ac3 help

[trd47]

Hi I just got my ac3 today and I tried to get it to work with my dc8 and I've notice something weird.

1. When I set the lights to turn on at 830 it turns on at 831, what gives? It also happens when it turns off. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

2. Can anyone be a little more descriptive on how to program this thing with my dc8? How do I know what channel I'm using/programing on the dc8?

Thanks

[intenseimage]

My guess is that you have it programmed something like this:

If time > 08:30 than LT1 ON

Basically what is means is that once the clock goes past 8:30 to 8:31 the light will go on

If you want the lights to come on exactly at 8:30 you will need to put 8:29 into the programming



On the side of the DC8 are 4 switches that control the lettering and numbering of the DC8 ports.

I have mine setup at A01-08 and B01-08

You will then have to assign the equipment to each outlet ... example your halides are named LT1 and plugged into the first port on the "A" box - A01

With that done you can see where the programming above comes into play ...

If time > 08:30 than LT1 ON

So once the time passes 8:30 it will turn on LT1 which corresponds to the halides you have plugged into the first spot on the "A" box

[trd47]

cool thanks!

another thing is do the commands need to be in order?

for example when I scroll through my settings my chiller shows up

temp>79.4 JBJ on
eheim pump time >00:00 on
temp=77.5 JBJ off

is this ok or do I need to put them in order?
another thing is does the command >00:00 mean the pump will ALWAYS be on?

[kenargo]

Yes, order is important for all statements except 'If Time'. The AC 1st evaluates all "If Time" statements and then all other statements, for the later order is VERY important!

The "If Time > 00:00" is a way to initialize, it does not mean that the device will be on all the time, you can still have other conditions which may turn the device off later in the program.

Timers are set based on the value they hold after ALL statements are evaluated.

If you want to see how this plays out you may want to download the AC simulator I created from my website; it runs the AC3 program in time-compressed method so you can quickly see changes and affects of the different programs.

[trd47]

thank ken

I do have one more question

these are my settings

t5d-a0- daylight
t5a-a02- actinics
jbj-a03- chiller
ehe-a04- return pump (never want this off)
co2-a05- turns on when ph gets above 6.9

if time>13:29 then t5a on
if time>21:29 then t5a off
if time> 14:29 then t5d on
if time> 20:29 then t5d off
if time>00:00 then ehe on
if ph>6.90 then co2 on
if ph<6.50 then co2 off
if temp>79.0 then jbj on
if temp= 77.5 then jbj off

now my question is what statement do I use so when my chiller is on my t5d (day light) turns off? Then when the chiller is off I want my t5d turned on again but within the right time frame (1:30-9:30), so say if its 12 midnight and my chiller turns off I don't want the day lights coming on at this time.

please let me know if im doing this correctly, according to your program I am but I just can't seem to get the lights and the chiller to function in unison.

[kenargo]

what statement do I use so when my chiller is on my t5d (day light) turns off

If Timer JBJ = On Then T5D OFF

Then when the chiller is off I want my t5d turned on again

This will happen automatically; once the chiller turns off the lights will revert to the current program (since the chiller won't be on to trigger the lights to go off).

[trd47]

awesome thank you sir!

your program rocks!!!!

[trd47]

i just thought of something will the dc8 need to be connected when i input the program?

[kenargo]

No, you can program everything with only power connected; it just won't control anything ;)