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

[lmm1967]

for me its only pi4+raspberry pi os. All the older pi 3a/3b/zero are fine, running on raspbian buster.

I just swapped over to a

• Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Rev 1.2

I'll see what happens.

 

[theatrus]

for me its only pi4+raspberry pi os. All the older pi 3a/3b/zero are fine, running on raspbian buster.

Is there any activity on the 1-wire pin?

Don't have an RPi4 to test anything on :)

 

[jsweir]

I've read about some heat issues with the 4 so I think I might start with a 3b+

 

[Bigtrout]

I've read about some heat issues with the 4 so I think I might start with a 3b+

My reef pi controls alot and is happily chugging along on a 10 dollar pi zero w...no issues to speak of. @Ranjib and others can attest to the fact that a pi zero w is plenty for what reef pi does.

 

[robsworld78]

hello,

I finally received the sensors two weeks ago just before my holidays.
I just had the time to do some tests with an arduino ... the small sensor seems not to be very reliable (i bought the three different sensor ! )
( Non-contact_Liquid_Level_Switch_SKU_FIT0212-DFRobot )
to be tested with a raspberry and reefpi. I'll keep you informed.

have a good day

Thanks for reporting that sensor isn't very reliable, what was the problem with it? I've been using this one and it seems pretty solid, is this one of the others you bought?

Revolutionary Non-contact Liquid Level Sensor for Arduino

Explore the innovative non-contact liquid level sensor for Arduino with cutting-edge XKC-Y25-T12V chip. Perfect for hazardous environments.

www.dfrobot.com

Remember the Pi is only 3.3v tolerant, if you power sensor with 5v it'll put that out too.

 

[theatrus]

Remember the Pi is only 3.3v tolerant, if you power sensor with 5v it'll put that out too.

This is the most common issue I see with wiring the DS18B20 to the Raspberry Pi - Using 5V for the pullup, but then connecting to an RPi Pin which is very much not 5V tolerant.

You can power the sensor at 5V, but the pull-up needs to be to 3.3V - the 1-wire bus is Open Collector and can only pull down the pin (it shouldn't ever get to 5V from this split power arrangement). There is usually no advantage to doing this though, except for the fact that many of the DS18B20 clones just don't work like the real Maxim part, so anything can happen.

Technically, the power pin is not at all required as 1-wire has a parasitic power mode, but this is very clearly documented as just not working on many of the clone chips you find in the cheap probe cables.

 

[lmm1967]

I just swapped over to a

• Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Rev 1.2

I'll see what happens.

RPi 3b - Reef-Pi 3.4 - latest and greatest kernel.

As we know - no issues with the connections screen. Previous temp sensor error has changed to:

Temperature sensor failure. Error:EOF

& I'm seeing this occassionally:
Current value of 'FragTemp' is below minimum threshold. Executing up routine

 

[Smin]

Yes. For the time being. I think I have fixed the issue with updated raspberry pi os, we are in process of testing it.

If you want anyone else to test it out give me a shout!
I'm tempted to get a pi zero and use the 4 for another project, there seem to be quite a few bugs popping up with it that are is related

 

[Ranjib]

Is there any activity on the 1-wire pin?

Don't have an RPi4 to test anything on :)

you mean electrical stuff? i didn't put it under scope/logic analyzer, till now only checked dmesg .,, there's very little in there, with only one error message ""

RPi 3b - Reef-Pi 3.4 - latest and greatest kernel.

As we know - no issues with the connections screen. Previous temp sensor error has changed to:

Temperature sensor failure. Error:EOF

& I'm seeing this occassionally:
Current value of 'FragTemp' is below minimum threshold. Executing up routine

Is it working otherwise?

 

[Ranjib]

Some updates on the pi 4 and new raspberry os testing:
After last two days of extensive testing, I was able to get temp sensor working. My initial issues were due to wiring/bad sensor (as usual). Heres my pi4 test setup running on raspberry os (upgraded) with working temperature sensor

I did encounter issues with GPIO driver, which has been fixed in master now. So, even though temp sensor is working , please wait for 2.5 release if you want to upgrade raspberry pi os on rpi 4.

 

[lmm1967]

Is it working otherwise?

Beautifully so far - Got ATO up and going last night.

I have to say that so far I'm thrilled with the robo-tank hardware and your software combo - last GHL controller got listed for sale this morning.

 

[Ranjib]

Beautifully so far - Got ATO up and going last night.

I have to say that so far I'm thrilled with the robo-tank hardware and your software combo - last GHL controller got listed for sale this morning.

That is very nice to hear :-) , thank you. it was reef-pi's dream to be a humble little controller to make reef keeping easy, and automation affordable, while keeping the innovation possible through open philosophy. Feedbacks like this are our primary way to understand if we are able to achieve that goal

 

[Bigtrout]

That is very nice to hear :) , thank you. it was reef-pi's dream to be a humble little controller to make reef keeping easy, and automation affordable, while keeping the innovation possible through open philosophy. Feedbacks like this are our primary way to understand if we are able to achieve that goal

It makes planted tank keeping easy as well. Ph controller, heater controller(that caught a failed heater) and the ability to hack a 69 dollar beamswork and give it more functionality than a 180 dollar fluval 3.0 led light is just....AWESOME!

 

[robsworld78]

This is the most common issue I see with wiring the DS18B20 to the Raspberry Pi - Using 5V for the pullup, but then connecting to an RPi Pin which is very much not 5V tolerant.

You can power the sensor at 5V, but the pull-up needs to be to 3.3V - the 1-wire bus is Open Collector and can only pull down the pin (it shouldn't ever get to 5V from this split power arrangement). There is usually no advantage to doing this though, except for the fact that many of the DS18B20 clones just don't work like the real Maxim part, so anything can happen.

Technically, the power pin is not at all required as 1-wire has a parasitic power mode, but this is very clearly documented as just not working on many of the clone chips you find in the cheap probe cables.

I agree, that's what I do, power the DS18B20 with 5v but use 3.3v on pullup. I don't like the idea of powering sensor with 3.3v as voltage drops are too great with long cables. I've never ran them on parasitic power, my gut thinks it's not as good though but could be wrong.

A resistor voltage divider with works well for sensor pins but thing I don't like about that is you can never use those pins for an extra 1wire bus as resistor blocks the DS18B20. For I2C I use the BSS138 to convert to 5v from Pi which seems to work well.

Beautifully so far - Got ATO up and going last night.

I have to say that so far I'm thrilled with the robo-tank hardware and your software combo - last GHL controller got listed for sale this morning.

Glad to hear you're happy, I think Ranjib has done an awesome job, hard to believe he's done all this with a family and life. :)

 

[AquaRaider44]

Hello,
Just had a major reef pi issue @Ranjib I have my doser working on my tank with 2 part. I just work up this moring and the doser #8 was stuck on and had drained more than half my calcium into the tank. I am not sure how to fix this from happening again but that is 100% unacceptable. I had to pull the power from reef pi and force a restart to clear the issue. I am currently doing water changes as I dont think a 600 ppm calcium is ok for my tank.

 

[dmolavi]

Hello,
Just had a major reef pi issue @Ranjib I have my doser working on my tank with 2 part. I just work up this moring and the doser #8 was stuck on and had drained more than half my calcium into the tank. I am not sure how to fix this from happening again but that is 100% unacceptable. I had to pull the power from reef pi and force a restart to clear the issue. I am currently doing water changes as I dont think a 600 ppm calcium is ok for my tank.

Is there a way to set it up so that if it runs for more than X seconds/minutes, stop it? (I don't use ReefPi for dosing, so I'm not aware of it's capabilities in that regard)

 

[Ranjib]

Hello,
Just had a major reef pi issue @Ranjib I have my doser working on my tank with 2 part. I just work up this moring and the doser #8 was stuck on and had drained more than half my calcium into the tank. I am not sure how to fix this from happening again but that is 100% unacceptable. I had to pull the power from reef pi and force a restart to clear the issue. I am currently doing water changes as I dont think a 600 ppm calcium is ok for my tank.

Thank you for reporting this and I am very sorry this happened with the build. You are absolutely right It’s not acceptable at all , and reef-pi Should do everything it can possibly do to avoid such incidents. Let me go through the details and I can then list down things we can improve on the software side , or on hardware configuration recommendations

 

[Ranjib]

Is there a way to set it up so that if it runs for more than X seconds/minutes, stop it? (I don't use ReefPi for dosing, so I'm not aware of it's capabilities in that regard)

This is not any sensor based that the pump can make the pump run arbitrarily, hence doser does not have ato like “disable after specific run time “ type feature .
i went through the code , but could not find anything suspicious. I’ll need some insights (logs , details of any other things happened during that time etc) to understand if I’m this is a software or hardware issue , and if it was happened during normal operation or something special was occurring (update or some other non reef-pi stuff )

 

[Ranjib]

Life has been very busy with all home schooling + work from home + new home induced chores . Tanks took a massive hit due to transfer and messed up maintenance schedule afterwards. I’m getting back to my regular cadence slowly , but have a long way to go to get restore the original state, including some significant upgrades in between

In new home , the local climate is Much harsher than last place . In addition pico tanks are in workshop which is separate and does not have heating/cooling . Making the whole temperature control more challenging . I’ll be writing in detail how various mechanism working , but for the time being here is a happy sexy shrimp from one of the pico tank

 

[Fairymary58]

HI, is there any way to monitor salinity with the reef-pi? Does anyone know a probe that would work this it at all? I'm in Australia so will need to be available here or be able to be shipped. Hubby is a programmer so can help with getting it set up for me. I've been searching and can't find the information so I would be super grateful for any help.