- Location
- poughquag, ny
ok i just got my ac jr and trying to hook it up, i figured out port 1 and 2 for the light's. cant you control more than 2 lights on it ? freaking instructions arent the best
ac jr controller ?
- Thread starter NYreefNoob
- Start date
- Location
- poughquag, ny
ac
yes and the serial port and lab grade ph :biggrin:. i am using a seaswirl for my return, but want the 2 ph in the tank to rotate flow, which will be switched to one, using temp port to turn fan on and off, got to figure out how to turn blank port off if temp goes to ect :grumpy: and so on, but once i figure it all out and get it down, then ill see why i bought it, especially once a few other piece's of equip are bought
yes and the serial port and lab grade ph :biggrin:. i am using a seaswirl for my return, but want the 2 ph in the tank to rotate flow, which will be switched to one, using temp port to turn fan on and off, got to figure out how to turn blank port off if temp goes to ect :grumpy: and so on, but once i figure it all out and get it down, then ill see why i bought it, especially once a few other piece's of equip are bought
Theoretically, you could use every port to control lights. You can go into the menu and rename them anything you want and then program it as you like. I agree the instructions are horrible, but it is really very easy to use. The best place to get help is in the Neptune Systems forum on RC.
I have to laugh because mine is still sitting here not programmed..waiting til I feel an especially lucid day coming on to try it..I've read the book about 20 times and still don't feel up for it...
The probe part of the hook-up looks straightforward enough..but the DC8 part...well...
Here is what was suggested to me by another member..he gathered a bunch of lamps (yup, real lamps) and plugged them into the DC8 strip and then programmed to see what went on & off as he went along and to be sure he was doing them in the correct order.
I think that is the way I'm going to try it to be sure I know what is what. I understand you can manually turn things off using it..so it shouldn't technically take all that long to program.
The difficulty of understanding the book sort of tells you that the directions...suck..sorry but I don't have a friendlier word for it..lol I consider him a really bright guy!
The probe part of the hook-up looks straightforward enough..but the DC8 part...well...
Here is what was suggested to me by another member..he gathered a bunch of lamps (yup, real lamps) and plugged them into the DC8 strip and then programmed to see what went on & off as he went along and to be sure he was doing them in the correct order.
I think that is the way I'm going to try it to be sure I know what is what. I understand you can manually turn things off using it..so it shouldn't technically take all that long to program.
The difficulty of understanding the book sort of tells you that the directions...suck..sorry but I don't have a friendlier word for it..lol I consider him a really bright guy!
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I know Crox..that's why I posted what I did. Neptune really ought to do something about that instruction book!
Good to read above that there is a forum on RC with further info..will check that out when I have the time! In the meantime, I'll depend on my timers & Pinpoint probes
Good to read above that there is a forum on RC with further info..will check that out when I have the time! In the meantime, I'll depend on my timers & Pinpoint probes
Kathy and everyone else,
It is not that hard.
You have to first decide what you want to control, up to eight devices. Name them in the three character names, like LT1 (light 1), PM1 (pump motor 1), HTR(heater), CHL(chiller), etc...
Next you have decide which one of the eight outlets on the DC8 you want to use for each device you are controlling. You then have to attach a special character to control how the device's on\off status is displayed.
You should end up something like this:
MH1$-A01 (Metal Halide 1 on outlet 1 with a light symbol on\off)
MH2$-A02 (Metal Halide 2 on outlet 2 with a light symbol on\off)
VHO$-A03 (VHO on outlet 3 with a light symbol on\off)
CO2&-A04 (CO2 control valve on outlet 4 with a square symbol on\off)
KLK&-A05 (Kalk reactor..)
TOP%-A06 (Top off water valve..)
HET%-A07 (Heater)
CHL&-A08 (Chiller)
You can do this in any text editor, cut an paste into the Aquanote lite program after you have check over everything. I find the aquanote lite crashes when you have a mistake in the code, the built in web server in ACIII\P does not, it give you a error code next to the line with the error instead.
The next step is to set conditions to turn on\off each out let; here are some from my system:
If Time > 00:00 Then ALM OFF
If Time > 00:00 Then SKM ON
If Time > 00:00 Then BKS ON
If Time > 00:00 Then PM1 ON
If Time > 00:00 Then UVS ON
If Time > 17:30 Then MH1 ON
If Time > 23:00 Then MH1 OFF
If Time > 17:20 Then MH2 ON
If Time > 22:50 Then MH2 OFF
If Time > 15:30 Then VHO ON
If Time > 18:00 Then VHO OFF
If Time > 22:30 Then VHO ON
If Time > 01:00 Then VHO OFF
If Time > 23:00 Then FUG ON
If Time > 05:00 Then FUG OFF
If Temp < 78.5 Then FAN OFF
If Temp > 79.0 Then FAN ON
If Temp < 81.0 Then CHL OFF
If Temp > 83.0 Then CHL ON
If Temp > 84.0 Then CHL OFF
If Temp < 81.0 Then CHP OFF
Max Change 010 M Then CHP OFF
If Temp > 83.0 Then CHP ON
If Temp > 80.0 Then HET OFF
If Temp < 78.5 Then HET ON
If Temp > 84.0 Then MH1 OFF
Max Change 030 M Then MH1 OFF
If Temp > 84.0 Then MH2 OFF
Max Change 030 M Then MH2 OFF
If Temp > 85.0 Then VHO OFF
Max Change 010 M Then VHO OFF
If pHA2 < 06.40 Then CO2 OFF
If pHA2 > 06.60 Then CO2 ON
If Power 000 Then ALM ON
If pH > 08.40 Then ALM ON
If pH < 06.80 Then ALM ON
If pHA1 > 08.40 Then ALM ON
If pHA1 < 07.60 Then ALM ON
If ORP > 450 Then ALM ON
If ORP < 300 Then ALM ON
If Cond > 52.0 Then ALM ON
If Temp < 77.0 Then ALM ON
If Temp > 83.5 Then ALM ON
If TmpA > 84.0 Then ALM ON
If TmpA < 77.0 Then ALM ON
If FeedA 020 Then SKM OFF
If FeedA 020 Then BKS OFF
If FeedB 030 Then PM1 OFF
If FeedB 030 Then UVS OFF
If FeedB 030 Then SKM OFF
If Time > 12:01 Then ALM ON
If Time > 12:02 Then ALM OFF
If Power 010 Then MH1 OFF
If Power 012 Then MH2 OFF
OSC 002/240 ON/OFF Then KLK OFF
If Timer TOP = ON Then KLK OFF
If Timer TOP = ON Then ALM OFF
Max Change 010 M Then ALM ON
If SwitchA1 CLOSED Then TOP ON
If SwitchA2 OPEN Then TOP OFF
If SwitchA1 CLOSED Then SW1 ON
If SwitchA1 OPEN Then SW1 OFF
If SwitchA2 CLOSED Then SW2 ON
If SwitchA2 OPEN Then SW2 OFF
Curt from Neptune is a great source of help too, you can always get him on the phone if you have any question.
It is not that hard.
You have to first decide what you want to control, up to eight devices. Name them in the three character names, like LT1 (light 1), PM1 (pump motor 1), HTR(heater), CHL(chiller), etc...
Next you have decide which one of the eight outlets on the DC8 you want to use for each device you are controlling. You then have to attach a special character to control how the device's on\off status is displayed.
You should end up something like this:
MH1$-A01 (Metal Halide 1 on outlet 1 with a light symbol on\off)
MH2$-A02 (Metal Halide 2 on outlet 2 with a light symbol on\off)
VHO$-A03 (VHO on outlet 3 with a light symbol on\off)
CO2&-A04 (CO2 control valve on outlet 4 with a square symbol on\off)
KLK&-A05 (Kalk reactor..)
TOP%-A06 (Top off water valve..)
HET%-A07 (Heater)
CHL&-A08 (Chiller)
You can do this in any text editor, cut an paste into the Aquanote lite program after you have check over everything. I find the aquanote lite crashes when you have a mistake in the code, the built in web server in ACIII\P does not, it give you a error code next to the line with the error instead.
The next step is to set conditions to turn on\off each out let; here are some from my system:
If Time > 00:00 Then ALM OFF
If Time > 00:00 Then SKM ON
If Time > 00:00 Then BKS ON
If Time > 00:00 Then PM1 ON
If Time > 00:00 Then UVS ON
If Time > 17:30 Then MH1 ON
If Time > 23:00 Then MH1 OFF
If Time > 17:20 Then MH2 ON
If Time > 22:50 Then MH2 OFF
If Time > 15:30 Then VHO ON
If Time > 18:00 Then VHO OFF
If Time > 22:30 Then VHO ON
If Time > 01:00 Then VHO OFF
If Time > 23:00 Then FUG ON
If Time > 05:00 Then FUG OFF
If Temp < 78.5 Then FAN OFF
If Temp > 79.0 Then FAN ON
If Temp < 81.0 Then CHL OFF
If Temp > 83.0 Then CHL ON
If Temp > 84.0 Then CHL OFF
If Temp < 81.0 Then CHP OFF
Max Change 010 M Then CHP OFF
If Temp > 83.0 Then CHP ON
If Temp > 80.0 Then HET OFF
If Temp < 78.5 Then HET ON
If Temp > 84.0 Then MH1 OFF
Max Change 030 M Then MH1 OFF
If Temp > 84.0 Then MH2 OFF
Max Change 030 M Then MH2 OFF
If Temp > 85.0 Then VHO OFF
Max Change 010 M Then VHO OFF
If pHA2 < 06.40 Then CO2 OFF
If pHA2 > 06.60 Then CO2 ON
If Power 000 Then ALM ON
If pH > 08.40 Then ALM ON
If pH < 06.80 Then ALM ON
If pHA1 > 08.40 Then ALM ON
If pHA1 < 07.60 Then ALM ON
If ORP > 450 Then ALM ON
If ORP < 300 Then ALM ON
If Cond > 52.0 Then ALM ON
If Temp < 77.0 Then ALM ON
If Temp > 83.5 Then ALM ON
If TmpA > 84.0 Then ALM ON
If TmpA < 77.0 Then ALM ON
If FeedA 020 Then SKM OFF
If FeedA 020 Then BKS OFF
If FeedB 030 Then PM1 OFF
If FeedB 030 Then UVS OFF
If FeedB 030 Then SKM OFF
If Time > 12:01 Then ALM ON
If Time > 12:02 Then ALM OFF
If Power 010 Then MH1 OFF
If Power 012 Then MH2 OFF
OSC 002/240 ON/OFF Then KLK OFF
If Timer TOP = ON Then KLK OFF
If Timer TOP = ON Then ALM OFF
Max Change 010 M Then ALM ON
If SwitchA1 CLOSED Then TOP ON
If SwitchA2 OPEN Then TOP OFF
If SwitchA1 CLOSED Then SW1 ON
If SwitchA1 OPEN Then SW1 OFF
If SwitchA2 CLOSED Then SW2 ON
If SwitchA2 OPEN Then SW2 OFF
Curt from Neptune is a great source of help too, you can always get him on the phone if you have any question.
- Location
- Upper East Side
I didn't get the one with the serial port, but I've found programming it manually to be pretty intuitive. Kathy, if you're ever up my way I can show you how I've got mine set up though Pierce's setting are quite exhaustive! More so than mine, which consist of my lights, the fan, the heater and the chiller.
More so than mine, which consist of my lights, the fan, the heater and the chiller.Thanks Pierce!
Lissa, I just might take you up on that!
Mine does have the serial port and I understand they are much easier to program if you hook them up to the computer as you can see all of the info that has been entered rather than having to scroll through the nemu on the unit and looking at 1 line at a time.
Pierce - how many things (fans, lights..etc..) do you have plugged into yours? Can you add as much "turn things on/turn things off" language as you want as related to each piece of equipment? That's where I'm getting lost..is there an order to that part? Thxs!
Lissa, I just might take you up on that!
Mine does have the serial port and I understand they are much easier to program if you hook them up to the computer as you can see all of the info that has been entered rather than having to scroll through the nemu on the unit and looking at 1 line at a time.
Pierce - how many things (fans, lights..etc..) do you have plugged into yours? Can you add as much "turn things on/turn things off" language as you want as related to each piece of equipment? That's where I'm getting lost..is there an order to that part? Thxs!
- Location
- Wallingford, CT
Kathy,
Pierce has all those syntax lines to turn his bath water on @ 91 degrees, then add bubble bath beads 5 minutes before he walks in the door :lol2:
Seriously, he has a lot of redundancies programmed such as if his temp is x-factor, to turn off lights, sound alarms, send emails, then wait x-amount of time before firing his MH bulbs back on etc.
You can only plug in 8 items on one DC bar but you can serial up to 3 DC bars for the Jr I think. Not sure if the Jr does digital outputs cause that's where he has his top off wired and the syntax lines that you also see.
I'm not so sure on the programming compexity of the Jr but with the AC3, yes you can add as many statements to "turn on", "turn off" for one piece of equipment as long as it makes sense.
If time > then 12:00 Then VHO on
If time > then 14:15 Then VHO off
If time > then 21:45 Then VHO on
If time > then 23:59 Then VHO off
If temp > then 83.0 Then VHO off
Max change 010 M Then VHO off
Those six statements were for just one light plugged in a DC bar. It tells the VHO actinics to come on at 12 noon, then off at 1:45 pm, 15 minutes after the Mh bulbs go off, then to come back on at 9:45 pm, 15 minutes prior to the MH bulbs shutting down, then off for the rest of the night at 11:59 pm.
It is also telling the VHO actinics to shut down if the water temp goes above 83.0 degrees and for it not to turn back on for a minimum of 10 minutes if the water temps fall below 83.0 degrees. This is to prevent your ballast from not firing. Of course for you to accentuate that statement, you should have a chiller or fans come on at a temp lower then the 83.0 degrees.
Pierce has all those syntax lines to turn his bath water on @ 91 degrees, then add bubble bath beads 5 minutes before he walks in the door :lol2:
Seriously, he has a lot of redundancies programmed such as if his temp is x-factor, to turn off lights, sound alarms, send emails, then wait x-amount of time before firing his MH bulbs back on etc.
You can only plug in 8 items on one DC bar but you can serial up to 3 DC bars for the Jr I think. Not sure if the Jr does digital outputs cause that's where he has his top off wired and the syntax lines that you also see.
I'm not so sure on the programming compexity of the Jr but with the AC3, yes you can add as many statements to "turn on", "turn off" for one piece of equipment as long as it makes sense.
If time > then 12:00 Then VHO on
If time > then 14:15 Then VHO off
If time > then 21:45 Then VHO on
If time > then 23:59 Then VHO off
If temp > then 83.0 Then VHO off
Max change 010 M Then VHO off
Those six statements were for just one light plugged in a DC bar. It tells the VHO actinics to come on at 12 noon, then off at 1:45 pm, 15 minutes after the Mh bulbs go off, then to come back on at 9:45 pm, 15 minutes prior to the MH bulbs shutting down, then off for the rest of the night at 11:59 pm.
It is also telling the VHO actinics to shut down if the water temp goes above 83.0 degrees and for it not to turn back on for a minimum of 10 minutes if the water temps fall below 83.0 degrees. This is to prevent your ballast from not firing. Of course for you to accentuate that statement, you should have a chiller or fans come on at a temp lower then the 83.0 degrees.
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- Location
- Westchester, NY
Wow reading that made my head hurt. Is there any way to speak english to it?
- Location
- Upper East Side
Kathy, you can program a bunch of different things for each piece of equipment. i.e., for me, I have my lights turn on at a specific time, turn off at a specific time, then turn off if the temperature gets above a certain degree (86), then the lights turn off as well. So there are two different cues that will turn the lights off (time and temp) but only one cue to turn the lights on (time). (I felt like if it was SO hot that the lights flipped off, well I should probably just leave them off for the day. )
)Acjr can control up to 12 outlets and I think 36 lines of commends. The programing does have priorty built in, I am not sure which sensor inputs\time\statement have priorty.
Yes, I can have it do all those things pecan said :lol2:.
ACs are designed to be a very flexible controller, the flexibility needs to be understood to be utilized. This ain't no fancy mechanical light timer. There is a new version of software being beta tested, it is designed with lots of GUI for those that can't understand. It also have a nice data quary function with graph generation, best part is this will be FREE..
Yes, I can have it do all those things pecan said :lol2:.
ACs are designed to be a very flexible controller, the flexibility needs to be understood to be utilized. This ain't no fancy mechanical light timer
. There is a new version of software being beta tested, it is designed with lots of GUI for those that can't understand. It also have a nice data quary function with graph generation, best part is this will be FREE..Kathy, you can program a bunch of different things for each piece of equipment. i.e., for me, I have my lights turn on at a specific time, turn off at a specific time, then turn off if the temperature gets above a certain degree (86), then the lights turn off as well. So there are two different cues that will turn the lights off (time and temp) but only one cue to turn the lights on (time). (I felt like if it was SO hot that the lights flipped off, well I should probably just leave them off for the day.
You can also have the lights turn off and on per sunrise\sun set time, and moon cycle. Or have it shut off when you are feeding, changing your water, low ph, high ph, go to the bathroom
etc...
- Location
- poughquag, ny
ac jr
since i have the serial port cant i set commands from my computer ? i downloaded the free version of software. or i might have to frag my tank to get cali to make the trip up here :scratch:
since i have the serial port cant i set commands from my computer ? i downloaded the free version of software. or i might have to frag my tank to get cali to make the trip up here :scratch:
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