Modifying the Season Table
The Season Table can be customized. The table contains the following fields that can be altered:
· Sun Rise/Set – these are used by the SUN command to alter your light cycle through the year instead of having fixed ON/OFF times.
· Moon Rise/Set – used by the MOON command and can also be used to alter your light cycle. It is also used by the Lunar Simulation Module to turn your moon lights ON/OFF.
· New Moon – used by the Lunar Simulation Module to control intensity. During New Moon, the intensity is '0'; during Full Moon, the intensity is ‘100’. The intensity waxes and wanes, mimicking a full month lunar cycle.
· Temperature – used by the ‘RT’ modifier to the ‘If Temp’ command. Will alter your tank temperature throughout the year to simulate the natural heating and cooling of the reef.
For more information on the above commands, please see the Chapter 6 in the Comprehensive Reference Manual.
Modifying the table
Begin by:
[Apex / Apex EL] Using Apex Local, go to the Miscellaneous Settings view, then click the Sun icon.
[Apex Classic / Apex Lite/ Apex Jr] Select the ‘Edit Season Table’ link at the bottom of the Season Table web page.
You will be presented with a table of values that represent the first day of each month through the year. It’s not necessary to modify every month or even each value for a month. The system will use as much data as you modify and leave the rest at default values.
The Season Table cannot be viewed or modified through APEX Fusion.
To modify, simply change the value in each column and press ‘Update’ when complete. The system will extend these beginning of month values through the balance of the month as follows:
Sun Rise and Set – extended linearly through the month, adding or subtracting enough minutes each day to meet the beginning value of the next month. If you were to graph this it would be a straight line on an angle between the first day of this month, and the first day of the next month.
Moon Rise and Set – The exception to the ‘first day of the month’ rule. The time that you enter is the Moon Rise and/or Set time for the day that represents the new Moon (the intensity will be 0). Once you update, the system will alter the Moon Rise/Set for each day by 40 – 50 minutes to mimic a full lunar cycle.
New Moon – Changing this changes the day of the month for a New Moon (Intensity = 0). In the above screen shot, for January the value is 12. If you look at the season table for January, the 12th is a New Moon, intensity of 0. Changing this value changes the intensity values for the entire month around the New Moon day. An intensity of ‘100’ (Full Moon) will be roughly 14 days from the New Moon. Enter the date of the new moon for each month.
Temperature – This represents the temp for the first day of the month and will be extended linearly through the month to meet the temperature on the first day of the next month. The system will add/subtract degrees and tenths of a degree to do this. If your temp was 50 and the next month was 81, then with a 31 day month like January, the system will adjust the temp by exactly 1 degree each day.
The image below is from the Classic Dashboard of an Apex Classic model. The Apex/Apex EL's APEX Local interface has been better organized so that the Sunrise/Sunset, Moonrise/Moonset, Day of New Moon, and Temperature are configured separately from one another rather than being all in one page.
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