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

[Michael Lane]

I'm almost finished with updates to the temperature tab. Here's a preview of the updated UI for large screens. I've struggled a bit in finding informative labels for some of the fields, so I'm definitely open to feedback.

 

[pickupman66]

Heat and cool control should have a high and a low. Or a set point and a hystersis.

 

[Ranjib]

I think we should be able to specify what data is sent to the Adafruit.io feeds. Generally, I'm mostly concerned with temperature and PH over time, so 5 feeds would be more than sufficient for me. I think that's a pretty significant change in the current functionality, so it probably makes sense to delay until after v2.0.

yeah. i would prefer the same, but to make it selective (i.e. enabled for only certain ph or temperature probes), we'll need significant amount of work across the board. I think I'll keep the config settings and have only heart beat right now (i.e. send cpu & memory usage only to adafruit), and we'll selectively enable each module after 2.0 release.

 

[Ranjib]

I'm almost finished with updates to the temperature tab. Here's a preview of the updated UI for large screens. I've struggled a bit in finding informative labels for some of the fields, so I'm definitely open to feedback.

Very very nice :-) , thank you for all the hard work

 

[Michael Lane]

Heat and cool control should have a high and a low. Or a set point and a hystersis.

@pickupman66 Thanks for the feedback. I don't think the system currently supports configurable hysteresis but that would make sense as a feature after v2.0. There's kind of a poor man's hysteresis based on the check frequency. I don't know if reef-pi has anywhere set up for feature voting, but github supports logging issues and we could probably tag it as an enhancement.

 

[pickupman66]

Michael. Hystersis was just a suggestion. But I didn't see a high and low setting for the heater in you image.


Btw,. Site looks amazing. Love it.

 

[Michael Lane]

Michael. Hystersis was just a suggestion. But I didn't see a high and low setting for the heater in you image.

@pickupman66 They are labeled as 'Heater Threshold' and 'Chiller Threshold'. They were previously labeled as min and max (respectively).

 

[pickupman66]

OK. that confused me and I think it may confuse others. Historically most every other controller has their heat and cool having separate set points. There will be users who do not wish the heat and cool be so close. (this is probably a programing change for @Ranjib ) have a min and a max for each would be much more preferable.

 

[pickupman66]

Check this toy out I got from China in the mail. This is my #2 controller circuit! I have a pair of them.

 

[Michael Lane]

@pickupman66 What's the chip?

 

[pickupman66]

ULN2803A

 

[Ranjib]

Intense ,
This is my uln2803 circuit , adafruit perma proto hat + socket + uln2803

And 22 awg solid core wires for jumper

 

[Ranjib]

The new kessil light is micro usb connector based. I have a breakout board already :-) can’t wait till it comes out :-). It will be neat if I can control everything with reef-pi. For those who are not aware , the new kessil allows 1% dimming (currently it allows only 14% or more ) and finer control of the spectrum . Standard micro usb breakout has 5 pins , let’s see what signal the light expects ... they’ll release it in December :-( , long wait , but hey it’s a nice Christmas gift :-)

 

[bwp]

Hey, this project looks pretty exciting!

I have been thinking about setting up a moonlight that follows the lunar calendar. Trying to decide between just paying for the Neptune lsm (I have an apex) or challenging myself a bit by setting up reef pi to do this.

What is the current state of lunar support on reef pi? Would I have to add my own code to query the moon phase from a public api or write my own lunar calendar ? Or is this already point and click in reefpi? :)

Thanks!
Bryan

 

[Michael Lane]

Hey, this project looks pretty exciting!

I have been thinking about setting up a moonlight that follows the lunar calendar. Trying to decide between just paying for the Neptune lsm (I have an apex) or challenging myself a bit by setting up reef pi to do this.

What is the current state of lunar support on reef pi? Would I have to add my own code to query the moon phase from a public api or write my own lunar calendar ? Or is this already point and click in reefpi? :)

Thanks!
Bryan

I think that would be a cool feature and we'd welcome a pull request to add it so everyone could benefit from it. I recently started contributing to reef-pi and I've found the reef-pi dev team to be very supportive and easy to work with.

 

[Ranjib]

Hey, this project looks pretty exciting!

I have been thinking about setting up a moonlight that follows the lunar calendar. Trying to decide between just paying for the Neptune lsm (I have an apex) or challenging myself a bit by setting up reef pi to do this.

What is the current state of lunar support on reef pi? Would I have to add my own code to query the moon phase from a public api or write my own lunar calendar ? Or is this already point and click in reefpi? :)

Thanks!
Bryan

Hi Bryan,
Warm welcome to reef2reef, you’ll love it here.
reef-pi lighting module is not any specific type aware , it allows you to set intensity profile of any type of led light. We have build guides for the circuit part, that depends on the specific light type. In short you can use the same feature that’s used to simulate day light cyclc , for moon light cycle also. We do not have any seasonal pattern thing, if you have any details around it , I’m all ears and would love to implement it in next major release.
I use a coralife actinic blue led strip as moon light in one of my tank , that’s controlled by reef-pi. Here is a photo of the circuit,

This a power source (12v 2amp) , a raspberry pi , an lm2596 module and the light itself, is all you need
Light

Lm2596

I am working on the adafruit guides, hence the photos were already there :-)
Happy reefing ,
Ranjib

 

[SR52012]

So i have been creeping on this post for a while, and I am very interested in it. But im just wondering, how much do ppl have invested in these Pi-controllers? Just want to know if is dramatically cheaper then buying a pre-built on I.E. Apex and so on. TIA!

 

[pickupman66]

@SR52012 I have about $175 or so invested in my Reef pi for controlling 8 outlets, temperature and ATO. Another $50 and I can do 16 outlets.

 

[SR52012]

@SR52012 I have about $175 or so invested in my Reef pi for controlling 8 outlets, temperature and ATO. Another $50 and I can do 16 outlets.

And 100000+ hours? lol

 

[Ranjib]

So i have been creeping on this post for a while, and I am very interested in it. But im just wondering, how much do ppl have invested in these Pi-controllers? Just want to know if is dramatically cheaper then buying a pre-built on I.E. Apex and so on. TIA!

I have spend around 1K USD for my 6 controllers. Since, reef-pi is modual, different users configure it for different set of features and the build cost would be significantly different, but overall it should be less than its commercial counter parts. This is tentative cost estimate:
- Just reef-pi running on Raspberry Pi (you can play with UI, learn how to install it etc) : 50$
- reef-pi with 8 outlet powerstrip in a proper enclosure : 130$ (including Raspberry Pi)
- reef-pi with 18 channels LED control (two channel) - 90$
- reef-pi with pH monitoring: 200$ (including probe, calibration solution and everything)
- reef-pi with dual dosing pump: 100$
- reef-pi , all in one except pH : 350$
- reef-pi all in one with pH: 500-550$

does that make sense...?
Note: if you have some electronics tool and component, if you know some woodworking or 3d printing , your build cost will reduce significantly, as you have spare part or the housing cost is removed. And also remember this does not include multiple hours you'll have to spend to learn and build it.