jener8tionx Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Nice start so far. Keep us up to date on your progress. What kind of tank will this be going on? DO you currently have the tank setup or is this a start from scratch project like mine? VR The tank is set up and running. I just love DIY projects. Can we take our discussion over to: http://reefprojects.com/w/phpBB3/ I want to ask a ton of questions about your setup so far and this thread will end up congested. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Right, but everyone will benefit from it here. Honestly, I check far too many forums each day to add another to the list. It's VR's choice though. Link to comment
Vancouver Reefer Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 As evil said...... There are alot of people on here that are enjoying the many DIY threads. Many people may be inspired, like i was by reading the threads we all contribute to. By keeping this all on here we can allow everyone to follow our progress and also input their thoughts and ideas. You could always copy and paste our words from here and place them onto your site if you want to let people on their see it too. So please ask away any questions and ill see what i can do! PS: Evil i think you need to add some Royal Blues into your LED Club Signature!!! VR Link to comment
evilc66 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Thats not a bad idea. Link to comment
Vancouver Reefer Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 you can view all the pics you want by clicking on the link in my signature box. I don't have the time at the mo to write 2 websites about it. Once its all complete then i will give it a FULL write up on here. VR Link to comment
ajmckay Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Okay so last night I posted a similar thread... So now I will link to it.... http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=189275 I've got one more function listed there that I don't think has been mentioned here. See function #5, what you think... ? Link to comment
jener8tionx Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I finished wiring my power box. I used an American DJ and 8 solid state relays. I went with SSRs because the Arduino can run them on its own without any extra circuitry. I have tested it with a temp probe and everything works perfectly. Just waiting for LCD and some misc parts and I will be finished. View the whole build here: DIY Reef Controller Pic so far. The inputs weren't wired, but are now. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 That looks cool. Did you get the SSRs for a good price? Link to comment
hcsceo Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 SUCKED INTO THE MADNESS Ordered controller, button screen, RTC, and ethernet shield today. Why buy one when you can build it for twice the cost? Steve Link to comment
Vancouver Reefer Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 You have just started the endless spiral of head scratching and dollar decrementing!!! Have fun!!! Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I thought that was what reefing was all about? Link to comment
hcsceo Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 LOL yea true evil. I'm getting really excited about this project. I just placed an order for this also. Not sure if I need all 40 IO's or not but figured it won't hurt and since I'm starting out might as well have too many IO's than too little. Illuminato - 42 io's Arduino System Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I already have my Arduino, but I'm very tempted to order that. Sleek little unit, and lots of I/O and memory. I really only have plans for controlling my lights right now, but you never know Link to comment
Vancouver Reefer Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BABY: Link to comment
evilc66 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Saw that a week ago. It's almost perfect. It's backwards compatible with most shells too. Link to comment
Vancouver Reefer Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 I was running out of I/O and programming memory so its now the new brain!!!!!!!!!!!! Lots more room for gadgets!!!!!!!!!! This really is never ending!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At this rate i might get this built by the end of the year! lol Link to comment
hcsceo Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 yea I saw that Mega get released a week ago or so and thought it was perfect till I saw the $65 price tag. I've got those illuminato's and the Arduinio's. I've also looked hard at the Sanguino which is only $28 in kit format and has the same memory space and about the same IO's as the illuminato. I've finally decided on using the Arduino Dec. and running port expanders and I2C for a few of the functions that would have taken a bunch of IO's. I've set a goal of $75 for everything to build one of these in a kit form. The Mega just kills that goal. Have you guys decided on how to handle relays? I'm thinking of using octocouplers and triacs. I can get the cost of one total relay to less than $2 in parts. Here is a link to something pre kitted. Triacs Steve Link to comment
ajmckay Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 've finally decided on using the Arduino Dec. and running port expanders and I2C for a few of the functions that would have taken a bunch of IO's. Yeah the mega looks nice, but $$.... Soooo... I've got most of my parts in, and I also hooked up my LCD using i2c... And it works! yay... Anyways, I was hoping to connect the DS1307 RTC as a slave to the i2c LCD... do you know how this would work? I'm a total noob at electronic stuff and it's amazing that I even was able to hook up the LCD... And after I hook things up right I'm really looking forward to the code (not!)... I think with my current plans the only thing I'll need a relay for is the aqualifter pump for my ATO and for my 2 T-5 light fixtures and moonlight... so that's 4 relays... What would you say is the simplest (and of course cost is an issue, but I don't think I should say "cheapest" because that often involves more DIY and I just don't have the skills currently, though I am learning) way to hook those up? What simple relay will work? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 The RTC will just be another node on the I2C network, not a slave to the LCD. It has it's own address and will be addressed as such in the software you write. Relays will be fine, but you need to make sure your driving circuitry can handle the inductive feedback induced by the coil in the relay (feedback/recirculating diode). SSRs are easier to deal with, but are a little more costly. Link to comment
hcsceo Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Yea the SSR's are the way to go I think. The Octocoupler isolates the Microcontroller side from the Triac/AC side completely and can also add more reliability as there are no moving parts. Also only needs 10-20ma to switch so no additonal transisters would be required. On the I2C and the ds1307 Evil is exactly right. Just use the sample code supplied with the RTC and add it to your existing lcd code. The Address of the RTC will be different than the address of the LCD so when a Wire.h command is sent the first thing it does is ask the device at whatever address on the I2C to respond and then it send the data commands to it. You can think of it as an IP address on a network. If I want to talk to any computer on a LAN I submitt a request via it's IP address and it will respond (very simplistic example as much more goes on in the background but you get the point.) Look at your #define statements and you should see one that defines the lcd address and one that defines the RTC address. I2C is really nice cause you can use port expanders to get as many as 127 addtional IO's thereby expanding the inexpensive arduino platform to handle jobs that would require a more expensive controller. The downside is that I2c takes more coding and with the limited code space available you could run into issues. Steve Link to comment
ajmckay Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 SSRs are easier to deal with, but are a little more costly. Yea the SSR's are the way to go I think. The Octocoupler isolates the Microcontroller side from the Triac/AC side completely and can also add more reliability as there are no moving parts. Also only needs 10-20ma to switch so no additonal transisters would be required. Great, thank you both for your help. Do you think that you might be able to provide a link to an appropriate solid state relay that I could get? The Octocoupler looks interesting... From what I understand you can operate 4 outlets with it, right? Which would be perfect for me because I want to run 2 T5 fluorescent fixtures (timed independently), a moonlight, and an ATO pump... I looked at the illustrated assembly instructions and it seems idiot proof as long as I can practice my soldering skills a little bit beforehand... What do you think? Should I invest in the Triac? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 http://www.mpja.com/products.asp?dept=133 http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store...id-State/1.html Link to comment
ajmckay Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Thanks for the info. It seems that a lot of these specify 80-120v input voltage... My arduino only supplies 5v, so is that a problem? I assume it's not because on jener8's wiki he uses a similar one to those on mpja. Also, what would my typical maximum amperage requirements be for aquarium use? I mean if I can get away with relays with a <10 amp output that could cut some costs... Plus I can always switch them out later if I get a higher draw device... Link to comment
evilc66 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Not sure where you were looking, but all but one of the relays from MPJA can be switched by 5VDC. You should be able to control everthing on your tank with 6A relays. For example, a 300W heater at 120v AC is 2.5A. (watts/volts=amps). Link to comment
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