Neptune Apex Programming Tutorials

LowDime

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They are both off currently as i am not home to watch it. But they were both in the auto position last night and this morning,

This is what my programming lines look like I went to those 2 switches as they are the ones that i switched to that would actually switch between open and closed instead of the 2 that i changed names on.


Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Swx3_3 OPEN Then ON
If Swx3_4 CLOSED Then OFF
When On > 005:00 Then OFF
Defer 000:01 Then ON
Defer 000:04 Then OFF
Min Time 060:00 Then OFF

1627042520480.png
 

LowDime

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ok so i went through deleted the module out and reinstalled it. Did the update just in case set it up as seen.
Both switches so open as i made sure they were out of the water to get it to come on. But it doesnt.


Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If ATK_LO OPEN Then ON
If ATK_HI CLOSED Then OFF
When On > 005:00 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON
Defer 000:04 Then OFF
Min Time 060:00 Then OFF

1627086661727.png
 

LowDime

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maybe i just dont know how it is supposed to work. Once Sensor 1 gets wet it shuts off. Its not getting to sensor 2
 

philshel

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@SuncrestReef, maybe I've missed it but is there a tutorial around for power failure programing? I have power monitoring set up with my 832 powered by a large UPS. I'd like to program it to notify me and shut down most of the equipment when power goes out and then reinstate everything when it returns.
 

SuncrestReef

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@SuncrestReef, maybe I've missed it but is there a tutorial around for power failure programing? I have power monitoring set up with my 832 powered by a large UPS. I'd like to program it to notify me and shut down most of the equipment when power goes out and then reinstate everything when it returns.
Yes, I covered that in my Apex Power Monitoring tutorial. Scroll down to the section titled “Apex power monitoring with UPS backup battery power”:
 

philshel

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Yes, I covered that in my Apex Power Monitoring tutorial. Scroll down to the section titled “Apex power monitoring with UPS backup battery power”:
Geeez how did I miss that!?! I skimmed the title of the section and missed the fact that it included the UPS programing as well. Sorry about that, and thank you very much.
 

Flameback Pair

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Apex Programming - Optical Sensor Verification

I'm adding a mini-tutorial here for a new situation I ran into with my ATK last night. At 3am I received a Fusion alarm notification on my phone stating that my salinity had dropped below 32 ppt. I quickly got up to check the tank, and found that the water level in my sump was so low that the salinity probe was no longer in the water and exposed to the air. There were no leaks, so I checked my ATK logs and found that the PMUP had not run in the past 14 hours, so the missing water was just due to evaporation:

Screen Shot 2020-05-17 at 4.41.21 PM.png

I wiped my ATK_Lo sensor and suddenly the PMUP turned on, so I was pretty sure the sensor was just dirty. However, this made me realize I didn't have any automation set up to account for this condition. I do have a virtual output that monitors if the ATK_Lo sensor is Open but the PMUP doesn't run within 90 minutes as a failsafe if I ever accidently leave the PMUP slider set to OFF:

[AlertATO_Off]
Set OFF
If ATK_LO OPEN Then ON
Defer 090:00 Then ON

But this situation was different. The ATK_Lo sensor was dry, but because it was dirty it still reported Closed. I could have created a similar timer to report if it's Closed for too long, but there are many times where I might have extra water in the sump (sometimes I add a gallon or two of extra salt water to increase the salinity to account for lost skimmate), so I don't want false alarms to nag me in that situation where ATK_Lo is Closed correctly.

Then I came up with this idea:

I have a 4-float switch bracket in my sump to monitor for various water level conditions:

Sump_6 = The sump is about to overflow
Sump_5 = The water is above the skimmer chamber
Sump_4 = Normal water level
Sump_3 = The water is too low for my return pump

1589759817512.png

(I wrote about this float switch bracket in my build thread)

I decided to create a new virtual output that will compare my ATK_Lo sensor reading with the Sump_4 float switch reading. Since they are both a the same "normal" water level, they should both report Closed under normal circumstances:
Screen Shot 2020-05-17 at 4.35.08 PM.png


When water evaporates, both Sump_4 and ATK_Lo should report Open, and ATK_Lo triggers the PMUP to turn On:
Screen Shot 2020-05-17 at 4.34.55 PM.png


However, last night's situation was due to the ATK_Lo sensor reporting Closed even though the water was low, so it did not turn on the PMUP. At the same time, the Sump_4 float switch reported Open, which was the correct reading:
Screen Shot 2020-05-17 at 4.34.40 PM.png


So I created a new virtual output that compares ATK_Lo to Sump_4, and if they don't match after a period of time, it sends me an alarm notification:

[ATK_Lo_Fail]
Set OFF
If ATK_LO CLOSED Then ON
If Sump_4 CLOSED Then OFF
Defer 030:00 Then ON

I then added it to my EmailAlm program:

If Output ATK_Lo_Fail = ON Then ON

For now I'm just going to have it alert me. I may consider adding this code to my PMUP output to actually turn on in this condition, but uncertain if I want to go that far:

[ATK_PMUP]
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If ATK_LO OPEN Then ON
If Output ATK_Lo_Fail = ON Then ON
If ATK_HI CLOSED Then OFF
If Output Maintenance = ON Then OFF
When On > 003:00 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON
Defer 000:04 Then OFF
Min Time 030:00 Then OFF

I think I'd rather just be alerted so I can manually investigate.

I hope idea this helps others with ideas on how to double-check your optical sensors.

Happy reefing!
@SuncrestReef I like your use of multiple float switches especially when crud builds up on the ATK sensor. However I’m wondering what the Sump_5 = The water is above the skimmer chamber: labeled, “FEED MODE water level,” is used for?
 

SuncrestReef

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@SuncrestReef I like your use of multiple float switches especially when crud builds up on the ATK sensor. However I’m wondering what the Sump_5 = The water is above the skimmer chamber: labeled, “FEED MODE water level,” is used for?
It's just used to indicate when the water level is higher than normal during a Feed cycle since I turn off the return pump. I don't actually have anything programmed to react to it, but it's on my dashboard for a visual reference. I have all 4 tiles stacked above one another so at a glance, I can know roughly what the water level is.
 

Daniel@R2R

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Bumping this up because they're such a great resource for Apex users!!
 

Rwwilli

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I'musing the Neptune ATO to refill the auto top tank under the main display. I did not want to just refill from the drum in the fish room due to the size of that container.

I am using a liquid sensor(ATOtop) on the top of the Top off tank. 13 inches is above the ATOhi sensor on the ATK and I want to refill the ATO tank when it reaches 2 inches of water. I am using the ATK optical sensors to first shut down the pump, but using the liquid sensors as back up. Also using a leak sensor on top of the ATO tank and also on the floor of the sump. (Liqlft and Liqrht are the sensors on the floor of the sump)

Problem - Once the liquid sensor reads over 2 inches of water the ApexATO shuts off, because the liquid sensor reads over 2 inches.

Is there a way to program the Neptune to read the liquid sensor but then to ignore it until the ATOhi reads full?
Should I time how low it takes for the tank to fill and set the timer for that time then keep the programming reading the sensors to stop from overfilling?

Thanks in advance- Code below -

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If LkATOp CLOSED Then OFF
If Liqrht CLOSED Then OFF
If LiqLft CLOSED Then OFF
If ATOtop > 13.0 Then OFF
If ATOtop < 2.0 Then ON
If Atohi CLOSED Then OFF
If LkATOp CLOSED Then OFF
When On > 015:00 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON
Min Time 005:00 Then OFF
 

charlieborg

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Apex Display Module. Did not see any info on this problem.​

I recently replaced my EB8 on my system. (replaced the power supply in it) It is working well now, but my

Apex Display Module is not working? It's powering on (lights up) just not displaying any info. am I missing a step?​

 

davemulv

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