My system is crashing

[Osama]

Pls advise ASAP my 700g system is in Jeopardy MY 3 EB8's light flashes green and outlets not responding properly Like htr goes on and fans go on for no reasons lights go off for no reason other than possibly misreading of temp. I have not changed any programming for several months and I cannot get someone on the phone from Neptune Pls feel free to advise via phone 847 358 6388. afraid pumps will go off then I am in SERIOUS troubles

[aaronpentz]

I would plug the stuff that's needed to sustain the tank into dumb power strips until you get the apex problem sorted out.

Then check and re-seat all the aqua bus cables

Do you have any other modules that indicate a solid green light. Like a WXM or AFS

[aaronpentz]

Or is it only the eb8s. Have you tried rebooting the entire system and do you have network connectivity or does it at least work from the display

[Breadman03]

I would get your return pump plugged into a regular outlets and make sure you have heaters with built in thermostats in your house before your LFS close. Your Apex failing can be a pain, but keeping those two functions operating will prevent a disaster.

Once you have those bases covered, I would save your program file and restart the system.

[Osama]

First thanks for helping out:: Things are erratic. Right this second everything is solid green. Maybe because I shut off some items via APEX that worked to shut things off from auto to off. So hts off, lights off overnight at least, two pumps that can be off are off.
Will see if system stays steady till am with items off. Controller is working since it is capable of shutting items off but erratic if I try and put them on... I have network connectivity and hoping the Neptune people will get back to me and check things out tonite yet. I am not sure if the wxm was a solid green or not. How do I reboot the whole system ????

[Osama]

Thanks how do I save the program files

[aaronpentz]

If a piece of equipment is failing it can cause voltage fluctuations. This can cause problems with the apex system. You can try to turn stuff on one thing at a time and monitor for a few minutes. Then turn on something else. You might find something failing that is causing issues. I had a heater fry actually breaking the outlet. I had to disassemble and repair to make it useable again. But the day before the ph and current graphs were strange or out of the norm. Once the heater blew and was replaced the graphs went back to normal

[aaronpentz]

Thanks how do I save the program files
You have to go to the local page in the configuration menu. I dont think you can do it from fusion

[Osama]

Thanks aaronpentz... I have now a htr and one main pump on another circuit not Apex for overnight and I think U are on track something is likely causing instability will have to check one item at a time as now all EB8s are green light and steady after shutting off some items etc. Home it stays that way overnight. A nightmare of a night THANKS

[slief]

A couple thoughts.
First would be a loose or faulty AquaBus Cable. If this is happening across multiple EB8's then I would look at the cable going from the base unit to the first EB8.

Second would be the EB8 Outlets changing address which would in theory only happen if an Aquabus cable was moved from one port to the next.
Last thing would be the firmware version on the EB8's being "Old".

To check the firmware version on the EB8's, use the native Apex Web Interface (Not Fusion). From the Configuration Tab, select Module Setup. In that menu you will see a list of your modules. The EB8's and any other module should have an "OK" in the firmware version field. If it says old, then there is an issue.
To backup your settings, in the Configuration tab of the native web interface, select Load/Save at the bottom of the menu. Use the "Select All" button then select "Save Configuration".

It could also be one of your devices plugged into your EB8 causing some sort of power issue but that is a long shot.

Lastly, open a ticket at Neptune via email. They will setup a remote session to further troubleshoot your issue if the above isn't the root cause.

[Osama]

Thank you very much Slief.. Neptune was great yesterday and they are following up with me today. They updated the firmware yesterday and asked that I remove all USB and replug them... They will be in touch again at 12:30CDT. System is stable the last couple of hours after removing some equipment off the EBs so I will try to replug one at a time and see if any equipment is causing an issue. I am not sure I re-plugged all USBs in same location so I will so inform Neptune folks when they get in touch today. Has been a sleepless night and a frustrating one .. I greatly appreciate the assistance THANKS

[Raul-7]

Would having an extra base unit on hand save such crashes? Seems like a smart investment.

[Osama]

Good thought Raul as I actually do have a spare brand new EB8 in case.

[kurt_n]

Actually, he meant the base unit (the main brains)... not an EB8.

At this point, it's hard to say if it would've helped you. All depends on where the problem lies.

[Osama]

I believe in having spares for a big system like mine a 700g system with a 500g DT. BUT I can get delivery of such an item in 24-48 hrs if need be and in this case it would not have helped. The culprit IMO was a defective pump power supply that is now off the circuits and everything is running smoothly for 24+ hrs without this one pump. Also maybe too much load on one of the EBs I will check my amps usage and maybe install the fourth EB I have (Most likely not the issue). I moved two of the four pumps off the APEX and put them on two small UPS and on a totally separate circuit . If things remain stable for 48 more hrs ie htrs on/off... fans on/off lights etc then all is good THANKS EVERYONE.. Appreciate the help and ideas shared here .. Have a wonderful weekend ALL.

[Osama]

I have a new question I need your suggestions/help.. My graphs stopped plotting for some items like lights and other items since march 5th.. other graphs are OK. What do I need to check to rectify this situation .. Thanks in advance for any and all susggestions

[aaronpentz]

Do you have the enable logging check box checked for the outlet that aren't graphing

[Osama]

Thanks I had a lot of items switched off.. Not sure if with the software upgrade somethings were turned off. Any disadvantage to keeping all on???

ALSO Power monitor IS Disabled
Should I enable it ?????

[aaronpentz]

I believe the power monitor should only be on if you have a 12vdc adapter plugged directly into the apex base unit that is plugged into the wall and not a UPS. This is only used to report a power failure if you have eb8s on UPS batteries. Look around the Neptune forums you should see a power point on how to properly setup for power fail monitoring

Here I did it for you

http://forum.neptunesystems.com/showthread.php?p=12903

[Osama]

Thanks aaronpentz Will have to go and do some rdg a bit later.. Meanwhile I thank you very much.... Need to understand how I can set up an UPS at least for a short duration in case of a complete power failure as I have had installed a hse generator to keep my 700g system from crashing. It takes 20-40 seconds before the generator take full control of the hse and I do have two small UPS that can run my DC10500 pumps for that duration and more