Neptune's official stance is that you can't use both the AWC and Manual WC options using the same DOS. However, it can be done and I'm assuming they're saying that so they don't have to support people trying it and screwing it up.
When you run either the DOS Auto Water Change or the DOS Manual Water Change tasks in Fusion, they each configure the selected DOS with some pre-defined programming. If you run one of these tasks, and then run the other, they each overwrite the DOS programming, so they cannot be used concurrently.
Instead, you can manually configure the DOS for both. To do this, the DOS should be set up to run the normal Auto Water Change on a daily basis like normal. Then, add some additional code to the Advanced tab of both DOS outputs so it overrides the normal daily water change schedule with your manual water change settings.
Note: This is not for the faint of heart. If you choose to do this, be sure you really understand what you're doing. If you're still new to Apex programming, please read my tutorial series before taking this on:
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Follow these steps:
1. Run the DOS Auto Water Change task to set up the daily water change schedule. Do yourself a favor and ignore Neptune's instructions on how to connect the tubing, and instead follow my guidance in this post so you'll be able to properly calibrate and prime the DOS like normal:
Well after a long wait, DOS has arrived at my house! I’m reading through the directions and things seem pretty straightforward, but R2R members always seem to know tips that aren’t in the directions. I have a 40g breeder with a 20g sump. I have an Apex Jr with room for the module and a surge...
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2. Create a DOS profile named DOS_MWC with these settings. 1000 mL = 0.26 gallons, so the Dose Count of 38 in my example would be a volume of 10.04 gallons. Do the math to decide the Dose Count for the volume you want to change.
The Per Dose Amount is 1000 mL since that's the largest number allowed. The Dose Intervals is set to 728 seconds because that is the shortest amount of time the DOS will allow you to pump 1000 mL at the fastest rate of 250 mL/min. Be aware, the DOS will always pump for a while and then stop to cool the motors, then resume pumping. It will continue this process repeatedly until the total amount has been pumped. But it will never run continuously. Just be aware and don't panic.
Note: If you did
not follow my instructions about reversing the tubing on the right-hand DOS head in my linked post from step 1 above, then you'd need a second DOS Profile with the same values, except set the Pump Direction to "Reverse". Please don't ignore the recommendations in my post above, or this is going to be even more complicated with multiple profiles and different coding on each DOS output.
3. Create a virtual output named Water_Change to trigger the manual water change. If you're not familiar with virtual outputs, see my tutorial here:
Part 5 of our Apex Programming Tutorials. This one is on Virtual Outputs.
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Note that my tutorial instructions are for the Apex 2016 and Apex-EL only. If you have an Apex Classic or older model, you'll need to create the virtual output from the Classic Dashboard as explained on page 113 of the
Apex Comprehensive Reference Manual.
4. Add the Water_Change output slider to your dashboard.
5. Move the Water_Change output slider to the OFF position.
6. Configure the Water_Change output programming:
Set ON
When On > 461:04 Then OFF
Note: change 461:04 to the total amount of time needed to run your profile. In my example above, one interval is 728 seconds, and the Dose Count is 38, so that's 27,664 seconds, or 461:04 minutes. Yes, that's over 7.6 hours. The DOS cannot pump any faster. If you want faster water changes, you'll need different pumps.
7. Add the following code to the Advanced tab for
both DOS outputs:
If Output Water_Change = ON Then DOS_MWC
Once all these steps are completed, your DOS is now configured to run normal scheduled auto water changes, and can be triggered to do manual water changes on demand.
To initiate the manual water change, move the Water_Change slider to the AUTO position:
Notice it indicates "ON" in orange text above the slider. Once this output is ON, the code in the DOS Advanced tab will take over and apply the DOS_MWC profile, so the DOS will pump the volume of water specified in that profile. Since any code in the Advanced tab overrides the normal DOS schedule, the volume of water normally scheduled for the AWC will be ignored. Once the When timer reaches its defined limit, the Water_Change output slider will automatically move back to the OFF position:
Notes:
1. NEVER move the Water_Change slider to the manual "ON" position. If you do, it will not automatically move itself back to the OFF position.
2. Do the math carefully. You need to decide how many DOS Intervals are needed to pump the volume of water you want to change. Remember, every interval of 1000 mL = 0.26 gallons.
3. Also do the math carefully when calculating the time needed for the When timer. Multiply the number of Dose Intervals x 728 seconds, then divide by 60 to figure out the number of minutes. This one doesn't need to be exact down to the second. You can round it up to the nearest minute to make it easier. The DOS will simply sit idle after the Dose Intervals have completed before the Water_Change output turns OFF, then it will finally resume the auto water change schedule.
4. Again, if your DOS tubing is connected following Neptune's AWC instructions rather than my modified version, you'll need a different DOS profile for each DOS output, one to add and one to remove.
5.
TEST, TEST, TEST! Don't assume you got all of this set up properly and walk away. Set the DOS_MWC profile for a small water change first, such as 1/2 gallon (Interval Count = 2) and your When timer to 25 minutes. Then place your wastewater tube into a bucket and set the Water_Change slider to AUTO. After 25 minutes, verify the Water_Change slider moved itself to OFF, and that the bucket contains 1/2 gallon of water. Remember, the Auto Water Change schedule will resume immediately, so don't leave the bucket sitting there to check on later because it will have additional water from the normal AWC schedule plus the water from the manual water change, and you won't know how much was from the manual change. If the test worked, then reset the DOS Profile to the correct Dose Count value, and your When timer back to the correct value for your desired amount.
That's it. It's not super challenging, but I can understand why Neptune Support basically says it can't be done. I'm sure this would be difficult for their Support team to walk people through or to troubleshoot if it's done improperly.
Good luck!
