Major Apex failure

NYCMAN

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The other night I woke up to multiple equipment failures on an Apex network that supports three large (200+ gallon) tanks. After juryrigging it all pack together using Home Depot power strips and the few remaining Apex parts that still work, I have stabilized everything. But what a way to spend the holiday weekend. Today I took it all apart and tested each Apex device. What still works is the central Apex unit, one EB832, 4 Wav pumps, a 1Link module, and a WXM module. What is not working are 4 EB8s - only 2 of 32 outlets work, and no connectivity with Apex on any of them. 2 PM1 modules, and ALD module, and the display module. One might think major power surge, but nothing else in my house was impacted and each outlet is/was connected to a dedicated 20AMP outlet independent all the way back to the circuit breaker box. No circuits were tripped and power was not lost at an point, and it all happened at the same time. Has anyone else experienced multiple device failures of such significance at same time?
 

ca1ore

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Have you tested them direct connected to the brain? Sometimes a failed module will mean any items downstream are ‘lost’. I would have guessed surge/vicinity lightning strike also. Had that happen chez moi a decade ago and it was weird what got fried versus what did not. May be necessary to reach out to Neptune. They may be able to do some remote diagnosis for you. Curious that the surviving modules are the newer ones.
 
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NYCMAN

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Yes I tested everything with a direct connect to the mother ship. All equipment is newish - last 3 years. Have reached out to Neptune. I am hoping they will allow me to send it all back to them for diagnostics and repair. I have an EB832 that they fixed and sent back. Was idle as a spare and has come in handy being redeployed during this disaster. I got my reef tank completely on Apex now (2 EB832s) controlled by still functioning mother ship. All WAV pumps hooked into EB832s but have since determined that 1Link is functioning. The other two tanks are freshwater. Big but simpler. The lighting on them run independent of Apex (GHL Mitras on freshwater planted and Kessil A360xs on Mbuna tank).
 

Amado

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I learned a huge lesson. It’s not a good idea to have one point of failure. I moved away from Neptune.
I have my lights managed buy a kessil controller.
I got rid of my wav pumps and now use eco-tech
Mp40 I stopped using dos and started using a calcium
Reactor. I had two eb32 go bad I didn’t replace them
I purchased amazon Alex power strips for $40.
Now I can say Alexa then off skimmer and it turns off the skimmer.
 
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NYCMAN

NYCMAN

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I agree with you. I have decided tonight am not going to replace the dead Neptune stuff. I got my reef tank 100% on what remains of my failed Apex ecosystem. My two other tanks are 100% off of it. Both have lighting systems (GHL Mitras and Kessil) that are already independent of Neptune. So just need to use smart Wifi timers and power strips to get all else in order, since these tanks already using Ecotech Marine return pumps (L2s) and powerheads (MP40s). Divesting of Neptune. To have almost every piece of equipment from them fail completely within 3 years is unacceptable. $3500 investment!
 

Darrell Brady

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It is really sad that Neptune cant put better quality in there products. I've owned just about all there products an they have all quit except for the brain.
 
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NYCMAN

NYCMAN

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I think the problem may likely be that they do not test their equipment in a high heat, high salanity, high humidity environment over quarters and years. And it breaks down under these circumstances. My Kessils and GHL lighting systems have rubber plugs to put in unused USB ports. That may say all you need to say about Neptune and longevity of their product. Am done with them. I ran great tanks in the 80s, 90s and 2000s without this crap. And getting constant text from it on my iPhone is not good for my quality of life! Ha ha ha. Just ordered $500 in four 20A surge protected power strips and eight BN Link Wifi timers. Only thing I won't have in saving $2000 in Apex equipment is temp and PH real time measurements on my iphone. But then the PH probe kinda sucks and have had to get hand held ones from Hanna and other companies to compensate for it.
 
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ca1ore

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I agree with you. I have decided tonight am not going to replace the dead Neptune stuff. I got my reef tank 100% on what remains of my failed Apex ecosystem. My two other tanks are 100% off of it. Both have lighting systems (GHL Mitras and Kessil) that are already independent of Neptune. So just need to use smart Wifi timers and power strips to get all else in order, since these tanks already using Ecotech Marine return pumps (L2s) and powerheads (MP40s). Divesting of Neptune. To have almost every piece of equipment from them fail completely within 3 years is unacceptable. $3500 investment!

I do think folks 'allow' themselves to be over-reliant on hobby-grade technology in this hobby …. unwise to have all ones eggs in the single basket and all that LOL. May be prudent to see what Neptune say. Hard to see how all those modules would have failed without some kind of external event. I do find, BTW, that the 2016 apex brain does not react well to losing power so i run mine through an UPS which gives me enough time to switch over to the generator.

Either way, please do post back here on what they say.
 
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Any accidents in the area? You said no power loss but wanted to check anyway just in case. Car driving down the road last year, guy reaches over to look at his phone (yes, this is the start), swerves to oncoming traffic, swerves again to miss, as do other cars, and he knocks out a electrical line. Snaps poll in half, wire does come down, spark somehow - car or line, I don't remember exactly in the report, fire starts. We lose power. So far, so good. They put everything out, rescue the guy, fix temp line until they can do permanent, and utility company turns on power. Well, utility company has failure, redundant things failed, and our neighborhood received 3 times the normal power tripping every main breaker panel.

Why I'm mentioning this? As @ca1ore hinted at in that it is interesting in what trips and what doesn't. A lot of my neighbors had different things trip. Main breaker goes but before that things in your home go. We lost dish washer, 2 refrigerators (wine storage units survived, go figure), thermostat, AC, receiver, couple smart plugs, and....my energy bar. Apex, trident, few other things fine once I move power around but the energy bar was done. I have a Cor 20 for this reason since it uses its own power brick. Got that running, tank was fine, and worked on the house.

Next day I went to the energy bar and found a reset button on the back. Reset it and it fired up. Plugged things back in and everything is fine. This lasted for about 3 months. Started to see some issues with this energy bar and got a RMA and sent it in. They came back and said the 1link bus inside was toast. Probably from the power surge I had. I ordered a new one, had them fix that one (i think 50 bucks), and put the repaired one into spare mode.

Can't say this is what happened but if you haven't look and try to reset. If that doesn't do anything send it in and they will look at it. In my case we tired it back to that power surge and now it is a spare after I verified it works.
 
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NYCMAN

NYCMAN

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Any accidents in the area? You said no power loss but wanted to check anyway just in case. Car driving down the road last year, guy reaches over to look at his phone (yes, this is the start), swerves to oncoming traffic, swerves again to miss, as do other cars, and he knocks out a electrical line. Snaps poll in half, wire does come down, spark somehow - car or line, I don't remember exactly in the report, fire starts. We lose power. So far, so good. They put everything out, rescue the guy, fix temp line until they can do permanent, and utility company turns on power. Well, utility company has failure, redundant things failed, and our neighborhood received 3 times the normal power tripping every main breaker panel.

Why I'm mentioning this? As @ca1ore hinted at in that it is interesting in what trips and what doesn't. A lot of my neighbors had different things trip. Main breaker goes but before that things in your home go. We lost dish washer, 2 refrigerators (wine storage units survived, go figure), thermostat, AC, receiver, couple smart plugs, and....my energy bar. Apex, trident, few other things fine once I move power around but the energy bar was done. I have a Cor 20 for this reason since it uses its own power brick. Got that running, tank was fine, and worked on the house.

Next day I went to the energy bar and found a reset button on the back. Reset it and it fired up. Plugged things back in and everything is fine. This lasted for about 3 months. Started to see some issues with this energy bar and got a RMA and sent it in. They came back and said the 1link bus inside was toast. Probably from the power surge I had. I ordered a new one, had them fix that one (i think 50 bucks), and put the repaired one into spare mode.

Can't say this is what happened but if you haven't look and try to reset. If that doesn't do anything send it in and they will look at it. In my case we tired it back to that power surge and now it is a spare after I verified it works.
The gave me an RMA and sent it all to them. 4 EB8s, 1 Wav, 2 PM1s, 1 display, 1 ALD. 9 devices in total!
 

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I just had a failed EB832 myself losing a good amount of SPS. Frustration and disappointment aside, I asked myself what are the alternative products for the next failure. ..

With a dead EB832 laying around, anyone attempt to repair to reuse as a backup? I have full control of it from Fusion being able to turn outlets on and off as shown by the indicator lights, but simply won't supply power.
 

TheHarold

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I just had a failed EB832 myself losing a good amount of SPS. Frustration and disappointment aside, I asked myself what are the alternative products for the next failure. ..

With a dead EB832 laying around, anyone attempt to repair to reuse as a backup? I have full control of it from Fusion being able to turn outlets on and off as shown by the indicator lights, but simply won't supply power.

There was a thread recently about similar symptoms being due to a failed internal 24v power supply, and their fix. By @Sisterlimonpot

 
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