Aqua Controller Jr Users question for you

[CeeGee]

I just got my Aqua Controller Jr yesterday and it is great so far.

I have a question about the clock on it though. Mine is very sporadic on the seconds. It goes like 35..36..37 38 39....40.41 if that makes sense.

Does everyone else' do this as well?

I also have the unit controlling a heater and fan for heating and cooling. I cranked my heater all the way up is this what people normally do? I am thinking that I should turn it down but thought I would ask what everyone else does.

Thanks for your help,
C.G.

[mattseattle]

I turn my heater 2 degrees above where I want the temperature but I use the Junior to control it.

As far as the display - yes that is how they work sometimes as the display is given lower priority in processing so sometimes it looks sporadic but internally it's correct.

In the future you should post any Junior questions you have in the Neptune forum as Curt will help out quickly as well as other users.

[Hop]

Yes and yes. The clocks are about the least accurate thing on them... When you adjust the leap seconds to bring it into time, the more odd second display you get. And yes, I cranked my heater up to about 80 ish...

[CeeGee]

thanks for the replies.

thanks for the heads up on the neptune forum as well didn't know that it existed.


I thought maybe my unit was defective. wait that didn't sound right :)

[Hop]

:lol: :lol:

[oceanscurve]

I dont mean to steal the thread but does the jr. work well is it worth getting?

[mattseattle]

I think so....I've had both the ReefKeeper as well as the Junior. I like the Junior overall and definitely think it's worth the cost.

[CeeGee]

I am digging it so far.

couple things that I am trying to get the feel of but other than that it is awesome.

[Hop]

It takes a while to get it dialed in, but it has saved me a few times! Turning off the MH when the temp got too hot and the set it and forget it part, I really like;)

[doxyman]

I'm still getting aquainted with the Jr. but so far so good and I can see where this will be a valuable piece of equipment once dialed in.

[CeeGee]

do you guys know what a U in the display means? I had a symbol for heating and cooling and now it is a U.

[kbecker]

It means unknown.. ie the heaters have not reached a state that would trigger them on or off. Once your temp reaches an on or off state for the heaters they will display normally. This is because there is no inital on / off state for heaters under your current program.

[clsanchez77]

AC Jr is one of my favorite purchases so far. Definitly worth the dollars.

Chris

[bureau13]

I will second (or third, or fourth) the recommendation. I love my AQJr. I'm not sure about the accuracy of the temp and pH though...the temp doesn't match my other thermometer, and the pH is showing lower than the Salifert test I had been using (yes, new probe, freshly calibrated). They're in the ballpark, and of course they could be the actual values for all I know...but I DON'T know, and that bugs me.

Seriously though, its so much nicer than using mechanical timers for everything. One thing I will add...get the AquaNotes software. I find it much easier to tweek the program from there rather than the AQJr front panel.

jds

Obligatory on-topic comment: I too have my heater thermostat set just a bit higher than where the AQJr turns it on. That way, if for some reason the AQJr freaks out and forgets to turn it off, I have a safety net. I think its far more likely that the reverse will happen, i.e. the heater will go crazy and forget to turn itself off, but that's not an issue here as the AQJr is the safety net there.

jds

[CeeGee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7929039#post7929039 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kbecker
It means unknown.. ie the heaters have not reached a state that would trigger them on or off. Once your temp reaches an on or off state for the heaters they will display normally. This is because there is no inital on / off state for heaters under your current program.

I am not following you on this. Sorry but my head is still spinning just because I finally have one of these units. :) Is this a bad thing? How can I fix the situation?

For the record it returned to normal for the time being.

I had this happen last night on a light and it turned out that I hadn't changed the initial program and two things were programmed to the same outlet on the DC8.

(update) I think I fixed it. I had a gap in the heating cycle. I had it set for the heater to come on if the tank went below 79.3 and to turn off if the tank went past 79.7. I put both of the settings on 79.7. Hopefully that will fix the situation.

[bureau13]

Actually...I don't think you want to do that. Its never going to know what to do in that case, it will either cycle on and off rapidly, or it may never cycle. The way you had it before was more correct, depending on how wide a range of temperature swing you want to allow (i.e. how fast you want it to cycle on and off). Now, the AQJr may have some smarts built in so that it adds some hysteresis and let's the temp go up or down a bit before changing state if the on and off temp are the same, but I don't know that.

jds

jds

[CeeGee]

I think it has a .1 hysteresis built in from what I can tell.

So if I set the heat to come on at if the temp reaches 80 it would come on at 79.9 and I tell it to turn off if it goes above 80 it will cut off at 80.1.

My thinking is that this will keep the tank very stable. I may be wrong so hopefully others will chime in.

[suthrnmn]

are you using the direct connect boxes to control your stuff?

[CeeGee]

I am using a AQ Jr. Connected to the included DC8 using the included phone cord.

[Hop]

If I understand correctly where you are at, the U is no big deal. You probably programmed or played with the programming. When you exited out, the value for the unit was not met, so it displayed a U. Once the value is met, ie the temp falls or rises in order for the unit to turn the item on or off, the U goes away. It's no big deal:)

[Hop]

And on the .1... If you want the heat to turn on at anything lower that lets say: 76, then the unit will turn on at 75.9. Then say you want it off and input 80, then it will turn off at 80.1.

[bureau13]

OK, in that case, setting the on and off values the same should work. It should keep it the most stable, but also cycle the chiller or heater the most. Actually, for a heater, who cares how often it cycles...for my chiller though, I didn't want it going on and off so often.

jds