Apex Question

[reeferericb]

I’m using an Apex and I’m having some issues.

There’s a EB8 power strip in the basement, the aquabus cable from the EB8 is plugged into a flow monitor module, that modules aquabus is plugged into the “brain”, not the EB832.

The EB8 is tripping the GFCI in the basement, conversely the whole Apex shuts down despite having power. The items with fallback “on” stay powered but I can’t communicate with them.

My question is does the EB8 losing power cause an overload of the aquabus system causing an overload? Is there a way to plug in the aquabus to avoid this issue? Would plugging it into a powered device work better, like directly into the EB832? Does this make any sense?

 

[SuncrestReef]

Neptune recommends having a powered module every 75 feet when using long AquaBus cables. How long is the chain from your Apex to the EB8?

Two questions:

1. Have you inspected each AquaBus port and cable ends for any corrosion? Even check empty AquaBus ports. Any corrosion can cause a short circuit and disrupt the whole communications bus.

2. Does the long cable you're using have a "repeater" or "signal booster"? AquaBus uses standard USB cables, but the USB spec requires any cables longer than 5 meters (approx 16 feet) to have a repeater, which are not compatible with the Apex since AquaBus runs on 12v but USB sends 5v through the cable. If you need to connect AquaBus modules further than 5 meters apart, you need non-standard USB cables like those sold by Neptune or at USBFireWire.com:

Long USB Cable for Apex - 877.522.3779 - USBFireWire.com

Long USB Cable for Apex

www.usbfirewire.com

 

[_AV]

I'm not sure I fully understand the set up as described. It sounds like you have aquabus connected as following EB8->FMM->Brain. Where is the EB832 in that chain?

I believe it is recommended to have the brain connected to an EB8 or an EB832 directly via aquabus. As energy bars provide power to the brain.

I actually prefer to run the brain off of a dedicated 12v power supply, there is a jack for it on the main unit. That way if any of my EB832 fail, I still have power to the brain. In fact, I also have a small 12v battery power backup between the power supply and the brain so that the power to the brain won't be lost even if the house looses power.

If you have an EB8 and an EB832, instead you can connect both of them to the brain for power redundancy. That way if one of them fails, the other will continue powering the brain.

 

[reeferericb]

Neptune recommends having a powered module every 75 feet when using long AquaBus cables. How long is the chain from your Apex to the EB8?

Two questions:

1. Have you inspected each AquaBus port and cable ends for any corrosion? Even check empty AquaBus ports. Any corrosion can cause a short circuit and disrupt the whole communications bus.

2. Does the long cable you're using have a "repeater" or "signal booster"? AquaBus uses standard USB cables, but the USB spec requires any cables longer than 5 meters (approx 16 feet) to have a repeater, which are not compatible with the Apex since AquaBus runs on 12v but USB sends 5v through the cable. If you need to connect AquaBus modules further than 5 meters apart, you need non-standard USB cables like those sold by Neptune or at USBFireWire.com:

Long USB Cable for Apex - 877.522.3779 - USBFireWire.com

Long USB Cable for Apex

www.usbfirewire.com

The aquabus cable is 6’ from the FMM to the EB8.

I’ve not inspected anything that close yet but I will. The EB8 is on a different breaker than the EB832. It was unexpected that there could be a chain reaction like this if the power is lost to a powered unit.

 

[reeferericb]

I'm not sure I fully understand the set up as described. It sounds like you have aquabus connected as following EB8->FMM->Brain. Where is the EB832 in that chain?

I believe it is recommended to have the brain connected to an EB8 or an EB832 directly via aquabus. As energy bars provide power to the brain.

I actually prefer to run the brain off of a dedicated 12v power supply, there is a jack for it on the main unit. That way if any of my EB832 fail, I still have power to the brain. In fact, I also have a small 12v battery power backup between the power supply and the brain so that the power to the brain won't be lost even if the house looses power.

If you have an EB8 and an EB832, instead you can connect both of them to the brain for power redundancy. That way if one of them fails, the other will continue powering the brain.

Most of my setup is connected through the EB832. The EB832 is where the brain is connected. The only items connected to the brain are the FMM and EB8.

I have another FMM, two Dos pumps, a lunar module and auto feeder connected through the EB832.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I’m using an Apex and I’m having some issues.

There’s a EB8 power strip in the basement, the aquabus cable from the EB8 is plugged into a flow monitor module, that modules aquabus is plugged into the “brain”, not the EB832.

The EB8 is tripping the GFCI in the basement, conversely the whole Apex shuts down despite having power. The items with fallback “on” stay powered but I can’t communicate with them.

My question is does the EB8 losing power cause an overload of the aquabus system causing an overload? Is there a way to plug in the aquabus to avoid this issue? Would plugging it into a powered device work better, like directly into the EB832? Does this make any sense?

Shouldn’t we be trying to figure out why the gcfi is tripping to solve the issue. This just happen to me end up being one of my power heads possibly hair line crack short I grout popping gcfi. To figure this out unplug all 110v plugs to the energy bar and plug it back in to gcfi. Next one at a time plug your 110v items back in till it pops again. Then replace the item in question.

 

[reeferericb]

Shouldn’t we be trying to figure out why the gcfi is tripping to solve the issue. This just happen to me end up being one of my power heads possibly hair line crack short I grout popping gcfi. To figure this out unplug all 110v plugs to the energy bar and plug it back in to gcfi. Next one at a time plug your 110v items back in till it pops again. Then replace the item in question.

The GFCI is tripping even when nothing is connected to it. I plugged everything directly into the outlets, temporarily, until I get it sorted out. I left the aquabus plugged in and although the power wasn’t lost on the EB832, all the modules shut down until I unplugged the EB8 from the system.

The two most important things in the EB8 are my heaters and skimmer. My heater is controlled by an Ink Bird WiFi device, the Apex is a backup. The skimmer should always be on anyway (except for feeding). My tank is fallow at the moment, next feeding is Sunday. I feed twice a week right now.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

The GFCI is tripping even when nothing is connected to it. I plugged everything directly into the outlets, temporarily, until I get it sorted out. I left the aquabus plugged in and although the power wasn’t lost on the EB832, all the modules shut down until I unplugged the EB8 from the system.

The two most important things in the EB8 are my heaters and skimmer. My heater is controlled by an Ink Bird WiFi device, the Apex is a backup. The skimmer should always be on anyway (except for feeding). My tank is fallow at the moment, next feeding is Sunday. I feed twice a week right now.

Ok so possibly a bad eb8 then. Does it still pop with all 110v unplugged and usb unplugged. So eb8 all by itself ?

 

[reeferericb]

Ok so possibly a bad eb8 then. Does it still pop with all 110v unplugged and usb unplugged. So eb8 all by itself ?

I haven’t tried that yet. I have tried with nothing else plugged in except the aquabus. There was some moisture under one of the outlets, I haven’t been able to locate that source. I will try plugging it in by itself tomorrow and see what happens.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I haven’t tried that yet. I have tried with nothing else plugged in except the aquabus. There was some moisture under one of the outlets, I haven’t been able to locate that source. I will try plugging it in by itself tomorrow and see what happens.

I only question this because I have had Aquabus cables short out my system. New cable and different port worked for me. Just a thought. Good luck with your issue

 

[reeferericb]

I only question this because I have had Aquabus cables short out my system. New cable and different port worked for me. Just a thought. Good luck with your issue

I discovered there’s several aquabus ports on the EB8. I will likely try a different one when I get it back together. I will also mount it so that it’s not horizontal either. That will make it less likely for a repeat experience as well I think.

Thanks for the help everyone, I appreciate it.