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

[NeonRabbit221B]

But if defining a doser in the tab then I can setup the PWM board and specify my jacks (pins 0-3 on the PCA9685). In the dosing tab I would just the Jack and pin from the board. So for my first pump its connected to pin 0 on the PWM board so I have Jack 0 and Pin 0. Not sure when to use the pin # as defined by the datasheet.

 

[raketemensch]

What if I buy new drivers... They're pretty cheap, right? Maybe I can buy a pair of drivers that take the 3.3v pvm directly?

The Mars Aqua boards are only $15, I think they'd still be cheaper:

PWM Converter for Mars Aqua by ML Reefkeeping on Tindie

Control Mars Aqua LED lights with PWM

www.tindie.com

 

[Schreiber]

But if defining a doser in the tab then I can setup the PWM board and specify my jacks (pins 0-3 on the PCA9685). In the dosing tab I would just the Jack and pin from the board. So for my first pump its connected to pin 0 on the PWM board so I have Jack 0 and Pin 0. Not sure when to use the pin # as defined by the datasheet.

I may be mis-reading what you're saying, but I'll give it a shot.

When you're setting up a dosing pump, the Jack & Pin number are going to be the same. I don't think there's anywhere you actually need to use the physical pin# in Reef Pi for the PCA9685. Without seeing the portion of the guide you're referring to, I can't say for sure. But I think the reference to Pin 12 on the PCA9685 was just a mixup in naming. I know I've done it multiple times going back & forth between physical & GPIO pinos on the Pi itself.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Kinda at a loss and broke reef-pi by changing the driver board name so I am doing a clean install. From the other threads I have read the default i2c address should be 64 for the PCA9685 but when I run i2cdetect I was seeing two separate addresses 0x40 and 0x70 (tried the default as well). I think this may be my issue but after trying both of these I still cant get it to work. Looking at the error log I found this
Jan 01 19:41:41 raspberrypi reef-pi[312]: 2020/01/01 19:41:41 ERROR: lighting-subsystem: Failed to set pwm value. Error: pin 4 on jack 5 has no driver: driver 2 for jack BlueLight not found: driver by id 2 not available

and after changing the address I would get {error:Failed to update. Error: invalid pin 0: driver 2 for jack Pump1 not found: driver by id 2 not available} when I went to re-save the jack in the connector tab.

 

[Ranjib]

Kinda at a loss and broke reef-pi by changing the driver board name so I am doing a clean install. From the other threads I have read the default i2c address should be 64 for the PCA9685 but when I run i2cdetect I was seeing two separate addresses 0x40 and 0x70 (tried the default as well). I think this may be my issue but after trying both of these I still cant get it to work. Looking at the error log I found this
Jan 01 19:41:41 raspberrypi reef-pi[312]: 2020/01/01 19:41:41 ERROR: lighting-subsystem: Failed to set pwm value. Error: pin 4 on jack 5 has no driver: driver 2 for jack BlueLight not found: driver by id 2 not available

and after changing the address I would get {error:Failed to update. Error: invalid pin 0: driver 2 for jack Pump1 not found: driver by id 2 not available} when I went to re-save the jack in the connector tab.

0x40 and 0x70 is normal, 0x40 or 64 in decimal is the address you want to use to create new driver.then create a jack and associate it with the new driver. And then create light and associate it with the newly created jack. 0x70 is all call address used to set pwm values for all pins at once. We don’t use it in reef-pi

 

[Schreiber]

... From the other threads I have read the default i2c address should be 64 for the PCA9685 but when I run i2cdetect I was seeing two separate addresses 0x40 and 0x70 (tried the default as well)...

0x40 is the address in hexadecimal format. That converts to 64 in decimal, which is what you should enter. When you get your clean install up & going, try 64 as the address. If it's seeing 0x40, you're good to go.

EDIT: Ranjib beat me to it by seconds & in more detail, lol.

 

[marekd1]

Kinda at a loss and broke reef-pi by changing the driver board name so I am doing a clean install. From the other threads I have read the default i2c address should be 64 for the PCA9685 but when I run i2cdetect I was seeing two separate addresses 0x40 and 0x70 (tried the default as well). I think this may be my issue but after trying both of these I still cant get it to work. Looking at the error log I found this
Jan 01 19:41:41 raspberrypi reef-pi[312]: 2020/01/01 19:41:41 ERROR: lighting-subsystem: Failed to set pwm value. Error: pin 4 on jack 5 has no driver: driver 2 for jack BlueLight not found: driver by id 2 not available

and after changing the address I would get {error:Failed to update. Error: invalid pin 0: driver 2 for jack Pump1 not found: driver by id 2 not available} when I went to re-save the jack in the connector tab.

No need to do complete rebuild, just delete the reef-pi.db file and you should be fine with all defaults back.

Troubleshooting | reef-pi - An opensource reef tank controller based on Raspberry Pi

Check if reef-pi is running sudo systemctl status reef-pi.service Check for errors in log sudo journalctl -fu reef-pi.service Connecting reef-pi using a TTL cable. Adafruit has an excellent tutorial on how to use USB TTL cable to configure raspberry pi, in cases where display and keyboard...

reef-pi.github.io

 

[marekd1]

I assume that it's referring to physical pin 12, which is routed to LED 6. Here's the pinout diagram for the actual PCA9685 chip. What section in the lighting guide are you referring to? I couldn't find it.

basically here is how you need to wire it up.

If your light is using 4 channels assign LED0 through LED3 for light control and if you want to control pwm doser with two pumps connect to next available pins i.e. LED4 and LED5. Or if you want to give yourself options for growth on the light start assigning light from LED0, LED1, etc and your doser from the back i.e LED15,LED14 etc

 

[raketemensch]

What's the cheapest relay to grab these days? The docs show an SRP8, which seems to be either no longer available or pretty schpensy. This guy looks decent:

JBtek 8 Channel DC 5V Relay Module

I've got one of these coming already, it's what I use for my ATO pump right now:

uxcell IEC255 DC 12V Coil 8Pin DPDT Electromagnetic Power Relay w Socket Base

I think I can just connect it to IO21 and GND? Or do I need to supply 12v to the goby hat as well to pass it through?

I'll use that for the moment, but would like something with more outlets.

What's interesting is that building it myself, with a cheap 8-channel 5v relay, the jumper wires, a 4-gang junction box, 4 outlets, the 4-gang outlet cover and the romex wire to wire it all up comes to ~$55. It seems like there might be a pre-built option for around that price, or within $10-15. The Kasa HS300 is only $20 more, but of course it's only 6 outlets, not 8.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Here is how I set it up in the UI. I am confident that I wired it correctly as I have done it before but cant post schematic if everything looks correct up to this point. After clean install I can still see the PWM board on i2c and no errors are popping up in the log.

 

[burningbaal]

anybody have a slick easy and free way to regularly backup the reef-pi.db file? I'm thinking a daily cron on my laptop to scp to it (but have a sudo issue) or some kind of cron on the pi to push the file at adafruit.io or my google drive, maybe somewhere else?

 

[Schreiber]

What's the cheapest relay to grab these days? The docs show an SRP8, which seems to be either no longer available or pretty schpensy. This guy looks decent:

JBtek 8 Channel DC 5V Relay Module
...

...I'll use that for the moment, but would like something with more outlets.

What's interesting is that building it myself, with a cheap 8-channel 5v relay, the jumper wires, a 4-gang junction box, 4 outlets, the 4-gang outlet cover and the romex wire to wire it all up comes to ~$55. It seems like there might be a pre-built option for around that price, or within $10-15. The Kasa HS300 is only $20 more, but of course it's only 6 outlets, not 8.

I've used those 8 channel relay boards before, they're pretty nice & I've never had any issues with them.

The main benefit of building your own setup with relays is the flexibility. Overall, you'll probably save a little money, but once you factor in the time of building & wiring it, it's pretty much a wash. But with pre-built options, you're stuck with their exact physical dimensions, number of outlets, (likely) very cheap components & wiring, etc. If you're like me, having a setup you know is wired correctly with good parts is worth the extra time spent.

 

[Schreiber]

Here is how I set it up in the UI. I am confident that I wired it correctly as I have done it before but cant post schematic if everything looks correct up to this point. After clean install I can still see the PWM board on i2c and no errors are popping up in the log.

Everything looks good to me, are you having issues with it? Only thing that sticks out to me is the fact you have one of your PCA9685 jacks set to active high, while the rest are low. I assume you did that on purpose though.

 

[lmm1967]

Basic questions..... - is there a specific reason why the build tutorials use that stereo jack for the temp sensors? Rather than risk me forgetting about not being able to connect/disconnect temp sensors I'm thinking of going with a 3 prong connector.

And - I'm going to assume I'm fine extending the wires of the temp sensors without too much trouble?

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Everything looks good to me, are you having issues with it? Only thing that sticks out to me is the fact you have one of your PCA9685 jacks set to active high, while the rest are low. I assume you did that on purpose though.

Thanks for checking on that as I wasn't entirely sure I had the jacks setup correctly. The active high was just messing around to see if something was missing/reversed in wiring. Just shooting in the dark.

I broke out the multimeter and tried to find continuity issues and found a missing 5V input on the motor driver (bad solder). Didn't fix the issue. I can try and post a schematic or picture of my wiring tonight. I really hate being stuck on a problem that will likely be something simple and stupid. haha

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Here is my wiring (GF was home and took a picture for me). The terminals go to the dosing pumps and the barrel connection in bottom left goes to the LED strip. 12V input on the right barrel to the bottom rails and the LM2596 which outputs 5.05V to the top rail. The L293D on the left is offset one space to the right. Everything seems to match from what I see...

edit: may have hooked PCA to the wrong voltage input. Not sure why I was able to see the address and communicate with it if that power isn’t used for anything besides servo power

 

[Schreiber]

I've officially got my Reef-Pi board finalized- meet Leviathan!!

It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here! I've had a couple of people testing them, including myself, & they've worked great. I got tired of dealing with re-wiring my setup every time I wanted to add a new feature & when asked to build a Reef-Pi setup for a friend, I knew there was no way I was doing it all from scratch again.

I wasn't totally satisfied with any of the pre-existing Reef-Pi boards out there to buy, none I found had the ability to do both dosing & light control. Plus, I didn't need to use the ULN2803, as I wasn't going to be using the ADJ strip.

I'll be selling them soon- if you're interested in signing up for one, or finding out more about Leviathan, check out this link.

 

[burningbaal]

I've used those 8 channel relay boards before, they're pretty nice & I've never had any issues with them.

The main benefit of building your own setup with relays is the flexibility. Overall, you'll probably save a little money, but once you factor in the time of building & wiring it, it's pretty much a wash. But with pre-built options, you're stuck with their exact physical dimensions, number of outlets, (likely) very cheap components & wiring, etc. If you're like me, having a setup you know is wired correctly with good parts is worth the extra time spent.

I've thought of wiring this into my tripp-lite. I've got these 8 manual switches that I basically don't use anymore since I got my reef-pi running. I was thinking I'd like to add some normally-on outlets (since the adj is normally off) to put a few mission-critical things on like heaters (I'm in the PNW and it's in the basement), the return and at least on powerhead. Anyways, I also figured, especially for a normally-on relay, I'd like to have a manual switch. Has anyone broke open something like mine and hacked a relay set into it?

existing switched outlets

Idea for relay set from @raketemensch (to run alongside the existing 12V ADJ relays)

 

[thaistalyn]

What's the cheapest relay to grab these days? The docs show an SRP8, which seems to be either no longer available or pretty schpensy. This guy looks decent:

JBtek 8 Channel DC 5V Relay Module

I've got one of these coming already, it's what I use for my ATO pump right now:

uxcell IEC255 DC 12V Coil 8Pin DPDT Electromagnetic Power Relay w Socket Base

I think I can just connect it to IO21 and GND? Or do I need to supply 12v to the goby hat as well to pass it through?

I'll use that for the moment, but would like something with more outlets.

What's interesting is that building it myself, with a cheap 8-channel 5v relay, the jumper wires, a 4-gang junction box, 4 outlets, the 4-gang outlet cover and the romex wire to wire it all up comes to ~$55. It seems like there might be a pre-built option for around that price, or within $10-15. The Kasa HS300 is only $20 more, but of course it's only 6 outlets, not 8.

I put together a fairly nice power box for about $45 total, but used a nice box from amazon. You could probably spend less on the enclosure and save even more. I also have wire and just cut up an old power supply cord to use as the box feed. I'm going to put up my build later with part links - just waiting for the wife to print me some stickers with her "cricket"

Bud Industries CU-3285 – 18.10
HiLetgo 12V 8 Channel Relay Module - 9.39
Anmbest 2PC DB9 - 7.99 (you only need 1)
GLE2016 10 PCs Black US 3 Pin Power – 8.99

TOTAL = $44.47

 

[Ranjib]

We (family ) are in vacation , Maui , Hawaii. Here are some pics from the public aquarium .

It’s amazing to see how big some of these fish gets in their natural habitat, compared to aquariums

Moorish idol , if I ever get a bigger tank , may be I’ll have this :-). They are pretty hard to keep from what I understand

Their water filtration system

Scorpion fish ?

Junior is having a blast :-)