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

[Des Westcott]

Upgraded to 3.2. Went without a hitch. Dashboard is working again as expected.

Thanks Ranjib

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Hi everyone,
I have just published 3.2 release builds. Its pretty small change, primarily fixing the dashboard issue. Due to a bug in 3.1/3.0, you may have to reconfigure the dashboard again via UI. Data and rest everything should not be impacted. Its exclusively UI related issue.
Release builds can be found in the usual location: https://github.com/reef-pi/reef-pi/releases/tag/3.2

Working great! Thank you for the hard work!

 

[Ranjib]

So even hosting on a dedicated LAN sees network drops? Is that drops between the pi and outlet or drops between the outlet an googles servers? In all honesty, I don’t think I’d really care if it ever reached out to google or amazon successfully as long as it maintained a solid connection to the pi in a closed LAN. I see the possibility of having a separate programmed routine for life support function should the pi drop out as a massive leg up on the traditional relay bar.

Yeah, this is a nasty problem with google Wifi. Where it drops local lan when cloud connectivity is gone,. This is specific to the google WiFi, I bet it will be fine with other router based setup.
Pi or reef-pi does not have much to do with your home network stability, it’s really yours isp (when using their setup) or your own setup (when setting up additional WiFi ssid with separate router).

 

[Ranjib]

I’m in process of slowly tearing down the current infrastructure (a word we use at job to describe the entire server fleet) of my home . Around 11 different pi’s are dedicated for different purposes at current place. 5 of them are reef-pi, rest are used for home assistant , octo pi (3D printer) , chu chu pi (model railroad ) etc. here’s a rundown of charts from the existing fleet of reef-pi.

I have a pi zero with only a single temperature sensor in my apartment patio . It gives outside temperature measurement and can act as a backup controller for all smart outlet related setup. I call it balcony (hostname) . All reef-pi builds are deployed here first.

I have another pi controlling all my garage equipment , stuff like oscilloscope, small refrigerator, various other equipment . It’s Adj powerstrip based and similar to the balcony setup not connected to any tank . Release builds are deployed here after the balcony

Next is my first dev tank setup. It’s a pico tank powered by hs300 with all the Essential reef-pi modules (ato, temp , ph etc). This is the first setup with tank where reef-pi new releases are installed.

Next is two are my real reef tanks located in our living room , my mixed reef pico tank controller ,

And my biocube29

These have served me well. Recently I configure macros to facilitate water change in each of them. Nano (biocube29 ) has more equipment (e.g, skimmer ) than the pico

Pico water change macro

Just thought I’ll share this with you all and also keep a record of reef-pi 3.0 in action. I can look back in future and ponder about how far we have come ;-)

 

[Ranjib]

Talking about internet dropout, here is how it looks on the long term chart (from my metrics setup, grafana/Prometheus). This chart shows last three months data . You can notice the network drop out as distinct bands with no data.

 

[Ranjib]

As I was briefly talking about hs300 and it’s current monitoring capabilities, here is the chart of the current draw by heater (from garage pico tank). The hs300 driver exposes 6 outlet and 6 analog input , each represent current draw from corresponding outlet. I use the heater related analog input to setup a fake ph probe.
I am yet to do the math an apply calibration , the heater is rated for 50 watts , if I recall correctly

 

[lilgrounchuck]

Talking about internet dropout, here is how it looks on the long term chart (from my metrics setup, grafana/Prometheus). This chart shows last three months data . You can notice the network drop out as distinct bands with no data.

I think I may give the HS300 a shot. I've got a pretty reliable setup at home and zoned out my APs so nothing really drops. I've had the ISP go down on me a few times over the last year, but my LAN side doesn't skip a beat.

 

[bishoptf]

Insert dramatic music.....

It has begun, probably going to be the slowest build ever but we are on our way, would like to have been around but a lot of life/health stuff showed up and side tracked me for awhile. I will be starting a build thread but have so much to learn and figure out yet. I am reading boatloads and trying to figure out a good path, will be a nano 29g with a 20l sump. I have been lazy this time and purchased all the reef-pi hat stuff from Michael Lane, currently its all in my holding spot (the sump tank) until I get a lot further down the road.

Glad things are still chugging along...wooo hooo!

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Insert dramatic music.....

It has begun, probably going to be the slowest build ever but we are on our way, would like to have been around but a lot of life/health stuff showed up and side tracked me for awhile. I will be starting a build thread but have so much to learn and figure out yet. I am reading boatloads and trying to figure out a good path, will be a nano 29g with a 20l sump. I have been lazy this time and purchased all the reef-pi hat stuff from Michael Lane, currently its all in my holding spot (the sump tank) until I get a lot further down the road.

Glad things are still chugging along...wooo hooo!

Haha I know the feeling. I started on my saltwater journey in June of 2019....didnt get water in my tank until 2020. Still don't know you know what from a hole in the ground, but I'm getting there.

Slow and steady wins the race here, no doubt about it. You're off to a good start.

 

[jhoop]

FYI :

New Version 3.2 Set it up fine. Then it looked like the same issue with 3.1 Dashboard was not updating. I would reload and it would work for a bit. Then dashboard stopped working or could not configure it. After playing around..........found out.

Firefox was using cached pages. So I would configure it then go to look at the config and it would cache back to where I started. Found where to reload all new pages and it is working fine.

Thank You Ranjib for a great project and all the work you do !

 

[Ranjib]

FYI :

New Version 3.2 Set it up fine. Then it looked like the same issue with 3.1 Dashboard was not updating. I would reload and it would work for a bit. Then dashboard stopped working or could not configure it. After playing around..........found out.

Firefox was using cached pages. So I would configure it then go to look at the config and it would cache back to where I started. Found where to reload all new pages and it is working fine.

Thank You Ranjib for a great project and all the work you do !

Glad it worked out.
Frontend is not my main strength. Browser specific nuances and caching behavior adds to more complexity :-/

 

[Ranjib]

Insert dramatic music.....

It has begun, probably going to be the slowest build ever but we are on our way, would like to have been around but a lot of life/health stuff showed up and side tracked me for awhile. I will be starting a build thread but have so much to learn and figure out yet. I am reading boatloads and trying to figure out a good path, will be a nano 29g with a 20l sump. I have been lazy this time and purchased all the reef-pi hat stuff from Michael Lane, currently its all in my holding spot (the sump tank) until I get a lot further down the road.

Glad things are still chugging along...wooo hooo!

Looking good :-) . Take your time, family first

 

[Justinlee120]

Just starting to dig into all of this, but thank you so much for putting this all together! It's incredible really.

 

[Ranjib]

Just starting to dig into all of this, but thank you so much for putting this all together! It's incredible really.

Thank you for the kind words. It means world to us.
Welcome to reef2reef :-)

 

[drbogger]

I'm going to start my Reef-Pi build soon.

Raspberry Pi 3 or 4.... Which is better to use for Reef-Pi?

 

[Schreiber]

I'm going to start my Reef-Pi build soon.

Raspberry Pi 3 or 4.... Which is better to use for Reef-Pi?

Go for the 3, unless you're planning on using that same Pi to run multiple other things other than Reef-Pi.

Even the 3 is way more powerful than Reef-Pi really needs, but it has full-size HDMI & USB ports, which is a nice upgrade from the Zero W. Plus, if you were to use the 4, it only comes with Micro HDMI, so you'll need an adapter to set it up.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

a pi4 would be overkill. Pi zero W or pi 3 will work. Just kinda depends on what you would like to do, how much you will be accessing it and if you want to connect a display. Either way go cheap!

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

3B would be my choice. For full lan/hdmi.

Zero if on a budget. I run a 3B for my main tank (temp, pH, ATO, lights, etc). On my coral/invert QT use a zero for temp and lights.

 

[drbogger]

Is reef-pi fully functional with the Raspberry Pi 4?

For being the same price, I'm debating on just going for the Pi 4... Should I?

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Is reef-pi fully functional with the Raspberry Pi 4?

For being the same price, I'm debating on just going for the Pi 4... Should I?

When you are talking about $10-30 part costs it doesn't vary a whole ton so I would say if you won't miss the extra $40 or so, go for it. Pi zero w is about $10 and a pi 4 is about $45

It should be fully functional. If you ever want to upgrade to an Apex a Pi 4 would make a great retro gaming system or media center.