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

[ScottBrew]

Tell that to the three "Same Day" packages Amazon Logistics has lost in the past two weeks for me, where the other couriers have been flawless

Can't say I've had that much bad luck with them. Had many a priority 1 overnight packages from Fedex be delayed and get stuck sitting in a hotel an extra day or 3. Here's how the package USPS delivered yesterday from BRS arrived.

 

[Ranjib]

Take a look at atlas scientific for reference, they are very accurate. Masterflex is also very reputed in the local reef community .

And yes definitely stepper if you want better precision. I think I can get away with two parts and ato with dc motor based peristaltic pumps, but for very precise small doses like magnesium or alk or if we want to build a general purpose titration feature , the definitely stepper motors

 

[speedstar]

That is so so so much better. My wife gave it S Christmas gift last year. Best gift ever.

speaking of soldering wish these 50 y/o eyes luck tomorrow soldering up a ph/orp board. Was no problem in my younger years, but my eyes have been getting worse

 

[speedstar]

Can't say I've had that much bad luck with them. Had many a priority 1 overnight packages from Fedex be delayed and get stuck sitting in a hotel an extra day or 3. Here's how the package USPS delivered yesterday from BRS arrived.

almost all my BRS packages have looked like that, I am always scared to ship bulbs with other stuff. My test kits have been beat so bad when tossed in with salt buckets loose.

 

[rushbattle]

Compared to the DC motor pumps, I think either of these steppers is much better. Why?

• The DC motor pumps have a friction fit set of rollers in the center of the motor shaft. This will slip, be inconsistent, etc
• There is no guarantee the motor will make a set number of turns - different loading (head height, debris from kalk, etc) could easily cause different rotation speeds.

The stepper pumps both have the rollers attached to the D shaped stepper shaft and can't slip. Its still possible to miss a step if you try to run the stepper too fast or the tubing is truly clogged, but the average performance should be a lot better.

The Kamoer looks the part! Thanks! I will order a few and let you know how my testing goes. In agreement on the stepper vs DC motors. My company sells (very large in comparison) permanent magnet motors and we use a somewhat similar comparison to induction motors, but the slip is in between the rotor and stator, not at the coupling to the pump!

 

[ScottBrew]

speaking of soldering wish these 50 y/o eyes luck tomorrow soldering up a ph/orp board. Was no problem in my younger years, but my eyes have been getting worse

TRUTH! I've lost my magnifying visor, was looking for it when I assembled my reef-pi.

 

[Ryan115]

And yes definitely stepper if you want better precision. I think I can get away with two parts and ato with dc motor based peristaltic pumps, but for very precise small doses like magnesium or alk or if we want to build a general purpose titration feature , the definitely stepper motors

Agreed, stepper motor is definitely the way to go for precision
I did just get one of these little guys in the other day https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VHYO9F0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It is a step up from the other friction stepper motors. The motor shaft has a gear press-fit onto it that drives teeth on the rollers.
I ran it at 5V and pinched the tubing and it had enough power to pull lots of cavitation bubbles in the tubing.
@5V ran about 300mm/min.

Also picked up one of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0744FWNFR/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
Pushes more water at 5V than an aqualifter ~1000+ml/min. Doesnt run on airline tubing though,

 

[crusso1993]

The Kamoer looks the part! Thanks! I will order a few and let you know how my testing goes. In agreement on the stepper vs DC motors. My company sells (very large in comparison) permanent magnet motors and we use a somewhat similar comparison to induction motors, but the slip is in between the rotor and stator, not at the coupling to the pump!

@rushbattle - these look to be the same pump but at a lower price point.

https://app.alibaba.com/dynamiclink...share_detail&ck=share_detail&shareScene=buyer

 

[b4tn]

On the topic of stepper motors. I did a quick read on them and think I get the basics of how they work. Does reef-pi have the ability to control one though? Or is that in a coming release?

 

[theatrus]

On the topic of stepper motors. I did a quick read on them and think I get the basics of how they work. Does reef-pi have the ability to control one though? Or is that in a coming release?

Directly? No. But you can use PWM or other mechanisms to drive the STEP input on a driver.

 

[b4tn]

Directly? No. But you can use PWM or other mechanisms to drive the STEP input on a driver.

So if I am understanding correctly to use reef-pi to control steppers you would need the driver like a tb6612, 4 GPIO pins and 2 PWM pins?

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-tb6612-h-bridge-dc-stepper-motor-driver-breakout/pinouts

 

[Ranjib]

So if I am understanding correctly to use reef-pi to control steppers you would need the driver like a tb6612, 4 GPIO pins and 2 PWM pins?

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-tb6612-h-bridge-dc-stepper-motor-driver-breakout/pinouts

currently yes, can be 16 pins also (if you are using pca9685, the guide uses rpi but thats not a strict requirement). I am looking forward to the outcomes from first round of stepper motor based experiments, we can certainly add more software features if needed.

 

[LionHeart2017]

currently yes, can be 16 pins also (if you are using pca9685, the guide uses rpi but thats not a strict requirement). I am looking forward to the outcomes from first round of stepper motor based experiments, we can certainly add more software features if needed.

I'm thinking if you could add water monitoring ultrasonic distance sensor hc-sr04 and things like rain drop water detection modules, for ato water level notification/monitoring, leak detection alarm etc

 

[Ranjib]

I'm thinking if you could add water monitoring ultrasonic distance sensor hc-sr04 and things like rain drop water detection modules, for ato water level notification/monitoring, leak detection alarm etc

I think leak detection can be done by using a leak detector sensor and just using it as ato. They work in same fashion.

 

[Ryan115]

I'm thinking if you could add water monitoring ultrasonic distance sensor hc-sr04 and things like rain drop water detection modules, for ato water level notification/monitoring, leak detection alarm etc

I was wondering about something like this for monitoring the levels of you reservoirs. Alternativly could reef-pi keep track of the amount of each dosing/top off and subtract it from a user input starting amount?

 

[LionHeart2017]

How would you go about powering different dc voltages?

Is a buck converter suitable, I'm thinking not, for tank equipment I'm talking, I have 4 or more things that are different dc voltage, highest being 24v for return pump, 24v power head, 12v ago, 12 volt doser, wanting to cut down on plugs and mess and was going to go with 24v 200w switching power supply, how would I be able to get 12v out as well?

 

[Ryan115]

You may be able to get away with buck converters for the 12V systems, do you know how much current each one pulls?
You can get more powerful buck converters than the standard LM2596.
But the LM2596s are cheap and easy.

 

[LionHeart2017]

You may be able to get away with buck converters for the 12V systems, do you know how much current each one pulls?
You can get more powerful buck converters than the standard LM2596.
But the LM2596s are cheap and easy.

Well the dcp8000 I have is the most power hungry at up to 65w and sw8 is up to 23w at 24v for them, the other 12 volt stuff is I'm guessing pretty low powered being a ato pump and a aqua medic doser, I was looking at this
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/253654775400
Total of 100w but I know I only run my dcp8000 at 11w according to the display and the sw8 is on its lowest setting so should think at 8w, this to me should work fine, but I'm not sure 100%

 

[rushbattle]

You guys are thinking like me. I hate all these cheap power supplies all over the place. Need a standardized DC voltage to run the whole system. I am just about there with my tanks, but I still have 24V and 36V. And then the 48V supply for the LEDs but they need their own power supply anyhow.

But the buck converters are not going to step down that well at higher power. At least the ones I've seen. I think 100w is pushing it for sure. Will need quite a bit of heat shedding. I'll stick around to see how this works out, hope it goes well!

 

[LionHeart2017]

You guys are thinking like me. I hate all these cheap power supplies all over the place. Need a standardized DC voltage to run the whole system. I am just about there with my tanks, but I still have 24V and 36V. And then the 48V supply for the LEDs but they need their own power supply anyhow.

But the buck converters are not going to step down that well at higher power. At least the ones I've seen. I think 100w is pushing it for sure. Will need quite a bit of heat shedding. I'll stick around to see how this works out, hope it goes well!

Yeah, the smaller buck converters aren't going to handle it, but these plugs need replacing as they take up space and are never really tidy, ill probably get a couple of the ones I linked above and try them out, all my mains and dc supplies I want in one lockable enclosure to really tidy things up and also get them away from 80 gallons of saltwaer