Ivan's terribly slow 225 build
- Thread starter IvanTheTerrible
- Start date
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
No, I unplugged it from the wireless adapter (at the Apex end) and plugged that into the laptop. Everything tested fine, so I plugged it back into the Apex. Later on I uplugged both ends to check the connections and cycled the power on the adapter. A while after that (1/2 hour maybe) it reconnected to Fusion. The connection was better today but still not good - 24 disconnects in 24 hours.
The new cable arrived today, so I'll give that a try soon.
- Ivan
OK can you go to:
https://apexfusion.com/apex/***swappyourIDhere***/diag
And print screen/screen capture it so I can see what it says.
https://apexfusion.com/apex/***swappyourIDhere***/diag
And print screen/screen capture it so I can see what it says.
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
It says "400 Bad Request". I'm guessing that isn't what you wanted to see.
Regardless, it appears I was wrong and the issue was with the wireless adapter and/or the cable. I received the new cable tonight and plugged it in. I haven't had any disconnects since plugging in the new cable. Now, I need to permanently install it. For now, it's just laying on the floor running from one end of my house to the other and up a flight of stairs. Luckily, my family isn't here so I don't have to worry about anyone else tripping on it. I'm going to let it go a little longer before I start drilling holes and permanently installing the cable, but things are looking good so far. Thanks for your help.
- Ivan
Hey not a problem.
On that wireless adapter sometimes they get interference from a cordless phone or other items in the area. Anything like that around? How is the wireless signal right by where it was?
Do you have a wifi analyzer app on you phone that you can run and put your phone right by the same area that it was sitting?
On that wireless adapter sometimes they get interference from a cordless phone or other items in the area. Anything like that around? How is the wireless signal right by where it was?
Do you have a wifi analyzer app on you phone that you can run and put your phone right by the same area that it was sitting?
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
No cordless phones, we quit using landlines. I think it's most likely the cable is damaged internally, or it was picking up some interference from something.
I think the wifi signal is pretty good where the adapter was sitting. I didn't even know they had wifi analyzer apps. I should have guessed, there's an app for everything. I'll install one and check the signal.
- Ivan
I do computers for a living so I always have a box of cat5 at home. For me personally its easier that way. The quickest place to get them (premade) is walmart or home improvement store.
The BestBuy/HHGreg are going to charge you double for the same thing.
It is not as hard as people think. As long as you are good with colors and can cut.
The BestBuy/HHGreg are going to charge you double for the same thing.
It is not as hard as people think. As long as you are good with colors and can cut.
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002HTO8SC/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
There are a number of lengths available. There are some really cheap ones, which I avoided.
- Ivan
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
Being colorblind screws this up for me. :headwally:
Do you need special tools for the connectors? I might cut mine to length once it is installed.
- Ivan
You need a crimp tool and the ends. They have to be in the right hole to match the colors up, which is why color is an important factor.
All the supplies from the box of cable to the crimp tool and ends can all be bought at home improvement store. While online is cheaper, some people dont need a box of 100 ends.
All the supplies from the box of cable to the crimp tool and ends can all be bought at home improvement store. While online is cheaper, some people dont need a box of 100 ends.
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
OK. This will be a smorgasbord of an update, so bear with me.
First, the Apex didn't lose connection once today. :bounce3: I can't remember the last time that was the case. I plan to permanently install the new cable on Sunday. I haven't finished troubleshooting to determine what was causing the issue. I might do that on Sunday too.
Lights - I've been keeping the lights at a very low level, since I only have the duncan frag in my tank at the moment. In fact, I've kept them low enough that the fans wouldn't turn on. Since I don't have a par meter (yet) I've been moving the duncan around the tank to see how it responds to different light levels. It seems to be doing better in the areas with brighter light (high up on the rocks near the center of the tank).
It's pretty easy to tell which areas of the tank are brighter because the spread of the lights isn't enough to cover the whole tank. To improve the spread, I decided to take the lenses off of the LEDs. There are a lot of YouTube videos showing how this is done. If you can work a screwdriver, you can do it. I was actually impressed with the build quality of the light when I had it apart. Cheap products made in China aren't exactly known for their high quality, but the lights were actually well organized and neat. From what I could see, the workmanship was solid. I didn't see anything that I needed to correct (I usually find something). I wasn't home today, so I can't really say how much better (if any) the spread is now. I'll check it out tomorrow. I also turned the intensity up on each light a little. With the lenses removed the light from the LEDs is less focused, which gives better spread but could lead to reduced par. I plan to slowly increase the intensity until it is too much for the duncan. Then, I'll have some idea of the maximum intensity for the lights, or at least the intensity setting where most corals won't be bleached - assuming proper acclimation and reasonable placement. In the future, I'll either replace the lights or supplement them but I'm satisfied with what I have for now.
Gyres - I've been slowly reducing the intensity of the gyres. I'm now at a max of 50% speed. Any higher and the sand blows around. I don't get as much surface agitation from them as I would like, but it's not a problem because the SeaSwirls compensate. I could rotate the cages on the gyres, but I always feel like I'm going to break them when I mess with them.
SeaSwirls - Both are still working. I have no idea why one decided to take a few days off. I drilled a hole in the outlet pipe of each right below the waterline. This provides quite a bit of surface agitation and acts as a siphon break when the return pump is off or in feed mode. There's sufficient capacity in the sump for the full volume of water, so I'm not worried about one of the holes being blocked, but I do plan to clean them periodically.
Skimmmer - According to Danner's website, it can take up to 10 days for them to evaluate your returned items. So, I waited the 10 days before I contacted them. The first day I called, they said "everyone in the warehouse is gone for the day so I will have to get back to you tomorrow". I didn't get a call the second day. On the third day I called during lunch. They said that it was sent to the warehouse and that they would get back to me. They called later that day to say that the pump was defective for "unknown reasons" and that they would be sending a replacement. However, that model of pump is out of stock so I won't be getting a new one until the end of the month. I asked if I would be notified when it shipped or sent a tracking number. She said "no" to both and suggested I call back at the end of the month and see if my pump had shipped. I'm not very impressed with Danner's customer service.
Sump - When I had the baffles for my sump cut, I didn't make them tall enough. So, every time the return pump would shut off or go to feed mode the water level would rise and the chaeto could float around in the sump. Obviously, I don't want it getting into the return pump or skimmer pump so I made a barricade out of left-over eggcrate. Then I used the eggcrate to hold my dosing lines, which works out great. The only thing hoding the eggcrate in place is the MarinePure block, so it's easy to remove if desired.
Fish - I made the last transfer of the firefish today. Next move will be into the 20L for observation for a few weeks. Since it is a shy fish, I'm thinking about moving the molly out of the 20 while the firefish is in there. I'll either put the molly in the sump of the big tank or into the FW tank. I've decided it's not going into the DT. I don't want to even put it in there on a temporary basis because that fish is hard to catch in a 20 gallon tank. It would be impossible to get in a bigger tank.
Fish #2 - My wife and kids were at a dance competition this weekend. I drove up today to watch some of the events. A few fish followed me home.
I bought them from a craigslist ad. It wouldn't have been worth the drive just to get the fish, but since I was halfway there for the dance competition it was a no-brainer. Anyways, they're going though the TTM now. Since I moved the firefish today, I didn't have a chance to let the tank, heater, etc. remain dry for 24 hours. Instead, I dried everything as best I could and then gave everything a thorough scrub with vinegar (no dilution). After thoroughly drying everything again, I put the water in and transferred the fish in. I realize that this slightly increase the chance of these fish getting ich (assuming they didn't and the firefish did), but the TTM should take care of it. I could have left the fish in a bucket for the day, but I hate keeping fish in buckets, so I decided to go for it and accept the risk.
That's all for now.
- Ivan
First, the Apex didn't lose connection once today. :bounce3: I can't remember the last time that was the case. I plan to permanently install the new cable on Sunday. I haven't finished troubleshooting to determine what was causing the issue. I might do that on Sunday too.
Lights - I've been keeping the lights at a very low level, since I only have the duncan frag in my tank at the moment. In fact, I've kept them low enough that the fans wouldn't turn on. Since I don't have a par meter (yet) I've been moving the duncan around the tank to see how it responds to different light levels. It seems to be doing better in the areas with brighter light (high up on the rocks near the center of the tank).
It's pretty easy to tell which areas of the tank are brighter because the spread of the lights isn't enough to cover the whole tank. To improve the spread, I decided to take the lenses off of the LEDs. There are a lot of YouTube videos showing how this is done. If you can work a screwdriver, you can do it. I was actually impressed with the build quality of the light when I had it apart. Cheap products made in China aren't exactly known for their high quality, but the lights were actually well organized and neat. From what I could see, the workmanship was solid. I didn't see anything that I needed to correct (I usually find something). I wasn't home today, so I can't really say how much better (if any) the spread is now. I'll check it out tomorrow. I also turned the intensity up on each light a little. With the lenses removed the light from the LEDs is less focused, which gives better spread but could lead to reduced par. I plan to slowly increase the intensity until it is too much for the duncan. Then, I'll have some idea of the maximum intensity for the lights, or at least the intensity setting where most corals won't be bleached - assuming proper acclimation and reasonable placement. In the future, I'll either replace the lights or supplement them but I'm satisfied with what I have for now.
Gyres - I've been slowly reducing the intensity of the gyres. I'm now at a max of 50% speed. Any higher and the sand blows around. I don't get as much surface agitation from them as I would like, but it's not a problem because the SeaSwirls compensate. I could rotate the cages on the gyres, but I always feel like I'm going to break them when I mess with them.
SeaSwirls - Both are still working. I have no idea why one decided to take a few days off. I drilled a hole in the outlet pipe of each right below the waterline. This provides quite a bit of surface agitation and acts as a siphon break when the return pump is off or in feed mode. There's sufficient capacity in the sump for the full volume of water, so I'm not worried about one of the holes being blocked, but I do plan to clean them periodically.
Skimmmer - According to Danner's website, it can take up to 10 days for them to evaluate your returned items. So, I waited the 10 days before I contacted them. The first day I called, they said "everyone in the warehouse is gone for the day so I will have to get back to you tomorrow". I didn't get a call the second day. On the third day I called during lunch. They said that it was sent to the warehouse and that they would get back to me. They called later that day to say that the pump was defective for "unknown reasons" and that they would be sending a replacement. However, that model of pump is out of stock so I won't be getting a new one until the end of the month. I asked if I would be notified when it shipped or sent a tracking number. She said "no" to both and suggested I call back at the end of the month and see if my pump had shipped. I'm not very impressed with Danner's customer service.
Sump - When I had the baffles for my sump cut, I didn't make them tall enough. So, every time the return pump would shut off or go to feed mode the water level would rise and the chaeto could float around in the sump. Obviously, I don't want it getting into the return pump or skimmer pump so I made a barricade out of left-over eggcrate. Then I used the eggcrate to hold my dosing lines, which works out great. The only thing hoding the eggcrate in place is the MarinePure block, so it's easy to remove if desired.
Fish - I made the last transfer of the firefish today. Next move will be into the 20L for observation for a few weeks. Since it is a shy fish, I'm thinking about moving the molly out of the 20 while the firefish is in there. I'll either put the molly in the sump of the big tank or into the FW tank. I've decided it's not going into the DT. I don't want to even put it in there on a temporary basis because that fish is hard to catch in a 20 gallon tank. It would be impossible to get in a bigger tank.
Fish #2 - My wife and kids were at a dance competition this weekend. I drove up today to watch some of the events. A few fish followed me home.
I bought them from a craigslist ad. It wouldn't have been worth the drive just to get the fish, but since I was halfway there for the dance competition it was a no-brainer. Anyways, they're going though the TTM now. Since I moved the firefish today, I didn't have a chance to let the tank, heater, etc. remain dry for 24 hours. Instead, I dried everything as best I could and then gave everything a thorough scrub with vinegar (no dilution). After thoroughly drying everything again, I put the water in and transferred the fish in. I realize that this slightly increase the chance of these fish getting ich (assuming they didn't and the firefish did), but the TTM should take care of it. I could have left the fish in a bucket for the day, but I hate keeping fish in buckets, so I decided to go for it and accept the risk.
That's all for now.
- Ivan
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
I've had my Apex for about 2 years. Previously, it would just be disconnected from the Apex and not accessible. Since they added the heartbeat feature, you at least get a notification that it disconnected. That's a great feature until you get a notification every hour. :hmm4:
I installed the cable today. Luckily I have crown molding in my basement, so I didn't have to cut any drywall. Just popped the molding off and hid the cable behind it. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have installed the cable when I was building the fish room and had everything exposed.
It turns out that a 100 foot cable would have been more than enough. I ordered it extra long because I don't own a cable stretcher. The cable passes through my garage, so I just coiled the extra up on a shelf.
- Ivan
IvanTheTerrible
Fish Nerd
I might be interested in joining the club if Saltwater Sanctuary is giving a discount. Do you guys get a discount at Wet Pets? I do 99% of my shopping at those two stores since they are less than 10 minutes from my house. I could pretty quickly save more than my membership fees.
Let me know when you're coming down. I'd be glad to have you stop by if I'm home.
- Ivan
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