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

[Fish Fan]

We are discussing this for sometime now, this is slated for next development cycle: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-pump-controller-to-reef-pi.497618/ and https://github.com/reef-pi/reef-pi/issues/631
if you have any thoughts please do share.

Hello again, Ranjib! As always, I think you have a fantastic project, and I'd be happy to help anyway I can. Unfortunately, outside of basic powerheads and similar circ pumps, I have no real experience with the more expensive controllable circ pump options. I was looking into circulation options for my future 40 gallon, but I'm in no real hurry, so if this is something that's being worked on, I can be patient and see what you develop, and what technologies are easy to control with Reef-Pi.

EDIT: Ranjib, I can't (yet) program, but I have previously, and will again offer a *modest* monetary donation to this project. I am very sincere in this, if you set up a PayPal (for example) link, please let me know. If I can help in any other way I'd be glad to. Maybe I could add to some documentation, or purchase a product to see how it works?? I'm glad to try to help where ever you need it, feel free to PM me. Thanks again, this is a great project, and I really appreciate your efforts!

Thanks again, Ranjib, and everyone here supporting Reef-Pi!

-FF

 

[Fish Fan]

Hi guys! I am planning a build that I hope to base round Reef-Pi, and I want to ask a very, very "noob" question ;-) I have never used any kind of controller before, so in regards to a heater, do I need any special kind of heater to work with Reef-Pi? I guess my question is, do I want a heater without its own thermostat so that it's solely controlled by Reef-Pi? Or, do I use a quality "regular" heater, and set the thermostat a bit hot (like say 80 degrees F)? And, what if I want to run two heaters for redundancy (which I do want to do)? How do you set up the heaters such that I rely primarily on one heater, with the second being a backup for emergencies and cold spells? I believe this is the preferred setup when running two heaters, and I would like to do this with Reef-Pi. Any heater recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys!

 

[Ranjib]

Hi guys! I am planning a build that I hope to base round Reef-Pi, and I want to ask a very, very "noob" question ;-) I have never used any kind of controller before, so in regards to a heater, do I need any special kind of heater to work with Reef-Pi? I guess my question is, do I want a heater without its own thermostat so that it's solely controlled by Reef-Pi? Or, do I use a quality "regular" heater, and set the thermostat a bit hot (like say 80 degrees F)? And, what if I want to run two heaters for redundancy (which I do want to do)? How do you set up the heaters such that I rely primarily on one heater, with the second being a backup for emergencies and cold spells? I believe this is the preferred setup when running two heaters, and I would like to do this with Reef-Pi. Any heater recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys!

You don’t need any special heater. Use standard , quality heater with built in thermostat. Configure it at little bit higher temperature (say 80) and configure reef-pi to maintain lower temperature (say 79.5). Or the opposite . Reef-pi just adds another layer of protection that’s all

 

[Ranjib]

I use fluval and eheim jaeger heaters.

 

[pickupman66]

Ranjib, I checked the pca9685 and it is not sending any voltage. Here is how I have it setup in config tab. Then on lights just set the pins to 100 and left the rest the same on fixed.

Wires are connected to the proper ports. Sda to sda, scl to scl. Gnd to gnd and 3.3v to the vcc. Maybe my board is defective.

 

[Fish Fan]

You don’t need any special heater. Use standard , quality heater with built in thermostat. Configure it at little bit higher temperature (say 80) and configure reef-pi to maintain lower temperature (say 79.5). Or the opposite . Reef-pi just adds another layer of protection that’s all

I use fluval and eheim jaeger heaters.

Ranjib, thanks for much for your prompt reply, that's basically what I thought, but wanted to be sure.

Thanks again!

-FF

 

[LionHeart2017]

Self reply, but I'm thinking about the I/O modules still as I look at what I'm exposing on the ReefPi. Thoughts?

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reef-pi-base-boards.499890/page-2#post-5394485

I'd rather see more secure I/O for temp and 1 wire interface if there is anything critical connected as a heater, what if it gets disconnected by accident
I'm gonna use rj11 x2 for temp sensors, pretty secure compared to stereo plug?

 

[Ranjib]

Ranjib, I checked the pca9685 and it is not sending any voltage. Here is how I have it setup in config tab. Then on lights just set the pins to 100 and left the rest the same on fixed.

Wires are connected to the proper ports. Sda to sda, scl to scl. Gnd to gnd and 3.3v to the vcc. Maybe my board is defective.

Does reef-pi shows any error in the ui? Check configuration->errors .if that’s clean it means pca9685 is working , if not we should diagnose

 

[pickupman66]

Errors
Btw, I'm on the latest 2.0

 

[theatrus]

I'd rather see more secure I/O for temp and 1 wire interface if there is anything critical connected as a heater, what if it gets disconnected by accident
I'm gonna use rj11 x2 for temp sensors, pretty secure compared to stereo plug?

From a DIY perspective, crimp tools are another purchase. It’s not a pure positive lock but perhaps that’s really a failure detection capability in ReefPi it’s self.

There is an on board buzzer. Maybe we can use that for sensor loss?

 

[Ranjib]

From a DIY perspective, crimp tools are another purchase. It’s not a pure positive lock but perhaps that’s really a failure detection capability in ReefPi it’s self.

There is an on board buzzer. Maybe we can use that for sensor loss?

That’s an awesome addition, the onboard buzzer. I was just tinkering with one in my current test build

 

[Ranjib]

Errors
Btw, I'm on the latest 2.0

Disable adafruit.io, you have reached the feed limit and now it’s blocking you. Then clear the log, I could not spot any i2c error. Reload reef-pi after disabling the adafruit.io that will help us see if there’s any other error

 

[Nicolas Sabrun]

Yes. I am trying to get the pi to fire a wp40 now by using a pca9685. Problem is j am now thinking they want an analog signal and we dont have that. I took my DCI apart to see exactly what it did.

Kind of late on this but the DCI is more of a junction box. It provides the 24v to the pump but no signal. The signal is generated and comes from the APC module. You can use the DCI to power your pump but you will need to hve the pi recreates the needed signal.

 

[wykat]

Ranjib, I checked the pca9685 and it is not sending any voltage. Here is how I have it setup in config tab. Then on lights just set the pins to 100 and left the rest the same on fixed.

Does reef-pi shows any error in the ui? Check configuration->errors .if that’s clean it means pca9685 is working , if not we should diagnose

From my experience Reef-PI doesn't start when the PCA9685 option is enabled in the Reef-PI software but no PCA9685 chip is detected, so the chip appears to work (at least as soon as I remove my stacked PCA9685 module, but that should be same as with the standard PCA9685 board).

In my documentation (not released yet as I still have to build the new Reef-PI_PWM module v0.3) I've written following 3 step debugging information, should be same for the PCA9685 module:
1) Check I2C address with "i2cdetect -y 1". Required package: i2c-tools (sudo apt install i2c-tools). It should show addresses 40 and 70
2) Verify the operation of 1 port directly from the PCA9685 chip. Best is to follow a connection to a a larger resistor and measure there (I could post my details including Reef-PI setup where I setup PWM to 50% and then it should measure 2.5V, but the debugging itself refers to components on the Reef-PI_PWM board so that doesn't help here). There is 1 important note which I don't understand myself, when I set PWM to 100%, the output is suddenly 0V and not 5V ! At 99% is shows 4.99V again.
3) Verify output connector with nothing connected except multimeter (inverted 0-10V)

 

[Ranjib]

From my experience Reef-PI doesn't start when the PCA9685 option is enabled in the Reef-PI software but no PCA9685 chip is detected, so the chip appears to work (at least as soon as I remove my stacked PCA9685 module, but that should be same as with the standard PCA9685 board).

In my documentation (not released yet as I still have to build the new Reef-PI_PWM module v0.3) I've written following 3 step debugging information, should be same for the PCA9685 module:
1) Check I2C address with "i2cdetect -y 1". Required package: i2c-tools (sudo apt install i2c-tools). It should show addresses 40 and 70
2) Verify the operation of 1 port directly from the PCA9685 chip. Best is to follow a connection to a a larger resistor and measure there (I could post my details including Reef-PI setup where I setup PWM to 50% and then it should measure 2.5V, but the debugging itself refers to components on the Reef-PI_PWM board so that doesn't help here). There is 1 important note which I don't understand myself, when I set PWM to 100%, the output is suddenly 0V and not 5V ! At 99% is shows 4.99V again.
3) Verify output connector with nothing connected except multimeter (inverted 0-10V)

We have change the pca9685 failure behavior in 2.0. reef-pi will start but it will log error, that you can see in your dashboard or configuration -> errors.
the 4.99V is the side effect of reef-pi on software side mapping 0-> 4095 to 0->100% . It's poor logic that I should improve in code.

 

[Ranjib]

From a DIY perspective, crimp tools are another purchase. It’s not a pure positive lock but perhaps that’s really a failure detection capability in ReefPi it’s self.

There is an on board buzzer. Maybe we can use that for sensor loss?

In 2.0 reef-pi does send an email or sms and log it as error , visible from UI, in the event of a temperature sensor loss.

 

[Ranjib]

And also I added the ability to chart doser usage.

 

[Kampo]

I need a coolingfan for my light. want it controlled by the pi. what do you guys think the best way to go about this? could I just run a 5v fan directly off the pi, and treat it as a relayed output?

 

[b4tn]

And also I added the ability to chart doser usage.

How did I miss that, Nice!

 

[Ryan115]

I need a coolingfan for my light. want it controlled by the pi. what do you guys think the best way to go about this? could I just run a 5v fan directly off the pi, and treat it as a relayed output?

I would not power it directly from a GPIO pin for 2 reasons. 1) they are 3.3V and 2) they are very limited for current that you can pull from them.
It would be better to have it powered from a separate source and then have it controlled through a MOSFET or similar control system.
Or, could you piggy back its power from your light system and have it run whenever the lights are on?