Sensors

[Broady2067]

Hi All,
New to the forum and Reef Pi. I am under way with my build and i am struggling to find the sensors in the UK. I would like if possible to have the all connect to the outside of the housing with and audio style jack plug for temp and would like for anyone to suggest a solution. Also i want to incorporate PH, ORP and salinity. I have seen the Atlas Scientific website, but would like to source closer to home.

 

[Sral]

Hi All,
New to the forum and Reef Pi. I am under way with my build and i am struggling to find the sensors in the UK. I would like if possible to have the all connect to the outside of the housing with and audio style jack plug for temp and would like for anyone to suggest a solution. Also i want to incorporate PH, ORP and salinity. I have seen the Atlas Scientific website, but would like to source closer to home.

Welcome to the club !

Well, even if the Adafruit guides are outdated they are a good start, if you don't know them already. You can then try finding vendors that ship Adafruit products in your country.

Regarding pH I would personally recommend the Robo-Tank pH board.
It can in principle also measure ORP from around -200 mV to +1000mV, since pH and ORP measurements both simply measure a voltage from a special probe. For pH one "simply" divides the voltage by 59.16 mV and adds 7.0 to arrive at the value in pH. If you connect an ORP probe to a pH meter you can do the reverse: subtract 7.0 and multiply with 59.16 to arrive at the ORP voltage in mV.

the pH/ORP boards are cheaper than the Atlas Instruments one, even if you take import taxes into account. Especially if you consider, that they already include the electrical isolation, which you have to buy extra with Atlas Instruments ...

Depending on how long you can/want to wait you might wait for me to finish my DIY EC sensor and/or hope for @robsworld78 to produce an adapted version in his shop, who knows ...

 

[robsworld78]

Welcome to the club !

Well, even if the Adafruit guides are outdated they are a good start, if you don't know them already. You can then try finding vendors that ship Adafruit products in your country.

Regarding pH I would personally recommend the Robo-Tank pH board.
It can in principle also measure ORP from around -200 mV to +1000mV, since pH and ORP measurements both simply measure a voltage from a special probe. For pH one "simply" divides the voltage by 59.16 mV and adds 7.0 to arrive at the value in pH. If you connect an ORP probe to a pH meter you can do the reverse: subtract 7.0 and multiply with 59.16 to arrive at the ORP voltage in mV.

the pH/ORP boards are cheaper than the Atlas Instruments one, even if you take import taxes into account. Especially if you consider, that they already include the electrical isolation, which you have to buy extra with Atlas Instruments ...

Depending on how long you can/want to wait you might wait for me to finish my DIY EC sensor and/or hope for @robsworld78 to produce an adapted version in his shop, who knows ...

Yes we'll definitely get this done soon, sorry for my absence lately.

 

[geologeek]

Hi All,
New to the forum and Reef Pi. I am under way with my build and i am struggling to find the sensors in the UK. I would like if possible to have the all connect to the outside of the housing with and audio style jack plug for temp and would like for anyone to suggest a solution. Also i want to incorporate PH, ORP and salinity. I have seen the Atlas Scientific website, but would like to source closer to home.

Hi, and welcome from a fellow UK salty!

With regards to the other connections such as the temperature probes you say you want to use audio jacks, can I suggest you look at using aviation plugs instead? These come in many varieties and are easy enough to solder and you avoid the risk of short circuit if you unplug the sensor whilst still powered up.

GX20 Connector Metal Panel Cable Aviation Plug 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 14 15 Pin 20mm | eBay

GX20 AVIATION PLUG CIRCULAR CONNECTORS ARE PANEL MOUNT CONNECTORS AVAILABLE IN 2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/12/14/15 PIN USED IN VARIOUS APPLICATION. Now also includes dust cover as shown in picture. 1Pc GX20 Flange panel mount connector complete set which includes male + female connector and dust cover.

www.ebay.co.uk

If you can wait a bit longer they are much cheaper on AliExpress.

At the moment I am only using a pH board from Michael lane as I use his goby hat and viparspectra and doser adapters.......so cannot help other than to say the kits from robotank would be a great alternative despite the import fees

 

[Broady2067]

So i have setup the AC outlets and the graph on the Dashboard does not show all the names. Any ideas on how to get then to show?

 

[geologeek]

Have you named them all in your equipment tab? But in any case all of them are unlikely to have a label if your names are too long, several of mine don't show on my dashboard.

I may be wrong, but I think this may possibly be removed in the future......but can't remember where/when I read that to be sure!

 

[Broady2067]

Hi, All have labels, see below.
I have gone into the settings and made the boxes bigger and this is what i have.

 

[Broady2067]

Hi, and welcome from a fellow UK salty!

With regards to the other connections such as the temperature probes you say you want to use audio jacks, can I suggest you look at using aviation plugs instead? These come in many varieties and are easy enough to solder and you avoid the risk of short circuit if you unplug the sensor whilst still powered up.

GX20 Connector Metal Panel Cable Aviation Plug 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 14 15 Pin 20mm | eBay

GX20 AVIATION PLUG CIRCULAR CONNECTORS ARE PANEL MOUNT CONNECTORS AVAILABLE IN 2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/12/14/15 PIN USED IN VARIOUS APPLICATION. Now also includes dust cover as shown in picture. 1Pc GX20 Flange panel mount connector complete set which includes male + female connector and dust cover.

www.ebay.co.uk

If you can wait a bit longer they are much cheaper on AliExpress.

At the moment I am only using a pH board from Michael lane as I use his goby hat and viparspectra and doser adapters.......so cannot help other than to say the kits from robotank would be a great alternative despite the import fees

Thanks for the info these connectors will do the trick for temp sensor and i will be able to fix to wall of the surround. Not needing it to be water tight as the controls are in a different area and not in the stand.

 

[Broady2067]

So i have setup the AC outlets and the graph on the Dashboard does not show all the names. Any ideas on how to get then to show?

solved the issue by cutting down the amount of characters for each of the equipment names.

 

[Broady2067]

Hi, and welcome from a fellow UK salty!

With regards to the other connections such as the temperature probes you say you want to use audio jacks, can I suggest you look at using aviation plugs instead? These come in many varieties and are easy enough to solder and you avoid the risk of short circuit if you unplug the sensor whilst still powered up.

GX20 Connector Metal Panel Cable Aviation Plug 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 14 15 Pin 20mm | eBay

GX20 AVIATION PLUG CIRCULAR CONNECTORS ARE PANEL MOUNT CONNECTORS AVAILABLE IN 2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/12/14/15 PIN USED IN VARIOUS APPLICATION. Now also includes dust cover as shown in picture. 1Pc GX20 Flange panel mount connector complete set which includes male + female connector and dust cover.

www.ebay.co.uk

If you can wait a bit longer they are much cheaper on AliExpress.

At the moment I am only using a pH board from Michael lane as I use his goby hat and viparspectra and doser adapters.......so cannot help other than to say the kits from robotank would be a great alternative despite the import fees

Just out of interest what size would i need? the wire or a temp sensor is not that thick.

 

[geologeek]

Just out of interest what size would i need? the wire or a temp sensor is not that thick.

For my temp sensors I used 3 pin ones and for other things like my lights and ato i have used 6 pin. The 3 pin are bigger (about 20mm diameter) than the 6 pin (about 12mm diameter) just so I could easily differentiate between them. You could get a mixture of them so that different probes or lights etc could be easily differentiated or get ones like the 6 and use them for everything as long as you remember to wire/solder them correctly.......and label so you don't plug the wrong thing in the wrong socket!

I need to redo my whole controller soon as I have switched tanks and some of my relays have gone bad, so will be getting a mixture of sizes for the different items so I can't accidentally plug the wrong thing in.

I'll also be using iec sockets and plugs to save on space for all the plugs in the sump area.

 

[Broady2067]

For my temp sensors I used 3 pin ones and for other things like my lights and ato i have used 6 pin. The 3 pin are bigger (about 20mm diameter) than the 6 pin (about 12mm diameter) just so I could easily differentiate between them. You could get a mixture of them so that different probes or lights etc could be easily differentiated or get ones like the 6 and use them for everything as long as you remember to wire/solder them correctly.......and label so you don't plug the wrong thing in the wrong socket!

I need to redo my whole controller soon as I have switched tanks and some of my relays have gone bad, so will be getting a mixture of sizes for the different items so I can't accidentally plug the wrong thing in.

I'll also be using iec sockets and plugs to save on space for all the plugs in the sump area.

What about using RJ45's.

 

[geologeek]

What about using RJ45's.

Absolutely, if you are happy wiring them up you can certainly use them. I think the robotank premade boards use RJ45's for quite a few things.

That's one if the great things about reef-pi being diy-able is that it's generally up to you how you do it!

 

[Broady2067]

Absolutely, if you are happy wiring them up you can certainly use them. I think the robotank premade boards use RJ45's for quite a few things.

That's one if the great things about reef-pi being diy-able is that it's generally up to you how you do it!

I won't be using robotank. the cost and shipping to the UK is prohibit ant for me.

 

[geologeek]

I won't be using robotank. the cost and shipping to the UK is prohibit ant for me.

I was just giving an example of a very successful board that uses the RJ45's you were asking about.

 

[Sral]

I won't be using robotank. the cost and shipping to the UK is prohibit ant for me.

Strange, wasn’t Canada in the commonwealth ? Strange times indeed …

 

[Broady2067]

Strange, wasn’t Canada in the commonwealth ? Strange times indeed …

If only that made difference. LOL I don't think the price of jet fuel has come down that much.

 

[Broady2067]

Hi, and welcome from a fellow UK salty!

With regards to the other connections such as the temperature probes you say you want to use audio jacks, can I suggest you look at using aviation plugs instead? These come in many varieties and are easy enough to solder and you avoid the risk of short circuit if you unplug the sensor whilst still powered up.

GX20 Connector Metal Panel Cable Aviation Plug 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 14 15 Pin 20mm | eBay

GX20 AVIATION PLUG CIRCULAR CONNECTORS ARE PANEL MOUNT CONNECTORS AVAILABLE IN 2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/12/14/15 PIN USED IN VARIOUS APPLICATION. Now also includes dust cover as shown in picture. 1Pc GX20 Flange panel mount connector complete set which includes male + female connector and dust cover.

www.ebay.co.uk

If you can wait a bit longer they are much cheaper on AliExpress.

At the moment I am only using a pH board from Michael lane as I use his goby hat and viparspectra and doser adapters.......so cannot help other than to say the kits from robotank would be a great alternative despite the import fees

I have got hold of two GX12 3 pin and they look like they are just the right size.

 

[MightyRearranger]

If only that made difference. LOL I don't think the price of jet fuel has come down that much.

I just got a load of stuff delivered to the UK from Robo-Tank. Don't think the postage was that much. Got charged 20% VAT by customs, but think the pricing is still very reasonable with the mark up. Looking forward to getting it set up.