Can a CoralVue Wave Engine be programmed to stop a flow pump in its tracks?

[radiata]

I've recently moved my Display Tank's wave functionality from a Neptune Apex to a CoralVue Wave Engine LE. (My age and my associated aging logic capacity have gotten me very tired of asking myself "W-T-F was I thinking when I coded a particular set of instructions".)

This leads me to ask whether or not a CoralVue Wave Engine could be programmed to stop a Flow Pump cold in its tracks? Way back (25 or 30 years) I bought a two-pump uncontrolled timer that was plugged into the electrical outlet that could automatically turn off one of the two pumps plugged into it while automatically turning on the other pump. I recollect it did so every 30 seconds.

I've used the above model with my Neptune controller. I created an Apex "Virtual Outlet", shown here as a 30 second timer (30SecTimer):

Set OFF
OSC 000:30/000:30/000:00 Then ON

I'd access a powerhead's timer with this code:

Fallback ON
Set ON
If Output 30SecTimer = OFF Then OFF
If Output 30SecTimer = ON Then ON
If Time 22:30 to 10:30 Then OFF

The reverse timer would be accessed by the opposite pump with some similar but modified code.

The last line of the above code would prevent the on/off switch from working in the evening, when the wave production should be
at its least.

Does this functionality exist in either of the two of CoralVue's Wave Engines?

Or, worse yet, did my aging brain completely bypass something I should have already seen?

TIA!

 

[Danny]

First off what pumps are you trying to control? I control MP10's with mine but I have never tried to stop the pump completely. I can slow them down or speed them up and run different schedules during the day on the Wave Engine.

 

[Carlos]

You cannot stop the EcoTech Vortechs entirely as the manufacturer does not allow it. The controller can ramp down to 1%, but the only way to stop the pump is to kill the power completely.

 

[radiata]

I recently purchased a Hydros Wave Engine LE. I've moved over four of my Octo Pulse 4 Wave Pumps that I had controlled with my Apex VDM module to the Wave Engine LE's 0-10V Control. The VDM's 0-10V Control seemed to have more control over the Pulse 4s than the Wave Engine LE's 0-10V Control does. I could stop the Pulse 4s cold as with the Apex.

I've also added two Maxspect XF350s to the Wave Engine LE. I haven't figured out if there is a way to stop them cold. (But I may be able to come up with a reasonable facsimile if I can get a grip on how these XF350 pumps can reverse their wave direction functionality using my Wave Engine LE.)

TIA!

 

[JeffB418]

I recently purchased a Hydros Wave Engine LE. I've moved over four of my Octo Pulse 4 Wave Pumps that I had controlled with my Apex VDM module to the Wave Engine LE's 0-10V Control. The VDM's 0-10V Control seemed to have more control over the Pulse 4s than the Wave Engine LE's 0-10V Control does. I could stop the Pulse 4s cold as with the Apex.

I've also added two Maxspect XF350s to the Wave Engine LE. I haven't figured out if there is a way to stop them cold. (But I may be able to come up with a reasonable facsimile if I can get a grip on how these XF350 pumps can reverse their wave direction functionality using my Wave Engine LE.)

TIA!

The Wave Engine LE does not have 0-10v outputs. It has 0-10V inputs. You can not control the pulse 4 using the 0-10v port on the WE LE. only the x4 and full wave engine have 0-10v outputs.

As for the xf350 pumps, I assume you have those on direct drive ports on the WELE. You should be able to stop the gyres from moving by either using the “active modes” selection under the associated schedule for those pumps. Or you can use the depends on function under the schedule as well as an override function.

 

[radiata]

Jeff,

Thank you for correcting my misunderstanding of the 0-10v capability. I actually thought it was working because I had the Pulses set to Random and the Hydros App Status Screen shows their power numbers moving up and down. Doh... It's time to put the Pulses back on my Apex and save up for a V2 Wave Engine.

I think I should explain my fixation with stopping and starting powerheads. If a powerhead runs without interruption a system could suffer a "cuke nuke" when a sea cucumber crawls too close to it. When that happens, the powerhead immobilizes the cucumber because it doesn't have the strength to get off of it. The cucumber than starves to death and you lose fish. I had two black cucumbers for many years as sand cleaners before I had a fish wipe-out. It also happened to a fellow reefer in my local club. He came home one day to find the fish in his tank dying. He immediately started taking apart his tank looking for a problem. He found his reddish cucumber stuck on his VorTech. Running Gyres in alternating mode is probably just as effective as periodically turning them off to prevent these nukes.

I am having a problem with one of my XF350s. I put my pair of them and my Wave Engine EL on line three weeks ago, and only started playing with the alternating/reverse flow last week. One of my XF350s functions as expected and the other doesn't. The one that is failing only runs for a few minutes and then the impeller stops spinning. The power on the Status screen shows the pump's power going up and down, but the power is frozen at .2W. The system produces no error messages. If I run it without alternating/reverse flow it runs OK. Both pumps run better with "Invert Rotation" on. One suggestion I saw said one should run it for a while in non-reversing mode to "polish the ceramic bearings". I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have.

Thank you again,
Bob