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

[DirtDiggler2823]

With the boards @theatrus made, how many channels are we limited in controlling? Asking for future builds. I just saw a rather spiffy DIY LED setup that I think I can improve on.

 

[dmolavi]

Also, which kits did you buy from there? The food, or cannabis kits? Never mind, I see they stopped making aquarium kits.

Aquarium..when they still did them.

 

[Ranjib]

I'm in between a major life event, house purchase :0) .
Those of you who have house in US, any advice? Im going through property inspection phase (in between offer accepted and closing state). What are the key things I should look for? I want to have a larger aquarium (120G), there is information about floor support, but I could also use some electrical and ceiling/paint related advice

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

I'm in between a major life event, house purchase :0) .
Those of you who have house in US, any advice? Im going through property inspection phase (in between offer accepted and closing state). What are the key things I should look for? I want to have a larger aquarium (120G), there is information about floor support, but I could also use some electrical and ceiling/paint related advice

Ensure the floor can handle the weight, and that you have a flooring that can take some water here and there. You can ask for certain cosmetic changes to be made before the contract phase, such as painting. In fact, any additional work you want, you can ask for, but be prepared to see an increased cost come contract time. If you want a but more time to ponder, contact another contractor to give you an estimate for what you're looking for. Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

I'm in between a major life event, house purchase :0) .
Those of you who have house in US, any advice? Im going through property inspection phase (in between offer accepted and closing state). What are the key things I should look for? I want to have a larger aquarium (120G), there is information about floor support, but I could also use some electrical and ceiling/paint related advice

Your real estate agent can get you all the details

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

I think I saw someone have this issue before but I can't find it in this thread... My temp sensors have been randomly "failing" and sometimes throwing silly temp numbers like - 3600...

Any ideas whats causing this? They would work find for hours and hours then randomly fail then fix themselves.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

I think I saw someone have this issue before but I can't find it in this thread... My temp sensors have been randomly "failing" and sometimes throwing silly temp numbers like - 3600...

Any ideas whats causing this? They would work find for hours and hours then randomly fail then fix themselves.

Could be a bad probe. That's what my issue was several months ago.

 

[Bigtrout]

I'm in between a major life event, house purchase :0) .
Those of you who have house in US, any advice? Im going through property inspection phase (in between offer accepted and closing state). What are the key things I should look for? I want to have a larger aquarium (120G), there is information about floor support, but I could also use some electrical and ceiling/paint related advice

On the electrical side, you want at least a 200 amp service and maybe more depending on the size of the house and what all will run with electric.

Look for an inspection sticker on the panel...is it recent? Is it a reputable inspection agency?
What does the wiring coming out of the panel look like? A Bad looking job on the wiring you can see means the wiring thats hidden is probably worse.

Look at the panel...older panels to watch out for are Federal Pacific amd Zinsco...UNSAFE!!!

Pushmatic brand panels are safe but replacement breakers EXPENSIVE!

The 2 best brands are Square D and Seimens!

GFCI outlets in bathrooms amd kitchens?

As a master electrician feel free to PM me with any electrical questions if you need advice.

 

[Bigtrout]

I think I saw someone have this issue before but I can't find it in this thread... My temp sensors have been randomly "failing" and sometimes throwing silly temp numbers like - 3600...

Any ideas whats causing this? They would work find for hours and hours then randomly fail then fix themselves.

Common reasons for this:
Probe going bad.
Wiring connections.
Wiring issues. This includes long wire runs where the pullup resistor may have to be made smaller and good wiring used to eliminate stray capacitance.

Double and triple check your connections before doing anything.

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Common reasons for this:
Probe going bad.
Wiring connections.
Wiring issues. This includes long wire runs where the pullup resistor may have to be made smaller and good wiring used to eliminate stray capacitance.

Double and triple check your connections before doing anything.

Hmm. Probes are brand new and were running fine for days in free air testing. I'll have to double check the wiring, as it would go bonkers when the probe cable was disturbed.

I'll check the connections this weekend. There are only 2: sensor to xlr female, male to 3-pin on Mike's Hat.

I'll also try pop in my other SD card with 3.0 see if its throwing same errors there are as well.

 

[thaistalyn]

Hmm. Probes are brand new and were running fine for days in free air testing. I'll have to double check the wiring, as it would go bonkers when the probe cable was disturbed.

I'll check the connections this weekend. There are only 2: sensor to xlr female, male to 3-pin on Mike's Hat.

I'll also try pop in my other SD card with 3.0 see if its throwing same errors there are as well.

I had these exact same issues with the temp probes (I have 2 as well - one in the fuge, one in the skimmer section). They would randomly read some large negative value.

Initially I thought as Bigtrout did and started with double checking my connections with some continuity testing, then shortening the cables to minimize the run to the probe. These probes have sheathing, so i also tried grounding the sheathing. None of these things worked.

I've been testing a new temp probe for the last week and it is rock solid, while the old probe is still spiking once or twice a day. Below are the probes - both good and bad.

(Old) Flakey Probe = DROK 2pc -55 to 125 Deg C, -67 to 257 Deg F Indoor Outdoor Water Cooling Heater Temperature Sensor, 3 Meter Waterproof Cable with Stainless Steel Probe This is the orange color cabled temp probes - I actually cut the wire down to 1 meter from PI enclosure to Sump and coated probe in silicone.

(New) Solid Probe = Diymore 5Pcs DS18B20 Length 2M Waterproof Temperature Sensor Thermistor Temperature Controller Thermometer with Probe (2M) - Black probe - again I cut the wire down to 1 meter and did not coat in silicone.

 

[thaistalyn]

I'm in between a major life event, house purchase :0) .
Those of you who have house in US, any advice? Im going through property inspection phase (in between offer accepted and closing state). What are the key things I should look for? I want to have a larger aquarium (120G), there is information about floor support, but I could also use some electrical and ceiling/paint related advice

My advice - get your own home inspector don't rely on the an inspection bought and paid for by the seller. This may add some cost, but is worth it for the peace of mind. Before the inspection, tell your inspector about your concerns such as electrical and the ceiling / paint concerns ( I would mention if you plan on having a large tank too - if it will not be on a concrete slab). Not sure how old the home is, but in the US during the 60's and 70's they used aluminum wiring in homes - this is bad news.

Finally confirm that the intent to buy contract is 100% dependent on inspection outcome and any down payment is fully refundable.

 

[philshel]

I'm in between a major life event, house purchase :0) .
Those of you who have house in US, any advice? Im going through property inspection phase (in between offer accepted and closing state). What are the key things I should look for? I want to have a larger aquarium (120G), there is information about floor support, but I could also use some electrical and ceiling/paint related advice

As the spouse of a very successful realtor, I listen to all the horror stories around this very stressful event. My advice would be to be patient and flexible. Listen to your realtor and remember that everything is negotiable but being unreasonable leads to others being unreasonable. Talk to your inspector, be there the day of inspection, tell him/her what concerns you the most (aquarium support, adequate wiring, etc) and listen to what they say. Many things can be fixed during escrow but no one is going to rewire because the house doesn't meet your unusual electrical/structural needs, etc. They almost never close on time so be prepared to deal with unexpected delays. If you have any specific question I can ask the wife for advice.

 

[burningbaal]

Woohoo! the ML Reefkeeping Mars Aqua and dosing adapters are back in stock! My order's in, is yours?
@Michael Lane

PWM Converter for Mars Aqua by ML Reefkeeping on Tindie

Control Mars Aqua LED lights with PWM

www.tindie.com

 

[AquaRaider44]

@Ranjib I'm also having an issue where I calibrate the temperature and it resets at random points in time and then fires my alerts because it's outside my range.

 

[Ranjib]

@Ranjib I'm also having an issue where I calibrate the temperature and it resets at random points in time and then fires my alerts because it's outside my range.

I’ll take a look. I ‘ll be little occupied next few days, but if I get a chance I’ll definitely cross check this. If this is reproducible then please file a bug in github, it greatly helps us fixing the issue

 

[Ranjib]

As the spouse of a very successful realtor, I listen to all the horror stories around this very stressful event. My advice would be to be patient and flexible. Listen to your realtor and remember that everything is negotiable but being unreasonable leads to others being unreasonable. Talk to your inspector, be there the day of inspection, tell him/her what concerns you the most (aquarium support, adequate wiring, etc) and listen to what they say. Many things can be fixed during escrow but no one is going to rewire because the house doesn't meet your unusual electrical/structural needs, etc. They almost never close on time so be prepared to deal with unexpected delays. If you have any specific question I can ask the wife for advice.

Thank you . I’ll remember .

 

[Ranjib]

My advice - get your own home inspector don't rely on the an inspection bought and paid for by the seller. This may add some cost, but is worth it for the peace of mind. Before the inspection, tell your inspector about your concerns such as electrical and the ceiling / paint concerns ( I would mention if you plan on having a large tank too - if it will not be on a concrete slab). Not sure how old the home is, but in the US during the 60's and 70's they used aluminum wiring in homes - this is bad news.

Finally confirm that the intent to buy contract is 100% dependent on inspection outcome and any down payment is fully refundable.

Thank you. I am getting my own property inspector . The house is built in 1947, but it was completely remodeled before the purchase, including new floor, roof, drywall, bathroom stuff, appliances etc. according to the seller it conforms to California mechanical, electrical regulations of 2016, but we’ll see.

 

[crusso1993]

A mention of Leviathan by @Schreiber on RB...

Leviathan is the DIY Controller of 2020 | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Aquarium Controllers have become much more widely available the last few years even as higher end aquarium gear has become increasingly smart and connected. Although there are certainly a lot more…

reefbuilders.com

 

[burningbaal]

Thank you. I am getting my own property inspector . The house is built in 1947, but it was completely remodeled before the purchase, including new floor, roof, drywall, bathroom stuff, appliances etc. according to the seller it conforms to California mechanical, electrical regulations of 2016, but we’ll see.

Pictures picture pictures. I basically expect a picture (in or attached to the report) for every dollar I spend. The other piece is with most inspectors, you can roam and crawl around with them. You'll usually get extra little verbal reports along the way, and they might mention things that aren't worth putting in the report but you'll be glad to know, or just give you context as to why what they're looking at is important. Maybe you'll notice them looking really carefully at a particular beam and find out they think it's especially prone to dry rot. If it doesn't have rot now, it won't be in the report, and you won't know to watch it carefully