- Let's think about your tanks return pump for a second.
Has it ever ran dry
or nearly ran dry from sitting in a low water level?
Has it ever been awful broken when you got home
and you had no idea?
Have you ever had a plumbing leak or a leaky external pump?
Because the return pump's the heart of your reef
that connects all of the life support
between your sump and your tank.
Over the next 10 minutes,
I'm gonna show you how to use the Neptune Apex
to solve return pump issues like these
and more ultimately helping you improve its performance
and make it safer for your home and your reef pets.
(upbeat music)
Hey guys, Randy, here with BRStv's guide
to mastering your Neptune Apex controller,
where we show you how to use the Apex
to improve your equipment's performance
and avoid a ton of inevitable issues
that all reefers face.
Today's all about the return pump
and how it will inevitably fail you one day,
leaving you high and dry
or worse yet with a ton of water all over your floor.
If you strive to be prepared,
the moment a potential return pump issue happens,
or you want to solve them before they even become an issue,
then today's episode is for you,
especially because I'm diving into
the most common return pump issues
that can and likely will happen to you at some point
and show you how a tool like the Neptune Apex
accounts for the inevitable
and puts you on the path to success.
So in just a minute, I'm gonna show you how to
fix the single most important issue
that you might face with your return pump.
But before we get there,
let's first talk about how easy it is
to solve those instances when you feed your tank
and before your fishing corals get a chance to eat,
much of the food is already gone down to the overflow
and into this sump.
It's difficult to watch our expensive foods
and additives literally get sucked down the drain.
So in order to help eliminate unnecessary food waste
and related pollution by
automatically turning our return pump off during feeding,
we can use the Apex return pump task.
By initially using a return pump task function
to set up your pump,
you actually knock out two birds with one stone.
First, you rename your return pump outlet
so it's easy to ID later for important alerts
and notifications.
And second, setting up your return pump
to turn off automatically when you feed your tank
to stop flushing food down the drain.
To do this, choose the task icon from your dashboard
that looks like a clipboard.
Find the return pump task, choose your return pumps outlet,
rename it something easy, like return pump.
Then choose one of the four feed modes you want to use
when feeding your tank and hit send.
Your pump is now set up
to keep more of your food in the tank when feeding,
by turning itself off during your desired feed mode,
which runs for a default of five minutes.
If you'd like you can tailor
that default five minute feed mode time
to meet your own specific feeding needs
anywhere from one to 999 minutes,
by choosing the miscellaneous set up wrench icon
from your dashboard,
and adjusting your feed mode time in seconds.
The next, and what I believe is the most
important return pump issue your Neptune Apex can solve,
is to know the exact moment your pump has stopped working
altogether, because when your return pump is dead,
your water's not getting filtered.
It's not getting heated. It's not being fully circulated.
All of which, if left long enough,
could completely wipe out your tank.
Using power monitoring,
not only can you get emails alerts and notifications,
if your return pump fails to draw power at all,
which substantially gives you an advantage
to respond immediately.
But power monitoring can also provide you
with a window into your pumps performance.
Like it's still running, but drawing less power than normal,
which tells you that it might be clogged,
obstructed or that it's time to be cleaned.
Maybe your gate valve or pump controller was bumped
or changed without you knowing it.
And now it's drawing more or less power than normal,
or even in some instances,
an increase in power consumption might tell you
that your pump is running dry and spinning unobstructed.
To turn on power monitoring for your return pump,
whether it's AC, DC or you're running more
than one return pump for redundancy,
find the power usage alarm task,
select your return pump outlet you renamed earlier,
pick a minimum and maximum water's draw range
for your alerts and push the send button.
If you're not sure what minimum or maximum ranges to choose,
just go with the default range as the Apex suggests
and after a few days of power consumption history,
you can always come back
and run the power usage alarm task again
to get more refined rages.
So already just by adding your return pump to your Apex
and using just those two tasks functions,
we've already made it smarter
and easier to use through automation.
We've made it easier to troubleshoot
and maintain through performance monitoring.
And most importantly,
we've made your return pump safer with alerts
and notifications at the exact moment
your tanks heartbeat stops functioning.
So up next, let's explore other potential return issues
that we can solve with the help of a few add-ons
and accessories like the FMK fluid monitoring kit,
leak detection kit, optical sensors, flow sensors,
and probably the most intelligent accessory out there
for any Neptune Apex, the COR-15 and COR-20.
Okay. So if you're following me using that analogy
that your return pump is like your tanks heart,
then it's safe to say that the water flowing through
is like the blood flowing through
your tanks veins and arteries.
Not only is it nice to know exactly how much
or how fast that water is moving through your tank,
but even more useful is the ability know
when it slows down or completely stops flowing.
When monitoring your return pumps flow,
you can add another layer of safety
and redundancy through alerts.
When your return pump might not be operating normally
and the flow might have changed.
You could also be alerted
when your primary drainer overflow is clogged,
and water starts flowing through the emergency drain,
which isn't always obvious
because your return pump likely isn't the cause here.
You can monitor flow also
and allowing you to assign an actual number
to your ideal flow rate,
where the balance between your sump
and display remains steady and quiet,
monitoring flow allows you to
set specific flow rates for gear like a UV sterilizer,
which is imperative for the best performance
and flow can dynamically measure
how your manifold is working,
especially if you tweak one portion
causing changes to the other.
With potential return pump
and related plumbing issues like those out there,
we can use tools like the FMK or individual flow sensors
to solve them with a simple flow sensor task function.
Whether you're using the full fluid monitoring kit
or added an individual flow sensor
to an existing FMM module.
Setting them up as a breeze
after your flow sensors installed,
find the flow sensor task, select your FMM,
choose your flow sensor
and flow sensor size from the dropdown menu,
and then set a minimum
and maximum flow rate range for your alerts.
Before setting up the flow sensor alerts,
I typically let the Apex gather a day
or two worth of data after it's installed,
which also allows me to make fine tune adjustments
and tweaks and lets the Apex recommend a tighter min
and max flow rate range for your alerts.
If you're using a flow sensor for gear like UV sterilizers
with very specific flow rates,
you can pull down the flow sensor graph
from the unused tiles and use the flow rate in real time
to make fine adjustments, to dial it in first,
then come back to the flow sensor tasks to set the ranges.
Those using a flow sensor on your emergency drain
as a backup in case something goes wrong
with the primary drain, here's a tip for you.
This notification could mean the difference
between fixing a potential issue in time
or water all over your floor.
So just remember that the sensors
should always read zero gallons per hour
and less water is flowing through it.
So set your minimum flow rate higher than zero
and your maximum a little higher than that,
and be sure to test that notification that it works
before it becomes critical.
So on that same subject of avoiding water
all over the floor,
I don't think I need to explain how crucial it is to
either stop any leak before it happens
or stop them as quickly as possible after they start.
Beliefs can happen beyond a leaky external return pump
or leaky plumbing connections.
It's important to keep in mind
other potential leak points throughout our tanks,
like the overflow, which can get clogged
and start to spill over,
or can also leak from a pump that's running too fast
and the overflow can't keep up.
So whether it's the plumbing overflow or return pump itself,
monitoring for leaks and acting on them as
quickly as possible, is for sure the best practice
to protecting your tank and protecting your home.
This is where that LDK leak detection kit
or individual leak detection sensors can save the day by
not just alerting us about leaks when they happen,
but actually turn equipment like the return pump off
to help prevent further leaking,
and setting up these protections
is all covered in that LDK task function.
Once your leak sensors are placed in
those leak prone areas like under the overflow,
near the plumbing or under an external pump,
you can find the LDK task, choose your FMM,
identify your two leak sensors and push send.
Here's a little trick that I like to do immediately
after adding any sensor to your LDK FMM
or any other FMM module.
And before using the LDK or flow sensor task,
these sensors are so much easier to identify and use,
if you rename them first.
So what I do is find the new sensor ports
and the unused tiles, bring them down to the dashboard
and rename them something like I've done here
with leak one, leak two ,optic three and flow four.
So using that LDK task, we just solve getting a text email,
or alert if the leak sensors detect water.
But in some cases I would want the turn to return pump off
if a leak was detected, to stop the supply of water.
In which case, all we need to do
is choose the cog icon above your return pump outlet,
adding a new line that says,
if leak one closed, then off.
Reminder, I renamed my sensors beforehand to leak one
and leak two which made them even easier to add in here,
and you can do the same for your sensor names,
but now if there is water on the floor
or where it's not supposed to be, you'll get an email alert,
and at the same time,
your return pump will automatically turn off.
Alternatively, you could just rely on the notification
to let you know that there is a leak
and then use the fusion app to
manually toggle the pump on or off.
In either case,
the notification is actually the most important component
to solving this issue.
Sure. Leak detection sensors
can help safeguard your home and your tank from damage.
But let's also talk about
protecting your return pump investment itself,
regardless of the price tag
that you paid for your return pump.
You want to get the longest life out of it that you can,
which extends beyond just regular maintenance
and cleaning alone but also applies
to protecting your pump from potential issues,
like it running dry when your sump is low,
not after it happens, but well, before it has the chance to.
An ETO failure or an empty freshwater reservoir
is the most common culprit of your return pump running dry.
Which I can't count how many times it's happened to me
as I'm sure it happened to you.
So because this is the most common
and because adding a low level sump optical sensor
is such a simple solution
to a wide variety of potential issues.
Installing an optical sensor is something
that I wouldn't skip on any tank setup.
But I also have another great use for an optical sensor
and that is to add it inside your overflow
to monitor the water level so that if it clogs,
you can get a warning before
it raises to your emergency drain
or before it spills onto your floor.
To add in an optical sensor pump protection,
just mount your sensor underwater
at the lowest point you want your sump to go.
Which for me is usually
about an inch above the top of the return pump.
Then add in a line on your return pump outlet
that says, if optic three open, then off.
Again, your sensor name might be different,
but now if your sump water level falls below the sensor,
your return pump will turn off.
And I would also add in a line to your email outlet
that says, if optic three open, then on,
which we'll simultaneously send you an email,
text or alert that your pump is about to run dry
and it's turned itself off.
If you're gonna install optical sensor in your overflow
to shut the pump off and alert you of a potential issue,
you can simply add in a similar line
to your return pump outlet that says,
if optic three closed, then off.
And aligned into your email outlet that reads,
if optic three closed, then on.
The key here is to remember
that the optical sensor is closed when underwater
and open when dry
and it's best practice to test your alarms
and actions after you're done
to make sure that they function the way you intended.
Now, we come to the Neptune COR
and although it is a utility pump
that you can use just like any other AC or DC return pump
with all the same safeties protections
and alerts that we just set up for other pumps,
it's uniquely built for the Apex
with more intelligent alarms,
IQ level for minimum and maximum flow speeds,
and a fully adjustable speed setting from zero to 100%.
So maybe that sounds like a bunch of marketing jargon
for a regular return pump,
but the additional functionality of the COR
actually equates into some tangible benefits
that aren't fully available with a standard AC
or DC return pump tied to the Apex.
The COR has the ability to not just tell you
if it ever fails, like we added using power monitoring,
but it can actually tell you what failed
or even help you diagnose symptoms of a failure
before they happen.
It does this through five additional alerts,
like if the COR changes its
RPMs outside of normal operation,
over voltage messages, indicating that a potential issue
with the DC power supply.
Under voltage messages telling you
that the power supply might be dying.
current draw alarms,
if the core is not drawing in normal current
at a specific speed setting,
which adds to that power draw alert.
Internal temperature sensors,
if the pump needs maintenance
and is operating warmer than normal
and run dry errors, to supplement the pump protections
that we added with optical sensors and power monitoring.
What that means is,
instead of only being able to use power monitoring alone
for a diagnosis tool for a potential issue,
using the COR-15 and COR-20,
you gain access to more intelligent troubleshooting
oftentimes well before the pump actually breaks
and accessing them is automatic
just by hooking your COR pump to your Apex
and running the COR task function.
The COR tasK will walk you through the setup
where you first set the COR IQ level,
which sets a maximum flow rate,
meaning no matter what your COR won't ramp up
beyond that your set speed,
which protects your pump plumbing
and tank from an accidental bump
or change to the driver.
Then you'll set your minimum flow rates
specifically for feed modes,
where instead of turning the pump completely off
and having water and food drain back into the sump,
the COR will maintain just enough water flow
to keep the return lines charged
and equalize the sump and display.
Once your minimum and maximum flow rates are set,
the COR task will set up your feed mode,
similar to what we did initially.
But additionally, in the next steps,
you can automatically choose an outlet
like your protein skimmer to turn off
when the COR is off or even running slower than normal.
As well as automatically enable email alerts
if the COR encounters,
one of those five additional faults or errors.
On top of those additional features,
what I really like about adding a COR
to the Apex is the COR performance display
on your dashboard to provide you with a visual readout of
how the pumps performing in real time,
having additional insights beyond power off
and power off alone from one of the simplest components
of my tanks gear, not only triggers that inner gear junkie,
but at the same time brings an added sense
that my investment in my tank is safeguarded
as possibly as I can make it.
Just like the protections redundancies
in a sweet little protein skimmer hack
I share in this Master Your Apex video right over here,
the tips, tricks and cool hacks we uncover
about the Apex has capabilities, continually surprise me.
And with over 30 new episodes,
filling up this playlist over here,
I guarantee that you will find some surprises yourself.