Mikes ReefPi

MikeSpike · May 30, 2019

Sorry thought I would start a thread on my ReefPi build.

Starting out with the power controller module. Based on my current equipment I need 3 AC outlets 3 DC 24V and 3 DC 12V. Going to be adding an extra one of each to future proof.

Have already got most of the parts (I’m impatient and don’t plan well - so amazon prime comes in handy! Probably could have done my build for 1/2 price from a well known auction site.

But I’m now mostly there. Got the ac-dc transformer 2 buck converters 1. To step down to 12v and another to 5v to power my Pi. Aim is to have one plug for the entire system. Outlets will all be routed via blade fuse box.

I’ve just fired it up for the first time and have confirmed I can get the socket to remotely turn on and off.

Need to finish the wiring and then the enclosure.

I’m new to Pi so please share any tips or let me know if I’m making some mistakes. Also I’d really like to monitor the power consumption of each device - any ideas how I could do that?

Thanks.

Ranjib · May 30, 2019

Welcome to reef2reef, thank you for sharing your build details. Its good to see a scratch build of power controller.

Power consumption monitoring is not present in pi yet. I use a kill a watt as temporary work around. The kill a watt is connected to ADJ power strip (in your case your scratch build power controller). Since all power consumption goes through a single reef-pi controlled unit i can see individual device specific by controlling their usage. this has given me some basic understanding of power usage from my controller, wave makers, lights etc.
It will be nice to have this based on HAL in reef-pi itself... may be for next major release..

Taxus812 · May 30, 2019

I so have to start my build. So I have to ask. What exactly are you doing with your salinity checker

? It makes a lousy screwdriver.

MikeSpike · May 31, 2019

Taxus812 said:
I so have to start my build. So I have to ask. What exactly are you doing with your salinity checker ? It makes a lousy screwdriver.

Lol. House was just complete tip at the time!

MikeSpike · May 31, 2019

Ranjib said:
Welcome to reef2reef, thank you for sharing your build details. Its good to see a scratch build of power controller.

Power consumption monitoring is not present in pi yet. I use a kill a watt as temporary work around. The kill a watt is connected to ADJ power strip (in your case your scratch build power controller). Since all power consumption goes through a single reef-pi controlled unit i can see individual device specific by controlling their usage. this has given me some basic understanding of power usage from my controller, wave makers, lights etc.
It will be nice to have this based on HAL in reef-pi itself... may be for next major release..

Thanks Ranjib - was trying to find a solution that would allow me to monitor devices individually (even if not linked to the ReefPi for the moment) but will have to make do for the moment.

Going to build the enclosure over the weekend - plastic outdoor junction box. Do you think I need to make ventilation holes above the PSU fan?

Any other tips?

crusso1993 · May 31, 2019

MikeSpike said:
Thanks Ranjib - was trying to find a solution that would allow me to monitor devices individually (even if not linked to the ReefPi for the moment) but will have to make do for the moment.

Going to build the enclosure over the weekend - plastic outdoor junction box. Do you think I need to make ventilation holes above the PSU fan?

Any other tips?

Hey Mike... I realize I'm not Ranjib (and I am sure he's exceptionally happy about it) but, if it were me, I would incorporate a few holes for ventilation as long as you won't be mounting/using it anywhere near the tank. A tip I can offer is to check and double check your solder joints to make sure they are clean and solid. Many people have experienced issues only to discover their issues were all solder related.

MikeSpike · May 31, 2019

crusso1993 said:
Hey Mike... I realize I'm not Ranjib (and I am sure he's exceptionally happy about it) but, if it were me, I would incorporate a few holes for ventilation as long as you won't be mounting/using it anywhere near the tank. A tip I can offer is to check and double check your solder joints to make sure they are clean and solid. Many people have experienced issues only to discover their issues were all solder related.

Thanks that’s a sound advice given last night was the first time I’ve ever soldered!

Was planning on mounting inside the tank cabinet (hence purchasing the weatherproof box) but now not sure what to do

crusso1993 · May 31, 2019

MikeSpike said:
Thanks that’s a sound advice given last night was the first time I’ve ever soldered!

Was planning on mounting inside the tank cabinet (hence purchasing the weatherproof box) but now not sure what to do

Not trying to be a wise guy and I'm sure you know this but drilling holes in a weatherproof box would make it, well, no longer weatherproof. If you have your sump and equipment in the cabinet definitely do not drill the box unless you have good ventilation in the cabinet. You will run into problems otherwise.

MikeSpike · May 31, 2019

Yup. Did gather that!!

My question was would the unit be ok without the ventilation or do I need to look at lounging outside of the cabinet. (Going to struggle for space given the tank location)

MikeSpike · May 31, 2019

Yup. Did gather that!!

My question was would the unit be ok without the ventilation or do I need to look at lounging outside of the cabinet. (Going to struggle for space given the tank location)

MikeSpike · May 31, 2019

Yup. Did gather that!!

My question was would the unit be ok without the ventilation or do I need to look at lounging outside of the cabinet. (Going to struggle for space given the tank location)

crusso1993 · May 31, 2019

MikeSpike said:
Yup. Did gather that!!

My question was would the unit be ok without the ventilation or do I need to look at lounging outside of the cabinet. (Going to struggle for space given the tank location)

I certainly would not recommend "lounging" inside the cabinet. Especially if you're having cocktails! Lol

Mounting it in the cabinet should be fine without drilling the box. Also, I would put dielectric grease on any connectors you are using.

Bigtrout · May 31, 2019

Looking at your power supply, I think you may need a bit of ventilation for it! It has its own fan, which means the supply makes some heat to get rid of.

MikeSpike · May 31, 2019

Assumed all power supplies had fans..,if they don't maybe I'll look to replace with one that doesn't to avoid this problem?

Any suggestions how to secure the electrics inside my (plastic) project box. The plastic isn't very thick and screws would just go through the other side

crusso1993 · May 31, 2019

MikeSpike said:
Assumed all power supplies had fans..,if they don't maybe I'll look to replace with one that doesn't to avoid this problem?

Any suggestions how to secure the electrics inside my (plastic) project box. The plastic isn't very thick and screws would just go through the other side

Upon seeing your question the first thing that popped into my head was to use Liquid Nails, or similar item, to glue a piece of plywood to the inside back of your box. You could then screw everything to the wood. It may not be the best solution but it's just what popped into my head upon reading the question.

Taxus812 · May 31, 2019

you will want to buy standoffs. They will screw into your project box from the backside and then you screw the boards to them. If you open your power supply you will se how it is mounted. That power supply WILL need the fan. I use them a lot with 3D printing. It may be overkill for a reef-pi but I don't know how much current the DC pumps will use. If it was me (just me). I would mount the power supply in the enclosure and remove the metal cover. I would then mount the fan on the enclosure (with the proper size hole cut in it) to cool the whole unit.

MikeSpike · Jun 4, 2019

Thanks all for your help so far nearly there see pics of current build. Two questions.

1. Want to replace my heater with a titanium heater - pro Gallet was planning on this being controlled by an STC1000. Am I correct in saying ReefPi will manage this for me with the temperature probe?

2. Can someone explain to me how I connect my Pi to the relays via perma Proto board - I understand I can solder the connections on the board but don’t get how I connect the (i) pi GPIO to the board and (ii) how I get from the board to the relay pins

Thanks

MikeSpike · Jun 6, 2019

Anyone?

Michael Lane · Jun 6, 2019

That looks like good progress!

I'm not sure how the STC1000 would integrate with reef-pi. If it is this item, then it looks like a stand-alone controller that expects to use its own temperature sensor and directly control the heater. If you want reef-pi to control it, then you could wire the titanium heater to one of the relays and configure reef-pi to use that relay as a heater control.

You have some choices wiring to the relay board. It looks like a 5v board using opto-isolators. You may be able to get away with simply wiring directly from the gpio pins to the control pins on the relay board. 3v3 is often sufficient to trigger the 5 volt boards. The main concern with this approach is exceeding the total GPIO current limits. If you can manually test the relay board with 3.3v to ensure it operates the relay and measure the amount of current the 3.3v signal uses (1-2 mA should be fine), then you could probably get away with this simple design. Especially if you can mix the relay configurations between usually open and usually closed to minimize the amount of power.

A more correct way to wire the relays would be to use a transistor to drive the relay board inputs. This post has pretty good details about wiring rpi to a relay board.

MikeSpike · Jun 6, 2019

Thanks for the advice. My first question was overly clear! But I think you've answered it. Reef Pi can control a titanium heater!

Re: Second question - was more how do people split out the 5V GPIO pin to feed multiple relay boards. Will try good old screw terminals but the wires are so thin!

Bigtrout · Jun 6, 2019

You can give some of those relay boards their own 5v so that the relays dont depend and suck power from the raspberry pi. Ill try to post more details later.

MikeSpike · Jun 27, 2019

Thanks big trout did exactly that and all working fine

Nearly completed the power controller has taken a lot longer than anticipated due to work.

Will post pics of final build soon but 1 thing isn’t working. GPIO 4. I get a red error box when trying to switch this on and off saying it’s not in the library or something. Can anyone help @Ranjib ?