Ugh! My Apex EL Just Died. : (

[Reefer Matt]

Welp, my Apex EL just went down. I think it was a bolt of lightning nearby. Had it on a surge protector too. I tried the memory card thing, and all the data was still on it. Swapping cards and trying a reset did nothing either. The logo light is a very dim red. So, to make sure my sps coral don’t die from not being dosed on a schedule, I turned off the lights. That’ll buy a couple days until the new unit comes in. Oh well, just sharing. I was gonna need another eb832 anyway.

 

[cilyjr]

Welp, my Apex EL just went down. I think it was a bolt of lightning nearby. Had it on a surge protector too. I tried the memory card thing, and all the data was still on it. Swapping cards and trying a reset did nothing either. The logo light is a very dim red. So, to make sure my sps coral don’t die from not being dosed on a schedule, I turned off the lights. That’ll buy a couple days until the new unit comes in. Oh well, just sharing. I was gonna need another eb832 anyway.

That's no bueno. I know it's super expensive but that is one of the things that I have it back up of. An apex brain that is.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

I think it was a bolt of lightning nearby. Had it on a surge protector too.

Consider using a surge suppressor. I have my Apex on a Zero Surge, per a long ago tip from Neptune's tech support.

https://zerosurge-com.3dcartstores.com/2R15W_p_12.html

 

[braaap]

That's no bueno. I know it's super expensive but that is one of the things that I have it back up of. An apex brain that is.

They come up often for just a head unit. Somewhere around $100-$150.


Personally I would have taken this time to switch to a Hydros. Each module is a head unit so this won’t happen to you again.

 

[n2585722]

Consider using a surge suppressor. I have my Apex on a Zero Surge, per a long ago tip from Neptune's tech support.

https://zerosurge-com.3dcartstores.com/2R15W_p_12.html

It depends on how close the strike is. If it is close enough the surge suppressor is not going to help. I have seen it blow up water pipes in the ground and blow out walls behind refrigerators that it took out. A surge suppressor is better than nothing though. If close enough you can loose almost everything electronic in a house even with suppressors.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

It depends on how close the strike is.

Yes, of course. But that goes for any lightning protection hardware.

I had an Apex that got scrambled (was recoverable, with Neptune's help) by a surge about a decade ago. At that time I was told by Neptune that a surge suppressor is a better protection than a surge protector, since the former smooths out more than just big jolts (which, as you note, can ultimately win anyway). He had recommended Zero Surge specifically.

 

[Reefer Matt]

The new Apex will arrive tomorrow. I have learned a few things from this that I’d like to share. Some may be common knowledge.

First, set fallback to “on” if you want an eb832, etc. outlet to stay on if the Apex base unit goes out. If not, that outlet will stay off until the Apex base unit communicates to the eb832, etc again. Luckily I had half of them programmed to on.

Second, turning the lights off keeps the alk stable until I get home to manually dose. I work all day and the tanks are on a DŌS which the Apex controls. This will only buy a few days, but so far so good. I then turn on the lights for a few hours, then off again.

Third, though the sd card data is intact, I will backup my programming. It will take me a couple days to remember and manually input it all. I don’t want to open the new Apex and void the warranty.

Lastly, I will look into a used spare base unit. They don’t sell new ones anymore, but having a backup would save some stress.

I have three tanks (soon to be four) on this Apex, so it is important for me to get it back in order.

 

[Mhamilton0911]

You should do a video about it so we all know what to do if this happens to any of us.

Thinking of my own set up and mildly freaking out even though nothing has happened, yet...

 

[Reefer Matt]

You should do a video about it so we all know what to do if this happens to any of us.

Thinking of my own set up and mildly freaking out even though nothing has happened, yet...

That’s not a bad idea! I’ll have to reprogram the Tridents for custom testing schedules anyway. I could do a video on that too. I felt bad because a lot of people had problems after the newest updates, but I didn’t. But then fate stepped in to even things out for me, Lol! I’m extra nervous about the BC contest frags too, but so far, so good. (Fingers crossed)

 

[Mhamilton0911]

I think it would be helpful for those of us who are bluffing their way into automation, like me.

I don't know much but I'm trying to automate.

And I haven't put much thought into what happens after an equipment failure.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

The new Apex will arrive tomorrow. I have learned a few things from this that I’d like to share. Some may be common knowledge.

First, set fallback to “on” if you want an eb832, etc. outlet to stay on if the Apex base unit goes out. If not, that outlet will stay off until the Apex base unit communicates to the eb832, etc again. Luckily I had half of them programmed to on.

Second, turning the lights off keeps the alk stable until I get home to manually dose. I work all day and the tanks are on a DŌS which the Apex controls. This will only buy a few days, but so far so good. I then turn on the lights for a few hours, then off again.

Third, though the sd card data is intact, I will backup my programming. It will take me a couple days to remember and manually input it all. I don’t want to open the new Apex and void the warranty.

Lastly, I will look into a used spare base unit. They don’t sell new ones anymore, but having a backup would save some stress.

I have three tanks (soon to be four) on this Apex, so it is important for me to get it back in order.

Sorry for the issues bro but very solid advice here! Would make a nice mini-article! ;) ;)

 

[braaap]

Third, though the sd card data is intact, I will backup my programming. It will take me a couple days to remember and manually input it all. I don’t want to open the new Apex and void the warranty.

Opening it will NOT void a warranty. That isn’t legal. So long as you do no damage to the device they must honor warranty. Swapping the SD card won’t damage the device.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Opening it will NOT void a warranty. That isn’t legal. So long as you do no damage to the device they must honor warranty. Swapping the SD card won’t damage the device.

That’s good to know, wasn’t sure. The other question is if the A2 data is compatible with the A3. If I can avoid reprogramming it all, that would be preferable.

 

[Reefer Matt]

I think it would be helpful for those of us who are bluffing their way into automation, like me.

I don't know much but I'm trying to automate.

And I haven't put much thought into what happens after an equipment failure.

Yeah, everyone will have a different reason if a controller is for them or not. For the first 2-3 years of my reefing I didn’t have one. But now I have so many coral and so little time, the automation helps me keep the amount and type of things that I have. Otherwise I would have to cutdown to one or two low maintenance tanks. But I am fully aware of what the controller is doing, so I can take over in the short term.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Sorry for the issues bro but very solid advice here! Would make a nice mini-article! ;) ;)

Thanks! When my work schedule lightens up, I’ll be submitting a few for review. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[SPS2020]

Welp, my Apex EL just went down. I think it was a bolt of lightning nearby. Had it on a surge protector too. I tried the memory card thing, and all the data was still on it. Swapping cards and trying a reset did nothing either. The logo light is a very dim red. So, to make sure my sps coral don’t die from not being dosed on a schedule, I turned off the lights. That’ll buy a couple days until the new unit comes in. Oh well, just sharing. I was gonna need another eb832 anyway.

Sorry to hear about the unfortunate issue!

I bought a backup EL and uploaded my configuration to it just in case something like that happened. I have one backup gyre, return pump, hydra32, etc.

 

[braaap]

That’s good to know, wasn’t sure. The other question is if the A2 data is compatible with the A3. If I can avoid reprogramming it all, that would be preferable.

If it has exactly the same ports it should be compatible. If it has different ports then it won’t work.

I copy all my code to a word document so I can just copy and paste it back. Because I’ve had issues where backups don’t work.

I’m switching to Hydros now currently as I’ve had enough of the apex failures.

 

[Reefer Matt]

So I got this response from Neptune. Looks like I’ll have to manually reprogram the new Apex as I never backed up the old one. Oh well. I understand the coding, so it will just be a matter of time to get it back in order. Just an fyi in case someone else is thinking about switching cards between the two versions.

 

[SPS2020]

So I got this response from Neptune. Looks like I’ll have to manually reprogram the new Apex as I never backed up the old one. Oh well. I understand the coding, so it will just be a matter of time to get it back in order. Just an fyi in case someone else is thinking about switching cards between the two versions.

UGH! Hope you get things back running in short order!

 

[Reefer Matt]

Update: Got the new A3 Apex installed and 95% programmed. Had to do it all from memory, but only took a couple hours. There were a few hiccups and surprises that happened that I will share in a video. But as a lesson from this, plug in each module and eb832 one at a time, not all at once. My eb832 (two of them) somehow got cloned and the outlets were combined from each. So I had to hard reset the Apex and unplug it all. Then I forgot which cord was which, and couldn’t get the second eb832 to connect. Went through a bunch of stress as all my tanks were shutdown. But all good now! :grinning-face-with-sweat:

Will post pics later too.