WAV jammed by snail

[Gtinnel]

I have a WAV pump on either side of my tank and I noticed it didn't seem like I had enough flow on one side of my tank. I checked on fusion and it said that WAV was running like it was supposed to, but on closer inspection the impeller was jammed by a snail. I'm not sure how long it had been like that (I suspect for many days but not positive).
I remember in the BRS video them saying the Apex would warn you if the pump was dirty or jammed. Is there some way to turn that functionality on, and if so how?

 

[blaxsun]

I'd think (or at least hope) that would always be on by default. Was this a small snail or a good sized sucker that took your WAV out?

 

[Gtinnel]

I'd think (or at least hope) that would always be on by default. Was this a small snail or a good sized sucker that took your WAV out?

That's was my assumption but I was apparently wrong. It was a fairly large cerith, so relatively small, but big enough to completely jam the impeller. I'm also curious what negative effects being jammed for potentially a long time may have on the pump long term. Although from most of the reviews of the WAV they likely won't last "long term" anyway.

 

[blaxsun]

That's fairly ambitious for a cerith snail (mine almost never leave the sand bed). Well, it's probably not good - but I guess it didn't catch on fire so that's a plus...!

 

[SuncrestReef]

There are two required steps:

1. In the WAV Module setup screen, enable the various alarm options:



2. In your EmailAlm output, add a line of code to monitor the WAV:

[EmailAlm]
Set OFF
If Error WAV_19 Then ON

(substitute the actual name of your WAV module)

 

[Gtinnel]

There are two required steps:

1. In the WAV Module setup screen, enable the various alarm options:



2. In your EmailAlm output, add a line of code to monitor the WAV:

[EmailAlm]
Set OFF
If Error WAV_19 Then ON

(substitute the actual name of your WAV module)

I figured it was just a matter of time before you responded and told me how to do it.
Thanks

 

[SuncrestReef]

I figured it was just a matter of time before you responded and told me how to do it.
Thanks

That's what I do.

 

[Gtinnel]

That's fairly ambitious for a cerith snail (mine almost never leave the sand bed). Well, it's probably not good - but I guess it didn't catch on fire so that's a plus...!

My ceriths come out at night and stay on the glass. I have a gyre on each end of the tank as well so I still had enough flow that I'm not positive when it happened but I suspect it was jammed for potentially a couple of weeks. I will say once I removed the snail it took back off, although a little louder than I remember it being. I've now setup alarms for it.

It's always a plus when my aquarium doesn't catch on fire.

 

[Sean Clark]

Sad that you had this issue with your pumps. Clearly you are not new to Apex...
So if I was a new WAV user would this be obvious to me?
Is adding code in the startup guide?
I ask because I was considering a pair of these pumps because they claim to couple on up to 1 inch glass.

 

[blaxsun]

My ceriths come out at night and stay on the glass. I have a gyre on each end of the tank as well so I still had enough flow that I'm not positive when it happened but I suspect it was jammed for potentially a couple of weeks. I will say once I removed the snail it took back off, although a little louder than I remember it being. I've now setup alarms for it.

It's always a plus when my aquarium doesn't catch on fire.

You have them well-trained. Mine couldn't give 2 f's about leaving the sand bed (lazy critters). I've made a mental note for myself with the Apex alarm tip. Now if I could only get Red Sea to add IOTA support to their ReefWaves...

 

[Gtinnel]

Sad that you had this issue with your pumps. Clearly you are not new to Apex...
So if I was a new WAV user would this be obvious to me?
Is adding code in the startup guide?
I ask because I was considering a pair of these pumps because they claim to couple on up to 1 inch glass.

I am fairly new to apex, I've only had it for less than a year and I only got the WAV pumps during this last Black Friday sale.

It may have been asked during initial setup, but I honestly dont think it was. I just remember playing around with the flow patterns and percentages when I first got it trying to find something that doesn't splash water out of my tank. So I guess it wasn't obvious to me.

With the pictures posted by Suncrest it's incredibly easy to set and only takes a minute. So if you are curious about how you need to set it up then don't worry its not a big deal. If you are wondering why this isn't part of the initial setup for new users then idk and I think it should be clearly explained when setting up the WAVs (assuming I didnt just miss it, which is possible). Ecspecially since it's listed as a feature of the pumps. I mistakenly assumed it was something the controller did automatically.

As for coding Suncrest reef has some amazing tutorials for everything Apex including coding. I learn most of what I need for Apex from him or youtube videos. He isn't an employee of Neptune Systems afaik, but for as much work as he does supporting the community they should be paying him. I guarantee without him their customer support line would be much busier. He and the community support in general was the main reason I picked Apex over GHL when picking my controller.

 

[Gtinnel]

You have them well-trained. Mine couldn't give 2 f's about leaving the sand bed (lazy critters). I've made a mental note for myself with the Apex alarm tip. Now if I could only get Red Sea to add IOTA support to their ReefWaves...

I think its my melanurus wrasse that has trained them to be nocturnal.

I used to have several hundred of the dwarf ceriths that would cover the glass at night, but my numbers have dwindled and now it's usually just the bigger ceriths.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Sad that you had this issue with your pumps. Clearly you are not new to Apex...
So if I was a new WAV user would this be obvious to me?
Is adding code in the startup guide?
I ask because I was considering a pair of these pumps because they claim to couple on up to 1 inch glass.

The WAV error features and alarm programming examples are documented in pages 9 - 11 of the WAV QuickStart Guide: https://www.neptunesystems.com/downloads/docs/WAV_QuickStart.pdf

 

[SuncrestReef]

As for coding Suncrest reef has some amazing tutorials for everything Apex including coding. I learn most of what I need for Apex from him or youtube videos. He isn't an employee of Neptune Systems afaik, but for as much work as he does supporting the community they should be paying him. I guarantee without him their customer support line would be much busier. He and the community support in general was the main reason I picked Apex over GHL when picking my controller.

You are correct; I'm not employed by Neptune. I'm just a retired IT guy who misses the gratification I used to get from helping solve people's computer & network problems during my 30+ year career, so I've filled that void by helping reefers solve their Apex problems or answering their programming questions. I don't expect or need Neptune to pay me. I've learned a lot from others here about coral & fish issues, so I get my satisfaction knowing I'm giving back to the reefing community with my Apex guidance.

Happy reefing!

 

[Gtinnel]

The WAV error features and alarm programming examples are documented in pages 9 - 11 of the WAV QuickStart Guide: https://www.neptunesystems.com/downloads/docs/WAV_QuickStart.pdf

In this guide it states the alarms are turned on by default, has this changed? I am nearly positive that I didn't turn them off.

 

[SuncrestReef]

In this guide it states the alarms are turned on by default, has this changed? I am nearly positive that I didn't turn them off.

I installed a brand new WAV last month, but the alarms were not enabled by default. You might need to check with Neptune Support for a definitive answer if they changed the default since the time the manual was written.

 

[Gtinnel]

I installed a brand new WAV last month, but the alarms were not enabled by default. You might need to check with Neptune Support for a definitive answer if they changed the default since the time the manual was written.

Now that I know to set it, not being defaulted on is not a big deal to me. I was mostly curious if I just did something stupid and overlooked a step

 

[Dburr1014]

I've had my wav's for almost a year and I know the alarms were on when setup. I had to turn off the position error.