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Abyzz Advanced Control

Abyzz Advanced Control

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Are you looking to make your new Abyzz pump work with your APEX by Neptune Systems?

In this blog post, we will concentrate on connecting your Abyzz pump to a 3rd party controller by using an available 0-10 volt port.

This makes the Abyzz pump very versatile and almost universally compatible with most system controllers like the APEX by Neptune Systems or the Reef Angel. I will show you how to program your APEX controller to take advantage of the advanced controllability of the Abyzz water pumps.

Now, this video will only cover the configuration and programming of your Abyzz pump with an APEX controller from Neptune Systems. It assumes that you already have a fully configured and working APEX Controller as well as a free Variable Speed port. You should be familiar with the creation of virtual and regular Outputs. If you have not configured your APEX controller, a really good place to start is Neptune Systems website. They have an amazing website full of support articles, videos as well a support forum with a thriving community of experienced staff and fellow APEX users. You can visit them at www.neptunesystems.com.

Before we proceed, here is a list of things that we will need:

1. An Abyzz pump. For the purposes of this video, we will be using an Abyzz A100 but the controller is the same for all sizes.

2. The Abyzz to APEX connection module. This module is required to connect your Abyzz pump to your APEX controller. If you do not have one, please visit your favorite online retailer and purchase one. You can also purchase one directly from CoralVue.com

3. APEX controller by Neptune Systems with the latest firmware version installed.

To connect your Abyzz pump to the system controller, you will need to plug one end of a connection cable into the 3.5mm jack on the side of the Abyzz to APEX module and the opposite end with the Ethernet jack into an available 0-10v port on your existing system controller.

Now connect one end of the 9-pin cable to the “Master” plug on your Abyzz controller and the other end to the Abyzz to APEX module.

That is it! No need to make any changes to the controller. The Abyzz controller will automatically recognize that it is connected to the Abyzz to APEX module and await commands from the APEX!

Programming

This is Neptune Systems APEX Fusion interface. If you do not know how to access it, we recommend you head over to www.neptunesystems.com. They have a community forum that is monitored by their staff as well as fellow APEX users always happy to help.

Before we start to configure our pump, we need to figure out which Output our pump is connected to. The variable speed Output on your APEX can control two pumps at the same time. To start, make note of which Variable speed port we connected the cable to. If we connected the cable to Variable Speed port 1 and 2, then we know our pump is going to be controlled by either variable speed Output 1 or Output 2.

With that in mind, we must first turn both Outputs OFF by moving the slider to the OFF position.

Now click on the gear icon to the right of the Variable Speed Output 1 name. This will open the Output Configuration page.

Set Control Type to Advanced. Clear the configuration window and then type “Set 50”.

Save your changes by clicking on orange cloud icon located on the upper right and then repeat the same for Variable Speed Output 2.

Now, turn on your Abyzz pump’s controller. On your APEX Fusion interface, go back to the Dashboard by clicking on the first icon on the upper left and manually turn Variable Speed Output 1 ON.

If the Abyzz Pump does not respond, then turn Variable Speed Output 1 OFF and now turn Variable Speed Output 2 ON. Make note of which Output turns your pump ON as that will be the Output we will be working with.

For this video, our Abyzz A100 is running on Variable Speed Output 1. Let’s go ahead and turn the Output OFF.

Now, once again, click on the gear icon to the right of the Output’ name to access the Output Configuration Page. Let’s go ahead and rename this output Abyzz-A100. Don’t forget to save your changes!

Minimum Head Flow

Minimum head flow is the flow speed just above the point where the down pressure from water in the plumbing is equal to pressure of the pump pushing water upwards. Basically, it is a point where water in the plumbing does not go up or down but instead stays at the same level even when the pump is running.

The minimum head flow is different for every system as it’s based on each tank individual setup. The total length of the plumbing, the numbers of corners or splits all affect the total flow output of the pump.

On the Output Configuration Page, click on Wand located on the upper left corner… it is the third icon from the left

This is the Advanced Configuration Wizard.

Since this output has never been configured before, APEX loads up a sample program. In this case, we are going to delete all time points except for the first. You delete the points by clicking on the orange gear icon to the left of the point and then select “Remove Point”. Go ahead and save your changes.

As you can see, the pump should now be ON and running at 10% intensity. In order to find the Minimum Head Flow point, we need to slowly raise the point’s intensity and keep a close eye on the return output inside our tanks. As soon as we see water coming out of the pipe, we make note of the intensity. That intensity is our Minimum Head Flow.

A good place to start would be 50%. Click and hold the single point on the graph and slide it up to 50%. Then save your changes. If water is coming out of the return pipe, then we need to lower the intensity a little bit. Click and hold the point and drag it down to 40%. Save your changes and then look at the output pipe.

If water continues to flow out, then proceed to lowering the intensity a little more. If water stopped flowing out, then we know that 40% is below the Minimum Head Flow. This means that 50% is our minimum head flow and we must remember that all flow patterns for this pump should never be configured lower than 50% intensity.

With that in mind, we can now proceed to program our pump.

Programming a 4-Point Schedule

Using the same simple graph, we can go ahead and add more points to create different flow patterns during the day.

To add more points, just click on the orange icon next to the first point and select “Add Point”.

In this video, we are going to create a 4-point schedule. Since we are using the Abyzz-A100 as a return pump, we are going to have one constant intensity during the day and then slow the pump down a little bit at night.

Click and hold the dot of the first point. Now drag that dot to the right until we reach 07:00 hours with an intensity of 60%.

If you are having a hard time reaching that 7 o’clock mark, you can always click on the orange gear and then select “Adjust Point”. Select 07:00 and then enter power of 60.

Let’s go ahead and add a second point at 08:00 with an intensity of 80%. Create a third point for 22:00 with an intensity of 80% and finally, create one last point for 23:00 and intensity of 60%. Don’t forget to save all your changes!

Now we have a return pump that runs at increased intensity during the day and then at night, slows down to give our critters a break.

We hope this was helpful and you got a good understanding of how to connect your new Abyzz pump to your system controller. Please use the information you learned as a base or starting point and feel free to experiment more. Your pump is now able to do things that it could not do before so have fun with it… the sky is the limit.

If you would like to learn more about the Abyzz Flow Pumps including detailed specs, beautiful high-quality pictures and replacement parts, head on over to Coralvue.com.

If you have any questions or issues with the product, don’t hesitate to visit our support portal at coralvue.com/support. Our friendly support reps are eager to help you with any questions or issues you may have.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date on all our latest products reviews and tutorial videos. To subscribe, just lick on the small icon right there… yes, right there!!!! You can also follow us on twitter @Coralvue and give us a like on Facebook at Facebook.com/coralvueaquariumproducts