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

Ryan115 · Jan 1, 2018

Ranjib said:
I think we can. Would it be enough if the time granularity is in day ?

I would think so, though probably best not to have the message sent to you at 00:00 of that day.

Ranjib · Jan 1, 2018

Ryan115 said:
I would think so, though probably best not to have the message sent to you at 00:00 of that day.

It would be awesome if you can create an issue with specific details in it (like the one you just mentioned) in reef-pi repo. Since now we have several other folks who are joining the software development work it will easier for all us to track and make progress,

https://github.com/reef-pi/reef-pi/issues/new

No, worries if you cant make it, i'll file one once I get back to my laptop

Ryan115 · Jan 1, 2018

Ranjib said:
It would be awesome if you can create an issue with specific details in it (like the one you just mentioned) in reef-pi repo. Since now we have several other folks who are joining the software development work it will easier for all us to track and make progress,

https://github.com/reef-pi/reef-pi/issues/new

No, worries if you cant make it, i'll file one once I get back to my laptop

done

philshel · Jan 1, 2018

I have a general question for the group. What is everyone's opinion/plans in regards to enclosure(s)? I'm trying to decide if I want to do an all-in-one design or modular. Both have their benefits. I prefer the looks of an all-in-one, but that will be difficult to design especially as all the features are not finalized.

Gareth elliott · Jan 1, 2018

philshel said:
I have a general question for the group. What is everyone's opinion/plans in regards to enclosure(s)? I'm trying to decide if I want to do an all-in-one design or modular. Both have their benefits. I prefer the looks of an all-in-one, but that will be difficult to design especially as all the features are not finalized.

I do not currently use all the features of reef-pi. Using AI lighting for example. Right now mine acts as just a temp controller and ato.

So using one breakout board inside a project box that houses all my relays, temp sensor, ato sensor. This box then connects to the pi.

But in case i wish to expand this i plan on 3d printing a new base to my standard pi display case. And have spaces for additional rj45 jacks so can add more breakout boxes as features are added or i have new use for current features and just connect the pins that are needed.

Ranjib · Jan 1, 2018

I used all inclusive wooden boxes for couple of my initial builds. One of them include 6 outlet relay + dosers + lighting . Later another one was 4 outlet relays, temperature , ato and light controller. I had the last relay included build which has only two outlet, pi zero and temperature sensor (this was a temperature controller only build).

I am working on my next build where the power bar will be different from the main controller housing. I am experimenting with hdmi based connection in between tham. I want to keep the 110V AC electrical parts separate from the rest of controller for safety and wiring related benefits.

Here is a sneak peak:

HDMI breakout board allows upto 18 ports, which means almost 18 outlets

close up

Since reef-pi 1.0 release i am in process of upgrading all the builds. I have pretty much decommisioned all old builds. Current I have kessil specific controller which controls 3 kessil outputs. Another AIO build is half done, but already in service with temperature sensor and ATO sub systems. Once this work in progress housing is build and tested, I'll add the hdmi bits, build a separate power bar specific housing and connect them all.

Ranjib · Jan 1, 2018

BTW, as of now, I am looking for a safe AC outlet housing , which enough space that can place
1) An 8 channel relay
2) A 110V AC to 5V dc power supply unit
3) Can mount an hdmi breakout board

Till now I have found this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037GPLOE/
Any better suggestion ?

MaccaPopEye · Jan 2, 2018

philshel said:
I have a general question for the group. What is everyone's opinion/plans in regards to enclosure(s)? I'm trying to decide if I want to do an all-in-one design or modular. Both have their benefits. I prefer the looks of an all-in-one, but that will be difficult to design especially as all the features are not finalized.

I haven't started using ReefPi yet but I made some more progress on my build today by hooking up power to the 3 LM2569's, connecting the relays to power and the pi GPIOs and started on the temp sensor circuit started.

For an AIO including 16 outlets I am pretty happy with the enclosure I picked. It's going to be tight but it should fit everything as well as have a little room for a tentacle board in the future.

I mentioned it above though that if I was to start again I would go with one box for my 240V outlets and one box for all the other stuff like Ranjib is doing for his 1.0 build.

These ABS enclosures also have very thick walls so some audio jacks wont fit on them, Somnifac has 3D printed a cool panel for them but I don't have a 3D printer so instead I heated up some PVC pipe and cut it up to make a little panel to mount all of mine to.

Ranjib · Jan 2, 2018

MaccaPopEye said:
I haven't started using ReefPi yet but I made some more progress on my build today by hooking up power to the 3 LM2569's, connecting the relays to power and the pi GPIOs and started on the temp sensor circuit started.

For an AIO including 16 outlets I am pretty happy with the enclosure I picked. It's going to be tight but it should fit everything as well as have a little room for a tentacle board in the future.

I mentioned it above though that if I was to start again I would go with one box for my 240V outlets and one box for all the other stuff like Ranjib is doing for his 1.0 build.

These ABS enclosures also have very thick walls so some audio jacks wont fit on them, Somnifac has 3D printed a cool panel for them but I don't have a 3D printer so instead I heated up some PVC pipe and cut it up to make a little panel to mount all of mine to.

I am having better luck with these uxcell project box/enclosures along side the gold plated panel mount female audio jacks. With these combo I am able to finally mount holes and tight the nuts for the connectors. For all wooden enclosures, I had to sand down those places. It was very painful

Ranjib · Jan 2, 2018

I think we still need to do better job in the power bar housing side, if we want these controllers to run several years

Ryan115 · Jan 2, 2018

Ranjib said:
BTW, as of now, I am looking for a safe AC outlet housing , which enough space that can place
1) An 8 channel relay
2) A 110V AC to 5V dc power supply unit
3) Can mount an hdmi breakout board

Till now I have found this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037GPLOE/
Any better suggestion ?

I am using an old APC 750 (harder to standardize for a build though). The battery compartment is nice for housing components.
It was nice to have direct access to all of the outlets, and 2 extra uncontrolled outlets for constant power. Pulling the guts out of a phone charger has kept the 5V supply pretty small. Most of the other metal shell 5V supplies would have been larger, but still should have fit.

philshel · Jan 2, 2018

Ranjib said:
BTW, as of now, I am looking for a safe AC outlet housing , which enough space that can place
1) An 8 channel relay
2) A 110V AC to 5V dc power supply unit
3) Can mount an hdmi breakout board

Till now I have found this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037GPLOE/
Any better suggestion ?

I already have something similar on my tank. They used to be pretty common for tanks and came up used all the time. Put some feelers out and you can probably pick one up for a lot less. I was thinking of using it, and still might if I decide to do modular. If I decide on a all-in-one I figured I'd print something. What is the reasoning behind HDMI as a link? I was thinking more along the lines rj45.

philshel · Jan 2, 2018

Ryan115 said:
I am using an old APC 750 (harder to standardize for a build though). The battery compartment is nice for housing components.
It was nice to have direct access to all of the outlets, and 2 extra uncontrolled outlets for constant power. Pulling the guts out of a phone charger has kept the 5V supply pretty small. Most of the other metal shell 5V supplies would have been larger, but still should have fit.

That's a good ideal, lots of room in there from the looks of it.

Ranjib · Jan 2, 2018

philshel said:
I already have something similar on my tank. They used to be pretty common for tanks and came up used all the time. Put some feelers out and you can probably pick one up for a lot less. I was thinking of using it, and still might if I decide to do modular. If I decide on a all-in-one I figured I'd print something. What is the reasoning behind HDMI as a link? I was thinking more along the lines rj45.

they look modern :-)
Otherwise no particular reason really. I could not find a decent rj45 panel mount jack in amazon and hdmi has lot more pins.

Fish Fan · Jan 2, 2018

Ranjib said:
Yeah, this is the best place to ask reef-pi questions. It will be nice if you start a tank build thread, that way we can have coherent and relevant discussion there , similar to @Somnifac ’s build thread. Here it may be mangled and interleaved by different things related to reef-pi

Hello again! Happy New Year to you and everyone at R2R!

I would love to start a tank thread, and will one day, but right now I'm just in the planning/buying phase, and I have A LOT to learn. I'm not brand new to the hobby, but I'm returning after many years off, and lots has changed. I have also been reading Somnifac's build thread, as you suggested, and as he mentioned, I too am doing the patient thing, trying to plan a really well thought out system that's cleanly installed, and taking my time to get there. Here's hoping I can pull that off! Currently, I have my Raspberry Pi model 3B in hand, and I have a Kessil A360we on order, should be here next week :) Tonight, I'm grabbing the power supply, SD card, cheap case (for now), and mini USB Keyboard. And after that, I'm kind of lost as to what I need for my tank and for reef-pi, but I'm still reading ;-)

I wanted to ask quickly:
I believe I read that reef-pi can control nearly any DC powered light, so does this mean it can control the fairly inexpensive, Chinese freshwater LED's, like Beamswork brand lights and others? Or dimmable lights, like the Finnex Freshwater Planted?

I may want to supplement my Kessil with a couple dimmable T5's, this should be no problem, right?

And maybe this is more of a personal build thread type question, but I'm clueless when it comes to circulation pumps and plans, and I would love some suggestions. What are you guys using that plays nicely with the reef-pi system? I want to eventually be able to keep SPS, so I'd like to plan my flow right from the start. I have an Innovative Marine Nuvo Black (not the AIO) 40 gallon, measuring about 24"L x 20"W x 21"H. Any ideas to get me pointed in the right direction (keeping reef-pi in mind) would be greatly appreciated, and I will do my own research from there.

Thank you, Ranjb, and everyone else for your help!

-FF

Fish Fan · Jan 2, 2018

Ranib, I wanted to ask you, are you running an Imagitarium 6.6 AIO with a PAR 38 bulb run by reef -pi? If so, I really want to emulate this build at my place of work. For a long time I have been intrigued by the Imagitarium line of tanks (some of them, anyway), and I just ordered a 6.6 AIO as an upgrade for my wife's simple Betta tank that was old and scratched. I really think this tank kit would make a nice, small freshwater panted, or a nice saltwater pico. How do yo feel about this tank, and especially about controlling it with a reef-pi unit?

I really, really appreciate your time in developing this software, as well as your time responding to my questions personally!! Please know that I am clueless in terms of programming and electronics, but I have been running some brand of free Linux since RedHat 5.2 in the Fall of 1995. I am very much a supporter of free software, and I really appreciate your efforts with this project. If I can donate to your project, or help you in any way, please let me know.

Sincerely,

-FishFan

Ranjib · Jan 3, 2018

Fish Fan said:
Hello again! Happy New Year to you and everyone at R2R!

I would love to start a tank thread, and will one day, but right now I'm just in the planning/buying phase, and I have A LOT to learn. I'm not brand new to the hobby, but I'm returning after many years off, and lots has changed. I have also been reading Somnifac's build thread, as you suggested, and as he mentioned, I too am doing the patient thing, trying to plan a really well thought out system that's cleanly installed, and taking my time to get there. Here's hoping I can pull that off! Currently, I have my Raspberry Pi model 3B in hand, and I have a Kessil A360we on order, should be here next week :) Tonight, I'm grabbing the power supply, SD card, cheap case (for now), and mini USB Keyboard. And after that, I'm kind of lost as to what I need for my tank and for reef-pi, but I'm still reading ;-)

I wanted to ask quickly:
I believe I read that reef-pi can control nearly any DC powered light, so does this mean it can control the fairly inexpensive, Chinese freshwater LED's, like Beamswork brand lights and others? Or dimmable lights, like the Finnex Freshwater Planted?

I may want to supplement my Kessil with a couple dimmable T5's, this should be no problem, right?

And maybe this is more of a personal build thread type question, but I'm clueless when it comes to circulation pumps and plans, and I would love some suggestions. What are you guys using that plays nicely with the reef-pi system? I want to eventually be able to keep SPS, so I'd like to plan my flow right from the start. I have an Innovative Marine Nuvo Black (not the AIO) 40 gallon, measuring about 24"L x 20"W x 21"H. Any ideas to get me pointed in the right direction (keeping reef-pi in mind) would be greatly appreciated, and I will do my own research from there.

Thank you, Ranjb, and everyone else for your help!

-FF

Start with installing raspbian on your raspberry pi and installing reef-pi in it. Check the install guide, if that help. Dont follow this thread for build purpose of to get started. This thread has instruction that might be valid only during that time.
https://reef-pi.github.io/general-guides/install/
You are right, reef-pi should be able to control almost any DC equipment. Depending upon the current/voltage requirement of the equipment, you may need a bit different electronics circuit. I don't see any obvious problem with your setup. Remember your skill is a factor. If you are not willing to do soldering etc it might be challenging to get the end to end thing working quickly. I did not know whole lotta electronics few years back. I have learned along the way, if you have time to learn a bit, then I think you are unlikely to have a dead end.

If you are on budget, check out orbit marine/current usa and jebao on low budget. couple of mp10 or a single gyre will be good too. but more expensive.
If I am you, I am likely to go with mp10, one at a time. But I'll probably get the first one 4-6 months aftert tank is wet, lps/softies are dong ok.. just before starting with entry level sps (say some tenius, green slimer, tri color valida etc) .. i'll add the second one in 9 months to 1 year time frame, when tank is fully established, went dosing regiment is in place and entry level sps are thriving. ... right before harder to keep acros (say red planet).

I run mp10. and I'll be experimenting with koralia dc pumps heavily as part of reef-pi development work. I'll keep you posted on that, in this thread

Ranjib · Jan 3, 2018

Fish Fan said:
Ranib, I wanted to ask you, are you running an Imagitarium 6.6 AIO with a PAR 38 bulb run by reef -pi? If so, I really want to emulate this build at my place of work. For a long time I have been intrigued by the Imagitarium line of tanks (some of them, anyway), and I just ordered a 6.6 AIO as an upgrade for my wife's simple Betta tank that was old and scratched. I really think this tank kit would make a nice, small freshwater panted, or a nice saltwater pico. How do yo feel about this tank, and especially about controlling it with a reef-pi unit?

I really, really appreciate your time in developing this software, as well as your time responding to my questions personally!! Please know that I am clueless in terms of programming and electronics, but I have been running some brand of free Linux since RedHat 5.2 in the Fall of 1995. I am very much a supporter of free software, and I really appreciate your efforts with this project. If I can donate to your project, or help you in any way, please let me know.

Sincerely,

-FishFan

My Imagitarium pico is 3.7G :-) . I started it with ABI tuna blue bulb (25$ in amazon i think), Its more than enough to keep most lsp/softies and entry level sps (montis, green pociliopora etc). You have to be care ful with light acclamation as their is no way to dim them. I used put thin paper sheet, in multiples. I still lost couple of ricordias due to bleaching. I went with kessil letter, as reef-pi capability was extended. I love kessil :-)

Now, after couple of year, I am at a state that I can actually dim that old bulb with reef-pi :-) . So, its been almost a full circle. i would personally love to light that tank (which is now lit by an A80) with a cheap yet dimmable and high power bulb, as it will make the orginal maker faire goal of having a reef tank under really low budget, and build it via frugal means.

I dont know how much hassle involve in betta tanks. If you want to control the lights in timers, monitor ph and temperature, then it will be useful.

MaccaPopEye · Jan 3, 2018

So I'm having an issue with the temp probe.

As far as I can tell I have got everything right (I copied the circuit from adafruit) but the log is still not detecting the temp probe.

Here is the wiring on the breadboard (I couldn't get a better angle) and the sensor wire is going to GPIO4 (Pin #7), the positive to Pin #1 and ground to pin #6. I did accidentally use a 4.7Ohm resistor to start with but I'm using a 4.7KOhm one now and have also tried a 10KOhm resistor but it didn't make a difference. Just in case using the wrong resistor broke the sensor I have also tried connecting another sensor and still no luck.