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

[b4tn]

Just for a reference for everyone I got a a ds18b20 from adafruit. It was the first probe I got and was coated in silicone before I put it into use. I started getting erratic readings in the reef-pi interface and took it out to check it. Apparently the silicone didn't do it's job very well because I noticed it had some rust on it. I just took it apart to check it to see if the sensor was intact and found this.
These are supposed to be waterproof and the only reason I used silicone was to keep the probe from rusting. After inspecting the sensor I found that whatever they used to seal the probe and keep it water tight had a big gap in it that allowed water to get into the probe and short it out.

This is why I plan on making my own temp probe. With so many counterfeit ones out there might as well buy the actual legit part and seal it in a piece of tubing yourself. Then you know you have a legit sensor and it’s been sealed by you. Can anyone recommend a reef safe epoxy? Something that you could just dip the sensor and wires in?

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/maxim-integrated/DS18B20/DS18B20-ND/956983

 

[Diamond1]

I'll probably find something similar

I wouldn't be surprised. I'm thinking of using an old API test tube and filling it with silica based sand with the probe in it and the top sealed with silicone to keep the probes out of the water maybe that will help.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

I wouldn't be surprised. I'm thinking of using an old API test tube and filling it with silica based sand with the probe in it and the top sealed with silicone to keep the probes out of the water maybe that will help.

I'm thinking clear epoxy would be better.

 

[figaro93]

[QUOTE = "Ranjib, post: 5551858, membro: 67835"] Puoi iniziare un thread di build? Abbiamo bisogno di molti più dettagli tra cui il tipo di relè e il circuito ecc. Può essere un sacco di cose diverse se non segui le guide così come sono [/ QUOTE]

certo ora aprirò un nuovo battistrada
il problema e che non posso seguire le guide alla lettera su questo tipo di passaggio perché non vivo in america ma in Italia e tutte le attrezzature che arrivano qui hanno una presa diversa dalla tua
quindi volevo inserire i relè solo per montare la classica spina europea

 

[figaro93]

sure now I will open a new tread
the problem and that I can not follow the guides to the letter on this type of passage because I do not live in america but in Italy and all the equipment that arrives here have a different plug from your
so I wanted to insert the relays just to mount the classic European plug

 

[stefanm]

@Ranjib when i enter:" sudo systemctl start ntp.service", I get the following error, "sudo: unable to resolve host raspberrypi"

Any ideas?

 

[Ranjib]

@Ranjib when i enter:" sudo systemctl start ntp.service", I get the following error, "sudo: unable to resolve host raspberrypi"

Any ideas?

dont use ntp, use systemd-timesyncd

systemctl start systemd-timesyncd.service
systemctl enable systemd-timesyncd.service

 

[Ranjib]

@Ranjib when i enter:" sudo systemctl start ntp.service", I get the following error, "sudo: unable to resolve host raspberrypi"

Any ideas?

did you find this in any of the offical/adafruit docs? I should update them to use systemd-timesyncd

 

[rushbattle]

This is why I plan on making my own temp probe. With so many counterfeit ones out there might as well buy the actual legit part and seal it in a piece of tubing yourself. Then you know you have a legit sensor and it’s been sealed by you. Can anyone recommend a reef safe epoxy? Something that you could just dip the sensor and wires in?

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/maxim-integrated/DS18B20/DS18B20-ND/956983

I got ten of these, shipping out tomorrow. Gotta be better, though not much cheaper, than the assembled probes.

 

[theatrus]

I'm thinking clear epoxy would be better.

Pretty much any casting or potting epoxy should be fine (they shrink less than others so work better in large fills)

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Pretty much any casting or potting epoxy should be fine (they shrink less than others so work better in large fills)

I've been curious about their thermal conductivity though.

 

[stefanm]

did you find this in any of the offical/adafruit docs? I should update them to use systemd-timesyncd

I found it on the GitHub headless install page.

 

[figaro93]

ragazzi finalmente ho risolto grazie a un vecchio post di ranjib in cui mi ha consigliato dopo aver scritto in configuration.yml per riavviare la piattaforma ...
Fatto questo i relè si accendono
Grazie ancora

 

[figaro93]

guys finally I solved thanks to an old post of ranjib in which he advised after writing in configuration.yml to restart the platform ...
done this the relays turn on
Thanks again

 

[Ranjib]

guys finally I solved thanks to an old post of ranjib in which he advised after writing in configuration.yml to restart the platform ...
done this the relays turn on
Thanks again

please dont follow this thread, and use the adafruit guides instead. the posts in this thread reflects the state of reef-pi at that time, and likely to be outdated

 

[figaro93]

in fact I'm not following this discussion but already I solved two problems aahaha I'm following the discussion on the adafruit site but in the guide I suggested you use a relay power strip instead I used relays to which I will connect the European plugs for the rest I'm following and buying what the guide recommends

 

[crusso1993]

I never looked at these things. In fact I try to avoid pretty much everything thats fancy and based on something thats more original.
My experience has been that we are not limited by CPU/Memory. Yes there are cases where we have hit the ceiling , and may be there are some use of extra CPU/Memory. But 99% of the time we are actually struggling with neat features, reliability, documentation etc. Put other ways, my personal focus has always been to get the story right, i.e. get a functional controller running that can does the daily chores of reef keeping and can be built by most DIY enthuthiast. Sticking to original Raspberry Pi and avoiding most fancy things helped me achieve that, as I ride on the shoulder of those giants. We get to use standard raspberry pi/adafruit community help, and continued software improvements. This does limit us in some way, but I think its worth the compromise. Its ok to not be able to run both webcam and the entire controller in pi zero, as long as it can does the main controller bits, for each of us, easily and forever without hiccups.

In the very beginning when I started reef-pi development, reef-pi was named reefer and I was aiming to make it compatible in all sorts of hardware (Raspberry Pi, Intel Edison, Beaglebone ... etc), I also had all sorts of fancy things (like level sensors , etape). But after doing all of that for good 8 months, I realized that very few of those things actually help me in better reef keeping. In fact it was clear that I can do reef keeping without a controller, but having one that does the monotonous work and adds some extra safety gears is actually worth my time and effort.

Now, all that being said, after reef-pi 3.0 release I think we'll nail down some of the advanced features as well (peristaltic pumps, wavemakers, clustering etc) and I am open for suggestion on moonshot ideas, but I would still emphasize on use case first. i.e. we have to think about what this particular thing gives us, just more of anything is not useful, but if we have a use case (for example, we may decide that we'll do time series analysis on the temperature /ph data and predictively alert folks when equipment or tank act anomolous, instead of fixed threshold based alerting) that actually benefits reef keeping , and the new fancy things is required for that, then I'll definitely consider it

I dont mean to be rude, but I want to keep reef-pi features (software and hardware) coherent, for it to be effective and for me to be able to maintain it easily. Hope you understand

Bravo!

 

[crusso1993]

This is why I plan on making my own temp probe. With so many counterfeit ones out there might as well buy the actual legit part and seal it in a piece of tubing yourself. Then you know you have a legit sensor and it’s been sealed by you. Can anyone recommend a reef safe epoxy? Something that you could just dip the sensor and wires in?

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/maxim-integrated/DS18B20/DS18B20-ND/956983

You might also think about putting it in a glass tube and heat shrinking it in the tube. Just a thought.

 

[bishoptf]

You don't . AHH.. I am not good at Explaining Technical stuff So here is where i got my Info for my testing .

Right from the source
https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/app-notes/index.mvp/id/148

Now that looks like a very good article, will add it to my reading...

 

[Bigtrout]

I never looked at these things. In fact I try to avoid pretty much everything thats fancy and based on something thats more original.
My experience has been that we are not limited by CPU/Memory. Yes there are cases where we have hit the ceiling , and may be there are some use of extra CPU/Memory. But 99% of the time we are actually struggling with neat features, reliability, documentation etc. Put other ways, my personal focus has always been to get the story right, i.e. get a functional controller running that can does the daily chores of reef keeping and can be built by most DIY enthuthiast. Sticking to original Raspberry Pi and avoiding most fancy things helped me achieve that, as I ride on the shoulder of those giants. We get to use standard raspberry pi/adafruit community help, and continued software improvements. This does limit us in some way, but I think its worth the compromise. Its ok to not be able to run both webcam and the entire controller in pi zero, as long as it can does the main controller bits, for each of us, easily and forever without hiccups.

In the very beginning when I started reef-pi development, reef-pi was named reefer and I was aiming to make it compatible in all sorts of hardware (Raspberry Pi, Intel Edison, Beaglebone ... etc), I also had all sorts of fancy things (like level sensors , etape). But after doing all of that for good 8 months, I realized that very few of those things actually help me in better reef keeping. In fact it was clear that I can do reef keeping without a controller, but having one that does the monotonous work and adds some extra safety gears is actually worth my time and effort.

Now, all that being said, after reef-pi 3.0 release I think we'll nail down some of the advanced features as well (peristaltic pumps, wavemakers, clustering etc) and I am open for suggestion on moonshot ideas, but I would still emphasize on use case first. i.e. we have to think about what this particular thing gives us, just more of anything is not useful, but if we have a use case (for example, we may decide that we'll do time series analysis on the temperature /ph data and predictively alert folks when equipment or tank act anomolous, instead of fixed threshold based alerting) that actually benefits reef keeping , and the new fancy things is required for that, then I'll definitely consider it

I dont mean to be rude, but I want to keep reef-pi features (software and hardware) coherent, for it to be effective and for me to be able to maintain it easily. Hope you understand

I agree, good useful features, easily built by a hobbiest and easy to obtain parts. Thats what attracted me to your project!
Im looking to keep an aquarium running and be able to monitor and turn equipment on and off, and use as a failsafe, and reef pi does just that, and so far does it very well!