Neptune Apex Programming Tutorials, Part 4: Power Monitoring

[SuncrestReef]

I have an ATK and was wondering if it's possible to use the 24v power supply connected to the FMM for power monitoring?

No. The Apex can only monitor the 12v Auxiliary power adapter for power outages using the Power Monitor setting described in my tutorial. It has no way to determine if the 24v adapter for the FMM, DOS, 1Link, Trident, or COR loses power.

However, there is one possible workaround...If you have multiple EnergyBars with one on backup power and the other unprotected, you can monitor when it loses power and use that to control outputs on any EnergyBar which is running on battery or generator power:

If Power EnergyBarName Off 000 Then OFF

 

[Mjrenz]

No. The Apex can only monitor the 12v Auxiliary power adapter for power outages using the Power Monitor setting described in my tutorial. It has no way to determine if the 24v adapter for the FMM, DOS, 1Link, Trident, or COR loses power.

However, there is one possible workaround...If you have multiple EnergyBars with one on backup power and the other unprotected, you can monitor when it loses power and use that to control outputs on any EnergyBar which is running on battery or generator power:

If Power EnergyBarName Off 000 Then OFF

Thank you for the info. I don't have a second energy bar (yet anyways) so I'll probably just go ahead and get the 12 volt power adaptor for now. I just got the Apex and I'm working on figuring everything out, it's great you're taking your time to share what you've learned

 

[RagnarReef]

I have one of my powerheads (Vortec MP40) plugged into Apex just for power monitoring to get an idea of when maintenance is needed. Is there a way to turn off the power alarm during feed modes that I've programmed separately through Mobius app? Or should I just reset the lower limit of the alarm so that there are no longer alarms during feed mode?

 

[SuncrestReef]

I have one of my powerheads (Vortec MP40) plugged into Apex just for power monitoring to get an idea of when maintenance is needed. Is there a way to turn off the power alarm during feed modes that I've programmed separately through Mobius app? Or should I just reset the lower limit of the alarm so that there are no longer alarms during feed mode?

What are your current upper and lower power monitoring limits, and what does the Apex report when Mobius goes into Feed mode?

 

[KarlsReef]

Does anyone know if Neptune intends to release an international version of the EB8?

I am in Sydney Australia, and unfortunately we can only get the EB6 Down Under.

From what they said when they finally introduced the EB632 UK and EU I would hold much hope for anything more. It's taken 5 years for them to do it and they are pretty hard to get hold of right now, plus they would need a larger footprint for it given the plug sizing. I don't think they want to either lol.
I just wish things weren't so quiet over there currently as nothing has been on YouTube for a good month, since Terence departed they certainly have lost the publicity side. I'd hope that being part of the BRS family they might improve on social interactions. I'd love more coming soon teases n general videos.

 

[RagnarReef]

What are your current upper and lower power monitoring limits, and what does the Apex report when Mobius goes into Feed mode?

The Apex report would be an alarm stating the "W is less than _ (_)". I changed the lower power limit so that it no longer alarms. Basically I was trying to figure out a way to ignore that alarm during specific times of day when the feed mode goes on to still use a reasonable lower limit on the power monitoring to let me know I need to clean the wet side if that makes sense.

 

[SuncrestReef]

The Apex report would be an alarm stating the "W is less than _ (_)". I changed the lower power limit so that it no longer alarms. Basically I was trying to figure out a way to ignore that alarm during specific times of day when the feed mode goes on to still use a reasonable lower limit on the power monitoring to let me know I need to clean the wet side if that makes sense.

The best practice method to apply specific conditions on alarms (such as time restrictions or ignore during Feed mode) is to use a virtual output:

[Alarm_Vortech]
Set OFF
If Output Vortech Watts < 10 Then ON
If Time 10:00 to 10:29 Then OFF
If FeedA 005 Then OFF

[EmailAlm]
Set OFF
If Output Alarm_Vortech = ON Then ON

If you're not familiar with virtual outputs, see my tutorial here:

Neptune Apex Programming Tutorials, Part 5: Virtual Outputs

Part 5 of our Apex Programming Tutorials. This one is on Virtual Outputs.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[powers2001]

@SuncrestReef you gave us an example of power monitoring with the EB832 power up a powerhead that had seized up from precipitation. I know with some powerheads the impeller is designed to turn in either of (counter)clockwise directions like Maxi-Jets depending on the way they power up but don't know how to describe the difference in the powerup ways. Or with other powerheads, which have a propeller instead of an impeller, are designed to always turn only a (counter)clockwise direction to keep pushing water forward like Tunzes and Sicce XStreams (even though they are AC driven.) Sometimes an only-direction-turning powerhead, although they are designed to be continually powered on and are not for pulsing, will seize up on startup after a power outage for some reason. Will the coding below work for the two types of AC pumps I have described: the either-of-two direction impeller driven pumps, and the one-direction-only turning propeller driven pumps?


Fallback OFF
Set ON
If Output EB_7_SMPFLO Amps > 5.0 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON

 

[Sikorskym14]

I know this is an older thread, but do you have any recommendations on which UPS to get based off of experience?

 

[The Rasta Reefer]

Long battery time was least of my consideration though its sized to give me in excess of 4 hours which covers well over 95% of the power outages in my city. The vast majority of equipment damage/failure from my experience comes from brown outs and surges so my sensitive electronics espc APEX always gets clean Sine Wave power. Oh and if you are an APEX user get the power supply and plug it into the non battery side on UPS which can give you control (through programming) of which equipment stays on and for how long etc. thereby extending battery life.

Hope this helps and remember Safety 1st.

 

[micl10]

I hope it's not bad to bump this, but i'm trying to do this setup with my Apex Jr.
In the diagram, I wrote Ecotech battery...it's actually the Ecoflow River Pro 2. So it's not just a DC battery hence the EB4 is connected to it.

Anywho, I have enabled "power monitoring" on the apex's settings, then proceded to unplug the 12v aux power out of the Apex Jr. Correctly, it's still running, being powered by the EB4. However, none of my rules seem to detect that the 12v is unplugged.


FMM Module Alarm:
Set OFF If WETFL1 CLOSED Then ON If WETFL2 CLOSED Then ON If Tmp > 26.4 Then ON If Tmp < 25.4 Then ON If Power EB4_2 Off 000 Then ON If Power EB4_2 On 000 Then OFF If Power Apex Off 000 Then ON If Power Apex On 000 Then OFF Defer 000:10 Then OFF

Here's the alarm code for my FMM module. I have similar code for my FMM (internal to apex jr) and Email rules.

It seems I can momentarily trigger the rules by restarting the apex. I assume that's more to do with the fact that the apex was actually "off" momentarily, rather than the aux power being disconnected though.

Am I doing this correctly? My battery will last me 15 hours, but it'll probably last longer if i turned off my skimmer as well. I do want to keep my heater on though. I have not tried writing rules to control any of the EB4 ports, because I'm assuming if it works for an alarm, it should work everywhere. So i'm just experimenting using the alarms instead.

 

[drawman]

Seawitch submitted a new Article:

Neptune Apex Programming Tutorials, Part 4: Power Monitoring

Note From the Editor:

This article is Part 4 of a series. Feel free to go back and read Part 1 or Part 2 or Part 3.

This article and several future ones by the same author were originally part of several presentations made to a local aquarium club on programming your Neptune Apex Controller. The article is reprinted with permission from the author.

Because this topic will be of great interest to some readers but no interest to others who have not automated their systems, R2R will run these programming articles every Friday until we come to the end of the series.

Photos, images, and diagrams included in this article below are all courtesy of the author, @SuncrestReef ©2019, All Rights Reserved.

For inspiration: a Green Slimer Acropora coral belonging to the author.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Power Monitoring

This tutorial will cover several aspects of power monitoring in an Apex environment:

• EB832 output power reporting*
• EB832 output power usage alarms*
• EB832 output power values in programming*
• Apex power monitoring with UPS backup battery power

*Note: These topics do not apply to older Apex units or older Energy Bars. Only the Apex 2016, Apex-EL, and EB832 are covered in this tutorial because the older versions don’t support these features.

With the introduction of the EB832 Energy Bar, Neptune included new features allowing you to get granular power consumption details on a per-outlet basis. Older Energy Bars only provided statistics on the overall power consumption for the entire unit.

Power Reporting

When you click the EB832 tile on your dashboard it will cycle through different views showing individual outlet status, power consumption in amps and watts, and the approximate daily cost of energy consumed.

In order to calculate the energy costs, you need to enter your electricity rate from your utility bill:

1. Click the Power Log icon in Fusion
   
   
2. Click the down arrow at the upper right
   
   
3. Enter your energy cost in kWh from your utility bill. Mine is $0.0757 per kWH (shown as 7.57 cents on the bill, but enter it as dollars in Fusion)
   
   
4. Save the settings

Now Fusion can report your estimated daily and monthly energy costs in the Power Log:

The log can also show individual outlet usage in the graph if you click the Compare dropdown at the upper right:

Power Usage Alarms

Most Apex alerts are configured as lines of programming under the Email_Alarm output. With the new features of the EB832, Neptune provides a new collection of Inputs for each outlet on the EB832 which can be configured to send alerts when outside a specified range of values without any need for programming. Fusion makes this easy to configure by clicking the Power Usage Alarms in the list of Tasks:

Just follow the steps in the task wizard:

​

Once configured, if you ever need to modify the alarm settings or remove the alarm, go into the list of Inputs in Fusion. Any input with alarms configured will show a checkmark in the Alarms column:

Click the input to get to its configuration settings where you can change the specified limits:

If you want to remove the alarm, click the Alarm dropdown and select Never:

​

Output power values in programming

There may be situations where you want the Apex to take an action based on the amount of power a device is consuming. The 120v outlets on the EB832 can be referenced in programming to read the watts or amps value:

If Output output_name [Amps/Watts] [</>] Then [ON/OFF]

As an example, I have a small cheap powerhead in my sump to create flow where my 2-part dosing tubes feed into the water. Occasionally this powerhead seizes up, causing my 2-part to precipitate. When it seizes, it draws more amps than normal, so I added a line of code to turn off the powerhead, and Defer commands to allow it to power back on 10 seconds later. This sometimes breaks it loose and it starts spinning again:

Fallback OFF
Set ON
If Output EB_7_SMPFLO Amps > 5.0 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON

Apex power monitoring with UPS backup battery power

The Apex can configured for power monitoring so it can selectively turn off specific outlets during a power outage, preserving the battery power to keep powerheads or air stones running longer. The Apex can also send an alert when the power is out as long as your Internet router is on battery power as well.

Before getting into the programming steps, there are some prerequisites needed for power monitoring to work:

1. Purchase this Apex 12V auxiliary power adapter: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/12v-power-supply-neptune-systems.html
2. Plug your Apex Energy Bar into your UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) battery backup.
3. Plug the new 12V power adapter into a regular wall power outlet and connect it to the Apex auxiliary power port.
   
   
4. In Apex Fusion, click the Apex menu, then click Misc near the bottom of the menu
5. Under the Power section, set Monitor to Enabled, then save the settings to your Apex.
6. 
   Once these steps are done, you can configure various outlets on your Energy Bar to react when your house power goes out. Here are some examples:

Turn off return pump:

Fallback ON
Set ON
If Power Apex Off 000 Then OFF

Turn off heater:

Fallback OFF
If Tmp < 78.0 Then ON
If Tmp > 78.0 Then OFF
If Power Apex Off 000 Then OFF

Turn on air pump:

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Power Apex Off 000 Then ON

In general, you should only run the bare minimum devices on battery power. Heaters, lights, and anything with powerful motors (like return pumps or skimmers) will drain the battery quickly, so they should be turned off.

If you want the Apex to send you alerts when the power is out, you will also need your Internet router connected to a battery backup. In your Apex alert programming, add this as the final condition so it doesn't get overridden by any other alert conditions:

If Power Apex Off 000 Then ON

Since some devices may not be controlled by your Apex and just plugged into normal power strips, you should think through which items you want to run on battery power and which ones are safe to be off during a power outage. Here is how I have my power cords connected:

That's it for power monitoring!

Stay tuned for the next tutorial on Virtual Outputs.

~~~~~~~~~~

We encourage all our readers to join the Reef2Reef forum. It’s easy to register, free, and reefkeeping is much easier and more fun in a community of fellow aquarists. We pride ourselves on a warm and family-friendly forum where everyone is welcome. You will also find lots of contests and giveaways with our sponsors.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Profile: @SuncrestReef

John Halsey is a reefing hobbyist who keeps a Red Sea Reefer XL 425 in his living room. He is new to reefing with just over one year of experience, but has been successful in keeping a healthy mixed reef by following best practices learned here on R2R as well as actively participating in his local aquarist club--PNWMAS--in Portland, Oregon. John retired from his 30-year career in IT support, and put that technical expertise to good use by automating much of his aquarium equipment with an extensive Neptune Apex system.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Question for you it seems like the apex head unit would be sensitive to power surges and could get fried. If you are worried about this wouldn't you want to plug the apex head unit into the ups itself that is surge protected? Or would running it without the power cord effectively do this? Or are you not worried about a surge through the 12V auxiliary adapter?

Obviously with this you would lose the ability to know if the power is out from afar so its choosing one of two evils I think...

 

[TheHarold]

Question for you it seems like the apex head unit would be sensitive to power surges and could get fried. If you are worried about this wouldn't you want to plug the apex head unit into the ups itself that is surge protected? Or would running it without the power cord effectively do this? Or are you not worried about a surge through the 12V auxiliary adapter?

Obviously with this you would lose the ability to know if the power is out from afar so its choosing one of two evils I think...

Most of these UPS units have both "Battery + Surge" and "Surge Only" outlet types. The 12v auxiliary adapter would go into "Surge Only", while the remaining components to to "Battery + Surge". The device is still protected.

 

[drawman]

Most of these UPS units have both "Battery + Surge" and "Surge Only" outlet types. The 12v auxiliary adapter would go into "Surge Only", while the remaining components to to "Battery + Surge". The device is still protected.

Perfect! Never owned one so that clears it all up for me.

 

[Cezarloureiro]

Hi, can you help me?

How can I start do turn off The outlets after The power is off for 2 min?

Sometimes in my house The power turn off for some seconds and come back back after 5 se, so I don't want to turn off since i have sure The power is really off.

Whats os the number 0000 after The comand


If power off EB8 0000 Then turn off


Thanks