Reef Discussion

[Neillw]

Hi @Joele
haha yeah it was well hidden :)
Plenty of I/O
you got 7 digital pins + 2 analog pins spare to play with
Could always just use a normal Arduino like i did...loads more I/O and no stupid mini USB ports to deal with
Just pull the arduino cape of the beaglebone, plug in an arduino to the beaglebone via USB instead and change the serial line in /etc/init.d/ninjablocks on the beglebone to the usb port you connected the arduino to (might want to throw a monitor on it to make it easy)

 

[Joele]

So the OC* addressed pins are just as usable as the ADC addressed ones.. wasn't sure if that meant something?

I think you are right about breaking it out, but will start with this and take it from there, if I use them up I can break it out..

I just like their web interface as can easily (once I have it and work it out) explain it to others who want to use the system.. If I went and started using python to write to mysql database locally and then had an app to read all that (my previous idea) it just gets messy to share..

I do have a normal Arduino aswell sitting here.. phase two maybe..

 

[Joele]

P.S. thanks this is starting to make a hell of a lot more sense, it is just getting my head around the initial learning curve... ;-)

I am certain when I get my PH probe with Atlus example and your salinity/conductivity example I can write the code for that one..

 

[Nicksy23]

Hey all
Got confirmation the rest of my package is has hit Australia Post and should now not be far away.
I will be keeping things very simple to begin with as even the basics will confuse me, however really enjoying your conversations regarding the complicated and cant wait to see how we can get things working. Would be massive to be able measure PH, Salinity etc
Great work guys

 

[Joele]

damn I have heard nothing I think I must have missed the November batch by a day or two... bloody hell..

 

[Sam Parker]

Great progress guys, I am super excited!

@Rob - I know what your saying, however the ninja block does a heap more than just monitor my tank. It is my home security system, baby monitor, basic home automater, tank monitor and some more. Plus, unlike the commercial products - this is continually expanding and growing (and it is fairly in our control)

@Joele - my bad mate, I knew those USB sockets were just a convenient plug for the basic pinouts, I could/should have told you that. Here is a piece from the forum where they basically admit that was a bad idea... hahaha
http://forums.ninjablocks.com/index.php?p=/discussion/403/mini-usb-ports-for-sensors/p1

But, if you want, I'm happy to order a heap of these and make some flying leads for the forum?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5pcs-5-P..._Photographic_Accessories&hash=item20cb329f23

Sam

 

[Sam Parker]

@Joele - If your ninja is going to be a while off, your welcome to come and play with mine - or I can bring mine to you? I'm sure we could nut a bit out in a day on the weekend?

 

[Joele]

@Sam Parker Will see what happens, my atlus ph stuff has to come from the US anyway, that can take weeks, they only shipped it a few days ago..

Re: cables - I have the breakout board from ninjablocks so no big deal for me, others may need it.. The bad part is they have used usb ports for something that isn't USB, to me that is a bad thing to do, but yeah each to there own.. LOL

Their forum and help files are also a mess from my POV, even that article about the pin-outs has a few spots that say "click here" for XYZ instructions, but there is no hyperlink the 'click here' is just text, and generally I find their docs hard to find. Though I think once I get the product using Neillw's example the ph one should be reletively easy to do and more stuff can roll from there...

I may eventually break out the arduino like Neilw suggested as I would like to hook up float switches directly with wires and not rely on radio for them, also want to hook up relays like I linked earlier to control electronic devices (12v for now) instead of the radio power point things.. But won't worry about that until we get the standard framework working so people here can get straightforward instructions..

 

[Joele]

Actually just received my relay board ($7) today so will hook that up to my $14 UNO board along with a temperature probe and just run that as a standalone for now with my 12v tank fans to kick them off once the tank hits say 26c.. Very useful, I can't believe I never took notice of these Arduino boards before..

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/171114774876?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[Sam Parker]

nicely done. :)

You do know that once we (aka, mostly you...) work most of this out, we will need to put together a set of instructions on how to set this all up for other members :)

 

[Joele]

Yeah I think once we have it worked out on one actual ninja block standard hardware kit it should be easy enough to help others..

You may need to make those cables for people so we can make it more plug and play..

Sent from my HTC_PO582 using Tapatalk

 

[Sam Parker]

plug and play is what its all about after all :)

I'm more than happy to do some 'grunt' work in making these flying leads (or even adapter plugs) for the forum if it helps make it easy for people to simply buy the parts from ninja blocks/ebay, run a step by step setup/configuration process, 'plug-in' sensors and away they go.

After all, the more using these in an aquarium sense - the more we all get out of it.
Sam

 

[Joele]

LOL, they put these probes through hell, definitely overkill for our needs though... I suppose though $18 (not logging one as we are logging anyway) bundled in with the probe order is not such a big deal...

 

[Sam Parker]

looks good to me, will certainly get one of these to play with as well (when I finally place an order, but will wait as I'm guessing there are a few people who will want a sensor or two)

For a bit of fun today I thought I would log the temp of my tank and see the effect of turning the fan on (can do remotely via watts clever socket). Wow, who needs a chiller!? Temp was still slowly rising when I turned it on (at 1:40pm), but in less than an hour it not only stopped the rise - but dropped the temp almost half a degree! Wouldn't want it chilling any quicker than that.

Turned the fan off again and in a few minutes the temp quickly shot back to where it was before (thinking maybe working again the heater?). Either way, fun little experiement to test the effectiveness of just a fan on the tank temperature.

P.S I reckon that temp is reading about 1C high, it is just above my other thermometers.

 

[Joele]

I am also going to try the Belkin WeMo with the ninja block (when I one day get it) as an option to power off devices, the advantage is it can report it's current state and less likely to be effected via interference..

 

[macca_75]

looks good to me, will certainly get one of these to play with as well (when I finally place an order, but will wait as I'm guessing there are a few people who will want a sensor or two)

For a bit of fun today I thought I would log the temp of my tank and see the effect of turning the fan on (can do remotely via watts clever socket). Wow, who needs a chiller!? Temp was still slowly rising when I turned it on (at 1:40pm), but in less than an hour it not only stopped the rise - but dropped the temp almost half a degree! Wouldn't want it chilling any quicker than that.

Turned the fan off again and in a few minutes the temp quickly shot back to where it was before (thinking maybe working again the heater?). Either way, fun little experiement to test the effectiveness of just a fan on the tank temperature.

View attachment 20771
P.S I reckon that temp is reading about 1C high, it is just above my other thermometers.

Generally speaking, depending on humidity, ambient temp, etc you can drop a tank temp by about 2 degrees using fans. It will use extra top off through (esp if you run it all day) so be prepared for that.

 

[Sam Parker]

yeah - so I had heard, but it was good to see it react as quickly as it did on my own tank. Just happy to get some 'proof' before the hot weather really comes :)

 

[macca_75]

All good @Sam Parker - just trying to highlight don't rely on losing 2 degrees on a muggy hot Melbourne day - it will be far less as humidity rises. When you combine it will turning lights off, etc you can squeeze a bit more of a temp drop without a chiller.

BTW - nice project - keep it going for the masses.

 

[Joele]

Yeah I am switching to a 60l drum for top off (will supply two 100l cubes) with a float in the bottom to alert of low levels..

Sent from my HTC_PO582 using Tapatalk

 

[Sam Parker]

haha yeah, I wont be relying on that totally. Have been measuring house temp and humidity too, just to see how it reacts. Have been toying with the idea of using a c02 bulb as a chiller instead. Been used in the performance industry for a little while, cant see why it wouldn't work the same in an aquarium?
Controllable chiller that takes up very little room, uses next to no electricity and would have plenty of power... Could be interesting :)