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

[ReefSpy]

very nice
I went through your youtube videos few months ago. I am glad you are making steady progress. You should totally start a DIY thread on it. I bet people would love it.
I already liked the idea of having an alarm and test log. I have plans to work on something similar on this line for reef-pi. As you said, cross polination is a very good thing. I cant recall, is your project opensource ?

Thank you, yes this will be open source. Once I get a few more things ironed out I will be posting the code on github

 

[Ranjib]

Thank you, yes this will be open source. Once I get a few more things ironed out I will be posting the code on github

Awesome

 

[sjeff35]

Reef-pi setup now for about two weeks is doing an AWESOME job! Just wanted to thank @Ranjib again for all his hard work!!! What a great project!!!

My fan setup is doing an awesome job of maintaining temp.

 

[Zephrant]

Minor bug in beta 6- Brand new install, no configuration at all yet:

Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse systemd[1]: Started raspberry pi based reef tank controller.
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 DB: reef-pi.db
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Successfully started subsystem: system
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 INFO: equipment subsystem: Finished syncing all equipment
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Successfully started subsystem: equipments
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Successfully started subsystem: timers
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Successfully started subsystem: ato
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Successfully started subsystem: temperature
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 reef-pi is up and running
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Starting http server at: 0.0.0.0:80
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 ERROR: health checker. Failed to load usage. Error: Item 'health_stats' does not exist in bucket 'reef-pi'

 

[Ranjib]

Minor bug in beta 6- Brand new install, no configuration at all yet:

Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse systemd[1]: Started raspberry pi based reef tank controller.
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 DB: reef-pi.db
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Successfully started subsystem: system
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 INFO: equipment subsystem: Finished syncing all equipment
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Successfully started subsystem: equipments
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Successfully started subsystem: timers
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Successfully started subsystem: ato
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Successfully started subsystem: temperature
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 reef-pi is up and running
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 Starting http server at: 0.0.0.0:80
Jul 31 14:24:24 pi-seahorse reef-pi[800]: 2018/07/31 14:24:24 ERROR: health checker. Failed to load usage. Error: Item 'health_stats' does not exist in bucket 'reef-pi'

hmm.. this is as expected.. its a benign error that will go away. If you are curious this is whats happening:
You have just installed reef-pi and there is no health usage data. Health usage data is gathered every minute, so you'll have the first data point after one minute. But since you have dashboard open, it will ask reef-pi about all the usage data after every 10 seconds. Which causes this error. It will go aways soon after 1 minute. And even if it occurs, it does not impact functioality or performance. Think of it as skimmer breaking in

 

[Ranjib]

Reef-pi setup now for about two weeks is doing an AWESOME job! Just wanted to thank @Ranjib again for all his hard work!!! What a great project!!!

My fan setup is doing an awesome job of maintaining temp.

Thank you so much for the kind words. Projects like this critically rely on user feedbacks which is what drives the feature development and bug fix process.

 

[Fish Fan]

Hi guys! I'm trying to learn about PWM and how it works, in the hopes of building a DIY LED Reef-Pi controlled lighting system. Could I just quickly ask, would Reef-Pi be able to control the NanoBox V3.1 LED array? This is a 5 channel array, I *tentatively* hope to use five appropriate Mean Well LDD-H drivers on a NanoBox driver board. I would just like to know if Reef-Pi can control this LED array? And how does this work, by PWM? If someone could please just answer that for me, it would be a huge help in my research and learning.

Thank you in advance!

-Fish Fan

 

[Ranjib]

Hi guys! I'm trying to learn about PWM and how it works, in the hopes of building a DIY LED Reef-Pi controlled lighting system. Could I just quickly ask, would Reef-Pi be able to control the NanoBox V3.1 LED array? This is a 5 channel array, I *tentatively* hope to use five appropriate Mean Well LDD-H drivers on a NanoBox driver board. I would just like to know if Reef-Pi can control this LED array? And how does this work, by PWM? If someone could please just answer that for me, it would be a huge help in my research and learning.

Thank you in advance!

-Fish Fan

Yes it should be . Get the nano box array, and the board and a pca9685 for pwm generation with raspberry pi.
I’ll start a thread specifically in NR , since Dave Fason is active there

 

[Fish Fan]

^Ranjib, that would be awesome! Dave has been very helpful to me so far, which is a big reason why I hope to choose his DIY array. I am a member of NR, and would be grateful to tag along there too. You are always so helpful, thank you again!

-FF

 

[Erica-Renee]

Any proposal for improvement? Something I'm missing?[/QUOTE

Not really.. What mine has.. 1 8 cannel uln for 8 relays (two of these are better like yours) I have 4 Temp prob circuits and 4 Float- sensor Circuits. Header pins for 3v and 5V AND A Roll of gound pins.. Extra gpio pins .. Like i said similar.. mine is based on what i need not a general board .

I am still thinking tinkering and Improving.. Thank you so much for sharing

 

[Erica-Renee]

^^^This!!! I have one of those ADJ bars. It would be awesome if the board had a DB9 jack or 2 on it.

My relays are using db9 same with my Dosing pumps... I power the Relay from its own power source and use the 9th wire as common ground.. I prefer the Relays to be in there own METAL BOX With A Fuse . (Mine is not complete yet! ) Its on the TO-DO Soon list..

 

[wykat]

Not ok ? I thought theres a limit on current draw and absence of some protections, but if we recommend powering everything via separate rails and use lm2596 or some analogous voltage regulator/converter than we should be ok. I power all my builds exclusively via GPIO. I would love to know if this is not safe,

"absence of some protections" that's the reason I claimed it's not OK. If you're fine using the LM2596 I will think if we can incorporate this on the board so that we only have a single 12V power source. Would also make the UPS option simpler

 

[wykat]

I would love to see us settling on ADJ SR 2 power bars, which uses 12v , db9 connectors.

I think most of us will be just fine to have the controller little bit bigger (like 4"x7"), so throwing some extra space is fine. That will also openup more space for connectors. l293d uses the GND pins as heat sink as well, so the a bigger board will automatically act as beefier heat sink. I am wondering if its better to not design this as hat (due to space constrain, and stacking things together leads to strange pillar like form factor) and instead think of the board as a bigger, flatter pcb and users can solder through hole components in it, and attach the pi header socket and directly mount the pi there. Put otherway, is there any obvious gains by sticking to Pi hat form factor?

I can't find any reference to ADJ SR 2 power bars. Do you mean standard DB9 connectors (I used them to connect the fuselage and wing in model airplanes )

Present design was intended just as an interface to the I2C interface and occupies all GPIO ports. Making it larger in size would not help in the present PCB design as there are no spare GPIO ports (unless you leave away some IC's). I can make a different PCB, just need to know the requirements . Was fun making the HAT.

The boards I ordered are to verify the schematics, if this works fine it would be relatively simple to make other designs and PCB's.

 

[Erica-Renee]

I can't find any reference to ADJ SR 2 power bars. Do you mean standard DB9 connectors (I used them to connect the fuselage and wing in model airplanes )

Present design was intended just as an interface to the I2C interface and occupies all GPIO ports. Making it larger in size would not help in the present PCB design as there are no spare GPIO ports (unless you leave away some IC's). I can make a different PCB, just need to know the requirements . Was fun making the HAT.

The boards I ordered are to verify the schematics, if this works fine it would be relatively simple to make other designs and PCB's.

what program are you using , Please share...

 

[Fish Fan]

Yes, it should be, the recommended driver board uses meanwell ldd-h drivers, and those are pwm controllable. So ideally, you'll just connect the pca9685 pwm channel to the pwm pins of the driver board and it should work as it is. What I am not sure if they work with straight 5v pwm or needs something different. But I wont be too worried about it since that can be addressed by any common npn transistor

Yes it should be . Get the nano box array, and the board and a pca9685 for pwm generation with raspberry pi.
I’ll start a thread specifically in NR , since Dave Fason is active there

Hi, Ranjib! First, I apologize, I didn't even see your first reply to me, but as always, thank you for your time and help! I just want to double check if you think that Reef-Pi could control the NanoBox V3.1 array. I am asking because I had another member in a different thread tell me that I shouldn't use Reef-Pi because that LED array is 5 channels. Do you see any problem with Reef-Pi controlling 5 separate channels? I'm still learning, but I thought the pca9685 board (which I already have) gave you multiple PWM signals.

If/when you do start a thread at NR, could you let us know here please? I would like to be apart of that thread for sure.

I do now have Reef-Pi installed and running on my Pi, I'm going to start playing with the "easier" builds like the power switch relays and maybe temperature monitoring over the next few days, and I will continue to be researching and hopefully learning how the lights will work.

Thank you again for your help!

-Fish Fan

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Any benefit to using the electromechanical relays vs the solid state relays?

 

[Ranjib]

Hi, Ranjib! First, I apologize, I didn't even see your first reply to me, but as always, thank you for your time and help! I just want to double check if you think that Reef-Pi could control the NanoBox V3.1 array. I am asking because I had another member in a different thread tell me that I shouldn't use Reef-Pi because that LED array is 5 channels. Do you see any problem with Reef-Pi controlling 5 separate channels? I'm still learning, but I thought the pca9685 board (which I already have) gave you multiple PWM signals.

If/when you do start a thread at NR, could you let us know here please? I would like to be apart of that thread for sure.

I do now have Reef-Pi installed and running on my Pi, I'm going to start playing with the "easier" builds like the power switch relays and maybe temperature monitoring over the next few days, and I will continue to be researching and hopefully learning how the lights will work.

Thank you again for your help!

-Fish Fan

I have already started a thread on NR, under nano-box in sponsor forum.
You should be able to control as many as 18 channels with reef-pi, 16 from pca9685 and 2 from Pi

 

[Ranjib]

Any benefit to using the electromechanical relays vs the solid state relays?

generally, solid state relays have lower current ratings (2-5 amp), while electro mechanical ones have higher current rating (10-20 amp). solid state relays are quite, while electro mechanical relays have that clicky sound. Some folks have said solid state relays last longer (due to no mechanical parts involved), but i have not tested so much that i can validate this.
The ADJ SR2 powerstrip that i am recommending going forward (in US) , uses electromechanical relays.

 

[Fish Fan]

I have already started a thread on NR, under nano-box in sponsor forum.
You should be able to control as many as 18 channels with reef-pi, 16 from pca9685 and 2 from Pi

Thank you, Ranjib!

-FF

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

generally, solid state relays have lower current ratings (2-5 amp), while electro mechanical ones have higher current rating (10-20 amp). solid state relays are quite, while electro mechanical relays have that clicky sound. Some folks have said solid state relays last longer (due to no mechanical parts involved), but i have not tested so much that i can validate this.
The ADJ SR2 powerstrip that i am recommending going forward (in US) , uses electromechanical relays.

I can see what you're talking about regarding the load differences. Thank you for that information. I'm old-school, so some clicking sounds are probably comforting at the end of the day.