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

[Ranjib]

You are probably right about lasting longer under smaller loads and the fact that there are no moving parts. I think my thought was more about possibly being near the load limit shortening the life of the SSR.

Something important to consider is the size of the tank, and the wattage of the heater (or lights) you plan on using. My tank for example has 2x 350 watt heaters which are 3A each. Those would be a problem for 2A relays.

Either one will most likely work for most people, but if you have a larger tank I would go with mechanical relays.

You are absolutely right.
Here in r2r , we have lots of people with larger tanks (180G+), so its likely they have heater/chillers that draws higher than 2A current

 

[Twocorns]

I personally like hearing the clicks of mechanical relays. They let me know they're working! Lol

 

[Ranjib]

These are one of my favorites.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KLDPW1I/
These tiny perma proto boards are perfect for two part doser circuit, kessil controller, temperature controller etc. One of these, a pi zero , lm2596 and 12 v dc power supply is killer combo :-) . If I ever make a build kit, this would be it.

 

[Bronc]

These are one of my favorites.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KLDPW1I/
These tiny perma proto boards are perfect for two part doser circuit, kessil controller, temperature controller etc. One of these, a pi zero , lm2596 and 12 v dc power supply is killer combo :) . If I ever make a build kit, this would be it.

Ordered this, too! Thanks!

 

[Jean-Pierre Renaud]

Question about ATO

Am i suppose to see a date and time on the bottom of the ATO graph ?

i would like to know my daily usage.

Thanks

 

[Gareth elliott]

If you hold the cursor over a bar it will say what time the bar corresponds to.

Personally i measure evap by adding a measured amount of water to my reservoir, emptying my skimmer cup. Then measure what is left 24 hours later - what was collected by the skimmer. Separately i measure a weeks worth of water the skimmer removed
[(skimate*.05)+skimate] +evap*7


to get how much ato water i need for a week.

The .05 to add in a 5% error of measurement

Also my reference point for wc using skimate nacl removal vs nacl build from dosing.

 

[Jean-Pierre Renaud]

If you hold the cursor over a bar it will say what time the bar corresponds to.

Personally i measure evap by adding a measured amount of water to my reservoir, emptying my skimmer cup. Then measure what is left 24 hours later - what was collected by the skimmer. Separately i measure a weeks worth of water the skimmer removed
[(skimate*.05)+skimate] +evap*7


to get how much ato water i need for a week.

The .05 to add in a 5% error of measurement

Also my reference point for wc using skimate nacl removal vs nacl build from dosing.

It only says pump5 when I do this
No time

 

[Gareth elliott]

What i get on mine.
Dont mind my charts im playing with wiring so they dont actually reflect anything lol.

 

[Ranjib]

Question about ATO

Am i suppose to see a date and time on the bottom of the ATO graph ?

i would like to know my daily usage.

Thanks

You should update to a newer version :-)

The ATO chart shows usage in terms of how many seconds the pump has been run per hour. From your graph it looks like the ato sensor is out of water and the pump is on for the entire duration (3600 seconds). I am assuming this is because you have not wired up sensor or pump yet. Because the date representation takes a lot of space, hece we dont show it below the chart, but you should be able to see which bar represent which hour, when you mouse over on them

 

[Ranjib]

Example of my ATO chart, my tank didn't need any water top off in past 24 hours, so all values are 0.

 

[Ranjib]

It only says pump5 when I do this
No time

Is its "pump5" or "pump:5" .

"Pump:5" stands for "ATO pump has been run for 5 seconds in this hour."

 

[Gareth elliott]

This is very nice :-)
Are you controlling the dosers with reef-pi ? :-)

Sadly no, the connection out of the box is a rj11 so no power is transferred just data. Im sure there is a work around. found one on reefcentral using an audrino sheild then apex? But that was also like 2007 and the parts they used are discontinued. Honestly i dont see a need for myself atm to get it connected. it would be nice and all but wouldnt actually give me anything but a more convenient interface. If i ever decided to buy a kh monitor that may change. But without having anyway of knowing what my alk is remotely i still have to be at my tank testing my water to make a change anyway. And pressing a few buttons on the doser is not hard.
In the 5 months ive been dosing ive increased my dosages twice lol.

Been pretty stable at 8.4 dkh and 420-450 ca.
Has been more stable since i switched to a salt mix that was closer to those numbers.

Really my needs of your system is a health check and temp controller and ato. The powered outlets also allow me to turn off items if need to, from a distance.

If i had a wish list (beyond ph monitor) would be to add some code that would do that automatically.
Say if heater off and chiller on wasnt enough; after x time It turned off my lights.

But overall i do love your system :)

Oh and an update on the analog sensor, unless you have more experience with wiring and coding these are not helpful. I felt defeated lol. I kept the probe, since i believe the probe is still useable with a digital chip?

 

[Jean-Pierre Renaud]

Is its "pump5" or "pump:5" .

"Pump:5" stands for "ATO pump has been run for 5 seconds in this hour."

this is what i get, my pump is set to check every 5 seconds because in 5 seconds i pump enough water to make the float switch rise up to the max level.

So my pump always works for 5 seconds, but i can't see the date even when i let my mouse cursor on it.

 

[Ranjib]

this is what i get, my pump is set to check every 5 seconds because in 5 seconds i pump enough water to make the float switch rise up to the max level.

So my pump always works for 5 seconds, but i can't see the date even when i let my mouse cursor on it.

You are running 1.0, is it possible for you to upgrade to latest release?

 

[Jean-Pierre Renaud]

You are running 1.0, is it possible for you to upgrade to latest release?

will i need to redo all my settings ?

 

[Ranjib]

Yup this is a bug in the ATO chart that was fixed after 1.0 release.

 

[Ranjib]

will i need to redo all my settings ?

There is a chance. But I think its less, and you should take the risk. What all you are using? Do you have timers ? If you can delete those and then upgrade then the risk will be much less,

 

[Jean-Pierre Renaud]

There is a chance. But I think its less, and you should take the risk. What all you are using? Do you have timers ? If you can delete those and then upgrade then the risk will be much less,

yes i have almost 2 full pages of timers lol
there is no config file i can backup ?

 

[Ranjib]

Sadly no, the connection out of the box is a rj11 so no power is transferred just data. Im sure there is a work around. found one on reefcentral using an audrino sheild then apex? But that was also like 2007 and the parts they used are discontinued. Honestly i dont see a need for myself atm to get it connected. it would be nice and all but wouldnt actually give me anything but a more convenient interface. If i ever decided to buy a kh monitor that may change. But without having anyway of knowing what my alk is remotely i still have to be at my tank testing my water to make a change anyway. And pressing a few buttons on the doser is not hard.
In the 5 months ive been dosing ive increased my dosages twice lol.

Been pretty stable at 8.4 dkh and 420-450 ca.
Has been more stable since i switched to a salt mix that was closer to those numbers.

Really my needs of your system is a health check and temp controller and ato. The powered outlets also allow me to turn off items if need to, from a distance.

If i had a wish list (beyond ph monitor) would be to add some code that would do that automatically.
Say if heater off and chiller on wasnt enough; after x time It turned off my lights.

But overall i do love your system :)

Oh and an update on the analog sensor, unless you have more experience with wiring and coding these are not helpful. I felt defeated lol. I kept the probe, since i believe the probe is still useable with a digital chip?

Interesting,
I am planning to drive the dosers with ph probe feedback at the end.
I think the rj11 based control works same as kessil controller. But not sure. Is this a jebao doser ?
I plan to implement programmability (this is similar to feed mode) as part of the 2.0 release. I am still brain storming on the type of interface.

What salt you went with?

 

[Ranjib]

yes i have almost 2 full pages of timers lol
there is no config file i can backup ?

curl -u <user>:<password> http://<reef-pi IP>/api/timers > timers.json