Light Programing w/ Tables on Apex

[aileen]

How do you set up a light program using the tables in the apex? I'm running 4 t5's on a wavepoint retro fixture on one plug and on a separate plug, I'm running a led blue strip light from aquatic life. Right now, I run the t5's from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. (8 hrs) and the led strip from 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. (14 hrs). Tank is dark from 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. (10 hrs). I really most interested in sinking up the blue led strip to the moonlight schedule in the table.

[RussM]

Use the If Moon statement. It's covered in both the official manual and the Unofficial Use guide. But since you want to combine that with a fixed timed period, this will get you going:

[BlueLEDStrip]
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Moon 000/000 Then ON
If Time 7:00 to 20:59 Then ON

The blue LED will be on from 7AM-9PM and when the moon is up per the season table. If you want the blue accent lights to exclusively follow the season table, omit the If Time statement.

[aileen]

Russ, THANKS! So, there is no virtual outlet required then. Just take the real outlet where led is located and if I want to follow the moon cycles program as follows:

[BlueLEDStrip]
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Moon 000/000 Then ON

So, if I wanted to do that w/ the sun cycle would I put the following on the T5 plug program:

[T5]
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Sun 000/000 Then ON

[RussM]

Yes... you got the idea!

Use the Apex manual and Unofficial Guide to learn about using the time offset values in If Sun and If Moon commands... you will probably want to use them to offset the times. Post back if you run into trouble.

[aileen]

Why would I want to offset the times? Why not just follow the table? That is interesting you would suggest that.

[RussM]

Why would I want to offset the times? Why not just follow the table? That is interesting you would suggest that.
The base times in the season table average about 7:10AM for sunrise and 7:10PM for sunset. Many people prefer a lighting schedule which affords more viewing time in the evening when they are at home. So it's not uncommon to offset the If Sun statement for a delay of 2-4 hours (120-240 minutes), i.e. If Sun 240/240 Then ON will shift the lighting period to occur 4 hours later than the base times in the table.

You can also use different offsets to increase or decrease the length of the lighting period. For example, If Sun -060/120 Then ON will start the lighting period an hour earlier and extend it 2 hours later than the base times in the table.