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

[robsworld78]

And now 17:29 both off.. I give up.

Don't give up yet, sometimes things like this can be frustrating but be assured it'll work once you get things setup properly. Try splitting up the schedules in steps instead of combining them until you get a better understanding of how it works?

 

[Alaa]

Hi
@Ranjib
pics from my first post were not clear
i did change the user name and password after stopping reef pi
then i started and all ok
still can not log in from my browser or my phone.
i deleted the history, cookies, and restarted my laptop
is there another way to do this
thanks

 

[Matevz Savarin]

Tnx all for suggestions, now I did seperate timers for on only at lets say 14 and off lets say at 17, but tunze 1 should be on and its off..I will deleta it all and do it all over againg I guess. Tunze 2 should be on and it is on..

 

[elysics]

Whats the most popular with wifi interface? We can target that..

That would be the EG-PMS2-WLAN

I dont know whether that'd be the best target to support though, costs more than twice the standard usb versions at 110€ on Amazon for 4 controllable and 2 always on outlets... But feel free to do so.

Personally i definitely want a cable bound solution, i don't like the failure mode of switching some equipment on or off and then the command to switch it back gets lost because of a failure at some point in the wifi chain. These particular powerbars do have a way to get around that due to their ability to schedule future switches but i dont think that capability would fit particularly well to the way reef-pi works.

 

[Stephen2]

Have anyone tried using the reef-pi with zetlight?

I see the apex neptune has it with vdm?

 

[Matevz Savarin]

Now I have found out, and it works.. if I put there hours, seconds goes on 0, but minutes stays at *! So I had to put in minutes also and now it works! Its a bug, but, its an easy fix..why one pf rimers worked its a mistery.. all good.

 

[Ranjib]

Now I have found out, and it works.. if I put there hours, seconds goes on 0, but minutes stays at *! So I had to put in minutes also and now it works! Its a bug, but, its an easy fix..why one pf rimers worked its a mistery.. all good.

Nice.. this points out huge gaps in user experience /documentation that we have to bridge to avoid such frustrating experience. Any feedback is welcome

 

[b4tn]

Bone head move. I was connecting up an auto feeder. I ran a security wire to the 3 volts, ground, and a transistor switch circuit. I forgot to power it down before snipping the wire and I think I shorted the 3 volt side and the pi won’t boot up. Of course it runs my whole tank and with shipping delays I can’t get one any time soon. Frustrated.

 

[b4tn]

Just a heads up. Pi 3 B+‘s have a known issue that even momentary shorts to the 3.2v rail will brick it. :mad: I think I found one I can pick up curbside at my local target for $35.

Shorting Pins On A Raspberry Pi Is A Bad Idea; PMIC Failures Under Investigation

You may have noticed, we’re fans of the Raspberry Pi here at Hackaday. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t feature a hack that uses a Pi somewhere in the build. As useful as the Pis are,…

hackaday.com

 

[Ranjib]

Bone head move. I was connecting up an auto feeder. I ran a security wire to the 3 volts, ground, and a transistor switch circuit. I forgot to power it down before snipping the wire and I think I shorted the 3 volt side and the pi won’t boot up. Of course it runs my whole tank and with shipping delays I can’t get one any time soon. Frustrated.

Ouch... see what all you can run without the controller. Is the SD card got corrupted or the whole pi is bricked? I have fried twp pi's til now.. all due to bad wiring.

 

[b4tn]

So this is a good case in point for the power strip. I wired 4 outlets that are on when not connected to reefpi so my return, skimmer, Heater, and one powerhead is still powered up without reefpi. I only had to move two plugs to a power strip. I will have to manually top off RO and manually dose 2 part for a couple days. I should have a replacement raspberry tomorrow.

lesson learned though. I will probably keep a spare raspberry on hand now. I’m hoping the SD card I can just move over but it’s not the end of the world if I have to build out a new OS.

 

[GaryE]

So this is a good case in point for the power strip. I wired 4 outlets that are on when not connected to reefpi so my return, skimmer, Heater, and one powerhead is still powered up without reefpi. I only had to move two plugs to a power strip. I will have to manually top off RO and manually dose 2 part for a couple days. I should have a replacement raspberry tomorrow.

lesson learned though. I will probably keep a spare raspberry on hand now. I’m hoping the SD card I can just move over but it’s not the end of the world if I have to build out a new OS.

I built my power strip so that all 8 outlets are normally closed (on by default). I'd rather have everything fail on than off.

I can also confirm that your SD card should work without issue in your new pi. I took mine from my pi 2 and am using it unmodified in my pi 3. Also tested in my pi 4 without issue.

 

[Ranjib]

So this is a good case in point for the power strip. I wired 4 outlets that are on when not connected to reefpi so my return, skimmer, Heater, and one powerhead is still powered up without reefpi. I only had to move two plugs to a power strip. I will have to manually top off RO and manually dose 2 part for a couple days. I should have a replacement raspberry tomorrow.

lesson learned though. I will probably keep a spare raspberry on hand now. I’m hoping the SD card I can just move over but it’s not the end of the world if I have to build out a new OS.

Yes.. keep a pi handy if you are playing with circuits.. keep an sd card backup always..

 

[Ranjib]

I built my power strip so that all 8 outlets are normally closed (on by default). I'd rather have everything fail on than off.

I can also confirm that your SD card should work without issue in your new pi. I took mine from my pi 2 and am using it unmodified in my pi 3. Also tested in my pi 4 without issue.

Same here.. i was just mentioning the same in another thread where reef-pi didnt work as expected (due to temp sensor failure) and the user expected that most folks would prefer the equipment to fail off.. i was like... i always prefer ON during failure.

 

[b4tn]

All the raspberry’s I can find will not arrive till after the 19th. I think it’s really strange but supposedly Target has a 3b that’s available for pickup tomorrow. I payed for it so we will see tomorrow if they actually have it. Lol

 

[GaryE]

Same here.. i was just mentioning the same in another thread where reef-pi didnt work as expected (due to temp sensor failure) and the user expected that most folks would prefer the equipment to fail off.. i was like... i always prefer ON during failure.

I have my heater set to about 79, so it will never get too hot. I'd rather that, than the tank getting down to room temp.

Speaking of sensor fail. My temp sensor fail yesterday. I have 5 more on the way, but it's definitely making me crazy..

 

[GaryE]

All the raspberry’s I can find will not arrive till after the 19th. I think it’s really strange but supposedly Target has a 3b that’s available for pickup tomorrow. I payed for it so we will see tomorrow if they actually have it. Lol

Did you try Microcenter.com?

 

[b4tn]

Did you try Microcenter.com?

No, but great resource. Thanks! looks
Like there is one about 30 minutes from me and they have everything. If the one I got from target falls through I know where to go. Good prices also.

 

[Badfish2too]

Dont believe the Amazon ship dates. I have been ordering a ton of stuff for the past 2 weeks. So far the longest I had to wait was 3 days

 

[robsworld78]

So I've been working on a user manual but want it so everyone can contribute easily, what do you think of this @Ranjib and others?

After searching nothing touches Google documents, I have a word document stored on my account, anyone can view or edit the document using a full online editor and you don't even need a Google account. The file has privileges, if you don't have full access and you edit the document like any other and it will send the changes as 'suggestions' to everyone who has full access. When someone with full access views the file online or in desktop Word it will show all suggestions where they were put in the document and with a click of the mouse you can accept or decline it, I'm very impressed with the features.

It's setup so anyone with full privileges can give others full access and has full tracking so all users can go back in time and see who made changes and what changed.

Here's a link, there's a button at top right that will say 'suggesting' click this and you can change views. If you have full access you can suggest or hard edit.

Reef-pi User Manual.docx

Reef-pi User Manual May 25, 2020 – Version 1.0 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1. Setup Reef-pi – Configuration 4 2. Setup Reef-pi – Settings 5 Advanced Settings 6 3. Setup Reef-pi – Telemetry 7 Adafruit IO Logging 7 Email Alerts 8 4. Setup Reef-pi – A...

docs.google.com

To request full access you need to be logged into a Google account when viewing the file, you'll see a blue "Share" button top right corner, click it and a window will popup. At the bottom right corner there's a link 'Advanced', click this and you can request full access. If you like this idea @Ranjib request access and I'll let you handle the other requests that come through unless I know who they are. The nice thing is everyone can interact without full access.

So this is just a start to the manual, I plan to add a lot more along with a detailed troubleshooting section and things like how to reset password that was just above. When you go through the manual you'll see some fields have no or little info beside them because I don't know what they are so please fill them in. My English ain't no good either so lots of rewording needed too.

You don't have to worry about images, I can make them and overtime will reformat the layout, first I want to get everything on paper. We can also have a quick guide, wiring diagrams, etc... and overtime decide what works best.