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

DirtDiggler2823 · Jan 16, 2020

Phildago said:
Thats my issue. I cannot plot the data, so I have absolutely no way of verifying that the timers are triggering. I don't monitor alk while I'm away, I test it at home. I tested 5 days ago and it was 8.7 let it go for a few days and it was 7.0 yesterday. Today i tested it as 6.9. So despite increasing the number of times i would like it to trigger to 13 x daily for 1 second, it's still not enough. Before using reef pi I was dosing 1 ml 12 x daily. The 1 second trigger actually doses a bit more than 1 ml, so either my calibration was off on my last timer, or it's not triggering when I want it to.

Really I think my best option would be if I could find a way to plot the data each day. That way I could look back and see that the pumps/timers were actually triggering at the time I set them for

Has there been any changes in your stock?

Phildago · Jan 16, 2020

DirtDiggler2823 said:
Has there been any changes in your stock?

Well everything is growing and coloring up nice, so my need to alk is always increasing. It just seems to have coincidentally accelerated drastically at the same time I switched my dosing mechanism.

DirtDiggler2823 · Jan 16, 2020

Phildago said:
Well everything is growing and coloring up nice, so my need to alk is always increasing. It just seems to have coincidentally accelerated drastically at the same time I switched my dosing mechanism.

Could there be an issue with the line?

Phildago · Jan 16, 2020

DirtDiggler2823 said:
Could there be an issue with the line?

nope, I test it manually and tonight i sat and waited for it to trigger at the specified time. It did. I just want to dot my i and cross my ts before I jack up the dosing a bunch. What I'm afraid of in doing that is if theres something funky going on where it's not triggering right, then I mess with a setting and all of a sudden it goes from triggering 5 times to now triggering 18 times. I mean, if I had a plot I could look back and see that okay today it triggered all 12 times at the desired times then Id have no problem aggressively adjusting the dose to titrate my alk. I do think I'm likely over thinking this, but I reallly just want to have the verification so I can rule out anything funky

Ranjib · Jan 16, 2020

Phildago said:
nope, I test it manually and tonight i sat and waited for it to trigger at the specified time. It did. I just want to dot my i and cross my ts before I jack up the dosing a bunch. What I'm afraid of in doing that is if theres something funky going on where it's not triggering right, then I mess with a setting and all of a sudden it goes from triggering 5 times to now triggering 18 times. I mean, if I had a plot I could look back and see that okay today it triggered all 12 times at the desired times then Id have no problem aggressively adjusting the dose to titrate my alk. I do think I'm likely over thinking this, but I reallly just want to have the verification so I can rule out anything funky

You can always verify the timer has worked or not by checking the log specifically for that time.
I do think we should add some kind of visualization, I’m open for ideas.

Phildago · Jan 17, 2020

Ranjib said:
You can always verify the timer has worked or not by checking the log specifically for that time.
I do think we should add some kind of visualization, I’m open for ideas.

Well I saw these screen shots and have been messing around to try to achieve a plot like that ai see for the heater cooler. I'm using the same pins that would control a 12 v relay, so essentially I'm trying to create this exact plot. I'm not sure if the only way to access this tool is by having a temperature setup. But in the same way the these plots show that the heater was turned on and off at some point in the past, I'd like to see it for my doser.

I would just check the log in ssh? Do you know the command off hand?

Zippyfear · Jan 17, 2020

Schreiber said:
Lol, no. I have absolutely no idea how I wound up tagging the wrong person I'm running on very little sleep this week dealing with the Kickstarter launch. Been getting about 3 hours of sleep less than usual each night.

You definitely won the drawing, @NeonRabbit221B . But hey, if @b4tn could use one too, it's on me. Sorry for the mix-up!

If you want to throw one my way as well.. I won't complain.

Des Westcott · Jan 17, 2020

Ranjib said:
You can always verify the timer has worked or not by checking the log specifically for that time.
I do think we should add some kind of visualization, I’m open for ideas.

Maybe an item for the UI thread?

Ranjib · Jan 17, 2020

Des Westcott said:
Maybe an item for the UI thread?

Yes. Was thinking about the same

Ranjib · Jan 17, 2020

Phildago said:
Well I saw these screen shots and have been messing around to try to achieve a plot like that ai see for the heater cooler. I'm using the same pins that would control a 12 v relay, so essentially I'm trying to create this exact plot. I'm not sure if the only way to access this tool is by having a temperature setup. But in the same way the these plots show that the heater was turned on and off at some point in the past, I'd like to see it for my doser.

I would just check the log in ssh? Do you know the command off hand?

Use journcalctl -u reef-pi.service —since startTime —until endTime
Examples are here:

Using journalctl - The Ultimate Guide To Logging

Journalctl is a utility for querying and displaying logs from journald, systemd’s logging service. Since journald stores log data in a binary format instead of a plaintext format, journalctl is the standard way of reading log messages processed by journald. In the…

www.loggly.com

Des Westcott · Jan 17, 2020

I seem to have broken my Dashboard.

I was fiddling around and installing my chiller and had to connect and disconnect a few things (pH and Temp plugs), then I started seeing strange errors regarding temp sensors that had failed etc etc. Then I lost a few metrics on the Dashboard and when I went to try fix them I noticed the layout for assigning graphs to the Dashboard was different. 3.0 / 3.1 release?

Anyway, I deleted database and tried to reconfigure, and I can't get anything other than Equipment and health to show on the Dashboard - No temp graphs. Everything else I configure works, just not the Dashboard.

I've got the bare bones Of a system working for now. Going to get a new card tomorrow and do a fresh install, get it working and then do a backup / spare card.

DirtDiggler2823 · Jan 17, 2020

Des Westcott said:
I seem to have broken my Dashboard.

I was fiddling around and installing my chiller and had to connect and disconnect a few things (pH and Temp plugs), then I started seeing strange errors regarding temp sensors that had failed etc etc. Then I lost a few metrics on the Dashboard and when I went to try fix them I noticed the layout for assigning graphs to the Dashboard was different. 3.0 / 3.1 release?

Anyway, I deleted database and tried to reconfigure, and I can't get anything other than Equipment and health to show on the Dashboard - No temp graphs. Everything else I configure works, just not the Dashboard.

I've got the bare bones Of a system working for now. Going to get a new card tomorrow and do a fresh install, get it working and then do a backup / spare card.

Everything is connected to the reef-pi, correct? You did the entire db flush process? You re-added the equipment, and probes, using the correct pins and drivers? The dashboard will not work correctly if there are issues with the devices it's referencing.

lmm1967 · Jan 17, 2020

Des Westcott said:
I seem to have broken my Dashboard.

I was fiddling around and installing my chiller and had to connect and disconnect a few things (pH and Temp plugs), then I started seeing strange errors regarding temp sensors that had failed etc etc. Then I lost a few metrics on the Dashboard and when I went to try fix them I noticed the layout for assigning graphs to the Dashboard was different. 3.0 / 3.1 release?

Anyway, I deleted database and tried to reconfigure, and I can't get anything other than Equipment and health to show on the Dashboard - No temp graphs. Everything else I configure works, just not the Dashboard.

I've got the bare bones Of a system working for now. Going to get a new card tomorrow and do a fresh install, get it working and then do a backup / spare card.

If you're on 3.1 there is a UI bug with graphs

lmm1967 · Jan 17, 2020

Halide interference? Seems I may be getting some. When my halide switched on reef-pi completely lost my temp sensor until a reboot.

Can any of you smart folks point me to any possible solutions? This would be a show stopper for me.

The pi is roughly 4 feet away from the lights, ballasts, power lines for the halides. Is on the same electrical circuit (I don't want to run a dedicated circuit just for a controller - plus I'm not sure that would fix the interference anyway).

This is the ballast currently running - there will be more eventually. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/400w-metal-halide-ballast-reef-brite.html

Ranjib · Jan 17, 2020

Des Westcott said:
I seem to have broken my Dashboard.

I was fiddling around and installing my chiller and had to connect and disconnect a few things (pH and Temp plugs), then I started seeing strange errors regarding temp sensors that had failed etc etc. Then I lost a few metrics on the Dashboard and when I went to try fix them I noticed the layout for assigning graphs to the Dashboard was different. 3.0 / 3.1 release?

Anyway, I deleted database and tried to reconfigure, and I can't get anything other than Equipment and health to show on the Dashboard - No temp graphs. Everything else I configure works, just not the Dashboard.

I've got the bare bones Of a system working for now. Going to get a new card tomorrow and do a fresh install, get it working and then do a backup / spare card.

its a bug in dashboard config ui, wait till tonight i;ll release a fix

Des Westcott · Jan 17, 2020

lmm1967 said:
If you're on 3.1 there is a UI bug with graphs

Aaah OK Missed that. Been on 3.1 since it was released and this is the first time its reared it's head.

Des Westcott · Jan 17, 2020

Ranjib said:
its a bug in dashboard config ui, wait till tonight i;ll release a fix

awesome. Thanks.

lmm1967 · Jan 17, 2020

Des Westcott said:
Aaah OK Missed that. Been on 3.1 since it was released and this is the first time its reared it's head.

Until you try to change the dashboard it kept working. At least it did for me.

I wound up going back to 3.0 but mainly because I'm still messing with mine quite a bit and didn't want to wait for the patch (even though it's only been a couple days).

MangroveCorals · Jan 17, 2020

Hello all! Was wondering what is a good replacement for the 12v - 5v buck converter I can get from amazon for the power supply project? That is the last part I need to get started in on the power controller! Thank you

thaistalyn · Jan 17, 2020

MangroveCorals said:
Hello all! Was wondering what is a good replacement for the 12v - 5v buck converter I can get from amazon for the power supply project? That is the last part I need to get started in on the power controller! Thank you

I use this one --> QEBIDUL LM2596S DC-DC Buck Converter DIY 4-40V to 1.25-37V Step-down Regulator Power Module Volt Stabilizer with LED Voltmeter Display