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Introduction to Raspberry Pi Aquarium Controllers by James King

njtiger24 aquariums

Officer Emeritus
Article Contributor
Thanks to @trio91 I decided to start writing something about a Raspberry Pi as an aquarium controller. Here is what I have so far.

Introduction to Raspberry Pi Aquarium Controllers
by James King
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Introduction:

First let me tell you about myself. My name is James King and I have been doing IT for over 10 years now. I have kept many fish tanks but none really took off until I got my feet into saltwater. I got into saltwater in 2014/2015. Being a tech person I always was looking at the 'tech' side of reefing. I made a comment, when I saw, a device that allow the controling of lights from your smart phone. The comment was about joining my new hobby with something I enjoyed. A friend of mine commented back saying. Well you are in IT so why don't you make your own out of a raspberry pi? I been wanting to do a pi project but never had an idea of what until that comment.



What is Raspberry Pi?

In a nutshell a Raspberry Pi is a small computer that run cheap, around $35. The older versions run a type of Linux operating system but the newer ones can also run a IoT version of Windows. These devices have GPIO (General Purpose Input-Output) pins that allow devices to be connected and controlled. They allow a system to run headless, with no display, or connected a display (either using the official display port or HDMI port)



Raspberry Pi as an Aquarium Controller:

Due to the cheap cost of these devices and how flexible they are they make great devices to make into a controller for aquariums. There are open source programs out there, for example reef-pi, that allow anyone to get a basic controller up and running on a Pi. Folks who may not like open source or want to take on the challenge, like myself, do their own coding and developing. Raspberry Pi are flexible and cheap so they allow this hobby to grow without dropping a large amount of money on a semi-fix system. The system I am working on is one in hope to do a full control plus logging of data. Other can be used just as ATO, lighting controls, outlet controls, logging data, etc...



Conclusion:

I believe a Raspberry Pi makes a great device to be use as a aquarium controller. I am not saying a person needs an controller but they can make this hobby easier, at times, and fun. If you are looking to go with a controller and willing to do the work yourself then check out the raspberry pi.
 
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I came here because I like pie but then found out james was just practicing his Swahili a language I no nothing about.
Lol james if I ever need one of those new due hickies I am coming to you cause my programming tops out at VCR's I am sure I just dated my self and I am also sure there are people on here that are reading this googling what a VCR is
 

njtiger24 aquariums

Officer Emeritus
Article Contributor
I came here because I like pie but then found out james was just practicing his Swahili a language I no nothing about.
Lol james if I ever need one of those new due hickies I am coming to you cause my programming tops out at VCR's I am sure I just dated my self and I am also sure there are people on here that are reading this googling what a VCR is
You would be surpise how many faculty memebrs still use VHS to teach their lessions lol.
 
my first thought when I saw the demo on the neptune apex....

its a Raspberry Pi with a neat power strip.

If I had more time.............

SOME ONE out there, no doubt, has tackled this already and has all the codes we need and has taken enough advil for all of us. :)
Bluetooth/Wireless/IoT capabilities are a yuge plus.
 

njtiger24 aquariums

Officer Emeritus
Article Contributor
my first thought when I saw the demo on the neptune apex....

its a Raspberry Pi with a neat power strip.

If I had more time.............

SOME ONE out there, no doubt, has tackled this already and has all the codes we need and has taken enough advil for all of us. :)
Bluetooth/Wireless/IoT capabilities are a yuge plus.

There are open source one's out there. As I said above. Reef-pi is one of those open source out there.
 
Awesome stuff I have looked into this a while back and plan on making this and a few other things for my tank. Do u have any tips or information about set up? Like maybe a cut and paste program I can use?
 
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