I am trying to program an outlet to turn on a "dumb" powerhead (Hydor Koralia) to be on and then off for less than a minute.
Any wisdom is greatly appreciated.
I am trying to program an outlet to turn on a "dumb" powerhead (Hydor Koralia) to be on and then off for less than a minute.
Any wisdom is greatly appreciated.
When You're a NOOB, You need lots of help all the time
Use Powerhead Control Type, and set the on/off timing as desired.
Please do not send me PMs with technical questions or requesting assistance - use the forums for Apex help. PM me ONLY if the matter is of a private or personal nature. Thanks.
But how do I make this control type to come on on specific intervals throughout the day.
I have been able to use programming in the "output configuration" area to do what I needed, but the problem seems to be that I can't make it turn on for less than one minute. The minimum is a one minute time frame of being on. Please take a look at my code below and tell me what's wrong with it?
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 08:00 to 08:01 Then ON
If Time 08:01 to 10:00 Then OFF
If Time 10:00 to 10:01 Then ON
If Time 10:01 to 12:00 Then OFF
If Time 12:00 to 12:01 Then ON
If Time 12:01 to 14:00 Then OFF
If Time 14:00 to 14:01 Then ON
If Time 14:01 to 16:00 Then OFF
If Time 16:00 to 16:01 Then ON
If Time 16:01 to 18:00 Then OFF
If Time 18:00 to 18:01 Then ON
If Time 18:01 to 20:00 Then OFF
If Time 20:00 to 20:01 Then ON
If Time 20:01 to 22:00 Then OFF
If Time 22:00 to 22:01 Then ON
If Time 22:01 to 08:00 Then OFF
Output Config.jpg
When You're a NOOB, You need lots of help all the time
You don't need the If Time... OFF statements. The Set OFF takes care of that. Add a Defer xxx:xx Then ON command at the very end to deduct time to result in the desired duration. For instance:
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 08:00 to 08:01 Then ON
Defer 001:40 Then ON
This would result in a 20 second duration because the If Time command is actually creating a 2 minute duration.
The better way is to use the OSC command to create recurring intervals.
Fallback OFF
OSC 000:00/000:20/119:40 Then ON
If Time 22:00 to 07:59 Then OFF
This would turn On for 20 seconds over a 2 hr cycle. And keeps it OFF from 10:00 pm until 8:00 am.
With that said it sounds wasteful to use a pump that little. It would make more sense to do like 30 seconds on 5 minutes off or something along those lines.
You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.
Reason such an short on interval between a long pause is because I do have other power heads running. This one I am doing this to is because its really powerful for a 35G tank. But it does have the capacity to stir the sand bed surface to keep sediments from hanging on the bottom while at the same time not creating havoc for for all corals in the tank. I might just adjust the time interval a bit to see what works best. Your are right, that it might be a bit wasteful use of pump. Thanks for the insight.
When You're a NOOB, You need lots of help all the time
The OSC has the format of OFF/ON/OFF when using Then ON. So to keep on a constant 2 hour cycle, you want the OFF and ON times to equal 120 minutes.
OSC 000:00/010:00/110:00 Then ON would turn On for 10 minutes out of a 2 hr cycle. The first parameter is an offset from Midnight.
Let me run this back to you to see if i understood this correctly.
000:00 means 12am
010:00 means on for 10 minutes
110:00 means Off for the next 110 minutes, in the 2 hour time frame
hence 10 min + 110 minutes equal 2 hours between ons / offs ?
If I want the interval to be less than 2 hours, then it would read: 000:00/010:00/050:00 ?
which translates into on for 10 min at one hour intervals?
When You're a NOOB, You need lots of help all the time
You're welcome. Just to be clear, this is not a requirement, it's just what people usually want. You can set up any cycle you want. You can even use multiple OSC commands to create irregular cycles, though it won't ever be random.
You can get pretty darn close if done right. I used an old computer algorithm a while back to pick numbers for multiple OSC statements to create a pseudo random set of patterns that take over 1000 years to start the pattern over exactly. Granted this used profiles which made the process significantly easier.
You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.
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