earlier version I have. I was 99% complete with my 2nd diy controller and saw what he offered and haven't regretted a second. Reef pi updates seem to be far in-between these days and 5.2 is last version I can use due to later version not working with 12v dc dosers and a few other issues for awhile now. Autism on fixes myself.....

Correction I use 5.1. 5.2 won't run dc dosers at all for me.

 

[elysics]

Correction I use 5.1. 5.2 won't run dc dosers at all for me.

Yep, same here

 

[elysics]

I sealed mine years ago before using. Used heat shrink tubing on top of rubberized under coating paint at the top of metal piece. It seals and STIFFENS the wire so it doesn't bend easily, which I believe helps even more. ALWAYS use an alarm for water temperate just in case. I also have a backup heater in the tank NOT on controller, just set the ON temp a little below set temp of controller heater. All this from experience!

Yeah, i never had real problems, i just got annoying email spam and it messed up my graphs because the chart minimum and chart maximum settings don't work properly. But i also never let the room cool out completely in the winter, i have unheated ambient temperature tanks and stuff standing around.

 

[bishoptf]

Didn't take pictures at the time sadly but the VCC line was completely rusted through. The others were spotless. The initial failure mode was that i was getting temperature spikes that started at 39-40°C and then shot up to 85°C, sometimes they stayed there until i wiggled the cable, i thought my connector was bad, sometimes it went away on it's own. Eventually, it was constantly reporting 85°C and no amount of wiggling changed that.

Here are some of the remains of the white glue, you can still see traces of rusted copper.

What i did to fix it was completely remove that white stuff, shorten the cable and to-92 legs until i was left with shiny metal, and soldered them back together. Heatshrinked the individual lines and another heatshrink around the outer cable isolation the exposed lines and half of the to-92 package. Then i potted the whole thing in a plasticstraw shroud with some hot melt, temporarily until i get my hands on some silicone.

If you are going to buy new ones, buy the to92 chips and do the cabling and potting yourself from the start, much cheaper and less ******.

These are the shizzle in regards to temp probes if you want the best @theatrus has the best ones you can purchase and they are real DS18B20 - https://blueacro.com/collections/se...or-reefvolt-and-reefpi?variant=32680136835153

:)

 

[AquaKey]

@Ranjib @robsworld78 - trying to get the lighting setup with reef pi and robo tank but running into an issue. Tested with my multimeter and looks like reef pi is only changing the voltage on pin 8 (ch1) all other pins/ch only output 10v no matter what I change in reef pi. Any thoughts?

 

[robsworld78]

@Ranjib @robsworld78 - trying to get the lighting setup with reef pi and robo tank but running into an issue. Tested with my multimeter and looks like reef pi is only changing the voltage on pin 8 (ch1) all other pins/ch only output 10v no matter what I change in reef pi. Any thoughts?

What controller do you have and which reef-pi version are you running? I wonder if the connectors aren't setup correctly. Here's the link for the manuals, find the one for your controller, then in the manual go to the PWM ports page and at the bottom will be the pin numbers. For what it's worth also go to the admin tab in reef-pi and press the reload button, maybe that will sort it out.

 

[AquaKey]

What controller do you have and which reef-pi version are you running? I wonder if the connectors aren't setup correctly. Here's the link for the manuals, find the one for your controller, then in the manual go to the PWM ports page and at the bottom will be the pin numbers. For what it's worth also go to the admin tab in reef-pi and press the reload button, maybe that will sort it out.

It's the latest robo tank, pi zero w 2 (as the deluxe package). Reef pi 5.2. Attached is the setting on the pins, matches the manual. Have reloaded/rebooted multiple times. It's weird that channel 1 is fine but the rest are constant 10v no matter what I do. I've tried the 3.5mm plugs and the screw terminal pins too, same behavior.

 

[AquaKey]

It's the latest robo tank, pi zero w 2 (as the deluxe package). Reef pi 5.2. Attached is the setting on the pins, matches the manual. Have reloaded/rebooted multiple times. It's weird that channel 1 is fine but the rest are constant 10v no matter what I do. I've tried the 3.5mm plugs and the screw terminal pins too, same behavior.

One other thing I just noticed, channel 1 outputs 10v at max. Ch 2-8 outputs 12v with no change based on changing inputs in reef pi. The dip switches also have no effect on ch 2-8.

 

[robsworld78]

One other thing I just noticed, channel 1 outputs 10v at max. Ch 2-8 outputs 12v with no change based on changing inputs in reef pi. The dip switches also have no effect on ch 2-8.

Hmm, seems a little strange as 2 channels share a circuit. Could you start a new thread for this, maybe copy and paste these posts, I'll make up a diagram for with some points to check voltage and will post it there.

 

[JachPot]

My robo tank reef pi comes in Saturday and I'm excited. What pump do you guys use for auto top off?

 

[Ranjib]

im using 12v submersible pumps with higher lift (6feet) Amazon product for my nano and 65G tanks. For the smaller picos im using 12v peristaltic pumps

 

[robsworld78]

My robo tank reef pi comes in Saturday and I'm excited. What pump do you guys use for auto top off?

Sounds like you hit the JachPot lol, I couldn't resist. :) Thanks!!

 

[bishoptf]

I meant to post this some time ago, I still like the DJ8 power strips and they were getting harder and harder to find but low and behold it looks like that is just one of many. It appears that the relay strip is actually made for many other labels, here are some other alternatives, same thing different name:

Eliminator Ez-8
Chauvet SR-8
Ness SP-RP8
Elation SRP8

I am sure there are others and sometimes if searching on ebay 8 channel relay pack will give you more options, just thought I would pass this along for anyone looking for options. :)

p.s. these are near as nice as the one's Rob puts together and sells but still an option.

 

[bishoptf]

I meant to post this some time ago, I still like the DJ8 power strips and they were getting harder and harder to find but low and behold it looks like that is just one of many. It appears that the relay strip is actually made for many other labels, here are some other alternatives, same thing different name:

Eliminator Ez-8
Chauvet SR-8
Ness SP-RP8
Elation SRP8

I am sure there are others and sometimes if searching on ebay 8 channel relay pack will give you more options, just thought I would pass this along for anyone looking for options. :)

p.s. these are near as nice as the one's Rob puts together and sells but still an option.

What I meant to say was that these powerstrips are NOT near as nice as @robsworld78 robotank outlets but they do work. :)

 

[JachPot]

How are you guys mounting your non contact sensors to your sumps?

 

[Ranjib]

was playing with my macro lens after a long time....
coco worm ...

another type of feather duster (forgot the name), one of my favorite

myagi tort

colors are very subdued by some reason, it looks much brighter in color (blue )
red milipora .

alveopora

...
planning to start setting up more pico tanks. now that most of the house work has settled, and post pandemic life is settling in.. i am thinking i should at least start the other tanks. I have the space and all the spare hardware.. theres no point in keeping all those things in shelves. ..and some of the corals in the main display tank will soon need some pruning, which i can use as started corals for the new tanks.

 

[JachPot]

im using 12v submersible pumps with higher lift (6feet) Amazon product for my nano and 65G tanks. For the smaller picos im using 12v peristaltic pumps

Did you just strip the ends off of these and wire them directly?

 

[Ranjib]

Did you just strip the ends off of these and wire them directly?

i connect the 12v power supply directly through these barrel jack connectors. They are either controlled by reef-pi via kasa. And recently for couple of setups i am directly wiring them through float switch (no reef-pi, no network dependency).