Neptune APEX Manual PDF:APEX-20104034_WEB
Neptune Apex Setup And Programing
Neptunes Tech support (408) 578-3022 has answered the phone every time we called which is a huge sign of a good company. We did get a busy signal in the afternoon a couple of times, but 30 minutes later they picked up and answered all our questions. Hopefully this page will answer your questions better than a call. If you decide to call they have been helpful and knowledgeable. However this is a new product and I’ll bet a Super Dog that their engineers never thought their product would be used with our drivers and LEDs to simulate Sunset/Sunrise, Moon Rise and set along with Storm and Cloud Simulation…Well Maybe but they did not make it easy…
Please feel free to contribute anything helpful to this post like code, questions or setup tips
The Base Modual of the Apex Controller has two ports on the right side of the Controller Bus V1/V2 and V3/V4. You would need the optional Apex 2 Channel Apex to Light Dimming Cable. Each Cable can control two separate banks of drivers. The red wire attaches to the white wire (or Green wire for Inventronics) and the black attaches to the blue wire (or purple wire for inventronics) on the driver. Once everything is connected you will need to start programing the Apex.
The first step is to enter the Outlet Setup under the Configuration tab in the Apex Program. V1/V2 will be the first two outlets. The initial settings are for a Pump. We changed this to Light and renamed the outlet LEDLight1 After we updated the outlet your LEDs should come on provided the controllers initial time setting is within the time of the initial program. After we verified all the hardware was working we changed the setting to advanced and gave it the following program.
Sunrise & Sunset effect settings
Fallback Off
Set Off
If Time 0600 to 0800 Then PF1
If Time 0800 to 1900 Then On
If Time 1900 to 2100 Then PF2
Next we setup Profile 1 (PF1) and Profile 2 (PF2). The Profile Setup is under Configuration. Once we entered the setup page we changed the Control Type to Ramp and for Profile 1 We used 120 for Ramp Time (minutes), 0 for Start Intensity and 100 for End Intensity. For Profile 2 we used 100 for Start Intensity and 0 for End Intensity.
Control Type: Ramp
Ramp Time (minutes): 120
Start Intensity: 0
End Intensity: 100
Control Type: Ramp
Ramp Time (minutes): 120
Start Intensity: 0
End Intensity: 100
The result is at 0600 (Controller Time) The LEDs start to gradually come on over a two hour period. Then between 0800 and 1900 the LEDs are on full power. At 1900 (Controller Time) the LEDs gradually turn off over a two hour period. We separated the Royal Blue and Cool White with the only difference the Cool White come on 30 minutes later and turn off 30 minutes earlier. We also have T5s on the set up and have thoes come on to simulate a high noon blast of light. The program we used for these is based on the seasonal capabilities of the Apex Controller.
Fallback Off
Set Off
If SUN 240/-240 Then On
If Temp>83 Then Off
This has the effect of having the Lights come on 4 hours after natural sunrise and turn off 4 hours before natural sunset. Based on the different seasons the lights are on for 4-6 hours which helps cut down on electricity and bulb replacement costs. Also since T5 do create a little heat we added a safety line which turns the T5s off if the tank temp exceeds 83 Degrees which is unlikely with a reef running mostly LEDs and no MH but the precaution was free.
Cloud Movement Settings
We used channels V3/V4 and Profiles P3, P4 and P15. Here is the programing.
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 06:30 to 08:30 Then PF3
If Time 08:30 to 18:00 Then PF15
If Time 18:00 to 20:00 Then PF4
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 06:30 to 08:31 Then PF3
If Time 08:31 to 18:00 Then PF15
If Time 18:00 to 20:00 Then PF4
Control Type: Ramp
Ramp Time (minutes): 240
Start Intensity: 0
End Intensity: 100
Control Type: Pump
Synchronize: Disabled
Divide by 10: Disabled
Initial Time Off (seconds): 2
On Time (seconds): 100
Off Time (seconds): 30
Minimum Intensity: 40
Maximum Intensity: 100
Control Type: Ramp
Ramp Time (minutes): 240
Start Intensity: 100
End Intensity: 0
DIY APEX Dimming Cable
A standard RJ45 Plug was used along with 22 gauge doorbell wire from Home Depot. 22 gauge wire is a bit thick for the RJ45 but we chose it as our Office Tank is 30 feet away from the APEX and we wanted minimal voltage drop over this distance. For shorter distances a smaller wire is recommended. If you choose to use the thicker wire ensure you check for and shorts with a meter like the Sperry DM-4100A. It took us three tries to get it right with the thicker wire. One thing that helped was stripping the thicker wire a little more than normal so the copper wire extends up to the edge of the channel as demonstrated the picture