Neptune Apex Programming of BRS Dosers

[NewYorkReefer1988]

Hello all, I just finally took the plunge into the world of apex and I’m so glad I did. It is a lot to take in However. I am currently having a little bit of trouble programming my dosing pumps and corresponding powerhead in my sump. I actually think I have the dosing figured out but I will share programming of all 3 (Cal, Alk, and powerhead in sump) and you guys can let me know how I’m doing if that’s ok.

The main issue I’m having is with the powerhead. It doesn’t want to come on with the dosers unless I program the specific times in. This is fine and I suppose I can do that but I would like it to run off of the dosers so I don’t have to switch the times on the powerhead as well as the dosers when I change my dose. I’ve been trying to run the “If outlet Alkalinity = On Then On” and it isn’t turning my pump on. (See pic)

the doses I’m trying to get out of my Cal and Alk are this: Calcium doses 6 times per day and Alk doses 6X per day. Cal comes on at 00:00, 4:00, 8:00, 12:00, 16:00, and 20:00 for 19min 30 seconds. Alkalinity comes on at 2:00, 6:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, and 22:00 for 19min and 30seconds. And then I have a jabeo doser for trace elements (TM part C) that is not hooked up to my apex that runs on all the odd hours of the day. So 1:00, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, and 23:00. I’d like the pump in the sump to come on with all of them and in the case of the jabeo I’m trying to get it to come on at say 12:55 and off at 13:05 (because the internal clock in the jabeo is a little wonky).

anyway sorry for the book but here Is my code for all 3. Any feedback would be great!!

 

[SuncrestReef]

A couple of thoughts:

1. Remove "Set OFF" from the first two outputs you're controlling with OSC, since OSC has its own built-in ON and OFF states.
2. On your 3rd screenshot, having the OSC at the end of the program is overriding the "If Outlet" commands above it. Remove OSC if you only want that output on when the Alk or Cal outputs are on.

See my Apex Programming Tutorial series to get up to speed on the intricacies of Apex code: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/neptune-apex-programming-tutorials.700483/

 

[NewYorkReefer1988]

A couple of thoughts:

1. Remove "Set OFF" from the first two outputs you're controlling with OSC, since OSC has its own built-in ON and OFF states.
2. On your 3rd screenshot, having the OSC at the end of the program is overriding the "If Outlet" commands above it. Remove OSC if you only want that output on when the Alk or Cal outputs are on.

See my Apex Programming Tutorial series to get up to speed on the intricacies of Apex code: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/neptune-apex-programming-tutorials.700483/

thanks for the input. Just wondering, how would I get the pump to come on with the cal and Alk as well as come on when my jabeo doser is if the jabeo doser is not connected to apex? I know the times don’t overlap. Is it impossible to do an OSC function if you already have it linked to come on with other outlets?

 

[SuncrestReef]

thanks for the input. Just wondering, how would I get the pump to come on with the cal and Alk as well as come on when my jabeo doser is if the jabeo doser is not connected to apex? I know the times don’t overlap. Is it impossible to do an OSC function if you already have it linked to come on with other outlets?

Since the Jebeo is not controlled by the Apex, but it's still on a repeating clock cycle, you could use a virtual output on the Apex that follows the same schedule as the Jebeo plus a little padding on the start and stop times:

[Jebeo_Sync] <-- virtual output
OSC 055:00/010:00/055:00 Then ON

This will cause the virtual output to turn on for 10 minutes every 2 hours, starting at 12:55am. Then modify your powerhead program to also include this virtual output:

[Powerhead]
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Output Alkalinity = ON Then ON
If Output Calcium = ON Then ON
If Output Jebeo_Sync = ON Then ON

So with this setup, the powerhead will turn on if any of those outputs happen to be on. At the times where nothing is dosing, the powerhead will be off (with the exception of the 5 minute lead and lag time for the Jebeo.

See my tutorial link above if you need help creating the virtual output.

 

[NewYorkReefer1988]

Since the Jebeo is not controlled by the Apex, but it's still on a repeating clock cycle, you could use a virtual output on the Apex that follows the same schedule as the Jebeo plus a little padding on the start and stop times:

[Jebeo_Sync] <-- virtual output
OSC 055:00/010:00/055:00 Then ON

This will cause the virtual output to turn on for 10 minutes every 2 hours, starting at 12:55am. Then modify your powerhead program to also include this virtual output:

[Powerhead]
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Output Alkalinity = ON Then ON
If Output Calcium = ON Then ON
If Output Jebeo_Sync = ON Then ON

So with this setup, the powerhead will turn on if any of those outputs happen to be on. At the times where nothing is dosing, the powerhead will be off (with the exception of the 5 minute lead and lag time for the Jebeo.

See my tutorial link above if you need help creating the virtual output.

Will do! Great idea! Thanks!