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

[Bigtrout]

Not sure on the bucks, but reading on electronic forums leads me to believe that quality is all over the place, as some chinese makers arent even putting real lm2596 in the boards, they are using copies.

In my build I opted for real power supplies, that are ul listed and a good name. There is nothing wrong with the laptop supplies, as they are usually made well, but the buck converters are the crapshoot.

Meanwell supplies are quite reasonably priced. I used couple 5v 3a meanwells and they are quite stable. Look up my build thread. A meanwell rs-15-5 is only 7.55 on amazon. Use that for the pi and keep your laptop 12v for the relays if you bought 12v relays.

 

[Ranjib]

@Ranjib any idea what causes a buzzi g or humming on the pi hat?

Nope. This is something you have to sort out, every time you use something that we have not used or not specified in the guides, if you encounter issues... we’ll have hard time to actually reproduce it,

 

[Ranjib]

Not sure on the bucks, but reading on electronic forums leads me to believe that quality is all over the place, as some chinese makers arent even putting real lm2596 in the boards, they are using copies.

In my build I opted for real power supplies, that are ul listed and a good name. There is nothing wrong with the laptop supplies, as they are usually made well, but the buck converters are the crapshoot.

Meanwell supplies are quite reasonably priced. I used couple 5v 3a meanwells and they are quite stable. Look up my build thread. A meanwell rs-15-5 is only 7.55 on amazon. Use that for the pi and keep your laptop 12v for the relays if you bought 12v relays.

On this note, I realized I can actually use apple power supplies , iwatch power adapter is 5.2v , 2.4 a. Perfect for some of my build

 

[Bigtrout]

A good source for power supplies if you like to repurpose is the local Goodwill or Salvation Army thrift store. They are usually dozens of them in a bin for a dollar or two. Bring a magnifying glass to read the labels and you would be suprised what you find.

 

[Ranjib]

No problem, if one can choose 4 and 7 as the calibration points that works. The reason for the ph probe in my tank isnt to know that the ph is exactly 7.020 to the nth degree but accurate to .1 or .2 works. Id be looking at the trending as way more important, and i assume its the same in saltwater!

Same here, mostly interested in the daily cycle and the peak/bottom readings. I am having some interesting thoughts after observing the ph cycle in details... how photo period impacts it and how stony coral growth is impacted by it

 

[Bigtrout]

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Same here, mostly interested in the daily cycle and the peak/bottom readings. I am having some interesting thoughts after observing the ph cycle in details... how photo period impacts it and how stony coral growth is impacted by it

On the freshwater planted end, plants use co2 which raises tank ph, it may be possible to play with lighting intensity and use ph to track plant response. I dont dose co2 so thats a limiting factor for growth, why throw more un needed light into the mix and invite algae when its not needed.
Ph can also be useful for tracking when water changes would be helpful. If it starts swinging wildly, the little bit of KH hardness in my tank has been used up, time for a water change!

 

[AquaRaider44]

What does the error "Failed to initialize i2c. Errorpen /dev/i2c-1: no such file or directory" mean?

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

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On the freshwater planted end, plants use co2 which raises tank ph, it may be possible to play with lighting intensity and use ph to track plant response. I dont dose co2 so thats a limiting factor for growth, why throw more un needed light into the mix and invite algae when its not needed.
Ph can also be useful for tracking when water changes would be helpful. If it starts swinging wildly, the little bit of KH hardness in my tank has been used up, time for a water change!

CO2 is acidic and lowers pH. Overdosing CO2 results in a pH crash, which nukes your fish. Ask me how I know ;Blackeye;Dead

 

[Bigtrout]

CO2 is acidic and lowers pH. Overdosing CO2 results in a pH crash, which nukes your fish. Ask me how I know ;Blackeye;Dead

Correct, but with me NOT dosing, plants using up all the co2 will make ph rise which can also be bad, it can spike quick in soft water.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Correct, but with me NOT dosing, plants using up all the co2 will make ph rise which can also be bad, it can spike quick in soft water.

Ah, yes. The plants will convert the CO2 into O2, but you think they'll do it fast enough to cause a spike? I've never imagined that. Hardening the water will stabilize the pH though and keep it from wildly swinging. I am very curious about how quickly the plants convert the CO2, as I have a planted tank as well.

 

[Ranjib]

What does the error "Failed to initialize i2c. Errorpen /dev/i2c-1: no such file or directory" mean?

Have you enabled i2c? Please follow the adafruit first guide , end to end and update on your build thread

 

[Bigtrout]

Ah, yes. The plants will convert the CO2 into O2, but you think they'll do it fast enough to cause a spike? I've never imagined that. Hardening the water will stabilize the pH though and keep it from wildly swinging. I am very curious about how quickly the plants convert the CO2, as I have a planted tank as well.

Yes they can make it spike, growing fast with good light...but easily fixed...drop light intensity!
Hardening with kh is ok, except when you keep angels and tetras...who thrive in softer water...its a balance
My water comes out of the tap...very mildly buffered...when some plants run out of co2, they CAN use the buffer instead...vallisneria can use hardness instead of co2 when needed..so ph monitoring can tell me optimimum light intensity...and give me clues as to when to do water changes if the buffer gets used up.
I dont believe in adding chemicals to change water parameters...its expensive to fight your water. My old planted was live bearers and alkaline loving plants because my water was ph 7.6 and very hard out of the tap.
My current tank is tetras and softer water fish, because my water is ph 7.0 and kh between 3 and 5 from the tap. If water parameters go whacky...change the water its cheaper than fighting with chemicals

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Yes they can make it spike, growing fast with good light...but easily fixed...drop light intensity!
Hardening with kh is ok, except when you keep angels and tetras...who thrive in softer water...its a balance
My water comes out of the tap...very mildly buffered...when some plants run out of co2, they CAN use the buffer instead...vallisneria can use hardness instead of co2 when needed..so ph monitoring can tell me optimimum light intensity...and give me clues as to when to do water changes if the buffer gets used up.
I dont believe in adding chemicals to change water parameters...its expensive to fight your water. My old planted was live bearers and alkaline loving plants because my water was ph 7.6 and very hard out of the tap.
My current tank is tetras and softer water fish, because my water is ph 7.0 and kh between 3 and 5 from the tap. If water parameters go whacky...change the water its cheaper than fighting with chemicals

All I use is tap water, prime as a dechlorinator, and sometimes some ferts.

 

[Bigtrout]

All I use is tap water, prime as a dechlorinator, and sometimes some ferts.

Same here...dechlor only, no ferts though, thats what the overstocked tanks job is.

@DirtDiggler2823
Have your plants ever pearled? Growing under strong light so fast thay they are giving off o2 in bubbles?
Mine pearl a bit daily after the first hour of being under my leds at full intensity. I think that means they are using co2 at a pretty good clip!

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Same here...dechlor only, no ferts though, thats what the overstocked tanks job is.

@DirtDiggler2823
Have your plants ever pearled? Growing under strong light so fast thay they are giving off o2 in bubbles?
Mine pearl a bit daily after the first hour of being under my leds at full intensity. I think that means they are using co2 at a pretty good clip!

I'll only see it if the return pump is off for a while, but I've seen it.

 

[SDchris]

I’m excited to report that the ph board driver is now running for almost a day, I believe what I’m seeing is a daily ph cycle, but represented in raw milli volts

Nice. Will we see a Reef-Pi alkalinity monitor soon.

Chris

 

[AquaRaider44]

Nice. Will we see a Reef-Pi alkalinity monitor soon.

Chris

I sure hope so

 

[Stephen Lovett]

Hi, First thanks for all the hard work. I'm just about done with my initial build and it all went well. I'm still waiting on the ato sensor. I've got the power strip up and working, email notifications, and three temp probes. I'm a bit concerned about the probes rusting and am thinking that covering them with a thin layer of aquarium safe silicone over the stainless bit and just up past the shrink seal would be smart but thought I'd check in here first. Thanks again cool project.

 

[AquaRaider44]

Hi, First thanks for all the hard work. I'm just about done with my initial build and it all went well. I'm still waiting on the ato sensor. I've got the power strip up and working, email notifications, and three temp probes. I'm a bit concerned about the probes rusting and am thinking that covering them with a thin layer of aquarium safe silicone over the stainless bit and just up past the shrink seal would be smart but thought I'd check in here first. Thanks again cool project.

You should make a build thread

 

[Michael Lane]

Hi, First thanks for all the hard work. I'm just about done with my initial build and it all went well. I'm still waiting on the ato sensor. I've got the power strip up and working, email notifications, and three temp probes. I'm a bit concerned about the probes rusting and am thinking that covering them with a thin layer of aquarium safe silicone over the stainless bit and just up past the shrink seal would be smart but thought I'd check in here first. Thanks again cool project.

A few people have done this, myself included. It works well for me, except I found it very difficult to actually coat the probe with silicone. I used styrene tube filled with silicone and inserted the probe into the tube. It was a lot less messy that way, and works well for me.