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

[sfgabe]

Is there / will there be some mechanism for running scripts (python, shell, etc.) from reef-pi, and triggered by other parameters (time, float switches, etc.)?

I built a cheap-o fish feeder that I can control with a python script or curl command. It would be great to be able to run that from reef-pi instead of sending an external command from another device.

Build instructions are here btw if anyone wants to make their own: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3225569

 

[ScottBrew]

We had to do it since our light and wall outlet is blocked by the tree, hence wife agrees :) . To her point this blocks my electronics shelf as well during the holidays , so more time for family :)

You have a lovely family Ranjib!

 

[Ryan115]

Here are my fixtures. The BuildMyLED is on the left and has the silver driver module.
The reefbrite dimmer is http://www.reefbrite.com/product/in-line-dimmer/

The Inventronics driver takes a 0(1)-10VDC for dimming.
This is no problem for reef-pi. It should be able to run off of the same circuit that I built for my SbReeflights.
It will use the 12V from the driver, step it down to 10V for the dimming circuit, and then use the PWM from the pi to control the dimming.
It may be able to run straight from a 10V PWM, if not a simple RC circuit will smooth out to get an "analog" dimming.
The other light is a big ???

 

[ScottBrew]

Here are my fixtures. The BuildMyLED is on the left and has the silver driver module.
The reefbrite dimmer is http://www.reefbrite.com/product/in-line-dimmer/

The Inventronics driver takes a 0(1)-10VDC for dimming.
This is no problem for reef-pi. It should be able to run off of the same circuit that I built for my SbReeflights.
It will use the 12V from the driver, step it down to 10V for the dimming circuit, and then use the PWM from the pi to control the dimming.
It may be able to run straight from a 10V PWM, if not a simple RC circuit will smooth out to get an "analog" dimming.
The other light is a big ???

The Reefbrite light(s) need a 0-24vdc control if they are like mine or whatever the minimum voltage they will turn on with, maybe 3 volts. The constant current control is built into the lights, the power supply is just a generic brick. Mine have 6 segments with 6 LED's each, each segment has its own current controller.

 

[dmolavi]

The Inventronics driver takes a 0(1)-10VDC for dimming.
This is no problem for reef-pi. It should be able to run off of the same circuit that I built for my SbReeflights.
It will use the 12V from the driver, step it down to 10V for the dimming circuit, and then use the PWM from the pi to control the dimming.
It may be able to run straight from a 10V PWM, if not a simple RC circuit will smooth out to get an "analog" dimming.
The other light is a big ???

I have the dimmer for the Inventronics that I can get a pic of if you think that will help wrt dimming...

The Reefbrite light(s) need a 0-24vdc control if they are like mine or whatever the minimum voltage they will turn on with, maybe 3 volts. The constant current control is built into the lights, the power supply is just a generic brick. Mine have 6 segments with 6 LED's each, each segment has its own current controller.

So basically a variable voltage output from the reef-pi and the lights take care of the rest?

 

[Ryan115]

I have the dimmer for the Inventronics that I can get a pic of if you think that will help wrt dimming...



So basically a variable voltage output from the reef-pi and the lights take care of the rest?

Cant hurt to get that picture as well.
Here is the manual for that driver.
https://www.inventronics-co.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/DS-EUC-052SxxxDTST_Rev.L.pdf

 

[dmolavi]

Other questions on reef-pi, and this might be stretching it a bit...

I use https://dlidirect.com/products/new-pro-switch for power control. It has built in scripting, web UI, and outlet control (for a fraction of an Apex cost), and a Ranco ETC (http://www.rancoetc.com/etc-controllers) for temp control.

The power controller has an API that I could probably interface with in reef-pi to get outlet info and control (I already do this with a custom python app I wrote for my linux box) - would this API interface actually be possible in the reef-pi?

The Ranco is probably the biggest unknown, and there may not be anything I can do remotely with it. If not, that's cool, and I can use another sensor for temp monitoring and logging. I've emailed them asking if it's possible to pull the reading from the sensor.

 

[dmolavi]

Cant hurt to get that picture as well.
Here is the manual for that driver.
https://www.inventronics-co.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/DS-EUC-052SxxxDTST_Rev.L.pdf

Here's the dimmer for the inventronics. Looks like a pot of some sort. Feeds into the driver via a 3.5mm audio jack.

 

[dmolavi]

Found the datasheet on the pot. Looks like it's the following:
Carbon film, 24mm, -10 - +85C, Panel Mount, Single Unit, Single Shaft, Right Angle Ear-Lug Terminals, 20mm single shaft, linear resistance, 20k ohm.

 

[Diamond1]

Can some one familiar with the reef-pi code tell me how reef-pi controls the incremental increase of light control percentage? In other words how does reef-pi control the brightness from 0% to 100% over the 2 hour auto ramping?
I remember seeing it in this thread but can't find it now.

 

[Ranjib]

Can some one familiar with the reef-pi code tell me how reef-pi controls the incremental increase of light control percentage? In other words how does reef-pi control the brightness from 0% to 100% over the 2 hour auto ramping?
I remember seeing it in this thread but can't find it now.

It interpolates the values between two consecutive time interval linearly and applies it every minute. So if your target value is 10% at 8 am and 30% at 10 am then reef-pi will apply 20% at 9 am

 

[theatrus]

Other questions on reef-pi, and this might be stretching it a bit...

I use https://dlidirect.com/products/new-pro-switch for power control. It has built in scripting, web UI, and outlet control (for a fraction of an Apex cost), and a Ranco ETC (http://www.rancoetc.com/etc-controllers) for temp control.

The power controller has an API that I could probably interface with in reef-pi to get outlet info and control (I already do this with a custom python app I wrote for my linux box) - would this API interface actually be possible in the reef-pi?

The Ranco is probably the biggest unknown, and there may not be anything I can do remotely with it. If not, that's cool, and I can use another sensor for temp monitoring and logging. I've emailed them asking if it's possible to pull the reading from the sensor.

Adding an interface for this would be possible. I’m in the midst of a large PR to the code base to add drivers throughout the code base, at least for the existing inlet/outlet/jack types (which is what you’ll need for control).

I don’t think the Ranco has any exposed interfaces?

 

[theatrus]

Here's the dimmer for the inventronics. Looks like a pot of some sort. Feeds into the driver via a 3.5mm audio jack.

Can you measure the voltage between the two outer legs on the pot? It would be constant.

You can use an analog output to feed into the connector for the center leg of the pot, referenced to the bottom/ground leg.

 

[Matt Carden]

So I bought 3 - 16" basic SB reeflights and nodded them for Apex control. I have spent more than $2500 on my SCA 150 before I bought the Apex. So I've decided to wait awhile to drop $800 on the Apex and decided that I would try a Kessil Spectral controller to control my modded SB reeflights.
The Kessil appears to output a 0-10v signal on 2 channels (color-ch1, intensity ch2). To my dismay the Kessil did nothing to change the intensity of either channel. I thought maybe I did something wrong and I went over and over the wiring. I rewired every combination I could. Only 3 wires for control circuit with 2 going together in all combinations. I finally thought about using a constant known voltage to test the modded wiring. I used a AA battery hotwired to a 3.5 mm cable with the end cut off and the other end in the lights. The light dimmed to approximately 15%.

The question is the Kessil outputting a PWM 0-10v signal and that's why it's not working or am I missing something?

Would a reef-pi solve my problem or is that also a PWM signal which may also not work?

I have the skills and some extra parts (resistors, wire, soldering iron, circuit boards) to build the hardware part of a reef-pi but it's the coding that has me hesitant to try that route. That and the 7000 post thread of technical jargon to read through which I only understand about half of.

I built a low pass filter using a 821Ohm resistor and a 1uF Capacitor splicing it online between the Kessil port and the light with no change in intensity. I also switched out the 1uF Cap for a 100uF Cap still no change. Kessil controller is set to 10%. With the filter inline I register 1.6v at 10% at the light. Again the AA battery dims the light.

Thanks in advance of any help.

 

[Ryan115]

So I bought 3 - 16" basic SB reeflights and nodded them for Apex control. I have spent more than $2500 on my SCA 150 before I bought the Apex. So I've decided to wait awhile to drop $800 on the Apex and decided that I would try a Kessil Spectral controller to control my modded SB reeflights.
The Kessil appears to output a 0-10v signal on 2 channels (color-ch1, intensity ch2). To my dismay the Kessil did nothing to change the intensity of either channel. I thought maybe I did something wrong and I went over and over the wiring. I rewired every combination I could. Only 3 wires for control circuit with 2 going together in all combinations. I finally thought about using a constant known voltage to test the modded wiring. I used a AA battery hotwired to a 3.5 mm cable with the end cut off and the other end in the lights. The light dimmed to approximately 15%.

The question is the Kessil outputting a PWM 0-10v signal and that's why it's not working or am I missing something?

Would a reef-pi solve my problem or is that also a PWM signal which may also not work?

I have the skills and some extra parts (resistors, wire, soldering iron, circuit boards) to build the hardware part of a reef-pi but it's the coding that has me hesitant to try that route. That and the 7000 post thread of technical jargon to read through which I only understand about half of.

I built a low pass filter using a 821Ohm resistor and a 1uF Capacitor splicing it online between the Kessil port and the light with no change in intensity. I also switched out the 1uF Cap for a 100uF Cap still no change. Kessil controller is set to 10%. With the filter inline I register 1.6v at 10% at the light. Again the AA battery dims the light.

Thanks in advance of any help.

I have my 32" Basic SbReefLight controlled from reef-pi. I am using the straight 10V PWM for control (when I tried an RC filter on the dimming, it would not work).
I am not sure what the Kessil is outputting, but the PWM frequency may be the cause of the compatibility issue.
This is the circuit I built, it is plug and play internal to the light, and it uses the 12V directly from the driver.
(Disregard the RC filter, this picture was from the initial test.

 

[dmolavi]

Can you measure the voltage between the two outer legs on the pot? It would be constant.

You can use an analog output to feed into the connector for the center leg of the pot, referenced to the bottom/ground leg.

I don't have anything to drive the input except for the actual LED driver itself. I'm assuming we should be seeing 12VDC?

I'll measure 1-3 (input) and 1-2 (output).

 

[theatrus]

I don't have anything to drive the input except for the actual LED driver itself. I'm assuming we should be seeing 12VDC?

I'll measure 1-3 (input) and 1-2 (output).

I'm interested in the range of the dimmer input. e.g., is it 0-10V? 0-12V? 0-5V? etc. By measuring across the two fixed terminals in the potentiometer we know the full range of the dimmer input.

 

[b4tn]

I asked earlier but it got buried in in the thread. But what are the units of measure in the CPU and memory graphs? When have you reached the upper limit of what the raspberry can handle? Here is my current graph shown from November 28th. When should utilization become a concern? Its hard to see an average because I mess with it a lot experimenting with settings but I currently have Power, ATO, Temp, 2 dosers on the built in PWM, and 2 light channels with the driver set to PCA 9685 but the hardware is not present. Check intervals are set to 10 seconds, light output was set to diurnal but I changed it to auto this morning. What concerns me is that memory creeps up as time goes buy. I need to set it and leave it for a week without touching it and see if it eventually levels out.

 

[dmolavi]

I'm interested in the range of the dimmer input. e.g., is it 0-10V? 0-12V? 0-5V? etc. By measuring across the two fixed terminals in the potentiometer we know the full range of the dimmer input.

OK. Not sure I'll have time tonight (gonna be a long day at work), but I will get to this ASAP.

Edit:
Actually, looks like this may already be answered...

The Inventronics driver takes a 0(1)-10VDC for dimming.
This is no problem for reef-pi. It should be able to run off of the same circuit that I built for my SbReeflights.
It will use the 12V from the driver, step it down to 10V for the dimming circuit, and then use the PWM from the pi to control the dimming.
It may be able to run straight from a 10V PWM, if not a simple RC circuit will smooth out to get an "analog" dimming.

 

[ScottBrew]

I asked earlier but it got buried in in the thread. But what are the units of measure in the CPU and memory graphs? When have you reached the upper limit of what the raspberry can handle? Here is my current graph shown from November 28th. When should utilization become a concern? Its hard to see an average because I mess with it a lot experimenting with settings but I currently have Power, ATO, Temp, 2 dosers on the built in PWM, and 2 light channels with the driver set to PCA 9685 but the hardware is not present. Check intervals are set to 10 seconds, light output was set to diurnal but I changed it to auto this morning. What concerns me is that memory creeps up as time goes buy. I need to set it and leave it for a week without touching it and see if it eventually levels out.

Looks similar to mine. Looking at my historical though, it dumps memory every so often.