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

[Bigtrout]

Hi, so I wanted to introduce myself to everyone, I’m Rob and I love aquarium controllers. About 5 years ago I started building a controller of my own Robo-Tank, it’s pretty cool but expensive for a few reasons, limited web access and the display ran on an Arduino so it was slow to load like the 90s. A few months ago I decided I was going to use a Raspberry Pi to get away from the Arduino display and have a web page communicate with the controller.

Someone mentioned I should build some hardware for Reef-pi but I didn’t think Ranjib would appreciate that, man was I wrong, he’s been very welcoming, thanks! Doing the web app would be a big learning curve for me which is why I never had it, Arduino code is easy compared to what would be needed for an app so I thought instead of trying to re-invent the wheel I would help contribute to Reef-pi and help it grow.

I’ve been spending some time with it and impressed, great job Ranjib. One thing that’s definitely lacking is setup info, and I fully understand why, so I plan to make a nice set of manuals and such and keep them updated, hoping I can bug some of you for info on features I’m not sure about.

I love making boards, I’m not a professional by any means but can do ok and have been involved with electronics basically my whole life. What I want to do for Reef-pi is make a variety of hardware and patch cables so it’s easy to connect equipment. I love how expandable Reef-pi is, with the right hardware skies the limit and I have lots of ideas.

Open-source concept is fairly new to me, even though Reef-pi is open-source I still viewed it as Ranjib’s software and never imagined I could do this, so to be fair everything I make will be open-source as well. I have to figure out the Git-hub and such but once I get things finalized I’ll just post files on my site for now. I also make 3D cases for everything so those will be available as well.

Well here’s my first Reef-pi prototype.

I have a smaller version without pH and a nice 8 outlet AC power bar that plugs in the DB9's.

Nice boards and enclosures!!!

That is ths magic of open source. The community. Everyone can add to the project in their own way. You can make a nice board and enclosure. Others can add ideas. Some can help on the software end. Im pretty much a hardware and troubleshooting guy so I try to cruise the threads here and help out people who need help with a build.
The other great thing is how modular reef pi is. You can customize your build to your needs. All in all it makes for a great experience. I know its easy to go buy a 1000 dollar controller and just hook it up but you can build a reef pi thats just as capable for less than a quarter of that and get a learning experience and sense of accomplishment when its your own controller running your tank!

 

[Bigtrout]

Thanks for the reply, I thought you built yours but couldn't remember.

Yeah I'm comfortable with AC wiring I've done a good bit, the problem i have is the enclosure part, what did you use for an enclosure? If you know of any good build how to's for the relay stuff shoot me a PM etc, some of the ones I've seen cobbled together not really how I'd want to have it, for me it was always figuring out a decent enclosure.

Update: This one looks pretty decent https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/another-reef-pi-build.506894/page-4, but would like something more compact, always the dang enclosure. I keep almost getting a 3d printer and that would be nice to print something out for the enclosure. Wiring looks really straight forward, nothing difficult there that I see.

I built an all in one enclosure. All my boards, ph and real time clock module, mosfet pwm modules, power supplies and outlets are all in one box. I used a 10 dollar parts box from Home Depot as my case. Its not glamourous but functional. Theres enough room for expansion but its still small enough to mount under my stand even with a 40 breeder sump.

 

[crusso1993]

Its not glamourous but functional.

Sounds a lot like what people have been saying about me my whole life!

 

[AquaRaider44]

Hello,

I think this is a question for @Ranjib but might be for someone else who is good at this stuff.

I would like to figure out how to delete all recorded data in the database before a date. For example, delete everything before January 22 1 month ago. I still want to keep all calibrations and settings.

The reason being that I opened this bug and it is stuck showing wrong info https://github.com/reef-pi/reef-pi/issues/1054

If deleting certain date ranges is not possible is it possible to delete all the recorded data but keep all calibrations and settings.

 

[Des Westcott]

Hello,

I think this is a question for @Ranjib but might be for someone else who is good at this stuff.

I would like to figure out how to delete all recorded data in the database before a date. For example, delete everything before January 22 1 month ago. I still want to keep all calibrations and settings.

The reason being that I opened this bug and it is stuck showing wrong info https://github.com/reef-pi/reef-pi/issues/1054

If deleting certain date ranges is not possible is it possible to delete all the recorded data but keep all calibrations and settings.

Hi

Try follow this

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

@Ranjib tried what you posted above and it seemed to have worked. Definitely fixed the historical graph, however it's still using the 0-12 scale so small changes (in 0.XX's) are hard to see. Is there a way to force 5-10 range? Or did I miss something?... Which is possible because of the wall of...

www.reef2reef.com

Is for editing graphs, but should work to delete all data for a range.

 

[Badfish2too]

Hi, so I wanted to introduce myself to everyone, I’m Rob and I love aquarium controllers. About 5 years ago I started building a controller of my own Robo-Tank, it’s pretty cool but expensive for a few reasons, limited web access and the display ran on an Arduino so it was slow to load like the 90s. A few months ago I decided I was going to use a Raspberry Pi to get away from the Arduino display and have a web page communicate with the controller.

Someone mentioned I should build some hardware for Reef-pi but I didn’t think Ranjib would appreciate that, man was I wrong, he’s been very welcoming, thanks! Doing the web app would be a big learning curve for me which is why I never had it, Arduino code is easy compared to what would be needed for an app so I thought instead of trying to re-invent the wheel I would help contribute to Reef-pi and help it grow.

I’ve been spending some time with it and impressed, great job Ranjib. One thing that’s definitely lacking is setup info, and I fully understand why, so I plan to make a nice set of manuals and such and keep them updated, hoping I can bug some of you for info on features I’m not sure about.

I love making boards, I’m not a professional by any means but can do ok and have been involved with electronics basically my whole life. What I want to do for Reef-pi is make a variety of hardware and patch cables so it’s easy to connect equipment. I love how expandable Reef-pi is, with the right hardware skies the limit and I have lots of ideas.

Open-source concept is fairly new to me, even though Reef-pi is open-source I still viewed it as Ranjib’s software and never imagined I could do this, so to be fair everything I make will be open-source as well. I have to figure out the Git-hub and such but once I get things finalized I’ll just post files on my site for now. I also make 3D cases for everything so those will be available as well.

Well here’s my first Reef-pi prototype.

I have a smaller version without pH and a nice 8 outlet AC power bar that plugs in the DB9's.

Hey! Is that mine?

 

[robsworld78]

Thanks for the welcome everyone and @Badfish2too soon it could be, you never know.

 

[Ranjib]

Hi, so I wanted to introduce myself to everyone, I’m Rob and I love aquarium controllers. About 5 years ago I started building a controller of my own Robo-Tank, it’s pretty cool but expensive for a few reasons, limited web access and the display ran on an Arduino so it was slow to load like the 90s. A few months ago I decided I was going to use a Raspberry Pi to get away from the Arduino display and have a web page communicate with the controller.

Someone mentioned I should build some hardware for Reef-pi but I didn’t think Ranjib would appreciate that, man was I wrong, he’s been very welcoming, thanks! Doing the web app would be a big learning curve for me which is why I never had it, Arduino code is easy compared to what would be needed for an app so I thought instead of trying to re-invent the wheel I would help contribute to Reef-pi and help it grow.

I’ve been spending some time with it and impressed, great job Ranjib. One thing that’s definitely lacking is setup info, and I fully understand why, so I plan to make a nice set of manuals and such and keep them updated, hoping I can bug some of you for info on features I’m not sure about.

I love making boards, I’m not a professional by any means but can do ok and have been involved with electronics basically my whole life. What I want to do for Reef-pi is make a variety of hardware and patch cables so it’s easy to connect equipment. I love how expandable Reef-pi is, with the right hardware skies the limit and I have lots of ideas.

Open-source concept is fairly new to me, even though Reef-pi is open-source I still viewed it as Ranjib’s software and never imagined I could do this, so to be fair everything I make will be open-source as well. I have to figure out the Git-hub and such but once I get things finalized I’ll just post files on my site for now. I also make 3D cases for everything so those will be available as well.

Well here’s my first Reef-pi prototype.

I have a smaller version without pH and a nice 8 outlet AC power bar that plugs in the DB9's.

Welcome to reef2reef, home of reef-pi. We are delighted to have you among us Rob. Thank you for making robotank hardware reef-pi compatible , this will provide North American users even more options to choose from. I really appreciate the help with manuals and documentation. We have been lacking on that significantly

let us know if you need any help and please drop us a post here as and when new hardware become available

 

[robsworld78]

Welcome to reef2reef, home of reef-pi. We are delighted to have you among us Rob. Thank you for making robotank hardware reef-pi compatible , this will provide North American users even more options to choose from. I really appreciate the help with manuals and documentation. We have been lacking on that significantly

let us know if you need any help and please drop us a post here as and when new hardware become available

Thanks Ranjib and I understand why manuals are last on the list, it's the least I can do.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

For a relatively technical person I am drawing a blank on how to hook up a Kasa HS103
Based on an earlier post I found this

Use reef-pi 3.0,
1) Go to Configuration -> drivers -> New driver (type: hs103, address: "IP:9999" , use proper ip)
2) Go to connectors -> outlets -> new -> create an outlet and associate it with the newly created driver (pin 0)
3) Create a new equipment or associate an existing equipment with the new connector

For the IP section would it just be the local IP or do you need to know the port #? How can I find the port number of my switch? I think I once logged on to my router but completely lost the log in information...

 

[AquaRaider44]

Hi

Try follow this

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

@Ranjib tried what you posted above and it seemed to have worked. Definitely fixed the historical graph, however it's still using the 0-12 scale so small changes (in 0.XX's) are hard to see. Is there a way to force 5-10 range? Or did I miss something?... Which is possible because of the wall of...

www.reef2reef.com

Is for editing graphs, but should work to delete all data for a range.

Thank you!
I did manage to solve it

Hopefully @Ranjib will add a check to make sure that all the graph data is in logical order.

 

[Ranjib]

For a relatively technical person I am drawing a blank on how to hook up a Kasa HS103
Based on an earlier post I found this

Use reef-pi 3.0,
1) Go to Configuration -> drivers -> New driver (type: hs103, address: "IP:9999" , use proper ip)
2) Go to connectors -> outlets -> new -> create an outlet and associate it with the newly created driver (pin 0)
3) Create a new equipment or associate an existing equipment with the new connector

For the IP section would it just be the local IP or do you need to know the port #? How can I find the port number of my switch? I think I once logged on to my router but completely lost the log in information...

You have to specify the port, use 9999 if you are not sure.

 

[Bigtrout]

Thank you!
I did manage to solve it

Hopefully @Ranjib will add a check to make sure that all the graph data is in logical order.

To find the IP address if you can get a free app for an android phone called FING. You can see all the ip addresses of all your devices hooked to your network with it.

 

[janos]

Hi to all,sorry for the stupid question but could not go over on this one.Reef-pi working for me for 3 year long now i try to change something and i could not save.Please if you have time and patient help me out.That is a simple timer for my sump,was working for a year no problem but now i try to change the time and could not do.What i do wrong.Please do not advise to upgrade because i have lung cancer and Friday i go to surgery.Just a simple thing what i do wrong.Thank you for your time and patient.

 

[Michael Lane]

Hi to all,sorry for the stupid question but could not go over on this one.Reef-pi working for me for 3 year long now i try to change something and i could not save.Please if you have time and patient help me out.That is a simple timer for my sump,was working for a year no problem but now i try to change the time and could not do.What i do wrong.Please do not advise to upgrade because i have lung cancer and Friday i go to surgery.Just a simple thing what i do wrong.Thank you for your time and patient.

The timer expects cron format. Use 20 instead of 8.PM.

 

[janos]

The timer expects cron format. Use 20 instead of 8.PM.

Thank you working.Start to forget things when you don`t need to touch for a year.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

You have to specify the port, use 9999 if you are not sure.

Thanks! Got it working

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Those of you using ULN2803 off of Mike's HAT with a DB9 to control a powerstrip, where are tapping in the GND? Mike's had doesn't have a dedicated ground pin on the 12v headers, one pin is "NC"...not connected?

 

[Michael Lane]

Those of you using ULN2803 off of Mike's HAT with a DB9 to control a powerstrip, where are tapping in the GND? Mike's had doesn't have a dedicated ground pin on the 12v headers, one pin is "NC"...not connected?

NC is not connected, that pin on the DB-9 connectors is not connected. ULN2803 switches on the low side, so GND is not routed over the DB-9 connector.

 

[robsworld78]

Here's a 8 channel PWM converter board that could be useful to some. It uses the LM358 op-amp, 5v PWM goes in and you can use the jumpers so it outputs one of the following, each channel is independent. The schematic is attached if you want to make one and I offer them as well.

• 0-5v PWM
• 0-10v PWM
• 0-5v Analog
• 0-10v Analog