COR and Skimmer Issues

[Albertan22]

So I’m having an issue where my skimmer is constantly cycling on and off. I have noticed that it’s actually the programming turning it off, not a power or pump issue as the outlet physically turns off. Here is my skimmer programming:

There are some redundant lines in there for extra feed modes but I believe the culprit may be the link to the COR20 pump. When I look in my logs I see this:

The COR20 TBL events seem to correlate with the skimmer kicking out. It seems the skimmer thinks the return pump is off so it cuts out. However, the return pump doesn’t seem to be cycling off, I sat and watched one of these events and the return pump flow seemed uninterrupted. Does anyone have any idea what is happening here? I figured I’d try here before going to Neptune support. #apexusers

 

[Albertan22]

FYI, I deleted the COR20 line in my skimmer code about 20 minutes ago and it hasn’t cycled off since, but this isn’t a long term solution.

 

[schuby]

Can you post your COR20 programming?

 

[Albertan22]

Here’s the COR20 program:

It has been running with this program with no issues for the last 8 months or so.

 

[schuby]

Your syntax looks strange. Here's mine:

The "Then 1" should probably be "Then OFF".

Can you turn on logging on outputs Vfeed and Maintenance? See if they're turning on and off.

 

[Albertan22]

I turned them on the logging but they won’t register until they trigger. Vfeed is my automated feed mode that triggers every day at 2pm. Maintenance doesn’t have any of its own code, it is always set it off, not auto. It’s purpose is to shut everything down when I do a water change or other maintenance.

The 1 syntax keeps the pump running at a minimum level so the return pipes don’t back siphon and I don’t get a big flush of bubbles when it kicks back in.

 

[schuby]

Is your COR20 plugged into an Apex-controlled outlet? Mine is. It is set to Always On and the switch to Auto.

If that outlet goes OFF, then my COR20 goes off.

 

[Albertan22]

I’m now wondering if it’s a connection issue. I just looked in the diagnostics tab and it says that my Apex has disconnected 27 times in the past 24 hours. That’s unheard of, usually I only see 2 or 3 there. I wonder if the COR is going into fallback mode and the skimmer thinks it’s off.

 

[Albertan22]

Is your COR20 plugged into an Apex-controlled outlet? Mine is. It is set to Always On and the switch to Auto.

If that outlet goes OFF, then my COR20 goes off.

No it is not, it’s on a separate power strip that isn’t Apex controlled.

 

[schuby]

Apex disconnected? That's a new one to me. Can you post the diagnostic message? I've never seen it.

How often do you see it occur normally?

 

[Albertan22]

It’s not an error, I stumbled upon the diagnostics menu when searching for solutions and this is what it says:

I honestly haven’t looked at this stuff since I set up the heartbeat feature, and at that time I think it was 2 disconnects in 24 hours.

 

[schuby]

Disconnects from Fusion shouldn't have any effect on your running Apex system. Fusion is remote monitoring/control and doesn't directly control anything on your tank.

I'll request the Apex expert: @SuncrestReef

 

[SuncrestReef]

Here’s the COR20 program:

Is there any additional code below line 8 on you COR programming? The screenshot cut off the view.

As for the Heartbeat disconnects, that only indicates a network disruption between Fusion and your Apex, and would not trigger any Fallback settings. Fallback only comes into play if a module cannot communicate through the AquaBus cable to the Apex, or while the Apex is rebooting.

 

[Albertan22]

Is there any additional code below line 8 on you COR programming? The screenshot cut off the view.

As for the Heartbeat disconnects, that only indicates a network disruption between Fusion and your Apex, and would not trigger any Fallback settings. Fallback only comes into play if a module cannot communicate through the AquaBus cable to the Apex, or while the Apex is rebooting.

No there is no code below line 8.

The diagnostics are now telling me that my Apex has corrupted, I have submitted a ticket with Neptune support.

 

[Albertan22]

Whatever it is seems to be a degenerative condition. This afternoon when my auto feeder went off on its regular schedule it didn’t stop, just kept rotating and dumping food. Luckily I was beside the tank and pulled the plug after only 3 rotations. The heaters seem to have stopped working and the tank temp dropped, and the fix for the skimmer wasn’t enough, it didn’t kick off, but it wasn’t getting enough power and couldn’t fill the body of the skimmer.

Neptune support had me generate some logs and while it’s mostly gibberish to me, it looks like the head unit is rebooting frequently and at an exponentially increasing rate. I’m now up to 168 disconnections in the last 24 hours. Hope to hear back from Neptune soon once they’ve made some sense of the logs.

 

[Albertan22]

Oh and in case it wasn’t evident above, I have disconnected all my equipment from the Apex at this time.

 

[uninformed]

What was the ultimate outcome here? Did APEX replace the head unit or just update firmware?