Reefpi Update (Raspberry Pi OS (Trixie) 64bit)

Simonv92 · Mar 28, 2026

I’ll definetely try it out very soon!! I’ve missed this thread…

That Crusso Kid · Mar 28, 2026

bishoptf said:
Just found this and wanted to ask some questions. I have had this on my to do list for some time and just have not had the time to do it. My goal was just to update the gpio libraries to the new way so you could run and use the code on the newer OS and rpi 5 hardware.

I will look at your code on github but if you have time I would be interested to know how you addressed the gpio libraries. I had made it to having chgpt analyze the code and suggest changes but hadn't made it any further.

Will follow along, I have multiple units that I am using and meet my needs and have been using them for years. Not sure what happened to @Ranjib but hoping him and his family are doing well.

Thanks for work and posting the information.

Had a feeling you'd be posting here.

Hope all is well with you!

epicfatigue · Mar 29, 2026

bishoptf said:
Just found this and wanted to ask some questions. I have had this on my to do list for some time and just have not had the time to do it. My goal was just to update the gpio libraries to the new way so you could run and use the code on the newer OS and rpi 5 hardware.

I will look at your code on github but if you have time I would be interested to know how you addressed the gpio libraries. I had made it to having chgpt analyze the code and suggest changes but hadn't made it any further.

Will follow along, I have multiple units that I am using and meet my needs and have been using them for years. Not sure what happened to @Ranjib but hoping him and his family are doing well.

Thanks for work and posting the information.

That was the first thing I resolved I would have to go back through the commits, think it was in the HAL driver was pretty straightforward from memory I'll go through and look when I have time. Be careful using chatgpt to make suggestions, with code it can be a Dangerous thing, it really looses sight of things.

From memory you worked on the original with ranjib didn't you ? Would be awesome to have someone the collaborate with.

bishoptf · Mar 29, 2026

epicfatigue said:
That was the first thing I resolved I would have to go back through the commits, think it was in the HAL driver was pretty straightforward from memory I'll go through and look when I have time. Be careful using chatgpt to make suggestions, with code it can be a Dangerous thing, it really looses sight of things.

From memory you worked on the original with ranjib didn't you ? Would be awesome to have someone the collaborate with.

I was just a user helping where I could on the forums and made some of @Michael Lane reef-pi hats. Also helped Rob from robotank with the initial load linux load scripts which worked for robo tank or generic reef-pi setups. Im pretty good with hardware and linux but not so much with go. I will try to find some time but I know there were several routines that needed to be overhauled and moved to using the new libraries, HAL being one of them but there were several.

Current software meets my needs and really all I was wanting to do was update the gpio libraries so users could use the latest raspbian OS and the rpi 5. I prefer stability over new features since the ones running now just work. There are some ui issues but outside of that they are reliable.

I have quite a few spare rpis and can help test things or whatever may help the cause. I still haven't had time to go through the code but hopefully will get to it sooner than later

epicfatigue · Mar 29, 2026

bishoptf said:
I was just a user helping where I could on the forums and made some of @Michael Lane reef-pi hats. Also helped Rob from robotank with the initial load linux load scripts which worked for robo tank or generic reef-pi setups. Im pretty good with hardware and linux but not so much with go. I will try to find some time but I know there were several routines that needed to be overhauled and moved to using the new libraries, HAL being one of them but there were several.

Current software meets my needs and really all I was wanting to do was update the gpio libraries so users could use the latest raspbian OS and the rpi 5. I prefer stability over new features since the ones running now just work. There are some ui issues but outside of that they are reliable.

I have quite a few spare rpis and can help test things or whatever may help the cause. I still haven't had time to go through the code but hopefully will get to it sooner than later

Id really recommend giving this version I go, it is running on my personal reef tank. I just need to rewrite the Robotank drivers. Other than that it should be very stable. Just as I have stated to others don't import a database... There were some pretty big bugs I resolved, I should have done a better job at documenting them. My biggest issue is time.

I have never really talked about my profession but I am a IOT engineer and a programmer of 15 years.

bishoptf · Mar 29, 2026

epicfatigue said:
Id really recommend giving this version I go, it is running on my personal reef tank. I just need to rewrite the Robotank drivers. Other than that it should be very stable. Just as I have stated to others don't import a database... There were some pretty big bugs I resolved, I should have done a better job at documenting them. My biggest issue is time.

I have never really talked about my profession but I am a IOT engineer and a programmer of 15 years.

OK so I spent a few minutes and to be honest I am the worst with github, trying to understand the hierarchy, well I am not a coder thats for sure. But the routines I that I felt needed to be updated for the new library (libgpiod) are under the rpi tree and one of the ones I was looking at for GO was the warthog library and that appears to be the one that you pulled in "github.com/warthog618/go-gpiocdev" and lots of updates most of which I do not fully understand but those subroutines with the gpio were the main ones that needed updating from memory mapped gpio. I was actually thinking about trying to find someone to pay to do this work since I really think this controller is really worth keeping alive since it really does a lot of things well and is not tied to some corporate overlord trying to bilk everyone.

I need to either build another relay stack for outlets or purchase another dj power strip but yeah at this point we really need more folks using it and trying to find bugs and continue to clean things up. Also need to make sure that it continues to work for all the previous gen rpi's, I run a muxture of zero 2 w to some 3 versions and I do have a newer 5. Not sure if I have a 4 but I have most of the older versions.

Awesome work and can't thank you enough for spending your spare time doing this, really appreciate it. Again if there is anything that I can do to test, help etc, just let me know, with the weather warming up I will have less spare time but will try to get a test bench setup for testing loads and try to run through and many things as possible, lots of things will need testing.

bishoptf · Mar 29, 2026

Oh one thing you may want to take a peak at the initial load script that Rob put together for robotank and I contributed to help install generic reef-pi installs the documentation can be found here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t9majBpGlqKacDjkyEZ1HQNWsTRo3woZ/edit?pli=1

It provides some instruction for getting started and asking about version of hardware and setting up the initial database and updating your raspbian OS via the install script install_reefpi.sh

I think it is something you could take and update accordingly to allow an easier path for users to get everything set-up and working. Would be glad to update and run through things and update accordingly just let me know what you think.

Oh just btw I run all headless so no monitor to set things up etc and that was one of the things that the documentation and install script did was to set all the bits needed for the rpi...:)

Kurtzisa · Mar 31, 2026

I just calibrate my ph probe.

but, 84 mv is not at 7 but 6.9 and -851 is not a 10 but 9.28...

i calculate it...

aaaaand.... my ph is 8.8 ...

but slowly go down.. after 10 minutes i read 8.5

fredallen · Apr 2, 2026

Need help. I'm just trying to use the 2 onboard PWM channels on my Pi Zero 2 w to control lights. I can not get the pwm to work. For testing purposes i have it hooked up to a single 3v led through a resistor to ground. If I connect positive leg of led to 3.3v it lights. when I connect it to pin 19 and use Python to manually controll pwm on pin 19 I can change the intensity of the led. However when I try to do it through reef pi nothing happens. sudo journalctl reef-pi shows the interface telling the pins to change intensity but I get no output from either PWM channel. I set up a jack for both PWM0 and PWM1. and used them in the lights setting . With lights to manual and set to 100, I tried connecting to all 4 PWM output pins for the positive leg of my test led.

I do not have any headers just bare poard at this point. Circuts are on a construction breadboard right now.
I have tried the default config.txt entry of dtoverlay=pwm-2chan as well as passing it the parameters and even trying the alternate pins 12 and 13.

Am I perhaps using the wrong physical pins? According to all the pinouts I can find. gpio 18 = physical pin 12 gpip 19 = physical pin 35 GPIO 12 = physical pin 32 and gpio 13 = physical pin 33 These are the 4 pins I have been trying to attach the positive lead of led to.

what am I missing?

Ranjib · Apr 6, 2026

i just wanted to drop by and say my sincere thank you to @epicfatigue to maintain a pi5 compatible fork. it is great to see theres still interest in this project. I was not able to actively maintain due to personal issues and raspberry pi itself moving in more desktop style use case. But im still running few of my builds.. so i'll need to update them soon. Very happy to see this thread. Thank you @epicfatigue

That Crusso Kid · Apr 6, 2026

Ranjib said:
i just wanted to drop by and say my sincere thank you to @epicfatigue to maintain a pi5 compatible fork. it is great to see theres still interest in this project. I was not able to actively maintain due to personal issues and raspberry pi itself moving in more desktop style use case. But im still running few of my builds.. so i'll need to update them soon. Very happy to see this thread. Thank you @epicfatigue

So very good to see you pop in, @Ranjib !

I do hope you and your famiy are all doing well.

MikeSpike · Apr 6, 2026

Maybe of interest to people in this thread. I have built a new UI for reef-pi

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reef-pi-an-opensource-reef-tank-controller-based-on-raspberry-pi.289256/post-14280992

Broady2067 · Apr 10, 2026

I love this post and to honest a lot of has gone over my head. I have been having issues with my build but none that has stopped it from working and also trying to implement some new ideas. I run the PI 4 B. Here is my latest attempt.

SaltyBlue · Apr 10, 2026

Laughing because once reef-pi stopped being maintained I wrote my own SW from scratch about a year ago

bishoptf · Apr 12, 2026

That Crusso Kid said:
So very good to see you pop in, @Ranjib !

I do hope you and your famiy are all doing well.

+1 from me also...hope you and family are well, I still have several running and doing what I need them to do. I had been having chatgpt look at the code and see how to migrate to libgpiod but @epicfatigue already updated the code way better than I could have. I still need to kick the tires and get it up and running but hopefully will soon.

buddy. · Apr 16, 2026

Wow @epicfatigue this is amazing work! I have been running a reef-pi in some form pretty much since the first version and still up until this day. I would occasionally check the thread hoping I would see some more activity.
I think for the last 5 years or so I have been using the robotank version with a pi-4. Have done minimal changes to settings or hardware and its been running nicely. Thanks for keeping the project alive. I will definitely be following.