My Neptune Apex web interface compatible DIY reef controller

I don't know why but i had to use port 8000 not port 80. Try that.

Glad you got it working finally!!


Worked like a charm!

I'm excited to finally get this thing going! :)

Where did you order your PH sensor from?
Has anyone tried one of these China kits
Or should i stick to the pricier atlas kit?
I would also like to implement a salinity probe later

for the 1-wire type stuff SDA/SCL.. do you just wire all your goods in parallel?
 
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I used the Atlas because the code was written around that, but I assume if your industrious you could write it around whatever module you like, but Atlas probably be the simplest.

1-wire I just used the one temp sensor I could only get one to work on the bus.

For the 2 wire I2C bus I usually wire it up in parallel but I wire it up as daisy chain sort of deal so each device caries on the bus as it goes.
 
is the BNC connector board specific to atlas or will any work?

As long as you keep the wire connections short you can use whatever BNC connector you want, but probably the right angle one is the best since it keeps the leads short and close together. They do sell that bread board adapter thing too if you like.
 
My Neptune Apex web interface compatible DIY reef controller

I emaild Atlast Scientific to see if they can re-post there stuff back on amazon.ca .. hopefully it showes up soon! I just disabled the PH for now so i can setup the rest of it.

In other good news i ordered a Chauvet SR8 case off ebay as it seems like an excellent place to hold it all :)

Got the SR04 working ish (readings seems a little off.. )but then again imtesting it sitting ontop of my coffee cup down a few cm.. so not ideal!

So skipping PH for now.. Has anyone tried to find a way to interface the feed-mode with a reeflink? May be able to parce the code or string from wireshark?

ce1d0268e40314d2e877511d5dff4657.jpg
 
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yeah for now I decided to put it separate out of the relay box. I assume there is enough room to do what dohboy did on his. He is supposedly going to work on a version with a teansy cpu but who knows when that will be done maybe a few months. I sort of want to see how that looks before I do a final version.

If your interested you can check out my build thread I have some pictures of my controller build there.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2535599&page=3
 
shiftline, if you got the chauvet sr8, you may want to hold off punching holes in the case, as I plan to change the connectors to use mini-usb instead of audio jacks (not sure yet how well it will work). The new chauvet board will have the same footprint as a mega, but will be self contained, so it will be lower profile (no shield on top). I wish I had more time to work on this to finish this sooner. Anyways, I got the LED controller pcbs, and will solder the parts and test it. If it all works, I will be submitting the new chauvet controller board pcb order. So that will take another month.
 
shiftline, if you got the chauvet sr8, you may want to hold off punching holes in the case, as I plan to change the connectors to use mini-usb instead of audio jacks (not sure yet how well it will work). The new chauvet board will have the same footprint as a mega, but will be self contained, so it will be lower profile (no shield on top). I wish I had more time to work on this to finish this sooner. Anyways, I got the LED controller pcbs, and will solder the parts and test it. If it all works, I will be submitting the new chauvet controller board pcb order. So that will take another month.


I did order some 4 pol 3.5mm jacks and ends to use as connectors but ill hold off for drilling for now just incase :). It will be atleast a week before iget the SR8 off ebay anyways. Should i used the built in chevet relays or usethe aftermarket board? I also have a set of solid state relays but they were not really working for testing..light came one but didnt have conductivity..maybe they need to be under load?

I'm not going to do the LED bit as i have radion XR15's .. which i can control with the ecotoechlive app... would be cool to find a way to interface it.. one of my goals is to find a way to implement feed mode from the chauvet app.

I ordered 2 temp probes last night.. and will hopefully order a PH/ORP probe today (assuming i can ship it to a US address).. may add conductivity eventually if i can find them at a good price.

With the board your making is it essential a DIY arduino that's all in one with Ethernet and what not? I tried the wifi shield but couldn't get it to work.. may need to just use a wireless bridge later.
 
A bit of a side observation... On my Mega the voltage regulator gets very hot when 12V is plugged in.. when using USB it does not seem to have enough amps to run properly.. The lcd screen dims with each relay i switch on.. after turning on 4-5 relays the rest will not click only the LED lights up.. I may try powering it all using a LM7805 to feed power directly to the 5V arduino pins and bypass the on-board regulator.. hopefully this will resolve it.


How much space do you have inside of the SR-8? would a mega with 3 shields high fit?
 
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My Neptune Apex web interface compatible DIY reef controller

So I made a new add on board with the lm7805 5v regulator powering the board and the the attached deceives directly. However the relays are still having issues. Once I turn more than 3-4 on the rest will light up but by don't click over. Seems like the arduino still isn't putting out enough power... (Or grounding properly for the 0v?)
I tried 2 different relay boards with the same results
1e2ac805db1d50d32173b7a8a71f9b02.jpg

2cd5214aed127391ef00dd7a3296458e.jpg

If I manually touch a ground wire to any of the off relays once the 5 are on it still only lights up rather than clicking on. Seems very strange
 
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Are you powering the relay coils off the arduino board? I wouldn't do that if that is the case I would power the relay coils off a separate 5V supply.
 
A bit of a side observation... On my Mega the voltage regulator gets very hot when 12V is plugged in.. when using USB it does not seem to have enough amps to run properly.. The lcd screen dims with each relay i switch on.. after turning on 4-5 relays the rest will not click only the LED lights up.. I may try powering it all using a LM7805 to feed power directly to the 5V arduino pins and bypass the on-board regulator.. hopefully this will resolve it.


How much space do you have inside of the SR-8? would a mega with 3 shields high fit?

the problem with your relays is that you have to use an external power supply to power them as they use to much current i had the same issue untill i made that change
 
I added a new 5V power supply on the top board. that 5V regulator is connected to the 2 rows of pins across the top board which powers all the devices as well as the arduino. So it should be powered form there not the arduino. (although they are all connected)... I figured this would fix the issue but no dice.... I can tray a 100% serperatre power source and see what happens


On a side note.. ill prob get the atlas PH probe.. Do you guys have/find value in the ORP or conductivity probes?
 
I don't have the ORP or conductivity probes yet. I was thinking about building my own conductivity probe or circuit but then again not sure yet. I guess you can get a good estimate of salentity from conductivity probe but I not sure what ORP buys you.

I still try a completely separate supply I just can't fathom what else be going on. Otherwise you must have something weird going on that's drawing a lot of current.

Maybe check to see how much current is being drawn from each digital wire when you turn on a relay? Shouldn't be much more than maybe 20-30mA I would think enough for an LED.
 
My Neptune Apex web interface compatible DIY reef controller

For conductivity probe.. i wonder if one could hack one of those cheap 10$ tds meters to work with arduino..
Orp - Still not 100% sure if its useful enough or worth the investment (heck still on the fence for PH)

So far nothing has a huge draw
Not sure about the network shield but:
Each relay 2.15mA (x8.)
Sr04 6mA
Lcd. 2.75-6mA
 
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