Can the Apex do this for me?

[mehaffydr]

I have been having issues with ATO on my large 1100 gallon Display system and want to go a new route. What I am looking for is a way to just turn on a pump. Most likely a MJ1200 that is in a RODI holding tank. I want to be able to set it up t run maybe a couple times a day for 30-90 seconds. I think that with just a little bit of trial and error I will be able to find a sweat spot that will keep the tank stable. So I either need some sort of digital timer or wondering if an outlet on the apex can be programmed to do this

 

[n2585722]

I don't use an Apex but I am sure it can do what you want. My question is what happens with the ATO you are currently using that is the issue. That may help find a solution even if you do start using an Apex for ATO.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I have been having issues with ATO on my large 1100 gallon Display system and want to go a new route. What I am looking for is a way to just turn on a pump. Most likely a MJ1200 that is in a RODI holding tank. I want to be able to set it up t run maybe a couple times a day for 30-90 seconds. I think that with just a little bit of trial and error I will be able to find a sweat spot that will keep the tank stable. So I either need some sort of digital timer or wondering if an outlet on the apex can be programmed to do this

Yes it can be 100%
But what about buying or making some kind of multiple optic or float sensor setup to read water level and have redundant sensors for back ups and alarms.
this seems to work well for myself and most others

 

[SuncrestReef]

Yes, the Apex has timer capabilities, though with a few limitations. I wrote a whole tutorial on the topic of timers:

Neptune Apex Programming Tutorials, Part 2: Timers

Part 2 of a series on learning how to program your Neptune Apex. Today's article is all about timers: OSC, If Time, DOW, Defer, When, and Min Time.

www.reef2reef.com

For your scenario, you could use this code for a 30 second run time:

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 12:00 to 12:01 Then ON
Defer 001:30 Then ON

The pump will try to turn on at 12:00, but the Defer delay will force it to wait 1 minute 30 seconds. Then it finally turns on and stays running until the clock reaches 12:02 when it turns off. If you want the pump to run for 90 seconds, change the Defer delay to 30 seconds. This may seem like a strange way to do it, but the minimum "If Time" command is two minutes since the start and end times are inclusive, and cannot be the same value.

While this technique will work, I strongly recommend utilizing float switches or optical sensors to monitor your water level for ATO rather than going off a timed basis. Evaporation rates will vary based on water temperature, air temperature, barometric pressure, and relative humidity. But the water level would be an accurate way to ensure consistent topoff.

See my ATK Tutorial for details on how Neptune's topoff programming works. The same technique could be applied to float switches or other DIY topoff systems.

Neptune Apex Programming Tutorials, Part 3: Automatic Top-Off Kit (ATK)

Part 3 of our series on learning how to program your Neptune Apex for automatic top-off in a saltwater aquarium.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[attiland]

I have been having issues with ATO on my large 1100 gallon Display system and want to go a new route. What I am looking for is a way to just turn on a pump. Most likely a MJ1200 that is in a RODI holding tank. I want to be able to set it up t run maybe a couple times a day for 30-90 seconds. I think that with just a little bit of trial and error I will be able to find a sweat spot that will keep the tank stable. So I either need some sort of digital timer or wondering if an outlet on the apex can be programmed to do this

You don’t need apex for this but a float switch.

 

[Ramdude4G]

From my understanding you can get optical sensors for the Apex and use them to keep the water level at a stable level. when the water level hits the bottom sensor it turns the pump on your ato on and shuts it off when it hits the top eye. And you can run the ato line through a float valve set just above the top eye just in case the apex fails to shut off.

 

[n2585722]

I am not sure how you would do this on an Apex but on my controller I have a max on time setup and a max off time set. If either of these are exceeded it will send me an alert. Also if max on time is exceeded it will shut off the pump. Also have it set so that it has to be off for a specific amount of time before it will come on again. It also has a minimum run time so when it does come on it will at least run that long regardless of the sensor that triggers it. That might be of some help in this case if this is doable. I also do have a sump overfull sensor that if tripped it disables the ATO.

 

[mehaffydr]

I am not sure how you would do this on an Apex but on my controller I have a max on time setup and a max off time set. If either of these are exceeded it will send me an alert. Also if max on time is exceeded it will shut off the pump. Also have it set so that it has to be off for a specific amount of time before it will come on again. It also has a minimum run time so when it does come on it will at least run that long regardless of the sensor that triggers it. That might be of some help in this case if this is doable. I also do have a sump overfull sensor that if tripped it disables the ATO.

That sounds like something that will work. I am just not computer savvy and have no idea how to set something lie that up

 

[mehaffydr]

Yes, the Apex has timer capabilities, though with a few limitations. I wrote a whole tutorial on the topic of timers:

Neptune Apex Programming Tutorials, Part 2: Timers

Part 2 of a series on learning how to program your Neptune Apex. Today's article is all about timers: OSC, If Time, DOW, Defer, When, and Min Time.

www.reef2reef.com

For your scenario, you could use this code for a 30 second run time:

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 12:00 to 12:01 Then ON
Defer 001:30 Then ON

The pump will try to turn on at 12:00, but the Defer delay will force it to wait 1 minute 30 seconds. Then it finally turns on and stays running until the clock reaches 12:02 when it turns off. If you want the pump to run for 90 seconds, change the Defer delay to 30 seconds. This may seem like a strange way to do it, but the minimum "If Time" command is two minutes since the start and end times are inclusive, and cannot be the same value.

While this technique will work, I strongly recommend utilizing float switches or optical sensors to monitor your water level for ATO rather than going off a timed basis. Evaporation rates will vary based on water temperature, air temperature, barometric pressure, and relative humidity. But the water level would be an accurate way to ensure consistent topoff.

See my ATK Tutorial for details on how Neptune's topoff programming works. The same technique could be applied to float switches or other DIY topoff systems.

Neptune Apex Programming Tutorials, Part 3: Automatic Top-Off Kit (ATK)

Part 3 of our series on learning how to program your Neptune Apex for automatic top-off in a saltwater aquarium.

www.reef2reef.com

Thank you this is what I was looking for. The reason I am looking at using timer and I do understand the evaporation will vary some is that I have been doing a lot of travel lately for work and is my overflow get just slightly clogged it can easily raise the water in the display and every 1/4" =approx 8 gallons so my sump float switches could go dry and turn n pump even when not required. So for now I have been monitoring the evaporation over the last few weeks and I go through approx 30 gallons a week it does vary but not by much. So as I am working to get algae under control and entire tank balanced I just want to add approx 30 gallons a week or 4.2 gallons a day. With the Apex I can monitor the salinity while I travel and if it is going the wrong direction I can vary the top off. In the future I will be utilizing optical and float switches to do this job. But for now I think that constantly adding the 4.2 gallons per day will be more consistent and even if I'm off a gallon or two in a 1300 gallon system it will have little to no effect. Maybe I could also use an Apex optical sensor as a safety shut off if the water rose too high.

 

[mehaffydr]

Yes it can be 100%
But what about buying or making some kind of multiple optic or float sensor setup to read water level and have redundant sensors for back ups and alarms.
this seems to work well for myself and most others

I do like the sounds of this but I do have limited computer skills so I really do not even know where to start. I do have the Apex ATK but with the possibility of adding more water than needed I'm reluctant to use it until I have algae under control.

 

[Biglew11]

I have the low and high optical sensors in my sump, when the low sensor is open it runs the ato until it reads closed, if that sensor fails then the high sensor will turn it off.

I also have a high level sensor in the tank, if that sensor ever reads closed then it turns off the return pump for 30 seconds.

And finaly a low level sensor in the ato resivior. If it reads low it turns the ato off so it dont run the pump when dry.

You can add code that keeps it off during certain periods of time if you only want it to run while you are home.
Code for the ato
1. Fallback OFF
2. Set OFF
3. If Sump_L OPEN Then ON
4. If Sump_H CLOSED Then OFF
5. If Res_Lo OPEN Then OFF
6. Defer 000:30 Then ON
7. Defer 000:15 Then OFF
8. When On > 005:00 Then OFF
9. Min Time 030:00 Then OFF

 

[Biglew11]

I do like the sounds of this but I do have limited computer skills so I really do not even know where to start. I do have the Apex ATK but with the possibility of adding more water than needed I'm reluctant to use it until I have algae under control.

I used the apex atk in stand alone mode before I had the apex. Honestly never liked it. But when I hooked it up to the apex and got the programming figured out I would probably never use a different set up.

 

[mehaffydr]

What I really need is a class on Apex programming that would really help a lot. I need to talk to some of the computer guys at work and see if I can get someone to help me better understand. I think if I am shown how to set this up I could do it myself for a lot of other Apex functions.

Thank you too everyone for the help on this.

 

[n2585722]

What I really need is a class on Apex programming that would really help a lot. I need to talk to some of the computer guys at work and see if I can get someone to help me better understand. I think if I am shown how to set this up I could do it myself for a lot of other Apex functions.

Thank you too everyone for the help on this.

You are better off asking someone here with Apex experience for help. I know computers and some programming languages but I would not know how to do specific things on an Apex without asking for some help. It takes some time to get the hang of them no matter which controller you have. @Biglew11 posted some code for you. Hopefully they will explain what each of the lines of code are for.

 

[Biglew11]

You are better off asking someone here with Apex experience for help. I know computers and some programming languages but I would not know how to do specific things on an Apex without asking for some help. It takes some time to get the hang of them no matter which controller you have. @Biglew11 posted some code for you. Hopefully they will explain what each of the lines of code are for.

Agree with this, I don't think a computer programmer would be helpful without learning the apex programming themselves.

Code for the ato
1. Fallback OFF (sets what state the outlet is in if the module loses com with the apex)
2. Set OFF (sets what state the outlet is in before the other statements are evaluated)
3. If Sump_L OPEN Then ON (Sump_L is name of my low sensor and the open state turns the outlet on)
4. If Sump_H CLOSED Then OFF (Sump_H is name of my hi sensor and if its closed tells the outlet to turn off) (shouldn't get this high if sensors are working right)
5. If Res_Lo OPEN Then OFF (additional sensor in my system in the ro resivior if it reads open means res is close to empty turns the ato off)
6. Defer 000:30 Then ON (sets a delay to turn ato on stops it from cycling on and off rapidly)
7. Defer 000:15 Then OFF (same as above but delays turning off)
8. When On > 005:00 Then OFF (my ato never takes more than 2:00 minutes to fill so if it runs for 5:00 turns ato off)
9. Min Time 030:00 Then OFF (sets how long to wait before running again)(if ato runs it wont run again until 30:00 minutes has passed)

Basically the apex reads the code as an if this happens then do this.

First part of code is usually an if or when or a defer statement

Next part of code will read the sensor for an if statement or the time for a when statement. The sensor names have to match exactly.

Next part will be a then statement.

Next will be the on or off statement.

 

[mehaffydr]

Agree with this, I don't think a computer programmer would be helpful without learning the apex programming themselves.

Code for the ato
1. Fallback OFF (sets what state the outlet is in if the module loses com with the apex)
2. Set OFF (sets what state the outlet is in before the other statements are evaluated)
3. If Sump_L OPEN Then ON (Sump_L is name of my low sensor and the open state turns the outlet on)
4. If Sump_H CLOSED Then OFF (Sump_H is name of my hi sensor and if its closed tells the outlet to turn off) (shouldn't get this high if sensors are working right)
5. If Res_Lo OPEN Then OFF (additional sensor in my system in the ro resivior if it reads open means res is close to empty turns the ato off)
6. Defer 000:30 Then ON (sets a delay to turn ato on stops it from cycling on and off rapidly)
7. Defer 000:15 Then OFF (same as above but delays turning off)
8. When On > 005:00 Then OFF (my ato never takes more than 2:00 minutes to fill so if it runs for 5:00 turns ato off)
9. Min Time 030:00 Then OFF (sets how long to wait before running again)(if ato runs it wont run again until 30:00 minutes has passed)

Basically the apex reads the code as an if this happens then do this.

First part of code is usually an if or when or a defer statement

Next part of code will read the sensor for an if statement or the time for a when statement. The sensor names have to match exactly.

Next part will be a then statement.

Next will be the on or off statement.

Thank You so much I really appreciate you taking the time to lay this out and explain it.

 

[Biglew11]

Suncrestreef's guides are very helpful for more in depth programming. They were very helpful for me.

Edit changed link to the ato coding
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/neptu...torials-part-3-automatic-top-off-kit-atk.692/