High Tide Aquatics

Neptune apex inkbird heater help

gmdcdvm

gmdcdvm

Supporting Member
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Hello,
Having some issues using the apex heater outlet and an inkbird.
Currently I have two 300W heaters plugged in to the inkbird. The inkbird is in turn plugged into the apex.
What should the settings be for the inkbird and apex. My intent is to have the apex be a back up for the inkbird?

Gerry
 
Let’s assume you want to maintain the tank at 77F.
Set the Inkbird to control the heaters at 77F.
Set the Apex as a failsafe to cut off at 78F.

So Apex program would look something like:
Fallback OFF
If Tmp < 76.5 Then ON
If Tmp > 78.0 Then OFF

(Please check the syntax)
 
Arvin R said:
To also add further safety, set your heater dials to only 2deg higher than what you have the apex shut them off at.
Click to expand...
They are titanium heaters. No dial. Inkbird does the controls. I had ones with thermostats but replaces them. At 300W they were too long.
 
thesassyindian said:
Let’s assume you want to maintain the tank at 77F.
Set the Inkbird to control the heaters at 77F.
Set the Apex as a failsafe to cut off at 78F.

So Apex program would look something like:
Fallback OFF
If Tmp < 76.5 Then ON
If Tmp > 78.0 Then OFF

(Please check the syntax)
Click to expand...
Hey so what would the inkbird on and off settings be?
Thanks
 
I have the wifi InkBird ITC-306A. Same as the BRS InkBird model. Here’s my settings.

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thesassyindian said:
Let’s assume you want to maintain the tank at 77F.
Set the Inkbird to control the heaters at 77F.
Set the Apex as a failsafe to cut off at 78F.

So Apex program would look something like:
Fallback OFF
If Tmp < 76.5 Then ON
If Tmp > 78.0 Then OFF

(Please check the syntax)
Click to expand...
Wouldn't you want the default to be "on". That would essentially let the Inkbird run the show in case the brain and EB832 lose communication ... assuming you programmed the Inkbird it properly that's essentially "normal" operation (ie in a no apex world).

There's a bit of thought as to what temps you want the Apex to override the Inkbird. Do you really want to pull the plug on the inkbird if the temp is at 78.1 (ie your goal)? or do you want the apex to pull the plug in case things are going off the rails (ie: 81 degrees, in case the ink bird's temp probe went bad or some other stuff)

Personally I have my apex pull the plug at 80 degrees & otherwise trust the inkbird to do its job
 
There is an advantage to doing it the other way around:
(Set the inkbird to failsafe at 78, and let Apex do control at 77)

The advantage is that you can use the Apex current sensor as an alarm, that will tell you if the heater dies.

It is unclear which has better relays, so while that might matter also, I have no idea which is better.
 
rygh said:
There is an advantage to doing it the other way around:
(Set the inkbird to failsafe at 78, and let Apex do control at 77)

The advantage is that you can use the Apex current sensor as an alarm, that will tell you if the heater dies.

It is unclear which has better relays, so while that might matter also, I have no idea which is better.
Click to expand...
Doesn’t that risk burning out the outlet relay in the Apex? How many heating cycles do folks typically see in a day?

I’m wrestling with the same question for a new tank still in the planning stages. I’ll have two heaters each of which is enough to heat the whole aquarium. Ideally I’d just use the Apex to control each separately with one having a lower set point than the other to act as backup. But I’m concerned about how likely it is that I’d burn out the outlet relay in the EB832. I’d been considering having the primary heater controlled by an Inkbird and the backup only controlled by the Apex, but you do lose some of the benefits.
 
This is from the Neptune forums. Here is the link;

Read This First! New APEX Users: Read This Thread!

I am a long-time owner of Neptune Systems' products, and have been helping fellow controller owners in various Internet forums for many years. Some of you may have noticed that I spend A LOT of time doing so :) In all those years, I've seen patterns of things that people sometimes do which...
forum.neptunesystems.com


Additional notes about the EB8 module:
(this does NOT apply to the EB832).

EB8 outlets 4 and 8 are activated with mechanical relays. These have a distinct "click" whenever they switch on/off. Mechanical relays (think light switch in your house) have been around for a long time, are inexpensive and very reliable. They handle both high and low current devices equally well.

EB8 outlets 1-3 and 5-7 are TRIAC (TRIode for Alternating Current) solid state outlets. They are completely silent. An example of a TRIAC switch can be found on your Christmas tree lights. They are very, very fast and can switch in fractions of a second and do that all day long without wearing out like a mechanical switch/relay would. Another advantage that TRIAC switches have over mechanical switches is that they “time” their switch to the point when the current sine wave is at or near zero (what Neptune calls ‘soft start’). This virtually eliminates the possibility of “arcing” that can happen with mechanical relays that are indiscriminate about where in the sine wave they open/close.

One problem with TRIAC controlled outlets however is that they sometimes cannot detect very low power factor devices and as a result may not switch off correctly. They may appear to be in the OFF state, but may still be passing electrical current. This only happens with very low power devices, < 4-5 watts. So, if you have any device like that, you might consider putting it on EB8 outlets 4 or 8. Dosing pumps and very small AC-powered power heads are good examples of problematic devices with TRIAC outlets.
 
ebrown7 said:
Doesn’t that risk burning out the outlet relay in the Apex? How many heating cycles do folks typically see in a day?

I’m wrestling with the same question for a new tank still in the planning stages. I’ll have two heaters each of which is enough to heat the whole aquarium. Ideally I’d just use the Apex to control each separately with one having a lower set point than the other to act as backup. But I’m concerned about how likely it is that I’d burn out the outlet relay in the EB832. I’d been considering having the primary heater controlled by an Inkbird and the backup only controlled by the Apex, but you do lose some of the benefits.
Click to expand...
With the normal programming they will not turn off and on that much during the day.
Since it is not a motor or switching power supply, the current draw when you turn it off/on is pretty well behaved.
So as long as you are well below 10A, which a normal 200 watt or so heater would be, I do not see a problem long term.
But as above, I don't really know the quality of the relays used in EB8 or EB32. Likely "decent" but not fancy industrial ones.
 
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