Help with neptune apex

[Aquattro]

Yup, hands on is always better ,just suggesting you might be waiting a while, lots of busy people here Shame to have that fancy controller sitting not controlling anything
If you change your mind, we're here..

[BMW Rider]

I got the laptop hooked in yesterday and got my issues sorted out. For some reason the power bar had a split personallity and was appearing twice in the menu. Deleted both and started over and now it seems to be working better. It was a whole lot simpler and faster programming in the browser than using the display pad.

I've ordered the breakout box for it now so I can wire in some extras like a float switch and such. I still need to get some programs set up for shutting down stuff for water changes and such using the feed timer feature. Also have to set up the networking so I can utilize the e-mail alerts and such and I haven't done any firmware updates yet either. I'll have to figure out a temporary connection for that; as the router is a long way from the unit, I may pull it all out and set it up for the updates then put it all back together on the tank again. Eventually I hope to network it wirelessly.

Now that its sorted, I'm a lot more satified with it. I was starting to think I'd got a dud.

[Aquattro]

Glad you got that sorted out

[BMW Rider]

Firmware updated, breakout box installed, programming figured out. This controller is superb I'm planning more expansions to it now that I'm seeing the potential. I plan to add a door switch to turn on my refugium light so I can see what I'm doing in the sump, another float switch for high water level (all ready have one for low sump level), and perhaps a water leak alarm.

Question for those in the know, what do ORP and Conductivity tell you that is usefull as far as controlling anything? Aside from just reference data, is there any real purpose to having those sensors? Not currently planning to add those unless there is some useful purpose for them.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by BMW Rider

Question for those in the know, what do ORP and Conductivity tell you that is usefull as far as controlling anything? Aside from just reference data, is there any real purpose to having those sensors? Not currently planning to add those unless there is some useful purpose for them.

ORP is useful if you're running Ozone. Not much else. Conductivity would probably just tell you your salt content.

[BMW Rider]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Glad you got that sorted out

And done. It died completely last night. It did the phantom power bar trick again and this time it will not recognise the real one anymore and the display is gone too. Waiting on a response from Neptunes support.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by BMW Rider

And done. It died completely last night. It did the phantom power bar trick again and this time it will not recognise the real one anymore and the display is gone too. Waiting on a response from Neptunes support.

This link might have a fix for the phantom power bar

As for the original post.
Welcome to Canreef.

What unit do you have? (full version, lite, jr)
Are you haveing issues setting it up physically?
Does it turn on?
Are you able to hard wire an Ethernet cord to it?

[cwatkins]

I had a flaky Power bar once that kept dying. It died so many times (would trip the GFCI for no reason), that it fried the base unit, since it's all powered from the power bar.

Lesson learned: Use a separate power adapter for the base unit. Don't let it draw power from the power bar. Also even better: ensure that they're on separate circuits. So if the power bar circuit trips, the base unit is still powered and can send you alarms.

[Bigevul]

Originally Posted by Ross

This link might have a fix for the phantom power bar

As for the original post.
Welcome to Canreef.

What unit do you have? (full version, lite, jr)
Are you haveing issues setting it up physically?
Does it turn on?
Are you able to hard wire an Ethernet cord to it?

Thanks ross..ive actually started to get into the programming of the unit..its going ok...tomorrow im going to attempt o get it working wirelessly..are you using this system as well?

[Enigma]

Originally Posted by BMW Rider

Question for those in the know, what do ORP and Conductivity tell you that is usefull as far as controlling anything? Aside from just reference data, is there any real purpose to having those sensors? Not currently planning to add those unless there is some useful purpose for them.

The conductivity probe is usefull for monitoring sudden changes in salinity: if your ato were to malfunction and pump too much water into the system it would be reflected in the graph. I use my refractometer to gauge the actual salinity, as Neptunes conductivity probe isn't known for being particularly accurate.