My Neptune Apex web interface compatible DIY reef controller - Page 52

d0ughb0y · 09/28/2014, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wgraham

Got my conductivity probe and sensor, hook it up and no problems with it. Also I unhook the 5 volt power supply from my sensors and temp probe and so far the reading are not going to zero and to the temp. I measure the voltage from the supply and it was 5.12volt don't see why that would affect my readings

I know certain 5v switching power supply wallwart can have some line noise from the switching. You can add maybe a 100uf capacitor across the 5v supply line. If it works now, best to leave it alone.

Did you mean the cond probe worked on the atlas test sketch or the chauvet code?

I've been busy lately repairing my old van. needs water pump and timing belt replacement. Should be done by next weekend. I DIY pretty much everything I can.

d0ughb0y · 09/28/2014, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by formula409

Ive been thinking about how to do an all in one system.
Basically I was reading about the KM ECO Variable series of jebao pumps.
You can see them here http://www.fish-street.com/jebao_km_eco_variable_pump

This is what I'm going in "The New technology of Jebao now release a Adaptive variable -frequency pump. Same as Jebao wp-40 ECO-Tech!"

There isn't much room in the tank I'm planning so instead of having a wavemaker Im thinking I could kill two birds with one stone and just PWM the return, one design I was considering has two return pumps in the far left and far right rear sump, so I could even have 2 eco-tech return pumps for some crazy flow!

What about the DC2000 etc pumps? do you think they would be PWM controllable? specifically to very alot over time? Because the KM mite be extinct :/

I cannot find any writeup or description of the adaptive variable frequency to see what it really is.

FWIW, the wp-25 I got close to end of last year, one of them stopped working. The shaft became too tight to spin on one of the ceramic rings. Either the ring shrank or the shaft expanded. I cleaned it and passed the shaft through the ring several times and spin it until it can freely spin again. I have to do this like 3 time already. So far after the last time, the pump has not stopped working yet. I'm pretty sure those not working jebao pumps we read here on RC has this problem (besides obvious power supply or controller issue), and can be easily fixed.

I like the original wp pumps as they are simple and straight forward. I think same with the DC pumps though I have not used one.

wgraham · 09/28/2014, 01:51 PM

On the conductivity probe, if you reset the controller the circuit goes to zero

wgraham · 09/28/2014, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d0ughb0y

I know certain 5v switching power supply wallwart can have some line noise from the switching. You can add maybe a 100uf capacitor across the 5v supply line. If it works now, best to leave it alone.

Did you mean the cond probe worked on the atlas test sketch or the chauvet code?

I used termite to cal. the probe and yes it works with the chauvet code. But if you reset the controller you lose the calibration

wgraham · 09/28/2014, 05:57 PM

d0ughb0y once in awhile you get spike in large number with both the cond and orp probes

d0ughb0y · 09/29/2014, 09:20 AM

I'll look into it later today.
I ordered an lcd and rtc for my test setup, should arrive by Saturday.

Moomin1967 · 09/29/2014, 11:33 AM

D0ughb0y,

Do the probes need to be read so often, if the interval were reduced to say once every 2 mins, and polled, overall power draw on the 5v supply could be reduced.

d0ughb0y · 09/29/2014, 11:56 AM

I can't say for sure if it is drawing too much current. If it is, arduino voltage regulator will run hot and arduino itself may hang or reboot. You can add some timing condition in the main loop to change the interval. The current code simply reads as fast as the stamp can do in order to get a good rolling average on the reading. If interval between reading is long, rolling avg may not be needed.

Moomin1967 · 09/29/2014, 01:20 PM

From the 5v arduino im pulling 5v pwr for, *channel SSR board, LCD, RTC, the PWM of my W10's, 2 1 wire probes, pulling low the ATO swithes, plus any other I2c to come. I moved the 8 channel relay board on to its own 5v supply.

The Arduino is running pretty warm, I cased the project up over the weekend, looks I need to decouple the 5v line, the RTC now keeps changing to some date in 2069 and losing the time.

Given the EZO probes support a sleep mode this would help to reduce loadings, just a thought

M

wgraham · 09/29/2014, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d0ughb0y

I can't say for sure if it is drawing too much current. If it is, arduino voltage regulator will run hot and arduino itself may hang or reboot. You can add some timing condition in the main loop to change the interval. The current code simply reads as fast as the stamp can do in order to get a good rolling average on the reading. If interval between reading is long, rolling avg may not be needed.

Are you talking about the cond and org probe readings spikes

wgraham · 09/29/2014, 03:17 PM

Just look at the log and when I reset the controller that's when the conductivity sensor init failed.

Moomin1967 · 09/29/2014, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d0ughb0y

I can't say for sure if it is drawing too much current. If it is, arduino voltage regulator will run hot and arduino itself may hang or reboot. You can add some timing condition in the main loop to change the interval. The current code simply reads as fast as the stamp can do in order to get a good rolling average on the reading. If interval between reading is long, rolling avg may not be needed.

The rolling average may not be needed, but trending could be a useful tool, any any spiky readings could be treated as miss reads or errors. Just a thought

d0ughb0y · 09/29/2014, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moomin1967

From the 5v arduino im pulling 5v pwr for, *channel SSR board, LCD, RTC, the PWM of my W10's, 2 1 wire probes, pulling low the ATO swithes, plus any other I2c to come. I moved the 8 channel relay board on to its own 5v supply.

The Arduino is running pretty warm, I cased the project up over the weekend, looks I need to decouple the 5v line, the RTC now keeps changing to some date in 2069 and losing the time.

Given the EZO probes support a sleep mode this would help to reduce loadings, just a thought

M

The 8 channel relay board was not meant to use 5v from arduino.

the I2c is probably the best candidate to put on its own 5v supply.
If you have a 2a or higher 12v supply, you can just use a buck converter ($1 on ebay) to power the i2c 5v using 12v for input.

looks like the lcd and rtc may come tomorrow. I'll wire up my test circuit to get the cond sensor working.

brampje · 09/30/2014, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SorsCode

d0ughb0y - how hard would it be to convert this to a Due? Just to get the extra memory? I know it only runs on 3.3v, but that shouldn't be a big deal. Thoughts? Just want your opinion before buying one and trying.

I'm moving mine to Due also. Using the controller as webserver and for the touchscreen but the Mega is just not fast enough.
Only thing is that you require a lot of level switchers for changing the 5V signals to 3.3V. If the only reason is the extra memory, you might want to move some sensors to a dedicated Arduino.

Moomin1967 · 09/30/2014, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brampje

I'm moving mine to Due also. Using the controller as webserver and for the touchscreen but the Mega is just not fast enough.
Only thing is that you require a lot of level switchers for changing the 5V signals to 3.3V. If the only reason is the extra memory, you might want to move some sensors to a dedicated Arduino.

Ok, I'm a bit confused what is the benefit/purpose of having both a touch and web interface.

Slow, which part is slow? it is after all an aquarium controller, we are not exactly plotting particle collisions, lol

SorsCode · 09/30/2014, 12:49 PM

I'm mainly doing the swap in the near future, just to play and learn more about Arduino. Besides that, i'm not interested in any touch screen or anything. I'll mod an old Android Tablet and wall mount it in a picture frame, and point it to the Web Interface.

jrossjr79 · 09/30/2014, 03:55 PM

D0ughb0y,
I just read an interesting post on Facebook. We were talking about temperatures and what everyone keeps theirs at. One guy posted says he uses Apex's season tables to have a variable temperature setting based on the seasons. Is there a way to set this up with this current build?

Moomin1967 · 09/30/2014, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrossjr79

D0ughb0y,
I just read an interesting post on Facebook. We were talking about temperatures and what everyone keeps theirs at. One guy posted says he uses Apex's season tables to have a variable temperature setting based on the seasons. Is there a way to set this up with this current build?

I really kee to do this too, from two aspects 1 energy reduction and 2 follow natural seasons (well the inverse of)

I looked at Barrier Reef the 12ft water temp between summer to winter is 29C - 21C respectively.

Based on my home in the UK, adjusting the temp seasonally would save 20% energy cost, (sorry work for a multi national with 750 propertities and an electricity bill of $120M PA, down from $155M 2yrs ago through investment in tech, and renewables, its a mind set now.)

There is a shift in day length by an hour or so also.

With the probes, balancing the water chemistry should be possible over this temp range, as long as bio load is factored into the mix, if indeed that were an issue.

d0ughb0y · 09/30/2014, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrossjr79

D0ughb0y,
I just read an interesting post on Facebook. We were talking about temperatures and what everyone keeps theirs at. One guy posted says he uses Apex's season tables to have a variable temperature setting based on the seasons. Is there a way to set this up with this current build?

It should not be hard to add one.

Can you get more details on how it is setup?
Change monthly? weekly?

I can add this when I do the LED code, as that will have the seasonal sunrise/sunset function.

rrbigdog · 09/30/2014, 05:14 PM

It changes every day. If you want i can pull what's in my apex.

d0ughb0y · 09/30/2014, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrbigdog

It changes every day. If you want i can pull what's in my apex.

I take it there is factory default, and you can enter your own table?
so there are 365 entries?

rrbigdog · 09/30/2014, 05:37 PM

There is a default. Don't know if or how to changing it.....never tried.

jrossjr79 · 09/30/2014, 05:42 PM

You will probable get better information from rrbigdog than me. What I did find on a quick google search was this:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2052509

rrbigdog · 09/30/2014, 05:53 PM

The web shows one month at a time and you can edit it. Here is what is in the table for Jan. Keeps track of sunrise/sunset moon and temp.

d0ughb0y · 09/30/2014, 06:06 PM

moomin, I think you reverse season for light to save energy, but not for temp.

so for summer, you want to run the tank at a higher temp, and in winter, lower temp. If you use reverse season, you will need to heat up your tank to a higher temp during your winter time since it is summer down under.

for light, you use reverse season. During summer, you run the light shorter, and winter, you run the lights longer.

The current chauvet code sort of will do the temp change for you, but only twice a year. For fan, you set the on/off temp, say around 78F, and for heater, you set the on/off temp, say around 74F. During summer, only the fan will activate and temp is higher, and during winter, only the heater will activate, and it keeps the tank temp lower. This keeps it simple. If the temp setting is variable everyday, then you can end up running the heater in summer and the fan during winter.

I don't know if I want to run my tank at 69F (21C).

09/28/2014, 01:51 PM	#1278
wgraham Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 292	On the conductivity probe, if you reset the controller the circuit goes to zero

09/28/2014, 05:57 PM	#1280
wgraham Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 292	d0ughb0y once in awhile you get spike in large number with both the cond and orp probes

09/29/2014, 09:20 AM	#1281
d0ughb0y Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: sf bay area Posts: 5,165	I'll look into it later today. I ordered an lcd and rtc for my test setup, should arrive by Saturday.

09/29/2014, 11:33 AM	#1282
Moomin1967 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: West Sussex, UK Posts: 128	D0ughb0y, Do the probes need to be read so often, if the interval were reduced to say once every 2 mins, and polled, overall power draw on the 5v supply could be reduced.

09/29/2014, 11:56 AM	#1283
d0ughb0y Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: sf bay area Posts: 5,165	I can't say for sure if it is drawing too much current. If it is, arduino voltage regulator will run hot and arduino itself may hang or reboot. You can add some timing condition in the main loop to change the interval. The current code simply reads as fast as the stamp can do in order to get a good rolling average on the reading. If interval between reading is long, rolling avg may not be needed.

09/29/2014, 01:20 PM	#1284
Moomin1967 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: West Sussex, UK Posts: 128	From the 5v arduino im pulling 5v pwr for, *channel SSR board, LCD, RTC, the PWM of my W10's, 2 1 wire probes, pulling low the ATO swithes, plus any other I2c to come. I moved the 8 channel relay board on to its own 5v supply. The Arduino is running pretty warm, I cased the project up over the weekend, looks I need to decouple the 5v line, the RTC now keeps changing to some date in 2069 and losing the time. Given the EZO probes support a sleep mode this would help to reduce loadings, just a thought M

09/29/2014, 03:17 PM	#1286
wgraham Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 292	Just look at the log and when I reset the controller that's when the conductivity sensor init failed.

09/30/2014, 12:49 PM	#1291
SorsCode Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 132	I'm mainly doing the swap in the near future, just to play and learn more about Arduino. Besides that, i'm not interested in any touch screen or anything. I'll mod an old Android Tablet and wall mount it in a picture frame, and point it to the Web Interface.

09/30/2014, 03:55 PM	#1292
jrossjr79 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: San Antonio Posts: 102	D0ughb0y, I just read an interesting post on Facebook. We were talking about temperatures and what everyone keeps theirs at. One guy posted says he uses Apex's season tables to have a variable temperature setting based on the seasons. Is there a way to set this up with this current build?

09/30/2014, 05:14 PM	#1295
rrbigdog Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 72	It changes every day. If you want i can pull what's in my apex.

09/30/2014, 05:37 PM	#1297
rrbigdog Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 72	There is a default. Don't know if or how to changing it.....never tried.

09/30/2014, 05:42 PM	#1298
jrossjr79 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: San Antonio Posts: 102	You will probable get better information from rrbigdog than me. What I did find on a quick google search was this: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2052509

09/30/2014, 05:53 PM	#1299
rrbigdog Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 72	The web shows one month at a time and you can edit it. Here is what is in the table for Jan. Keeps track of sunrise/sunset moon and temp.

09/30/2014, 06:06 PM	#1300
d0ughb0y Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: sf bay area Posts: 5,165	moomin, I think you reverse season for light to save energy, but not for temp. so for summer, you want to run the tank at a higher temp, and in winter, lower temp. If you use reverse season, you will need to heat up your tank to a higher temp during your winter time since it is summer down under. for light, you use reverse season. During summer, you run the light shorter, and winter, you run the lights longer. The current chauvet code sort of will do the temp change for you, but only twice a year. For fan, you set the on/off temp, say around 78F, and for heater, you set the on/off temp, say around 74F. During summer, only the fan will activate and temp is higher, and during winter, only the heater will activate, and it keeps the tank temp lower. This keeps it simple. If the temp setting is variable everyday, then you can end up running the heater in summer and the fan during winter. I don't know if I want to run my tank at 69F (21C).