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

bishoptf

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I have an unused pi4 high speed (can't remember which exact one, I think 8gb?)

I need to see if this $70 leviathan board is all I need. That is attractive. Going to do some digging.


Edit: @Tom Bishop looks like I owe you a beer. With plug and play leviathan costing $70 and the pi4 I already have, it looks like it's absolutely straight forward. I'm going to do more digging later, but seems like the best option.
If you want to go down the DIY path, I have some hats that I am working on, just depends on how much stuff you want - I just had some @Michael Lane hats built for spares and some purposes. I will have some boards left over and will sell them. This is @Michael Lane old tindie store that has most of the information - https://www.tindie.com/products/ranthalion/ml-reef-pi-hat-goby/
 

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robsworld78

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Mostly just trying to mimic the apex. I'd like to get all the features on the basic guide up and running. Just wanted to know if there was cheap enough premade boards or anything that were popular and not overpriced.

I have a master's in EE. I'm good with all the tech stuff, I just don't want to reinvent the wheel. I'm fine with soldering stuff, I just wanted to know if that was the most straight forward way.


Ideally I'd like to get all the features houses in one central enclosure and go from there. Just wanted to check in if any big time discoveries had been made in the 900 pages.


Edit: with the availability of Pi's, robo tank doesn't seem that bad at $270. I know I could do it cheaper on my own and print my own housings, but the all in one plug and play is attractive
I have a challenge for you, if you can price a setup basically the equivalent of my controller for cheaper I will give you a set of DIY boards. I think it's impossible no matter how you cut it. An isolated pH circuit alone is $80.

You have $115 to get all the features.

 

JachPot

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I have a challenge for you, if you can price a setup basically the equivalent of my controller for cheaper I will give you a set of DIY boards. I think it's impossible no matter how you cut it. An isolated pH circuit alone is $80.

You have $115 to get all the features.

You know what, I noticed the pH board was ~$46 up front and I clicked on all the other parts (I thought), didn't realize the carrier board was also $40.

I figured I'd save $20-50 soldering it myself and 3d printing my own enclosures as well as procuring my own power strip. I was planning on buying the boards anyways at this point, because I'm not going to solder surface mount pieces and ic's though. I thought the $270 kit was already a good price even if I could have saved $50 off that doing it myself.
 

robsworld78

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You know what, I noticed the pH board was ~$46 up front and I clicked on all the other parts (I thought), didn't realize the carrier board was also $40.

I figured I'd save $20-50 soldering it myself and 3d printing my own enclosures as well as procuring my own power strip. I was planning on buying the boards anyways at this point, because I'm not going to solder surface mount pieces and ic's though. I thought the $270 kit was already a good price even if I could have saved $50 off that doing it myself.
Yeah unfortunately that carrier board is important as it does the isolation, you could also use the $28.99 board they have but it has an SMA connector so not as many probes would be compatible without an adapter.

The $270 kit doesn't sound necessary as you already have a Pi 4 and a 3D printer. All you need is the boards I linked if you make your own AC power bar and a few cables you may already have. You can find all the cases on the website.
 

JachPot

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Yeah unfortunately that carrier board is important as it does the isolation, you could also use the $28.99 board they have but it has an SMA connector so not as many probes would be compatible without an adapter.

The $270 kit doesn't sound necessary as you already have a Pi 4 and a 3D printer. All you need is the boards I linked if you make your own AC power bar and a few cables you may already have. You can find all the cases on the website.
I work with SMA cables every day, everything involved with them starts getting pricey, so I wouldn't bother with that board, adapters would easily bring you back up to $40.

Is there any advantage to the power strip you have versus something like the one he recommends in his guide: Amazon product
(+db9 cable and power adapter for ~$10 more)


I did not initially see the 3d cases, that's very cool that you include the STL's for them. I love that you've done this project and seemed to keep the DIY people in the loop for free. Very cool man, big, big props.
 

robsworld78

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I work with SMA cables every day, everything involved with them starts getting pricey, so I wouldn't bother with that board, adapters would easily bring you back up to $40.

Is there any advantage to the power strip you have versus something like the one he recommends in his guide: Amazon product
(+db9 cable and power adapter for ~$10 more)


I did not initially see the 3d cases, that's very cool that you include the STL's for them. I love that you've done this project and seemed to keep the DIY people in the loop for free. Very cool man, big, big props.

Yeah all the little extra parts required starts to add up, DIY isn't always the cheapest route but you get exactly what you want plus the satisfaction of building something.

Only advantage my power bar has is it's plug and play and possibly better relays, not sure what DJ uses. Even though the DJ power bar has a DB9 it can't be plugged in. That power bar doesn't have any circuits built in for the relays so you would need to build one out yourself like this one. The DB9's out of my controller are straight from GPIO pins on the Pi so they can be multipurposed without much trouble. I keep saying I'm going to make an adapter board that would get it working but without one to test I haven't done it yet.


The case downloads also include the Sketchup Make design files if you wanted to make any changes. I'm a DIY guy at heart without a lot of money so I'll do whatever I can as I know that's half the reason to get into reef-pi.
 

JachPot

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Yeah all the little extra parts required starts to add up, DIY isn't always the cheapest route but you get exactly what you want plus the satisfaction of building something.

Only advantage my power bar has is it's plug and play and possibly better relays, not sure what DJ uses. Even though the DJ power bar has a DB9 it can't be plugged in. That power bar doesn't have any circuits built in for the relays so you would need to build one out yourself like this one. The DB9's out of my controller are straight from GPIO pins on the Pi so they can be multipurposed without much trouble. I keep saying I'm going to make an adapter board that would get it working but without one to test I haven't done it yet.


The case downloads also include the Sketchup Make design files if you wanted to make any changes. I'm a DIY guy at heart without a lot of money so I'll do whatever I can as I know that's half the reason to get into reef-pi.
I see what you're saying with the power bar. I moved on from basic circuits and stuff about 7-8 years ago now and I mostly work in high frequency applications. Dipping back into that stuff takes some adjustment time. I think I'll just purchase the plug and play power strip and the boards. I guess I'm at the point where I have more money than time and your prices can't really be beat. I'm sure in the future I'll get tinkering and change some things, but for now I'll use this as a very strong starting point. I've also been doing a lot of programming lately, so I might dip a toe into that as well. Cheers man, this has been a great conversation! Can't wait to try this out!
 

robsworld78

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I see what you're saying with the power bar. I moved on from basic circuits and stuff about 7-8 years ago now and I mostly work in high frequency applications. Dipping back into that stuff takes some adjustment time. I think I'll just purchase the plug and play power strip and the boards. I guess I'm at the point where I have more money than time and your prices can't really be beat. I'm sure in the future I'll get tinkering and change some things, but for now I'll use this as a very strong starting point. I've also been doing a lot of programming lately, so I might dip a toe into that as well. Cheers man, this has been a great conversation! Can't wait to try this out!
It's too bad DJ didn't have a basic circuit built in so it could be connected directly to Pi/Arduino pins as it looks like a decent power bar at a good price. If you are only thinking plug and play to avoid assembly you can order just the boards without cases and I can send things assembled as there isn't much to do these days. If that's the case just put a note on the order if you place one.
 

bishoptf

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It's too bad DJ didn't have a basic circuit built in so it could be connected directly to Pi/Arduino pins as it looks like a decent power bar at a good price. If you are only thinking plug and play to avoid assembly you can order just the boards without cases and I can send things assembled as there isn't much to do these days. If that's the case just put a note on the order if you place one.
Yeah I like them since they are self contained but they were intended for DJ setups and nothing like we are using them for, lol. @JachPot keep in mind the Kasa Tplink wireless strips work really well also, I have one of each in my setup and pros and cons to both of them, lots of options for sure.
 

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Yeah I like them since they are self contained but they were intended for DJ setups and nothing like we are using them for, lol. @JachPot keep in mind the Kasa Tplink wireless strips work really well also, I have one of each in my setup and pros and cons to both of them, lots of options for sure.
Oh that's a good point, I have some TP-link stuff sitting around. I'm just gonna cash in for the power strip though. It's not too much and I want to play with it lol
 
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Ranjib

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Have a great time at Aquashella @Ranjib !!!
Thank you Brandon. Wishing you best for the leviathan next version. I read through the news , and website. It’s very very exciting
 
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Ranjib

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I can't help to think about going through airport security withall of that stuff in your luggage, im sure they had to look twice when they scanned it. :)

Looks like a really nice display :)
this was all inside on suitcase, and check in luggage. Thankfully we were not flagged :)
 

JachPot

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I can't help to think about going through airport security withall of that stuff in your luggage, im sure they had to look twice when they scanned it. :)

Looks like a really nice display :)
I had this exact thought lol, I just didn't want to put it out into the universe and jinx him.
 

bishoptf

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I am trying to add energy monitoring for a kasa mini plug 103 and when I add it as an analog input and select the driver hs103 no pins show up..I have this working on one of my other pi's but is the larger strip vs the hs103. Wasn't sure if that was the issue or I was missing something else. Anyone have any information let me know.

thanks :)
 

bishoptf

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I am trying to add energy monitoring for a kasa mini plug 103 and when I add it as an analog input and select the driver hs103 no pins show up..I have this working on one of my other pi's but is the larger strip vs the hs103. Wasn't sure if that was the issue or I was missing something else. Anyone have any information let me know.

thanks :)
Welp the HS103 don't support energy monitoring, dolt! So that would explain the issue, oh well. :)
 
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Ranjib

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Welp the HS103 don't support energy monitoring, dolt! So that would explain the issue, oh well. :)
Yup , that’s the reason . You need 110 at minimum, for single outlet energy monitoring . Hs300/303 all has energy monitoring as wel
 

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