Switching Controllers from Apex to GHL

WWIII

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I like having the touch next to my sump. That way if I need to manually turn on/off something it's right there. I also like seeing my parameters easily. I also have a tablet upstairs always on the app, but the touch is nice!
 
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@Deep Reef - You can pick up the controller at:

GHL USA Site:
https://www.aquariumcomputer.com/usa/shop/ (This is where I bought mine)

But I have seem them also listed on:
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/ghl-profilux-4-ultimate-set.html (For Example)

And I believe Bulk Reef Supply may begin carrying them as they are already listing the Doser

Your Second question:
A really good post about the exact question can be seen here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/usefulness-of-profilux-touch.339090/ (I responded on the post also) (It nice to having it next to the aquarium but is not a must, now that the mobile app is along)
 

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@Ditto Can you give me a bit of info about daisy chaining the power strips? I will need two and from what I can make out, I can connect one strip to the other using the PAB cable and then one to the controller itself using another cable. Correct? Or does each power strip need to be connected into the controller directly?
 
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@ilyad you just daisy chain them one after another and never in a loop :)

Off the P4 connect the first power bar and then daisy chain the second power bar off the first.
 
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WWIII

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@Ditto have you hooked up the SA doser to the P4 yet? I was wondering if it turns into a slave, are you able to still use the temp and level ports? In other words, do they show up on the P4? Thanks
 
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@WWIII they are all cabled in and tubed in now. Yes I do see the Temp and the Level port, even with it being a SA. I will hand a probe and a level sensor off it this weekend and see if I get any readings :)
 

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@WWIII they are all cabled in and tubed in now. Yes I do see the Temp and the Level port, even with it being a SA. I will hand a probe and a level sensor off it this weekend and see if I get any readings :)

Sweet! I kinda figure we would be able to, but never know. If we are, like we discussed before, pretty decent value there. Would be nice for awc container, or ato monitoring, or even another tank! Thank you sir, let me know
 
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@WWIII - I was able to get the master maxi fully up and running. Once I enabled it as a slave I lost ability to use the tempature and level sensor.

But as a master you have all the feature of the port and can program it just like you would as if was a level port on the P4.

I have not yet been able to configure the second maxi I have an email into support it even thou I assigned the channels the pump will not fire up. The light turns on for the pump but it does not turn.

I installed also the slave doser 2.1 this weekend and it all set up to begin dosing Triton, right now I am letting it run for
Three days emptying the contents into measuring devices to make sure the calibrated results I put are accurate.
 

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@WWIII - I was able to get the master maxi fully up and running. Once I enabled it as a slave I lost ability to use the tempature and level sensor.

But as a master you have all the feature of the port and can program it just like you would as if was a level port on the P4.

I have not yet been able to configure the second maxi I have an email into support it even thou I assigned the channels the pump will not fire up. The light turns on for the pump but it does not turn.

I installed also the slave doser 2.1 this weekend and it all set up to begin dosing Triton, right now I am letting it run for
Three days emptying the contents into measuring devices to make sure the calibrated results I put are accurate.


Well that's good to know. At least if the p4 ever has an issue, you can continue dosing in limp mode. I wonder if the actual hardware prevents these from being utilized in slave mode? Not a big deal, but would be a nice "bonus", especially with the maxi doser being used for AWC and ato. The level ports and temp could be quite useful, especially in a more remote location.

Thanks!
 
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Both Maxi's are now online. Both (Master and the Slave) needed to be upgraded to 1.28 . Once done the Slave maxi began to respond from the P4.

To update the Master Maxi you will connect to it via the USB connection, and upgrade it through Maxi System panel when you connect.

To Update the Slave Maxi which has to be done while your connected to the P4 through the System panel, you must disconnect all other PAB devices and only have the device your upgraded connected to the P4. Failure to do this will cause an issue.

Upgrade took less then 1 minute (Longer to connect and disconnect the cable)

Configuration of the First Maxi Pump was quite Simple, GHL Has a Video on how to program your Doser as a ATO. Doing this saves me an outlet on my powerbar that was controlling a small RIO pump that use to do the same task.

GHL Video:



The Advantages of now using the GHL Doser is now I can see how much water I am consuming each day.

My Configuration is a 5 Gallon ATO, or 18927 ml

Below is my Doser Pump now configured as an ATO using Switch channel Outlet 64
ATO_1.png


Switch channel outlet 64 is configured as
ATO_2.png


The Noise Level of the Pumps is quite surprising, as when it running at fast speed(3) I can not hear it at all when I walk away. At slow speed(0) I do hear it whine even at about 5-6 feet away, but my return pump easily drowns that out also.

Slow Speed:


High Speed:


Once testing is done with the ATO the Maxi doser pump will be configured to turn off via the powerbar in the event that salinity drops to low also. (Will be posting details). This maxi is at the end of the PAB connection so turning it off will only impact this device.
 
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At the Same time the Mitras GHL LightBar 2 are now also here, been unboxed and being based configured over the weekend



I have details on how I have configured them and will be posting those details, once I work through an issue that on the GHL Forums.

Pros:
Lights Very Well Made
Modulear Design
Very Bright (More then I expected when turned up)
Very Easy to Configure and will be showing that

Cons:
Wish the Slide rails were a bit more sturdy since my tank is 72 inches long the rails extend to the max causing some issues (I have an custom acrylic tank which my tank is actually a little bit longer then 72" almost 74".
 
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@David Childs Thank you for the kind comments.

@Deep Reef Thanks!!

With that Said, below the steps on programming a Mitras Light Bar

Com Interface:
First From the System Panel you need to set the Serial Port to Mitras Light bar through the Communication Interface on the P4 or Expansion Box. Once you set it for one it will be set for all .

mitras_serial.png


Enable lightbar and set channel * (This will be a beback)
The Next Step is to Setup your Light Channels in the Mitras Lightbar I first only Clicked the Mitras Lightbar is present and the default channels and by default it set them 1-10 I went in and changed to them to match what my light composer light source illumination channels said. (After I pushed my light schedule so this is a be back step to verify the channels here match what composer said.
mitras_channels.png


We have a couple ways of doing it by individually programming each illumination channel that was assigned to the Mitras lightbar or using Light Composer. (Use Light Composer :))

Within the GCC Desktop add click on the + and expand Illuminations and then choose Light Composer

light1.png


This was actually great option, I already created my projects and actually saved them locally so I can always load them again in the future and adjust, but to start you would choose the Mitras Lightbar you have purchased listed in the Templates and choose it (Also for Mitras 6x and 7X lights, or even the Simulation Light Bars you can find default templates for them by scrolling down)

Depending on the template you chose after you click ok you will be presented with the type of light or size (mine were 160's)
light2.png


Once you have selected your type of light and click ok your brought into composer:
light3.png


The top of the section is the Illumination Channel you want to assign on the LEDs on the light (Please note, Currently and GHL is aware of this you seem to be limited only to the first 10 channels, you can not change them)

The middle section is predefined schedule that was in the template, the LED intensity for each channel.

Clicking on one of the times allows you to see the spectrum your going to have at that specific period time as shown below.

light4a.png


If you click new your presented with the same options above where you can adjust the lamps specific to this light, and see the Spectrum results. You can also select predefined colors, set overall brightness, and even absorption your looking for.

Below is a Sample of me adjusting the light values and the new spectrum being displayed for that time interval as you can see adjusting the channels allows you to see the spectrum results your creating.
light4.png


You can also test your schedule by clicking the test illumination which plays your light schedule.

Once you have transmitted your light schedule to the system, you will now have data in the Illumination Channels reflected in the Assigned Illumination Channels that were shown in the screen shot above top labeled at the top table Light sources.

Example, here is what my Channel 5 looks like
light5.png


I named mine the actually Channel names of the actual LED. But you can name them anything you wish. Each LED will have it own channel and configuration. You will notice from the Illumination channels you use is where you set what other simulations you want to impact this channel of LED, Respond to Rainy Days, Darken by Clouds, Darken by thunderstorm, depends on moon phase season lighting.

You can also adjust the channel to turn down if the temperature in your tank gets to warm by checking the Temp.. -dep light reduction.

Adjust Moon, Clouds and Rainy Days
Under Simulation is where you set the start and end time for your Moon phases to impact the channel. As you can see my lighting schedule is normally 6:00am to 6:00pm I ramp up the lights again to the moon-phase at 7:000pm to 5:00am. You can also set cloud settings, and rainy days (I am still playing with these)
moon1.png


Thunderstorm Adjustments:

I have not played with this, but you can also have the channel programmed for Thunderstorm effects.

thunder.png


Season Tables:

One of the cool things also is you can have an overall season table added to your lights. Doing this will overlay an overall brightness value of your lights based on the seasons. So for example you may have your lights set to 100% in your schedule but in January if the Season table says the brightness is 80% is will turn the overall brightness down to 80%. Again you can apply this to the channels you wish to have impacted by the season table.
season.png


Apex Light Options example:
Apex does this a bit different, you do this via the the web browser on the device or through the apex fusion and have the ability to also select the times, choose values, but the spectrum is is not displayed within the application. I would show mine but it already offline, so the below is example from the Neptune Apex Site. (Want to also stress the below is not the complete picture of the what Apex can do with the lights more of an example to show how they interface with lights and schedule them)
RadExample.png

You can also do advance programming and use profiles which allow you to also set the light channels and then code them through the apex programming language for example:
If Time 08:00 to 10:00 Then sunrise
If Time 10:00 to 16:00 Then daytime
If Time 16:00 to 18:00 Then sunset
If Time 18:00 to 08:00 Then moonlight

Your Profiles have the light settings your looking to do for that period of time
sunrise_apex_profile.png


GHL Mobile App:
You can also adjust the light channels in the GCC App, but what is really nice is you can quickly at a glance see from within the App, and the GHL website the illumination channels and brightness values , and you can also display them on the touch.

IMG_1434_really-Blue.PNG
6oclock1.PNG


Last you can set your overall Acclimation period for your lights. this is done in the through the Acclimation in the Illumination section. Doing this lowers your lights intensity at the start time and slowly has it rise to the end time.

Acclimation:
For example you have your maxim light intensity at 80% if you start your acclimation at 50% to start and end at 100% your lights will start at 40% and rise to 80% at the end time of the acclimation.
acclimation1.png
acclimation2.png


Hope this helps some people see how easy it is to program the Mitras Lightbar, but also the advance features you can do with it.
 
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