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

[Brad Cox]

Curious, how long its been running? 1.5 is almost a year old release :-0),

It has been running since then or maybe a week or so after you released it. Im using it for the ato and my lights and its been flawless. Never had to restart or anything. Only time it ever got rebooted was before i put my tank on a ups.

I hope the new version is as stable.

 

[Ranjib]

It has been running since then or maybe a week or so after you released it. Im using it for the ato and my lights and its been flawless. Never had to restart or anything. Only time it ever got rebooted was before i put my tank on a ups.

I hope the new version is as stable.

Should be ok. Keep the 1.5 database file as backup. there are couple of bugs we have encountered in 2.x releases around pwm. Anything specific you are looking it use in 2.x ?

 

[trackerit]

stop reef-pi and use the python library provided by atalas scientific to check if the ezo circuit is configured to work in i2c mode and that you can read data. if not, configure it to work in i2c mode and then start reef-pi again. atals scientific ezo documentation details the steps

Ok its working again

 

[AquaRaider44]

Anyone know if something like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/Liquid-PH-...b7d2:m:mDK3tz9hRWeKeCorod60hcA&frcectupt=true could be used to measure the pH? This is like 90% cheaper than building a ph module.

 

[trackerit]

My build reefpi,

 

[Ranjib]

My build reefpi,

Looks awesome . Thank you for sharing

 

[Michael Lane]

Anyone know if something like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/Liquid-PH-...b7d2:m:mDK3tz9hRWeKeCorod60hcA&frcectupt=true could be used to measure the pH? This is like 90% cheaper than building a ph module.

I looked at those boards since they are so inexpensive, but I decided against trying it. It's not compatible with the current reef-pi software, and it would require an additional analog to digital converter. Even after solving those 2 problems, it would probably still need to be isolated in order to get consistent readings. I think it would be interesting to play with, but I wouldn't trust it to run anything on my aquarium. Besides, I think the ADC and isolator are the majority of the cost in the better ph boards.

 

[Ranjib]

Anyone know if something like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/Liquid-PH-...b7d2:m:mDK3tz9hRWeKeCorod60hcA&frcectupt=true could be used to measure the pH? This is like 90% cheaper than building a ph module.

These are not worth if you are planning to have some accuracy in the reading . Your cost will be 50% on probe and 50% on circuit board. Without voltage isolator your reading will have jitter and they will be in accurate by one or two . You will be able to visualize the daily cycle though.
The ph board is aimed to solve this (lower cost circuit) . It’s still expensive as the probe is 40-50$

 

[Ranjib]

Some updates on the ph board. I had to revert some changes made in the ph board driver to make it work continuously . With those changes the pico board will have issues after a couple of readings and the ph board will not work at all. After that’s reverted I was able to run the ph board based build overnight ,, it’s still running. The value is around -8100. I’m not sure if it’s correct , the probe can be wrong or my tanks ph is genuinely low (I highly doubt ) , but the reading is same as the original c code shared by @Roberto_b . My next step will be to test out the calibration module and probably get a decent probe (brs or atlas) and do another round of tests .
I’ll keep you all posted , excited to see progress on this front , as it’s being dragging is for some time .

 

[PaulJ2303]

i'm just about to build the power module for my reef pi.
this is the first step for me so i wonder if you guys could help.
i keep seeing on youtube thees kind of video's showing a direct connection from the pi to the relay for example:

is there any reason why i shouldn't do this ? it seems really simple and less cluttered than the tutorial build on adafruit's website.

Also one last thing how do i tell if the relay module is good quality, i.e going to last me more than a couple of weeks ?

 

[AquaRaider44]

i'm just about to build the power module for my reef pi.
this is the first step for me so i wonder if you guys could help.
i keep seeing on youtube thees kind of video's showing a direct connection from the pi to the relay for example:

is there any reason why i shouldn't do this ? it seems really simple and less cluttered than the tutorial build on adafruit's website.

Also one last thing how do i tell if the relay module is good quality, i.e going to last me more than a couple of weeks ?

I was just looking at this yesterday and I am really not sure why this wouldn't work as it is significantly less complicated and would cost less than building the whole circuit thing. I wonder if anyone else has tried this? Also I have had many relays for other projects and I do not see any reason why any are better or worse than others.

 

[Ranjib]

i'm just about to build the power module for my reef pi.
this is the first step for me so i wonder if you guys could help.
i keep seeing on youtube thees kind of video's showing a direct connection from the pi to the relay for example:

is there any reason why i shouldn't do this ? it seems really simple and less cluttered than the tutorial build on adafruit's website.

Also one last thing how do i tell if the relay module is good quality, i.e going to last me more than a couple of weeks ?

I have not gone through this exact video , but this is pretty much how I recommended building reef-pi power module till 1.0. The new adj powerstrip route is beginner friendly and avoids dealing with ac circuitry which is a huge safety concern and risky step for beginners. That’s pretty much the only two reason (safety and ease of use) for recommending this route, and we are aware that its mostly valid for only US. We also know that ADJ powerstips are not the best in terms of build quality. But they are cheap, and the relays used are good enough for most use cases.

With this said, I absolutely love that folks (including myself) build their own power modules (scratch build as I call them), this gives us the flexibility to choose the relay (solid state, voltage and current ratings etc) , default on/off mechanism and form factor (number of outlets). You are most welcome to take this route if you can

 

[Ranjib]

I was just looking at this yesterday and I am really not sure why this wouldn't work as it is significantly less complicated and would cost less than building the whole circuit thing. I wonder if anyone else has tried this? Also I have had many relays for other projects and I do not see any reason why any are better or worse than others.

The best way to understand the quality of relays is by reading their datasheet. You are looking at wear an tear rate (how many mechanical operations they are rated for), and their current/voltage rating. General recommendation from electronics community (in stack exchange) has been to always use components that are twice rated, or use a relay rated for twice the current that you think you'll draw form single equipment. Use the wear and tear value (cant recall exactly what its called, but its around mechanical operations) and an estimate of how many times will be on/off daily,, that gives you a rough estimate of how long you can expect the relay to run.

Most of these boards uses 12V or 5V songle relays, which are rated for 10^7 switches. Although most documents on internet say its variable and several known experiments exceeded the limit.

http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=223929.0

 

[AquaRaider44]

i'm just about to build the power module for my reef pi.
this is the first step for me so i wonder if you guys could help.
i keep seeing on youtube thees kind of video's showing a direct connection from the pi to the relay for example:

is there any reason why i shouldn't do this ? it seems really simple and less cluttered than the tutorial build on adafruit's website.

Also one last thing how do i tell if the relay module is good quality, i.e going to last me more than a couple of weeks ?

Hey I just went through the whole documentation for the build and this should work as it used a 5v relay and the circuit is designed for a 12v relay which needs all that extra stuff to step up and down from the pi to 12v relay.

 

[Ranjib]

Hey I just went through the whole documentation for the build and this should work as it used a 5v relay and the circuit is designed for a 12v relay which needs all that extra stuff to step up and down from the pi to 12v relay.

Yup , you won’t need the voltage converters if all your circuit is 5v.

 

[AquaRaider44]

Yup , you won’t need the voltage converters if all your circuit is 5v.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the voltage converter back powers the raspbery pi?

 

[Ranjib]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the voltage converter back powers the raspbery pi?

Yes

 

[AquaRaider44]

Yes

That is a nice feature and since the dosers and lights need like 12v and 10v it may be nice to step down twice and not have a few power supplies instead.

 

[AquaRaider44]

Thanks for everybody's help here. I have decided to go with building the whole Reef-Pi and all modules on one Ras Pi 3 b+ from scratch. I think I will enjoy this project and I see a lot of great help here if I need it! I should have all of the parts I need here on Wednesday #AmazonPrime1DayShipping. I waited on buying the pH module stuff I will end up going with the ph module from @Michael Lane as it cuts the price to $40 as to $80 having to buy the Electrically Isolated EZO™ Carrier Board and the Ezo™ pH Circuit. I will definitely go with this Milwaukee Instruments MA911B/2 Double Junction Ph Electrode with 2 m Cable and Gel Filled Electrolyte Solution as it is highly reviewed and is more actuate with the double junction. Just wish this pH module was supported already but I will definitely wait as it seems like it could be in the next month. For pH calibration @Ranjib would 4.00pH, 6.86pH, and 9.18pH work?

 

[Ranjib]

That is a nice feature and since the dosers and lights need like 12v and 10v it may be nice to step down twice and not have a few power supplies instead.

Yes. and thats exactly how I arrived at 12v, because light , peristaltic pump etc all require 12 or 10v. I later realized that starting with higher voltage also means i can get more power with less current, which is handy. Breadboard, jumper wires etc has 1-2 A current limit, and if you start with 5v then you may need more than 3A.