My rendition of 300

[Sisterlimonpot]

I never thought that I would be this excited to have the lights working!!! I finally made progress.

After getting back into the hobby I started catching up on equipment room builds and one that has stood out for me is a thread by halmus his attention to detail is awe-inspiring and that even if you tried you couldn't come close to his perfection. One thing in his build that really stood out for me was how he used a cable drag chain to carry the cords. After seeing that, I knew that I had to incorporate one of those chains into my build. Without even having a plan, I hopped on the internet and prematurely order one big enough to to house 8 radion cords. I guess I have to confess that there were many ways to get my lights out of the way for maintenance, but I wanted to use it.

It was extremely user friendly how you can place the cable in the drag chain and snap the pieces into place.

The cross pieces have a plastic hinge on one side and snaps into place on the other

After everything was locked in and tied into place..... we have light!!!

And cue the curious cat, she enjoyed the last tank, there's no reason why she's not going to pester the fish.

The build isn't over by a long shot however, at this point the tank is cycled and I can start turning my attention to stocking the tank with live stock. Now i'm on the hunt for a qt tank.. nothing so far... so the search continues.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

In the future I would like to automate the light rack but for the time being, I will have to resort to manual labor. Automation would simply be, a button to slide it back and one that will return it to the resting position. I would have to be able to "fine tune" it's position over the tank.

It's hard to get it all with pictures so I made a quick video to hopefully explain it.

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[Sisterlimonpot]

I've been keeping my ear to the ground waiting for that sale and i totally missed it! Thanks for the update, I ran out and got a 40 gal breeder, woohoo!

I ran to get some lumber to build a stand and some PVC parts for hiding spots. My daughter helped to make short work of building the stand

Soon we will place an order for a few fish, the first phase of fish will be the less dominant ones, get them through the QT and then go for the larger tangs and what nots...

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

The day I have been dreading has finally come, I decided to switch my Apex lite over to the new 2016 model. I purchased the new Apex months ago, and immediately had buyers remorse, because I didn't fully understand that the DC8's weren't compatible made for a "Doh" moment, currently I have 1 EB8 and 2 DC8's to do the job, I don't need all 24 outlets as much as I need the units spread throughout the equipment room.

I had 2 choices, sell the New unit at a loss, or spend more money to get the new Apex to do what I want it to do. I decided that I would save up and purchase a couple more EB832's to accommodate my needs throughout the room.

I ordered one of the two EB832's and to get the jump on it's arrival, I started switching some of the things over, keeping the Apex lite to control the outlets in the other locations. Migrating the outlets were easy, a simple cut and paste of the code from one fusion to the other and plugging the equipment into their new homes made it easy.

The problem came when I went to transfer the WXM's. I have 2 modules that share 17 ecotech devices, the instructions explained a seamless move of the modules simply by adding 1 module at a time to the new Apex. At first glance it looked like it went smooth but after testing each light and pump, I noticed there were a few problems.

First, was that a Gen4Pro shared an RF signal with a Gen1 Radion, I turned one on through fusion and both came on. That was easy to fix, I simply by removed the Gen1 and connecting it to ecosmart live to factory reset the light and then have the WXM "attach" the new Radion, reprogram the new outlet and I was back in business.

Second, an MP40 and MP10 shared 1 single outlet, when I turned on the mp40, both the 40 and 10 came on. I thought that I could simply reset both pumps to factory settings and remove the outlets from the Apex but when I went to couple them back to the WXM (one at a time), they still shared the same outlet. I did this several times with the same result. Their designated frequency has to be similar or something, what really concerned me was that it worked previously on the Apex lite with no problems.

And lastly, (so far) one of my WXM's is no longer communicating with the Apex, after correcting the problem with the radions and then attempting to do the same with the pumps, the Apex shows that one of the WXM's (the old black one) needs to have a software update. I pushed an update and the Apex said it was complete however the Module still shows up as (OLD). I did it again and that must've conflicted with something because now the status light just keeps blinking (It should be on solid) I can' t do anything with the Apex because it simply goes through the motions without actually doing anything to the WXM. I'm afraid that the WXM is beyond saving because there isn't a reset anywhere on the box. I even tried to connect it back to the old Apex and push an update that way, but nothing happens. I'm going to start a thread on the Neptune forum in hopes that someone has an easy fix for both problems. But I don't expect much because they seem to leave WXM questions open, as if they aren't allowed to comment or want to help out with Ecotech equipment.

So, what's the morale of this story? Don' fix what's not broke. I had to have the latest and greatest when what I had was working just fine. On top of the $800 for the Apex and the $500 for the two extra EB832's plus, I have to purchase a new WXM ($125), I will have spent $1425 do do exactly what I was already doing except I now have a Salinity probe that isn't accurate due to air bubbles, of course there are a lot of little things in the new Apex that aren't in the old, but really they boil down to novelties (extra bells and whistles that you don't need).

The only positive way to spin this is if I plan for expansion in the future this might be a good investment... Time will tell...

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Regarding the WXM, I called Neptune and they had a simple trick to fix the problem. The second you attach the wxm to the aqua bus cable it establishes a brief connection before it disconnects. They instructed to leave the wxm disconnected and then push the update through fusion and immediately plug in the wxm. It was able to stay on long enough to overwrite the corrupted data. thus going back to a solid green light and showing connected in the module section.

after that was fixed, I was hoping that I could simply add the missing lights and pumps to the wxm, but there was one G4Pro that wouldn't attach. I had to wipe both wxm's clean and reset all the lights and pumps to start from scratch. Which took all of 2 hours, I've done it so many times you would think I would commit the entire procedure to memory, but if you ask me a week from now to do it, I would probably have to refer back to my notes.

It's times like these that make you step back and think, is all this technology worth it? When you start to automate things to simplify daily tasks you're really opening yourself up to bigger complicated issues. Do we stick with what worked for so long in the past, keeping it simple stupid? Or does the added headache outweigh the automation and constant monitoring and correcting of issues.

I for one say that automation is a great thing, and can't see myself going back to the way things were 10-12 years ago. The idea that we can monitor and control our tanks from anywhere in the world is something that we couldn't even fathom back then. I remember seeing for the first time someone pulling out their phone and turning lights on, "Wait! Did you just turn your lights on with your phone?", I was so excited that I had a new ACIII on my tank within a month of seeing that. From that point on, I couldn't, I wouldn't go back to the mechanical plug in timers to turn on/off equipment, and relying on internal thermostats in heaters to control tank temperature. That will never happen!

However, now that we have come to rely on this equipment, the companies that supply them have to have the responsibility to the end user. It shouldn't require a degree or vast knowledge in programming to set these up. If there is a known issue they have to work diligently to correct it. And lastly they have to streamline setup procedures to the point that a person can start from step one and connect their new apex to the router and be able to plug and play with very little effort. From my experience, the information was out there, but it was all over the place, I have multiple tabs open on how to reset the pumps to how to connect the modules. And most of the information that is out there doesn't pertain to the new Apex 2016 model which makes it difficult to separate the procedures that are necessary from the ones that aren't. I guess the focus group that demo'd the equipment when it was in beta were familiar and could navigate around such obstacles, overlooking obvious flaws in the procedures. They need to pull from beginners to experts to work out all the kinks and problems before it's released. People that are selected in the beta testing need to be told to try and break the equipment not just boast to their buddies that they got it before anyone else. Here we are more than 2+ years since the release and it doesn't seem like it's a big enough issue to correct. that is where Neptune dropped the ball.

I will leave you with this. One of the LFS in my area holds a weekly class educating hobbyist on everything reef related. The people that attend range from simple hobbyist to full on reef junkies. Having conversations with many of the people that attend these classes, the one theme that stood out to me is that most of these people don't have a reef controller because of how complicated they are. For me I thought it was a mainstream requirement to have your tank monitored and controlled by an Apex, but the thought of having one scares them. And from a person that doesn't consider themselves an expert, I can relate to their concern.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Having been stalled out due to bad experience with QT and possibly the heat playing a big role in that. The plan to have my local LFS purchase and QT my fish for me has fallen flat on its face. I purchased fish and they seem to be on back order or when they get them in they sell them to someone else before the full QT process. It's been over 4 months, I guess I need to get my money back.

Good news is that I'm going ahead with doing it myself, I purchased a few fish from live aquaria (copperband, diamond goby and a mandarin) and they've been in the QT for almost 2 weeks now. The copperband showed signs of ich so I had to dose some copper into the tank, the waiting game is on. All of the fish are eating frozen food which is a relief.

I've been slowly accumulating the necessary components to get my automatic waterchange system up and running. I decided to use the Apex to control it.

The idea that I have is to somewhat mimic the genesis awc system. 2 identical reservoirs with 3 float switches in each. One to indicate that the reservoir is empty and two more wired together (for redundancy) to indicate that it's full (Don't want to have them overflowing). A scheduled event programmed into the Apex will call for 2 pmup to start filling the reservoirs with NSW and old salt water. Once they're both full then 2 solenoids are energized to allow water to be gravity fed to the tank and the other down the drain respectively. And if for some reason something doesn't work properly ie the float switches report that the reservoirs aren't being filled or emptied then it will shut down operation and send me a text message.


In order to use the Apex I need a break out box (BoB) for the multiple float switches and because I already have a BoB for normal tank operations I needed a PM2 module in order to expand the extra IO's. The PM2 also allows me to add a second salinity and temperature probe to the new salt water container. at the moment I have the stainless steel solenoids, float switches, PM2 and break out box. I will have the pmup's on Friday.

Since the waterchange is going to be automated I'm also going to need to know when the salt water mixing barrel is getting low. I will need a float switch on the bottom of the barrel and while I'm at it, I want to add a float switch on the top side as well. I'm always afraid that when I pump RODI water in the salt water barrel that I will get distracted with something else and then have it overflow.

While waiting on the pmup's (btw because they're "pump" spelled backwards if you make it plural, do you spell it "spmup"?) I decided to design and cut out all the float switch holders out of acrylic.

This is the one for the salt water barrel:

I cut it so that I can fine tune the lower float switch by sliding the bottom up and down and secured with these nylon thumbscrews.

I hate having to drill holes in these barrels so I thought that I could hang the holder off of the plumbing.

These 2 halves come together around the pipe and then held together with o-rings.

And installed:

It fits snugly, the only thing that I should have done was add a spot to hold the temperature and salinity probe. So it will have to come back out and another piece of acrylic added.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I needed to add a float switch to the RODI barrel because I've walked into the equipment room on a number of occasions to find that there was water puddled under the RODI.

Having a float valve to shut off the flow of RODI water into the barrel wasn't enough, even though it stopped the flow, the solenoid that allows water to flow through the RODI was still energized, meaning that the RODI was building up pressure and for some reason, no matter how many times I replace the o-rings in the DI containers they still leaked. A float switch will fix that by shutting the solenoid off.

Here's what I cut for that:

I had to drill holes to secure this one:

That's it for now, I still need to design the holders for the reservoirs and then wire it all up.... Last thing I did was to put the module and BoB on the wall.

More to come, stay tuned!!

 

[FoxyFace]

You are a machine! Awesome build!

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

By now you have realized that I'm sort of a DIY nut, in my mind there's no reason that DIY project can't look classy and well polished. With that being said Imade a peristaltic pump for a future calcium reactor, but at the moment it is being put through its paces as an ATO pump.




Here's the link to this build.

 

[ncaldwell]

I'm actually sad I reached the end. I couldn't stop reading... everything was so well done and perfect. And no one is going to say enough with the lasers. MORE LASERS

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Really enjoyed reading all this... alot of great ideas...

 

[wangspeed]

By now you have realized that I'm sort of a DIY nut, in my mind there's no reason that DIY project can't look classy and well polished. With that being said Imade a peristaltic pump for a future calcium reactor, but at the moment it is being put through its paces as an ATO pump.




Here's the link to this build.

Silicone tubing doesn’t have as long of a lifetime In peristaltic pump use as the good opaque options, like Norprene. I’m nearing 1 year on my liter meter peristaltic ATO, and I’m going to proactively change the tube out. My tank is only 220 though.

If you can, put the pump over the sump where it won’t cause as many problems when the tube goes. Speed increases the temp of the tubing and can really shorten the lifetime of the tubing.

Edit: even for a Ca reactor use, I would pick a non-silicone. I still run Pharmed for it, even though I only pump at 20 ml/min using my Watson Marlow pump. Silicone has a much shorter lifetime IIRC

 

[RamsReef]

Holy canoli, what an amazing build.

A+

@mdbannister

 

[joseserrano]

What a great build, awesome building skills.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Silicone tubing doesn’t have as long of a lifetime In peristaltic pump use as the good opaque options, like Norprene. I’m nearing 1 year on my liter meter peristaltic ATO, and I’m going to proactively change the tube out. My tank is only 220 though.

If you can, put the pump over the sump where it won’t cause as many problems when the tube goes. Speed increases the temp of the tubing and can really shorten the lifetime of the tubing.

Edit: even for a Ca reactor use, I would pick a non-silicone. I still run Pharmed for it, even though I only pump at 20 ml/min using my Watson Marlow pump. Silicone has a much shorter lifetime IIRC

It boils down to cost and availability. I know that they are out there and I haven't yet found them, I would like to source tubing that I don't need to purchase 30 feet of when I only need a few inches.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

!!! Awesome Build !!!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

This is looking AWESOME!! Following!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Very nice Planning !!!!!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

What skills. You can put a lot of companies out of Business !!!

 

[KenO]

I’ve been to Jimmy’s place awesome build. He’s helped me with some acrylic projects for my build. With all the Laser work he’s done, I haven’t seen it in action yet. It was broken, but it’s now back up and working again.