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

Ranjib · Nov 18, 2018

Dosing controller guide in adafruit is complete, it’s waiting for editorial reviews and probably will be published on Monday or Tuesday.
With this , all the critical documentation is done (7 guides ) . I feel relaxed and can focus on field testing. I think we have most of the things (software bugs, hardware/circuit details) chalked out. Unless there concern I think we are good to go and make 2.0 public release and announcement

pickupman66 · Nov 18, 2018

Cleaned up my closet a bit and removed 3 empty DA pc4. Then screwed the reef-Pi outlet bar to the board. I plan a 2nd one just below tthe existing for my 16 outlets So i can remove the white power strip

Ranjib · Nov 18, 2018

pickupman66 said:
Cleaned up my closet a bit and removed 3 empty DA pc4. Then screwed the reef-Pi outlet bar to the board. I plan a 2nd one just below tthe existing for my 16 outlets So i can remove the white power strip

Very nice

Tenny · Nov 18, 2018

Ranjib said:
Don’t reformat sd card or reinstall reef-pi if something is not working. They are rarely the culprit. Using raspy-config to turn on i2c and one wire. Which guide you are using ? I recommend using the new guides published in adafruit (particularly guide 1 and 3) .
Your wiring looks correct . Did you reboot after configuring everything ? Touch the probe after you hooked it up. And also measure the voltage on the three pins of your probe

Duh, my stupidity got me. This is exactly why you should always measure voltages.

Each of the little +/- banks are isolated from the others. I didn't realize that (my last breadboard didn't have those separations so I wasn't really thinking about it). So there was no voltage to the probe.

Anyways, got it hooked up and now it's reading the sensor and working right!

I am still getting that i2c error though. Any thoughts on that?

Code:

Failed to initialize i2c. Error:open /dev/i2c-1: no such file or directory

Ranjib · Nov 18, 2018

Tenny said:
Duh, my stupidity got me. This is exactly why you should always measure voltages.

Each of the little +/- banks are isolated from the others. I didn't realize that (my last breadboard didn't have those separations so I wasn't really thinking about it). So there was no voltage to the probe.

Anyways, got it hooked up and now it's reading the sensor and working right!

I am still getting that i2c error though. Any thoughts on that?

Code:

Failed to initialize i2c. Error:open /dev/i2c-1: no such file or directory

enable i2c using raspi-config, and reload reef-pi or reboot the whole pi

sfgabe · Nov 18, 2018

Diamond1 said:
Designing the actual circuit to add it to the rpi is beyond my knowledge but maybe there is a way to hijack their board and have reef-pi control it?
This would also be cool if we could figure out a way to use the Jebao wireless OW series pumps and have the rpi control the with wireless but that might be a bit of a stretch since their wireless capability is just to link the pumps not to control them remotely from a main controller.

I have a Jebao SW2 and I've looked into both controlling it wirelessly via slave mode and controlling it via the input in the controller. I assume the other models are similar. If you search for Jebao in the previous conversations (...somewhere in this thread) you'll find it.

I haven't dug into wirelessly because their system uses a nrf24l01 transceiver and you can't sniff the signals from it. It's possible to wire into the transceiver and record the different signals for emulation but not something I want to dive into.

According to the previous convo, it's possible to build the circuit according to the Kessil light diagram but without the transistors (to bring 10v down to 5v) and use it in the same way - audio cable to Jebao input. Not sure what the other controllers look like but my Jebao input needed to be rewired to use an audio input but that was fairly simple. It worked for on/off control but I didn't test it further (speed, etc). The issue is on the programming side. It's possible to script different waveforms and patterns but it's a big job and not something I'm familiar with.

theatrus · Nov 18, 2018

Tenny said:
I am still getting that i2c error though. Any thoughts on that?

Code:

Failed to initialize i2c. Error:open /dev/i2c-1: no such file or directory

This means the dtparam line is missing from /boot/config.txt

dtparam=i2c_arm=on

Tenny · Nov 18, 2018

Ranjib said:
enable i2c using raspi-config, and reload reef-pi or reboot the whole pi

Just tried within raspi-config and rebooted. Still getting error.

theatrus said:
This means the dtparam line is missing from /boot/config.txt

dtparam=i2c_arm=on

That line is in boot/config.txt already.

Diamond1 · Nov 18, 2018

Ranjib said:
Dosing controller guide in adafruit is complete, it’s waiting for editorial reviews and probably will be published on Monday or Tuesday.
With this , all the critical documentation is done (7 guides ) . I feel relaxed and can focus on field testing. I think we have most of the things (software bugs, hardware/circuit details) chalked out. Unless there concern I think we are good to go and make 2.0 public release and announcement

Very cool.

Ranjib · Nov 18, 2018

Tenny said:
Just tried within raspi-config and rebooted. Still getting error.

That line is in boot/config.txt already.

whats the output of

Code:

ls /dev/

Tenny · Nov 18, 2018

Ranjib said:
whats the output of

Code:

ls /dev/

Code:

pi@reefpi:/dev $ ls
autofs           full       loop2             mmcblk0p2           ram11  ram9     tty1   tty20  tty31  tty42  tty53  tty7       vcs1   vcsa6
block            fuse       loop3             mqueue              ram12  random   tty10  tty21  tty32  tty43  tty54  tty8       vcs2   vcsm
btrfs-control    gpiochip0  loop4             net                 ram13  raw      tty11  tty22  tty33  tty44  tty55  tty9       vcs3   vhci
bus              gpiomem    loop5             network_latency     ram14  rfkill   tty12  tty23  tty34  tty45  tty56  ttyAMA0    vcs4   watchdog
cachefiles       hwrng      loop6             network_throughput  ram15  serial1  tty13  tty24  tty35  tty46  tty57  ttyprintk  vcs5   watchdog0
char             i2c-1      loop7             null                ram2   shm      tty14  tty25  tty36  tty47  tty58  uhid       vcs6   zero
console          initctl    loop-control      ppp                 ram3   snd      tty15  tty26  tty37  tty48  tty59  uinput     vcsa
cpu_dma_latency  input      mapper            ptmx                ram4   stderr   tty16  tty27  tty38  tty49  tty6   urandom    vcsa1
cuse             kmsg       mem               pts                 ram5   stdin    tty17  tty28  tty39  tty5   tty60  vchiq      vcsa2
disk             log        memory_bandwidth  ram0                ram6   stdout   tty18  tty29  tty4   tty50  tty61  vcio       vcsa3
fb0              loop0      mmcblk0           ram1                ram7   tty      tty19  tty3   tty40  tty51  tty62  vc-mem     vcsa4
fd               loop1      mmcblk0p1         ram10               ram8   tty0     tty2   tty30  tty41  tty52  tty63  vcs        vcsa5

Ranjib · Nov 18, 2018

Tenny said:

Code:

pi@reefpi:/dev $ ls
autofs           full       loop2             mmcblk0p2           ram11  ram9     tty1   tty20  tty31  tty42  tty53  tty7       vcs1   vcsa6
block            fuse       loop3             mqueue              ram12  random   tty10  tty21  tty32  tty43  tty54  tty8       vcs2   vcsm
btrfs-control    gpiochip0  loop4             net                 ram13  raw      tty11  tty22  tty33  tty44  tty55  tty9       vcs3   vhci
bus              gpiomem    loop5             network_latency     ram14  rfkill   tty12  tty23  tty34  tty45  tty56  ttyAMA0    vcs4   watchdog
cachefiles       hwrng      loop6             network_throughput  ram15  serial1  tty13  tty24  tty35  tty46  tty57  ttyprintk  vcs5   watchdog0
char             i2c-1      loop7             null                ram2   shm      tty14  tty25  tty36  tty47  tty58  uhid       vcs6   zero
console          initctl    loop-control      ppp                 ram3   snd      tty15  tty26  tty37  tty48  tty59  uinput     vcsa
cpu_dma_latency  input      mapper            ptmx                ram4   stderr   tty16  tty27  tty38  tty49  tty6   urandom    vcsa1
cuse             kmsg       mem               pts                 ram5   stdin    tty17  tty28  tty39  tty5   tty60  vchiq      vcsa2
disk             log        memory_bandwidth  ram0                ram6   stdout   tty18  tty29  tty4   tty50  tty61  vcio       vcsa3
fb0              loop0      mmcblk0           ram1                ram7   tty      tty19  tty3   tty40  tty51  tty62  vc-mem     vcsa4
fd               loop1      mmcblk0p1         ram10               ram8   tty0     tty2   tty30  tty41  tty52  tty63  vcs        vcsa5

ok, i2c-1 is present. Then reef-pi should not complain about it being absent. Lets check how you running reef-pi., What is the out put of this, this will restart reef-pi and we'll see what happens once it comes up.

Code:

sudo systemctl restart reef-pi.service
journalctl -fu reef-pi.service

Question, how you installed and started reef-pi? and what version you are using?

Ryan115 · Nov 18, 2018

LionHeart2017 said:
Can I ask, I have mars aqua leds 165w x4 all stripped down so modding them I'm not worried about, but if I want to pwm them properly how could I do it? The panels themselves contain 55 3w leds, I have 4 panels, so a total led count of 220 3w leds.

Now there split into 2 channels per panel, white and blue channel, blue channel uses 27 leds 3w each, white channel 28 leds 3w each, it uses 8 drivers that have manual dimming.

Now I'm thinking to replace how there powered by a better system than supplied so they can then be fully controlled by reef-pi via pwm and timers from the pi.

I've been researching some but it's very confusing on the power side of things, has anyone done anything like this? Or any advice about powering a strip of 108 blue 3w leds and pwm and a strip of 112 mixed white channel leds 3w.

Is it even possible to power and pwm so many leds in series?

Is the manual dimmer something like this?

This is the circuit that has been working for my SBReefLights with Reef-Pi control.

It is plug and play into the system and uses the 12V from the light system, so all you need to send is signal and GND.

Ryan115 · Nov 18, 2018

Also, this thread is out of control (but that is a good thing).
A guy cant simply leave the country for two weeks without coming back and being 20+ pages and two releases behind.;Jawdrop

Nicolas Sabrun · Nov 18, 2018

Ryan115 said:
Is the manual dimmer something like this?

This is the circuit that has been working for my SBReefLights with Reef-Pi control.

It is plug and play into the system and uses the 12V from the light system, so all you need to send is signal and GND.

I have been looking into this as well. Mars Aqua use 0-10v analog dimming . The dimmer is different than that ( on mine at least) They have VDM connection but this wiring should work.

LionHeart2017 · Nov 18, 2018

Nicolas Sabrun said:
I have been looking into this as well. Mars Aqua use 0-10v analog dimming . The dimmer is different than that ( on mine at least) They have VDM connection but this wiring should work.

I have read around some about the mars dimming, I don't see any success of dimming to 0 smoothly, and there quite bright at the 10 or 15% they start at which to me isn't worth it as I'd want it to go to 0 to get a nice sunrise sunset

Nicolas Sabrun · Nov 18, 2018

@Ranjib

Can a 2 wire temperature probe be used with reef pi?

I have 2 temperature probes:

like this from an old aqua controller 3
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/temp...B-YzbzSGaSi7HXqvVKsDteOHm7NQ1xkhoCtcUQAvD_BwE

or this one from my reefkeeper which is a 2 wire temperature probe ( black and red ) with a molex connector

or do I have to use the reefpi temperature build?

Thank you

Tenny · Nov 18, 2018

Ranjib said:
ok, i2c-1 is present. Then reef-pi should not complain about it being absent. Lets check how you running reef-pi., What is the out put of this, this will restart reef-pi and we'll see what happens once it comes up.

Code:

sudo systemctl restart reef-pi.service journalctl -fu reef-pi.service

Question, how you installed and started reef-pi? and what version you are using?

Code:

pi@reefpi:/dev $ sudo systemctl restart reef-pi.service
pi@reefpi:/dev $ journalctl -fu reef-pi.service
-- Logs begin at Sun 2018-11-18 18:53:58 CST. --
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Setting GPIO Pin: 22 State: 1
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Setting GPIO Pin: 23 State: 1
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 INFO: equipment subsystem: Finished syncing all equipment
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: equipment
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: timers
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: temperature
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: macro
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 reef-pi is up and running
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Starting http server at: 0.0.0.0:80
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Starting health checker
Nov 18 20:56:26 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:26 Reading temperature from device: 28-021317e28caa
Nov 18 20:56:27 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:27 temperature sub-system:  sensor Temperature Probe value: 74.3

I followed this guide: https://reef-pi.github.io/general-guides/install/

but used the latest 2.0.0 RC3

So the error is gone now. Thinking it was maybe because of a slow boot and wasn't ready yet I tried to restart it and now it's not coming up at all.

Ranjib · Nov 18, 2018

Tenny said:

Code:

pi@reefpi:/dev $ sudo systemctl restart reef-pi.service
pi@reefpi:/dev $ journalctl -fu reef-pi.service
-- Logs begin at Sun 2018-11-18 18:53:58 CST. --
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Setting GPIO Pin: 22 State: 1
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Setting GPIO Pin: 23 State: 1
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 INFO: equipment subsystem: Finished syncing all equipment
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: equipment
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: timers
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: temperature
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: macro
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 reef-pi is up and running
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Starting http server at: 0.0.0.0:80
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Starting health checker
Nov 18 20:56:26 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:26 Reading temperature from device: 28-021317e28caa
Nov 18 20:56:27 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:27 temperature sub-system:  sensor Temperature Probe value: 74.3

I followed this guide: https://reef-pi.github.io/general-guides/install/

but used the latest 2.0.0 RC3

So the error is gone now. Thinking it was maybe because of a slow boot and wasn't ready yet I tried to restart it and now it's not coming up at all.

Good. I think i2c was not available when the error happened. raspi-config fixed that but reef-pi was not started. i2c is setup during device initialization, which is way early than reef-pi comes up. Anyway... just remember to use reef-pi config instead of hand editing /boot/config.txt, wherever you can since those params sometime changes from release to release. You have multiple i2c declarations in your config (not that they cause problem, but it gets confusing).

Ranjib · Nov 18, 2018

Tenny said:

Code:

pi@reefpi:/dev $ sudo systemctl restart reef-pi.service
pi@reefpi:/dev $ journalctl -fu reef-pi.service
-- Logs begin at Sun 2018-11-18 18:53:58 CST. --
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Setting GPIO Pin: 22 State: 1
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Setting GPIO Pin: 23 State: 1
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 INFO: equipment subsystem: Finished syncing all equipment
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: equipment
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: timers
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: temperature
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Successfully started subsystem: macro
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 reef-pi is up and running
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Starting http server at: 0.0.0.0:80
Nov 18 20:56:11 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:11 Starting health checker
Nov 18 20:56:26 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:26 Reading temperature from device: 28-021317e28caa
Nov 18 20:56:27 reefpi reef-pi[729]: 2018/11/18 20:56:27 temperature sub-system:  sensor Temperature Probe value: 74.3

I followed this guide: https://reef-pi.github.io/general-guides/install/

but used the latest 2.0.0 RC3

So the error is gone now. Thinking it was maybe because of a slow boot and wasn't ready yet I tried to restart it and now it's not coming up at all.

Not coming up? You mean reef-pi is not working ? like web page is not working? The log shows it started and temperature probe is already working..