Apex Controller....... oh the things you can do!! ** Discussion Thread **

[TANKSALOT]

Did you have profiles setup for the LEDs? Are you dimming them with the V ports?


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I have each of the 4 set up with similar to the following in the "Advance" settings.
Each having different times, is the only differences.

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 08:00 to 20:00 Then ON
If Temp > 00.0 Then OFF
Min Time 005:00 Then OFF

No, I have not gotten to setting the dimming feature yet.

 

[ToXIc]

I have each of the 4 set up with similar to the following in the "Advance" settings.
Each having different times, is the only differences.

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 08:00 to 20:00 Then ON
If Temp > 00.0 Then OFF
Min Time 005:00 Then OFF

No, I have not gotten to setting the dimming feature yet.

You have may have 2 issues.
1: If Temp > 00.0 Then OFF
That statement will never let the lights turn on.
2: if your fixture is dimable you have to supply voltage to the dimmer on the driver to make the lights, light.




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[Dtech07]

You have may have 2 issues.
1: If Temp > 00.0 Then OFF
That statement will never let the lights turn on.
2: if your fixture is dimable you have to supply voltage to the dimmer on the driver to make the lights, light.





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+1 your temp needs to be at the limit you believe its MAX should hit, this is a safety feature the Apex offers which turns off your lights to reduce heat. IF set to 00.0 then your telling the system that if thats your temp then off so your light are not going to turn on till you put like 79.5 but if your tank NORMAL temp is that then you want to set it to 81.5. Your lights will turn off if the tanks water hits 81.5 but will turn back on (if the temp drops during the hour you have the lights set to be on) and resume their normal schedule.

 

[TANKSALOT]

I have tried to change the temp setting and it does not stay when I update.
I do not have the temp probe installed yet. Would that cause it to default to 00.0?

Also, I have found the reason the 2 strings of lights would not turn on. It was an over heated LED that fried.

The strings that are on and will not turn off is the issue.
Yes, they are dimmable.
I have used both the 10v from the Apex and a 9v battery.
Both connected correctly with - to white & + to blue.

 

[JasonKlink]

I want my skimmer pump to turn on a few mins after my return pump. I want it do it if there's a power failure or I turn off the return pump. Can someone tell me how to program this?

 

[mixer911]

This thread has been around since 2011 and i just found it :what:

 

[kes]

this is very helpful info, as I recently got an apex

 

[redman]

I have a pair of Kessil a150s and would I be able to bring them up and down using a outlet dimming feature. I have an Apex Lite on the way and it seems that there is just so much that you can do with these things that I am having trouble sorting it all out.

 

[trido]

I just found this thread too. I don't have anything too crazy but have set up my breakout box to do several things for me without having to use "FEED" modes.

If Switch 1 closed: Turns the wave maker to a constant 30% flow. This is because my wife hates the wave buzz buzz buzz when the house is quiet.
If Switch 2 closed: Turn off white LED's. So I can show off my corals under blue LED's when fellow reefers are over to visit.
If Switch 3 Closed: Turn down all the power heads to 30% for feeding or working in the tank.

In my remote tank room

If Switch 4 closed: Turn off ATO and Heaters for a Water change
If Switch 5 closed This will be an actual float switch: Turn off Skimmer and Ozone. Because the skimmer float switch closed due to a full collection cup
If Switch 6 closed: Turn off Skimmer and Ozone. So I can clean the skimmer.

 

[ToXIc]

I have a pair of Kessil a150s and would I be able to bring them up and down using a outlet dimming feature. I have an Apex Lite on the way and it seems that there is just so much that you can do with these things that I am having trouble sorting it all out.

did you ever get things sorted out?

I just found this thread too. I don't have anything too crazy but have set up my breakout box to do several things for me without having to use "FEED" modes.

If Switch 1 closed: Turns the wave maker to a constant 30% flow. This is because my wife hates the wave buzz buzz buzz when the house is quiet.
If Switch 2 closed: Turn off white LED's. So I can show off my corals under blue LED's when fellow reefers are over to visit.
If Switch 3 Closed: Turn down all the power heads to 30% for feeding or working in the tank.

In my remote tank room

If Switch 4 closed: Turn off ATO and Heaters for a Water change
If Switch 5 closed This will be an actual float switch: Turn off Skimmer and Ozone. Because the skimmer float switch closed due to a full collection cup
If Switch 6 closed: Turn off Skimmer and Ozone. So I can clean the skimmer.

thats a great idea to physically toggle stuff on or off.. what kind of switch did you use?

 

[VicD81]

Will the apex tell me the power consumption of each component plugged in? (Like The Kill a Watt meter)

 

[jduck]

Will the apex tell me the power consumption of each component plugged in? (Like The Kill a Watt meter)

It will tell you the amps for the total energy bar

 

[nitro'sreef]

This thread has been around since 2011 and i just found it :what:

++1

 

[Velodog2]

Thanks for some good ideas! I am "frugal" and have a nano so I started w the Apex Jr (actually was a gift so had no say in the matter but it's what I would have chosen). I have added a PM1 and a breakout box. I have my heater in the sump and control it with the temp probe in the tank. I've also added a temp probe in the sump with the PM1 and made some logical outlets to diagnose problems for me.

If the return pump fails then the sump will overheat because the heater will be trying to increase temp on a cooling tank. So I made an outlet called PumpFail that uses an AND statement like this:

Set OFF
If Temp < 77.0 then ON
If Sump < 79.0 then OFF

And added a line in the alarms to alert me if PumpFail is ON.

If the heater fails in the off state then both the sump and the tank will cool down. I added an outlet called HeatrFailOff:

Set OFF
If Temp < 77.0 Then ON
If Sump > 77.0 Then OFF

I have two inexpensive water sensors attached to my breakout box for leak detection at less than half the price of the dedicated Apex unit for this. I have these automatically turn off my return pump and heater if water is detected in my cabinet and alert me. I am looking for other things to do with the breakout box.

Because it is a Jr. it is limited in its ability to detect power failure. One potential workaround I have considered is having a normally closed relay held open by line voltage and connected to the breakout box. If power fails it will close and (with proper UPS to the Apex and modem/router) alert me. Any other thoughts on how to do the power fail thing?

 

[acesfull44]

The Apex has the ability to vary these values with the seasons. RT stands for Reef Temp and is the average temperature of the reef for the current day. SUN refers to the actual sunrise and sunset times for the same reef for the current day.

I use them to introduce some natural variability to my tank. Rather than having the temperature stay the same all day, every day, I have it warmer in the summers and cooler in the winters. Also, instead of having the lights turn on and off at the same time every day, they are varied so that they are longer in the summer and shorter in the winter.

CJ

Does this have anything to do with keeping good water quality, or just simply for the variation of temps?

 

[dwref]

Help with my Calcium Reactor.
Trying to get my Apex to run my reactor.
But the only way I have had it work is telling Fusion that it is a ORP, I have the probe in PH/ORP
But trying to write out the right programing it says,
//Error: line 2 - Valid keywords following If are Temp, pH, ORP, DO, Cond, Par, Feed, SwX, Error, Power, Sun, or Moon // If ORP > 6.4 Then OFF
//Error: line 3 - Valid keywords following If are Temp, pH, ORP, DO, Cond, Par, Feed, SwX, Error, Power, Sun, or Moon // If ORP < 6.5 Then ON
then it just goes back to the ORP settings. Using my other PH as the tank PH.
When they had me calibrate it, I used PHx2, but that is not an option in the drop down window in the settings??

 

[RussM]

But the only way I have had it work is telling Fusion that it is a ORP, I have the probe in PH/ORP
When they had me calibrate it, I used PHx2, but that is not an option in the drop down window in the settings??

The 2nd BNC probe port is either pH or ORP - it defaults to being in ORP mode. You need to change it to pH2 mode, then calibrate. For calcium reactor use, you need to calibrate the probe port using ph 4 and pH 7 calibration solutions.
Watch this vid:

 

[MCooper]

Just hooked up my Apex Gold Controller and WAV pumps. Will get DOS and other stuff hooked up soon but have ZERO idea how this thing works.

 

[dakoop]

Bit th bullet an bought me my first apex. Time for some "light" reading

 

[FLSharkvictim]

Cj, just bought a brand new Apex Classic from BRS and two TUNZE Turbelle NANOStream 6055'S. Also got the 2 Channel Apex to Tunze Stream Cable. Bare with me b/c this is my 1ST controller.
Do i need to do any coding or is it plug and play? Also, what's your opinion on how to control my TUNZE Osmolator 3155 ATO system that's hooked up to my RODI and that runs into my Eshoops 5 gallon Container with a float switch?

Tank Info:
120 Mixed Reef
Apex Classic Controller
Ecotech M1 pump
Skimz 163 DC Montzer Series skimmer
Custom sump / Refuge
2 TUNZE Turbelle Nanostream 6055's
2 AI Hydra TwentySix HD LED Fixtures
Celestial C35W Maxspect Refuge Spotlight
Aqua UV Ultraviolet Sterilizer 25w
BRS Dual Media reactor
Eshoops IV Master & Slave Doser
Tunze 3155 Auto Top Off