Programming Apex to slowly turn actinics on

[ZoWhat]

OK.... I researched for over an hour, read the Apex manual, and I still can't
figure out how to get my ReefBrite LED Actinics to slowly come on, then slowly
shutoff.

I understand the basic structure of an Advanced
setting:

Fallback OFF (means the controlled device will shut
off if the controller stops managing for some reason)

Set OFF
(I have no idea what this line means & what I can do to program
something)

If Time xx:xx to xx:xx Then ON (means the light
will come on between those two time intervals...BUT what if you want the light
to come on at 11am and off at 11:55am then back on at 15:55 and off at
20:00???)

If Temp > 80.0 Then OFF (means the light get
turned off if temp goes above 80degress)

Min Time xxx:xx Then OFF
(I think this means that if you have 005:00 the light wont come back on
for another 5mins once its been turned off. I think that's right but i'm
confused)

Can someone help me typed out an advanced programming
statement if I want my actinic light to:
1) come ON at 11:00am and shutoff at
11:55am, then come back ON at 13:55pm then shutoff at 20:00pm
2) each time it
comes ON I want the actinic LEDs to come ON slowly over the course of a
5mins
3) I also want the lights to go slowly off for 5mins when told to turn
off

Thanks, this stuff is confusing....

 

[ZoWhat]

I'm assuming that if the light is plugged into either EnergyBar outlet 4 and/or
8, you can program a slow on and off.

 

[lxeroxl]

1) Fallback ON (Turn lights on if controller fails, Better then off since it is a visual alert)
Set OFF (Default state when the register is not changed)
If Time 11:00 to 11:55 Then ON (Turns lights on)
(The register will fall back to the default state when no statements change it)
If Time 13:55 to 20:00 Then On ( Turn the register back on)
If Temp > 80.0 Then OFF ( Turns lights off if tank gets hot)
Min Time 5:00 Then OFF (Wont turn the lights back on for 5 min if they turn off used to save ballast)


For 2 and 3 Do you have the ReefBrite dimmer and a VDM module, or the full Apex that has the dimming ports.

If not you can not Dim the lights with the apex. but if you do we can work on that next

 

[ZoWhat]

Thanks for your expertise.....

I have an Apex Lite....and come to find out I don't have any dimming capabilities without a VDM module.

So until I buy one, I have plugged my reefbrite LED strip into Outlet #1:


　
Outlet name: Light1_3_1
Control type: Advanced
Icon: Light A
Advanced setup:

Fallback ON
Set OFF
If Time 11:00 to 11:55 Then ON
If Time 15:55 to 20:00 Then ON
If Temp > 80.0 Then OFF
Min Time 005:00 Then OFF



Do I have the setup written correctly?

....For the actinic to come on at 11am, then off at 11:55am, then back on at 3:55pm, then off at 8pm?

 

[trido]

Do I have the setup written correctly?

....For the actinic to come on at 11am, then off at 11:55am, then back on at 3:55pm, then off at 8pm?

Yep.

I would change the Fallback to OFF. If your EB8 looses connection to the controller its probably better to have your lights off rather than on.

 

[lxeroxl]

Yep Program looks great

Yep.

I would change the Fallback to OFF. If your EB8 looses connection to the controller its probably better to have your lights off rather than on.

i disagree, if you're EB8 Looses connection to the controller (you may have bigger issues as this rarely happens) this is clearly an issue you want to know about, falling back to on allows for your brain to go its not time for my lights to be on, i wonder why they are on, and you can at least give the system a look over.

 

[evolved]

i disagree, if you're EB8 Looses connection to the controller (you may have bigger issues as this rarely happens) this is clearly an issue you want to know about, falling back to on allows for your brain to go its not time for my lights to be on, i wonder why they are on, and you can at least give the system a look over.

I disagree; what you describe is exactly what the alarms are for. If you happened to be away from the tank on vacation when it happened, a Fallback of ON would certainly be a bad choice.

 

[trido]

I disagree; what you describe is exactly what the alarms are for. If you happened to be away from the tank on vacation when it happened, a Fallback of ON would certainly be a bad choice.

Exactly, I only spend a small amount of my life in front of my tank. A weekend out of town with the lights off is not a bad thing. A weekend with the lights on for 48+ hours would be real bad.

 

[lxeroxl]

Exactly, I only spend a small amount of my life in front of my tank. A weekend out of town with the lights off is not a bad thing. A weekend with the lights on for 48+ hours would be real bad.

personal preference i guess i can see your point as well, but how can the apex send an alarm if it becomes disconnected? Since the EB powers the brain if they lose a connection none of my daisy changed devices would have power.

 

[kpiotrowski]

I hear ya! 2-3 solid days of led cooking your corals? I would think you would end up with zoox bailout by then and a dead tank! Just as many theorize that clouds in the sky on the reef allow shady periods of rest to give coral a break to deal with the zoox production of o2 and bi-products. ( and to think I used to laugh at cloud and lighting function on an led fixture. never done learning!)

 

[trido]

personal preference i guess i can see your point as well, but how can the apex send an alarm if it becomes disconnected? Since the EB powers the brain if they lose a connection none of my daisy changed devices would have power.

You're right. The EB8 does power the head unit. The "fallback" statements are programmed by the Neptune designers in case of a head unit malfunction. If your head unit dies or your bus cable fails the EB8 has a memory and will go to the fallback statement. fallback statements are not designed for a power failure.

Kpoitrowski is right. Three days of black out will kill off your cyano. Three days with lights on will kill your tank.