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

[sector9]

I am getting red banner errors on my beta 4 as well. Mine seems to cycle through the modules I don't have set up. For example, I just got ones that say "GET API call failure. Details:{"url":"/api/phprobes"}" and "GET API call failure. Details:{"url":"/api/lights"}". I had one about the doser too. They only show up for me when I go to the configuration tab but then they persist until I refresh

 

[HM3105]

Suggestion for next rev, for probes, would it be possible to display last result ?

Currently you'd have to check the chart unless I'm doing something wrong.

 

[Ranjib]

I am getting red banner errors on my beta 4 as well. Mine seems to cycle through the modules I don't have set up. For example, I just got ones that say "GET API call failure. Details:{"url":"/api/phprobes"}" and "GET API call failure. Details:{"url":"/api/lights"}". I had one about the doser too. They only show up for me when I go to the configuration tab but then they persist until I refresh

For the dashboard customization , reef-pi goes through all possible modules and check if there data available. That error should be benign . Does it work otherwise ?

 

[Ranjib]

Suggestion for next rev, for probes, would it be possible to display last result ?

Currently you'd have to check the chart unless I'm doing something wrong.

This is on my todo list. I am thinking about how users would prefer to see this data ? Like in dashboard , instead of chart a single value ?

 

[HM3105]

This is on my todo list. I am thinking about how users would prefer to see this data ? Like in dashboard , instead of chart a single value ?

I personally think of a dash board as being a quick glance, if I want to dig in or see the history then I'd go to that tab.

 

[Ranjib]

I personally think of a dash board as being a quick glance, if I want to dig in or see the history then I'd go to that tab.

So, per probe latest temperature only in the temperature specific tab or in the dashboard ?

 

[HM3105]

So, per probe latest temperature only in the temperature specific tab or in the dashboard ?

I would probably just put little tiles with the probe name and the last read on the dashboard. Clicking one of the tiles would then take you to the chart (or the tab where the chart resides). Alternatively, is there a way to show both? Has the chart but then also the last probe reading?

 

[sector9]

For the dashboard customization , reef-pi goes through all possible modules and check if there data available. That error should be benign . Does it work otherwise ?

Yes it does! Thanks!

 

[sjeff35]

For the dashboard customization , reef-pi goes through all possible modules and check if there data available. That error should be benign . Does it work otherwise ?

@Ranjib , Reef-pi appears to be working fine despite the error message. Here's a screenshot of the Dev screen if it helps troubleshoot it.

 

[Ranjib]

@Ranjib , Reef-pi appears to be working fine despite the error message. Here's a screenshot of the Dev screen if it helps troubleshoot it.

Do you have dashboard configured with temp probes that are not present in the system anymore? Like a probe that was declared earlier in the dashboard, and then deleted from the system and now a stale entry is present, so dashboard tries to load it and fails.
Another reason this happens , when you just create a temp sensor, it takes at least 1 minute (or whatever is the set check interval) to get the usage data, so if dashboard tries to load it before that interval time it gets those /api/tcs/<id>/usage failure. Generally they go away after a minute, or after the first time setup.

I'll clean these things up before 2.0 final release. Thank you for reporting it.

 

[sjeff35]

Do you have dashboard configured with temp probes that are not present in the system anymore? Like a probe that was declared earlier in the dashboard, and then deleted from the system and now a stale entry is present, so dashboard tries to load it and fails.
Another reason this happens , when you just create a temp sensor, it takes at least 1 minute (or whatever is the set check interval) to get the usage data, so if dashboard tries to load it before that interval time it gets those /api/tcs/<id>/usage failure. Generally they go away after a minute, or after the first time setup.

I'll clean these things up before 2.0 final release. Thank you for reporting it.

Morning @Ranjib

No, I only have the two temps I defined and haven't added any new ones.

FYI, I'm not seeing that error any longer. Not sure where it went but it's good now :)

 

[Ranjib]

Morning @Ranjib

No, I only have the two temps I defined and haven't added any new ones.

FYI, I'm not seeing that error any longer. Not sure where it went but it's good now :)

Yes, this is normal. Those errors are common when you just define the probes.. after some time they go away.. when all the probes have run at least once

 

[Ranjib]

Just an FYI (for your information), i have started working on making reef-pi UI mobile friendly. Its a long way to go, but 2.0.0-beta has at least the tabs and equipment module mobile friendly. Dashboards etc are still wonky.. but the overall UI should be rendered as accordion in mobile devices. Equipment buttons should be readjusted as well. Coming releases will see other module UIs being mobile friendly... and probably the dashboard will be the last one (still not sure how to go about that)

 

[Fish Fan]

Hello everyone!

A couple of days ago Ranjib mentioned the Blue Acro LED Pucks, and in visiting their website, their products do indeed look very interesting. I am fairly clueless when it comes to electronics, but I'd like to learn how to wire up and use these kinds of LEDS. Could someone give me just a basic idea of what I need to run one or more Blue Acro pucks or strips with ReefPi? I did read all the information they had at the Blue Acro site, but it definitely left a few things out, and indeed they are even out of stock on their recommended driver. I know I need the LED puck and/or strip, obviously, I also know I need a power supply, heatsink, and driver. Is that the basic setup for these DIY LED's? And how does ReefPi work with this? Would it be fairly similar to the instructions for the lighting controller on the ReefPi webpage?

Is there a good webpage or video someone could recommend to help me learn about these kinds of electronics? I'd really like to learn more about DIY LED setups.

Also, out of curiosity, does anyone have any information as to whether or not ReefPi could control one of the cheap Beamsworks brand LED light? These are very popular for freshwater tanks, and I am like 99.9% sure they can be controlled with a PWM controller. Therefore, shouldn't ReefPi be able to dim these lights, or perhaps it's more complicated than I know?

As always, I very much appreciate any help! Thanks in advance!

-FishFan

 

[Ranjib]

Hello everyone!

A couple of days ago Ranjib mentioned the Blue Acro LED Pucks, and in visiting their website, their products do indeed look very interesting. I am fairly clueless when it comes to electronics, but I'd like to learn how to wire up and use these kinds of LEDS. Could someone give me just a basic idea of what I need to run one or more Blue Acro pucks or strips with ReefPi? I did read all the information they had at the Blue Acro site, but it definitely left a few things out, and indeed they are even out of stock on their recommended driver. I know I need the LED puck and/or strip, obviously, I also know I need a power supply, heatsink, and driver. Is that the basic setup for these DIY LED's? And how does ReefPi work with this? Would it be fairly similar to the instructions for the lighting controller on the ReefPi webpage?

Is there a good webpage or video someone could recommend to help me learn about these kinds of electronics? I'd really like to learn more about DIY LED setups.

Also, out of curiosity, does anyone have any information as to whether or not ReefPi could control one of the cheap Beamsworks brand LED light? These are very popular for freshwater tanks, and I am like 99.9% sure they can be controlled with a PWM controller. Therefore, shouldn't ReefPi be able to dim these lights, or perhaps it's more complicated than I know?

As always, I very much appreciate any help! Thanks in advance!

-FishFan

Yes that’s the basic setup. Pucks (+heatsink if required), power adapter and driver. On the reef-pi side you need pi, pca9685 (only if you need more than two channel )

 

[Fish Fan]

Thank you so much, Ranjib, you're always really helpful! I'm continuing to try to learn, but I appreciate your help for sure!

-FF

 

[Ranjib]

Yes that’s the basic setup. Pucks (+heatsink if required), power adapter and driver. On the reef-pi side you need pi, pca9685 (only if you need more than two channel )

It will be fairly similar to the official kessil controller guide except you won’t need the npn transistor (that converts 5v pwm to 10v pwm), instead you’ll wire the 5v pwm (from pi or pca9685) directly to the driver .

I wish I could give a good answer to the question on what’s the best place to go n learn electronics. I will say that you are already doing the right thing, take on a complicated project and then learn it on the way. I use stack exchange for asking questions (bulk of them has been already answered, hence available via google) , read and practice arduino or raspberry pi tutorial (best beginner friendly things), and finally there are awesome videos on individual topics in YouTube (eevblog ) , to shed more lights if needed

Regarding LEDs in particular , you can read about power cicrcuits ( how many watts leds consume, how to genera them, how to calculate heat dissipation and use heat sinks , dimming curves etc) and how pwm /analog signals are generated using microcotroller. If you combine these two..voila . These are relatively easy circuits , I think motor drivers are bit more complicated

I’ll look at the beamsworks lights...

 

[sector9]

Minor thing but my ATO graph says “minutes” on the y axis when I believe it should say “seconds”

 

[Ranjib]

Minor thing but my ATO graph says “minutes” on the y axis when I believe it should say “seconds”

You are right. I really appreciate these feedbacks :-)
I’ll update the code. I was wondering if o should keep it at seconds granularity or minutes

 

[Erica-Renee]

Hello everyone!

A couple of days ago Ranjib mentioned the Blue Acro LED Pucks, and in visiting their website, their products do indeed look very interesting. I am fairly clueless when it comes to electronics, but I'd like to learn how to wire up and use these kinds of LEDS. Could someone give me just a basic idea of what I need to run one or more Blue Acro pucks or strips with ReefPi? I did read all the information they had at the Blue Acro site, but it definitely left a few things out, and indeed they are even out of stock on their recommended driver. I know I need the LED puck and/or strip, obviously, I also know I need a power supply, heatsink, and driver. Is that the basic setup for these DIY LED's? And how does ReefPi work with this? Would it be fairly similar to the instructions for the lighting controller on the ReefPi webpage?

Is there a good webpage or video someone could recommend to help me learn about these kinds of electronics? I'd really like to learn more about DIY LED setups.

Also, out of curiosity, does anyone have any information as to whether or not ReefPi could control one of the cheap Beamsworks brand LED light? These are very popular for freshwater tanks, and I am like 99.9% sure they can be controlled with a PWM controller. Therefore, shouldn't ReefPi be able to dim these lights, or perhaps it's more complicated than I know?

As always, I very much appreciate any help! Thanks in advance!

-FishFan

do you have a link to the exact light your thinking of . The beamworks lights i found with a quick search have .5w led bulbs.. NOT GOOD FOR Our tanks. You need 3 to 5 w bulbs