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

[Bigtrout]

Yes the crossover is the issue as pins will create a short. You only use as many connection points as you want. I have something similar with 8 pins that I use for my lights. Hermetic seal connection makes sure that pins will not corrode over time. Salt does nasty things to wires.

I put rj45 ethernet conenctors on my temp probes and ethernet jacks in my controller box...easy quick and they work great. No soldering required.

 

[lmm1967]

I put rj45 ethernet conenctors on my temp probes and ethernet jacks in my controller box...easy quick and they work great. No soldering required.

Being in IT - and more specifically heavy on the network side of IT - this has been one of my options as well. Plus I have plenty of cable, rj45s, crimper etc and I could do this with no additional money spent.

The reason I didn't is I just didn't feel like using an 8 wire option for 3 wires. I could put 2 sensors (more actually I think) per RJ45 - but then cable lengths and keeping straight which is which and then my head starts spinning and I know a year from now I won't remember what the heck I did.

 

[dmolavi]

Thanks, my friend, and hugs back! As you know, I was away for a while and, by "away", I don't mean prison!

I'm not exactly sure how many pages I missed over the last several months but am aware the upgrades to reef-pi have been exceptional. And so many different premade boards to select from now. That Leviathan from @Schreiber is looking very impressive!

I cannot believe @dmolavi is still tinkering with the DLI powerstrip. I figured he would be on release 2.1 by now. Sheesh! Lol (I'm fairly sure he'll be cursing my return!)

Haha. I never really started it to begin with way back when. But I had time off from work over the holidays and gave it a go. I have a feeling I'm really close, but since I don't know too much about the internals of how reef-pi works, haven't gotten it yet. Something tells me it's probably something really simple that's keeping it from working. You can check my git repo at https://github.com/dmolavi/drivers if you want to see what's what.

 

[marekd1]

I put rj45 ethernet conenctors on my temp probes and ethernet jacks in my controller box...easy quick and they work great. No soldering required.

Last time I tried the RJ45 I had massive buildup of copper oxide in about a year then bunch of problems started. Its the same way as keeping tools in the same room as tank or sump, all will rust even though there is no contact with water. Salt water vapour gets everywhere. Since I've switched to sealed connectors my intermitent connection issues went away.

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

I've officially got my Reef-Pi board finalized- meet Leviathan!!

It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here! I've had a couple of people testing them, including myself, & they've worked great. I got tired of dealing with re-wiring my setup every time I wanted to add a new feature & when asked to build a Reef-Pi setup for a friend, I knew there was no way I was doing it all from scratch again.

I wasn't totally satisfied with any of the pre-existing Reef-Pi boards out there to buy, none I found had the ability to do both dosing & light control. Plus, I didn't need to use the ULN2803, as I wasn't going to be using the ADJ strip.

I'll be selling them soon- if you're interested in signing up for one, or finding out more about Leviathan, check out this link.

Awesome! It's great to see continued evolution of ever expanding options for reef pi!

 

[thoeffe]

Here is one of my latest build, involving a pi zero, a temperature sensor and a float switch. It’s powered by 5v 2.4A micro USB adapter directly. Tiny and feature rich when combined with smart plugs , I am using it to benchmark various power banks for backup /emergency use cases.
3D models: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4077533

Here is how it looks in real life

Internals

I just noticed that reef-pi version 3 is out. I was running 2.5 and just upgraded. How would you configure a smart plug with reef pi? This is pretty neat.

 

[Zippyfear]

I just noticed that reef-pi version 3 is out. I was running 2.5 and just upgraded. How would you configure a smart plug with reef pi? This is pretty neat.

When you get to where it asks for address, use

IP:9999

The IP of the smart plug can be found from your DHCP leases in your router - It's pretty simple and works great!

 

[Zippyfear]

Hey, thanks! I actually missed your comment, but saw Ranjib quote it. Thread has been moving super fast today!

I'm still a few days away from officially selling them, so price isn't totally concrete yet. But I've got the prices I'm pretty settled on listed on the site. There are different "tiers" depending on which features you plan on using. No reason to buy the full board with the added cost of the integrated circuits like the L293D & PCA9685 if you don't plan on using them!

Bare board-$14, for people who want the cheapest build possible & don't mind soldering. It's about half the price of the proto-boards & you don't have to solder any of the tons of board connections! Only will have to solder the components you want to it.

Board w/ Pi & relay headers, float switch ATO, & temperature-$23, simple setup, perfect for freshwater or a fowlr tank.

Board w/ all of the above + optical sensor ATO & dosing-$30, what I'd typically recommend. This covers all the features most people will need or use.

All the features including pH & lighting control-$42, this is for the completionist that wants to use every feature Reef-Pi offers. If I wind up getting better at soldering the PCA9685pw chips, I may be able to justify going down in price a bit, but hand-soldering 28 0.65mm pitch pins is a pretty big chore, plus all the extra resistors that go along with it.

Any of these boards can be "upgraded" at any point, just solder on the components for the new feature you want to add.

This is awesome, and I'll be interested in a full set when they launch officially! Do you have that 3d printed case available for download anywhere? I'd love to print one off!

Thanks!

 

[Ranjib]

When you get to where it asks for address, use

IP:9999

The IP of the smart plug can be found from your DHCP leases in your router - It's pretty simple and works great!

Thats pretty much it. Go to drivers section and choose your kasa smart plug type, add IP:9999 as address and then proceed to create outlet (and analog input if current monitoring is available) with the driver.

 

[Schreiber]

This is awesome, and I'll be interested in a full set when they launch officially! Do you have that 3d printed case available for download anywhere? I'd love to print one off!

Thanks!

I don't have anything publicly available yet for the cases. Still tweaking the design, as I'm making 4 different configurations. Been working on the 8 outlet design today.

 

[MangroveCorals]

Wanted to check if these female pins 2.1mm will work just the same for the power controller build.
uxcell DC-015 5.5mmx2.1mm DC Power Jack Socket 3 Pin Female Panel Mount Connector 10pcs

 

[Ranjib]

Wanted to check if these female pins 2.1mm will work just the same for the power controller build.
uxcell DC-015 5.5mmx2.1mm DC Power Jack Socket 3 Pin Female Panel Mount Connector 10pcs

It should , but I have not tested this personally, and you only need two pins .

 

[Ranjib]

Wanted to check if these female pins 2.1mm will work just the same for the power controller build.
uxcell DC-015 5.5mmx2.1mm DC Power Jack Socket 3 Pin Female Panel Mount Connector 10pcs

Welcome to reef2reef

 

[crusso1993]

@MangroveCorals -

Some of us are crazy for fish. Some of us are crazy for coral. Some of us are crazy for fish and coral. And some of us are just plain 'ol crazy!
Welcome to R2R!

 

[MangroveCorals]

It should , but you only need two pins .

Thank you, I’m fine with having extras for more modules! Once I get my first power controller and modules for it running my frag tank , I’m going to make more ! This open source reef control is a Godsend! The circuitry I need to refresh on but can offer help in software development on github. Give back to the community

 

[raketemensch]

Thank you, I’m fine with having extras for more modules! Once I get my first power controller and modules for it running my frag tank , I’m going to make more ! This open source reef control is a Godsend! The circuitry I need to refresh on but can offer help in software development on github. Give back to the community

As a note on these -- it looks like there are some square ones and some round ones.

Get the round ones if you can, as it's much easier to drill a perfectly round hole than it is to cut a perfectly square one.

 

[MangroveCorals]

As a note on these -- it looks like there are some square ones and some round ones.

Get the round ones if you can, as it's much easier to drill a perfectly round hole than it is to cut a perfectly square one.

Good point! I liked the plastic casing to it, but with the custom drilled cases you’ve designed makes no real benefit.

 

[Ranjib]

Thank you, I’m fine with having extras for more modules! Once I get my first power controller and modules for it running my frag tank , I’m going to make more ! This open source reef control is a Godsend! The circuitry I need to refresh on but can offer help in software development on github. Give back to the community

That will be awesome. We could use any and all the help across code, tests, documentation. We generally use the slack channel for development-related discussion, you are most welcome to join us there, link is one the very first post of this thread (or in the website)

 

[raketemensch]

That will be awesome. We could use any and all the help across code, tests, documentation. We generally use the slack channel for development-related discussion, you are most welcome to join us there, link is one the very first post of this thread (or in the website)

The Slack link in github throws:

This invite link is no longer active.

 

[burningbaal]

@Ranjib what would you think of having a reef-pi Facebook group? It makes for a nice walk to have little conversations tracking in parallel. I'd be happy to help set it up and moderate