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

[Schreiber]

@Ranjib

It seems difficult to find assembled boards for reef-pi. What essential functions do you think a board would need that will be good enough for most people? I'm thinking about designing one and trying to maintain stock of it so that it is more available. Thanks.

Michael Lane & I both have assembled boards that work really well I've always got some in stock since I listed them on Tindie & while it looks like Michael's out at the moment, he re-stocks pretty regularly.

What are you planning on building into your board? I'm really excited to see @GaryE 's come together!

 

[Schreiber]

So, I'm going to start setting up a development environment this week & hopefully start digging into some code over the weekend.

Has anyone ever looked into Seneye sensors & if they'd be realistically integrate-able with Reef-Pi? They look like they'd be incredibly useful. They have a PAR/LUX meter, ammonia meter, & pH probe. It also looks like they have accessible API to read the messages being sent.

Now that I'm happy with my current build, it's time to start adding new things!

 

[T-MIKE]

Michael Lane & I both have assembled boards that work really well I've always got some in stock since I listed them on Tindie & while it looks like Michael's out at the moment, he re-stocks pretty regularly.

What are you planning on building into your board? I'm really excited to see @GaryE 's come together!

My plan is just to build it as simple as possible that would satisfy the majority of users and to lessen the learning slope. For that I would need feedback from users to determine what to add and what not to add. I checked the links on the reef-pi web page and did not see anything in stock.

 

[GaryE]

Michael Lane & I both have assembled boards that work really well I've always got some in stock since I listed them on Tindie & while it looks like Michael's out at the moment, he re-stocks pretty regularly.

What are you planning on building into your board? I'm really excited to see @GaryE 's come together!

Thanks, I can't wait to get it done and tested.

 

[robsworld78]

I've been using these relays for about 6 months now and have had a total of 5 die on me. Three in the last 48 hours.

Any suggestions on a better way?

What did you have plugged in them?

 

[Rogued_Reefer]

So, I'm going to start setting up a development environment this week & hopefully start digging into some code over the weekend.

Has anyone ever looked into Seneye sensors & if they'd be realistically integrate-able with Reef-Pi? They look like they'd be incredibly useful. They have a PAR/LUX meter, ammonia meter, & pH probe. It also looks like they have accessible API to read the messages being sent.

Now that I'm happy with my current build, it's time to start adding new things!

That kind of integration would be awesome!

By the way I’m also just getting started with this and been reading for what seems ages lol I need to get hands on now

 

[cnidus]

@Ranjib

It seems difficult to find assembled boards for reef-pi. What essential functions do you think a board would need that will be good enough for most people? I'm thinking about designing one and trying to maintain stock of it so that it is more available. Thanks.

Robsworld78 also has a board that’s available fully assembled called the ‘robotank’. Personally I’m waiting for that to be delivered as we speak, but looks very promising

Reef-pi Plug and Play Custom Kits

Robo-Tank Plug and Play kits for reef-pi. Controller is a Hat for Raspberry Pi and packaged in 3D printed case. Optional AC power bar, extra pH circuits and other extensions to build your favorite aquarium controller.

www.robo-tank.ca

Sounds like there’s a few ‘ready to go’ boards Coming to market now, which seems like a great niche for the community to fill.

I’m all for DIY, but can understand everyone wanting to set a different demarcation point for that.

 

[robsworld78]

Robsworld78 also has a board that’s available fully assembled called the ‘robotank’. Personally I’m waiting for that to be delivered as we speak, but looks very promising

Reef-pi Plug and Play Custom Kits

Robo-Tank Plug and Play kits for reef-pi. Controller is a Hat for Raspberry Pi and packaged in 3D printed case. Optional AC power bar, extra pH circuits and other extensions to build your favorite aquarium controller.

www.robo-tank.ca

Sounds like there’s a few ‘ready to go’ boards Coming to market now, which seems like a great niche for the community to fill.

I’m all for DIY, but can understand everyone wanting to set a different demarcation point for that.

It's very kind of Ranjib to allow us to sell these boards.

One of these is yours and the other someone else on the forum, sorry I have to say green is the winner.

 

[Schreiber]

That kind of integration would be awesome!

By the way I’m also just getting started with this and been reading for what seems ages lol I need to get hands on now

I highly recommend it! No better way to actually learn than getting into it & making a few mistakes along the way

Robsworld78 also has a board that’s available fully assembled called the ‘robotank’. Personally I’m waiting for that to be delivered as we speak, but looks very promising

I've seen them as well, looks very promising! I just hadn't included it because they aren't actually available to ship & in stock yet, which is what the question was asking about. There are multiple other boards out there as well, but most are either not being stocked currently or are still in process of the initial run. Last I'd checked, the parts for Robotank boards just came in just over a week ago, so I figured it would be quite awhile before the Kickstarter orders were fulfilled & "general stock" would be available.

 

[Rogued_Reefer]

Where can I get an updated parts list for a basic build?

Thanks

 

[GaryE]

Where can I get an updated parts list for a basic build?

Thanks

Each one of the tutorials on adaftuit site have a parts list. I went through those to determine what I needed to get started with and made my parts list based on those.

 

[T-MIKE]

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like I need to start my own, personally I need more channel control for lights.

Would be great if we can do a poll though.

 

[GaryE]

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like I need to start my own, personally I need more channel control for lights.

Would be great if we can do a poll though.

What are you using for lights? How many do you need?

 

[T-MIKE]

I'm building lights from a custom 5 channel led module with the same number of leds per color as the Radion g5 blue. I'll probably tie 2 of the channels together however and run it as 3 channels.

 

[GaryE]

10v PWM circuits?

 

[Ranjib]

I see it now. Can I get a board? How much will it be?

If you can make it available long term and easy to obtain that would be great.

I would still like to know which functions would satisfy 90% of the users though.

@Ranjib, perhaps you can make a poll? I don’t think I have that privilege yet.

I plan to update the official website page with all the recent boards . It will be up to those boards documentation to detail what they offer.

 

[T-MIKE]

I'll be using Meanwell LDD-H series which is 5V PWM until I have time to design my own driver.

 

[T-MIKE]

I plan to update the official website page with all the recent boards . It will be up to those boards documentation to detail what they offer.

Thanks Ranjib.

I have been using reef-pi in my Chinese black box for over a year now. Only issues I ran into was the light wouldn't turn on when the wifi was out and when you plug it in initially the light is on full blast for a couple of seconds. These issues may have been fixed by now but I haven't looked into updating the software yet.

 

[Litserv]

Hi Ranjib, hi everybody,

thanks for reef-pi!

I cannot get to work the pi-camera with reef-pi.

I setup a 'fresh' raspbian on a Rapsberry Pi 4B.
I configured reef-pi to use the camera. I rebooted the raspberry.
The pi-camera is working when I test it in a terminal window with: 'raspistill -o bild.jpg'

I can read temperature. I can switch relais. I can dimm an LED.

But the camera isn't working...

What could be wrong with my setup? Do you have an idea?

Thanks, Litserv

 

[Ranjib]

Hi Ranjib, hi everybody,

thanks for reef-pi!

I cannot get to work the pi-camera with reef-pi.

I setup a 'fresh' raspbian on a Rapsberry Pi 4B.
I configured reef-pi to use the camera. I rebooted the raspberry.
The pi-camera is working when I test it in a terminal window with: 'raspistill -o bild.jpg'

I can read temperature. I can switch relais. I can dimm an LED.

But the camera isn't working...

What could be wrong with my setup? Do you have an idea?

Thanks, Litserv

Hi Litserv,
Thank you for trying reef-pi. The camera module is not heavily used by most of members and got little rusty (i have not pushed any code in that module in past two year), since it takes significant CPU, not critical for controller function and cheaper/better alternatives are readily available.
Can you check your logs and share any error you may notice in there?