Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Yes, very frustrating.
Electrical advice - lighting fixtures - needs professional help (potentially)
- Thread starter Alexander1312
- Start date
Yes, very frustrating.
Sorry I don’t have anything useful to add in the electrical engineering department.
But for me the takeaway is that you unfortunately are having to deal with crappy products and apparently no manufacturer support and I should stay away from the brand(s) in question. So to clarify, these are Quanta lights being controlled by Hydros? So do you think it’s the combo of those 2 brands or just the Quanta lights or just the Hydros that suck?
But for me the takeaway is that you unfortunately are having to deal with crappy products and apparently no manufacturer support and I should stay away from the brand(s) in question. So to clarify, these are Quanta lights being controlled by Hydros? So do you think it’s the combo of those 2 brands or just the Quanta lights or just the Hydros that suck?
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Yes, that could be a conclusion. But in fairness, ALL the aquarium equipment is connected to one (1) outlet (which is somewhat connected to the room next door), and my underlying suspicion is that the whole problem is an electrical issue which has potentially nothing to do with either Hydros or Quanta. So I might need an eletrician to consult on this as I am not sure if this would show up through a low voltage issue that I am seeing here.
But I do agree that it could be easier to stick with what is proven to work - e.g., radeons etc - but the flexibility with an app free, highly flexible light solution is still appealing to me. I do hate the DIY part in literally everything this hobby asks for, as it does not interest me, sucks up too much time, and when my son or I do it, almost always seems to lead to suboptimal results.
Just curious what's the total estimated wattage of everything you use (heater, pumps, lights, etc.)?
PjFish
Supporting Member
Have you isolated the problem Quanta bars? Like running an extension cord from the kitchen or another room that only the Quantas are plugged into and on a different fuse then the tanks? Then you will know for sure..Can also plug in a stand alone dimmer controller to the extension cord and plug the Quanta into that to rule out if the dimmer switch is shorting out on the bars. Good luck
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
A lot, given my electricity bill
l. I went through the devices, and it looks like approx <1200 watts. However, if the backup heater kick-in, it would add another 700 watts. This should not be the case though.
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Yes, this is a good recommendation, I will try that.
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
I was able to locate the issue, potentially.
The Hydros XP8 power bar seems to make clicking sounds (turning on and off things) when the issue with the Helix light bar occurs. Again, this issue comes and goes but seems particularly prevalent when the lights turn on in the morning.
The Hydros control X4, which is hosting the quad cable that provides the dimming to the light bar, is directly connected to the XP8 via the command bus.
The light turns on and off a second or two after the clicking sound appears. There are no clicking sounds when the issue with the light is not visible, so I assume correlation is causation.
Now, how to fix this?
I do not believe the devices (XP8 or X4) are broken as they have a ton of other items connected to them, which all work fine (except for the skimmer delay feature). It could still be one port that has the issue.
So I am thinking the collective arrangement is potentially done wrong? Thoughts?
Could I have set the terminators incorrectly? I will need to draw the current setup and determine if there are wrong ways to connect the devices with each other.
The Hydros XP8 power bar seems to make clicking sounds (turning on and off things) when the issue with the Helix light bar occurs. Again, this issue comes and goes but seems particularly prevalent when the lights turn on in the morning.
The Hydros control X4, which is hosting the quad cable that provides the dimming to the light bar, is directly connected to the XP8 via the command bus.
The light turns on and off a second or two after the clicking sound appears. There are no clicking sounds when the issue with the light is not visible, so I assume correlation is causation.
Now, how to fix this?
I do not believe the devices (XP8 or X4) are broken as they have a ton of other items connected to them, which all work fine (except for the skimmer delay feature). It could still be one port that has the issue.
So I am thinking the collective arrangement is potentially done wrong? Thoughts?
Could I have set the terminators incorrectly? I will need to draw the current setup and determine if there are wrong ways to connect the devices with each other.
Last edited:
Your entire setup is on one single outlet? That’s not a great idea in general, but you’re also probably close to overloading the capacity of the outlet.
That’s probably not the issue here, just saying.
The clicking is probably just the relays going on and off, which sounds like probably something wonky with the hydros config. It doesn’t have any of this odd behavior with a light other than the quanta plugged in, all else being equal? Seems like some easy process of elimination here to be had if you haven’t already.
Note that the xp8 also has a max electrical capacity you could be exceeding (14amps across all outlets).
That’s probably not the issue here, just saying.
The clicking is probably just the relays going on and off, which sounds like probably something wonky with the hydros config. It doesn’t have any of this odd behavior with a light other than the quanta plugged in, all else being equal? Seems like some easy process of elimination here to be had if you haven’t already.
Note that the xp8 also has a max electrical capacity you could be exceeding (14amps across all outlets).
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
This is the current Hydros setup
A dual plug outlet, but probably considered one only. I am not an electrician and I was not planning to become one, but I agree this is close to being maxed out. There was no outlet in my entire hallway so this was added shortly before the tank.
The light plugs are not connected to the XP8, only the dimming part of the light. Not sure how I can eliminate this since it is only coming up at random and restarts again. Maybe I could turn off the lights when the clicking starts, but I am pretty confident it is related already. Will try I am hearing and seeing it next time.
Funny though, while posting this on the Hydros forum someone else has almost the exact same issue with the Helix/Hydros combo. Waiting to hear back if he has the XP8 relay clicking too.
A dual plug outlet, but probably considered one only. I am not an electrician and I was not planning to become one, but I agree this is close to being maxed out. There was no outlet in my entire hallway so this was added shortly before the tank.
The light plugs are not connected to the XP8, only the dimming part of the light. Not sure how I can eliminate this since it is only coming up at random and restarts again. Maybe I could turn off the lights when the clicking starts, but I am pretty confident it is related already. Will try I am hearing and seeing it next time.
Funny though, while posting this on the Hydros forum someone else has almost the exact same issue with the Helix/Hydros combo. Waiting to hear back if he has the XP8 relay clicking too.