Aqua Computer Aquaero Owners thread

Yes. The XT had a USB header, Aquabus, alarm and external temp sensor headers. It's also got an internal temp sensor. In order to power the sensors it either needs USB or 4-pin Aquabus (they only supply 3-pin aquabus cables in the box). If you're connecting to an Aquaero you'll want to use aquabus as it makes it independent of Windows by effectively extending the Aquaero. If you want minimum cabling you'd want a 4-pin Aquabus cable to also supply power. However annoyingly, you cannot calibrate the fill level sensor over aquabus (you just give it current height of the column of water and max height). Once it's calibrated, assuming you don't need to calibrate it again, you could unplug the USB. You'd only need it to recalibrate or upgrade firmware - Aquaero firmware is regular but so far I've not seen an upgrade for the XT.
 
Cenedd said:
Yes. The XT had a USB header, Aquabus, alarm and external temp sensor headers. It's also got an internal temp sensor. In order to power the sensors it either needs USB or 4-pin Aquabus (they only supply 3-pin aquabus cables in the box). If you're connecting to an Aquaero you'll want to use aquabus as it makes it independent of Windows by effectively extending the Aquaero. If you want minimum cabling you'd want a 4-pin Aquabus cable to also supply power. However annoyingly, you cannot calibrate the fill level sensor over aquabus (you just give it current height of the column of water and max height). Once it's calibrated, assuming you don't need to calibrate it again, you could unplug the USB. You'd only need it to recalibrate or upgrade firmware - Aquaero firmware is regular but so far I've not seen an upgrade for the XT.
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^ what he said! In my case (lol pun intended :P) I'm keeping the USB cables tucked away (and disconnected from the motherboard) in the case, in case I need to update or calibrate.
There was an update recently. In each new aquasuite version they also update the Aquaero which is required before it will work with the newer version. My Aquaero 6 XT is now version 2007, previously 2003 and didn't work with Aquasuite 2016-4 until I upgraded the firmware. The UI looks better. The fill level sensor nor my D5 pump needed an update so I'm assuming they don't need updating as often.
 
Harpss1ngh said:
^ what he said! In my case (lol pun intended :P) I'm keeping the USB cables tucked away (and disconnected from the motherboard) in the case, in case I need to update or calibrate.
There was an update recently. In each new aquasuite version they also update the Aquaero which is required before it will work with the newer version. My Aquaero 6 XT is now version 2007, previously 2003 and didn't work with Aquasuite 2016-4 until I upgraded the firmware. The UI looks better. The fill level sensor nor my D5 pump needed an update so I'm assuming they don't need updating as often.
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Again confused. i thought I connect my aquaero xt 6 using the usb to the xt reservoir, calibrate and then use the aquabus cable.

But everybody keeps mentioning usb connection to motherboard??????????????
 
Greebo said:
Again confused. i thought I connect my aquaero xt 6 using the usb to the xt reservoir, calibrate and then use the aquabus cable.

But everybody keeps mentioning usb connection to motherboard??????????????
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NO - You do not connect the USB cable to the Aquaero XT from your XT reservoir or other devices. You plug it into the USB header on the motherboard! Otherwise you might hear a pop with nice smoke coming out of it. You are plugging your devices into your PC so Aquasuite can detect them just like plugging anything into your pc via USB.

So, you plug the USB cable into the motherboard from the sensors AND the aquaero into the USB header in your motherboard, in Aquasuite you change the Aquabus ID's so they are all different and don't clash and then set the priority to be Aquabus. If you have two aquabus devices you set one of them to ID 13 and leave the other as 12 (that is what it is by default), if you have more than 2 (you can have 4 max) then the ID's you can have are 12,13,14,and 15. As long as all the aquabus devices have unique ID's it will "just work". You can then also calibrate the sensors such as the fill level sensor (Set it to fill not pressure), set the current fill height and the total fill height capacity of your reservoir to calibrate. You then disconnect the USB cable and use the Aquabus cable (and Y splitter if you have more than 1 aquabus device).

In my case I keep one end of the USB cable connected to my sensors, if I need to make any changes (you can only calibrate or update firmware,etc via USB) but I leave the USB header disconnected from the motherboard. I Keep the Aquaero xt plugged into the USB. That's just me. You can have all the devices connected to USB and aquabus and just ignore the duplicate devices in Aquasuite if that suits you. That's up to you.

All this is explained in the thread earlier which I have used to set up my controller myself.

In fact when you put it all together and run aquasuite, you will clearly see what we are talking about in there as I did when I set mine up, it's hard to understand from a forum until you actually set it up yourself then you can see what we are talking about. It's very easy.
 
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Aqua Computer components (flow sensor, Aqualis XT res, PowerAdjust) connect to the Aquaero using Aquabus. This effectively extends the Aquaero as it can read, use and control the extra modules.

Most of these components have USB too but it is NOT to connect to each other or to the Aquaero. The USB connects to the motherboard header. Motherboard header are usually two USB ports to a header so the cable just plugs into the pins on one side - either the 4 pins or the 5 pins it doesn't matter but it does have to be thexactly right way round and you'd need to read motherboard manual to check which way but it should be the black wires nearest the missing pin.
The USB connection provides power (which is necessary for modules that don't have their own power connection and aren't using a 4-pin Aquabus cable). It also let's you use the modules without an Aquaero. For example, you could have just a flow meter (the high flow usb) and nothing else. Aquasuite will detect it as it's own device and let you read the flow.
 
Thanks for the answers! I havent read my manual yet and I am still doing my tubing/wiring so its all god to know about cables etc so I can keep them neat :)

Its turning into a monster build this with all the radiators, xt res, flowmeters and aquabus d5 etc.

Masses of cables all over. If it all works when i finish putting it together it will be a miracle!
 
Miracles happen.....just not necessarily first time ;) Have never been guilty of swearing that something didn't work only to find the power cable not plugged in *cough* :D
 
Cenedd said:
Miracles happen.....just not necessarily first time ;) Have never been guilty of swearing that something didn't work only to find the power cable not plugged in *cough* :D
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Been there done that. Spent three hours trouble shooting a new build, stripping it all back down to bare minimum to just the mobo, one ram and a gfx card on a peice of carboard to discover that the gang extension I had the psu plugged into had an on/off switch and I had switched it off before starting the new build as a safety precaution :o
 
Greebo said:
Been there done that. Spent three hours trouble shooting a new build, stripping it all back down to bare minimum to just the mobo, one ram and a gfx card on a peice of carboard to discover that the gang extension I had the psu plugged into had an on/off switch and I had switched it off before starting the new build as a safety precaution :o
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Keep your hand firmly grasping the pump when you power on to make sure you didn't forget to plug it in :D
 
Greebo said:
QUick question on that, since the pump is controlled by the software, is it going to work at all when I first switch it on?????
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Yep it will lol. By default it will, unless you assign it a controller and configure a curve or set the controller level or basically change anything else. The default setting has a minimum and maximum speed, you can change this to pwm or other settings, I haven't played with it yet.

What I did was set up the Aquaero in my spare pc, with all the stuff connected via USB and set it all up and then hook it to the aquabus to check its all correct. My project isn't completed yet so it's not connected to it but I have it all working in my spare PC. I've set it to run at 100% then I will play with it when my project is all set up. You can always tweak it afterwards, but yeah it will run. If you plug it into your spare pc don't plug the pump's molex connector since you probably won't have any water in it and you don't want to kill your pump by running it dry! Definitely set it up first though.

If you only have a laptop then you'll need to get a USB header to USB Type A converter to convert to an external USB port to connect to your laptop. So keep this in mind
 
Good question on the pump actually. I if plug in an Aquacomputer pump (specifically this one) and haven't got it connected to an aquaero but have to USB.

I assume it will work at a pre-defined speed, but can control the speed via Aquasuite as it's connected via USB?
 
Scottland said:
Good question on the pump actually. I if plug in an Aquacomputer pump (specifically this one) and haven't got it connected to an aquaero but have to USB.

I assume it will work at a pre-defined speed, but can control the speed via Aquasuite as it's connected via USB?
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Yep USB will work fine, the benefit of Aquabus is that the Aquaero can control it all independently of the Aquasuite. You save all the settings and save a profile to the Aquaero from the Aquasuite or do it all via the Aquaero menu's (I found it a bit fiddly, Aquasuite definitely the way to go!). You don't technically need an Aquaero for those sensors, they can just be read and controlled via the Aquasuite, but where the Aquaero is great and shines at is when it comes to fan control. That's when you want everything hooked to it so your fan speeds will adjust based on your sensors and can alert you from failures and even power off your machine or send 0 RPM to your CPU fan header on your motherboard for an instant thermal shutdown. The safety features alone is what makes the aquaero great!

If you just power the pump it will go 100%. The speed is reduced via Aquasuite or the Aquaero.
 
Yes, it will work but I couldn't tell you if it would be at Laing's (they make the pump) default of 60% or full speed like EK have reprogrammed their latest offerings to do.

It can be controlled by Aquasuite either over a USB connection (standalone) or via the Aquaero if connected to it by aquabus.
In theory you can configure everything from the Aquaero's screen if you have it connected by aquabus...but it's fiddly and not as easy as from Aquasuite. If you have a laptop or another running machine, I'd use an internal to external cable. I have seen a few of these available for sale or you can get an old A to B USB lead you have lying around from something like a printer and cut off the square plug. Then cut the 5x1 end of one of the Aqua Computer supplied internal USB cables (assuming you have a spare) and solder & heatshrink each of the wires together. Guess which I did *sharpens spurs and clinks off towards the bar* :D
 
You beat me to it - UPS decided to self-test with a dead battery and took out everything :rolleyes:

The alarms are good - that's why I bought one. It'll alarm if temps get too high or flow is too low or the res is low etc. Peace of mind. Also, peace and quiet with the fans but my curves are quiet----------quiet--PANIC! rather than gently ramping up.

You can send the 0 rpm signal (or more accurately, lack of signal) to the motherboard but it depends on the motherboard as to what options you have. Mine (Gigabyte) only lets me sound an alarm not shutdown and I think the Asus before that was the same. If it's a feature you want and you motherboard won't do it, there are two options to do that:

1. There's an ATX intercept cable that runs the switch wire via the relay on the Aquaero allowing the Aquaero to control power.

2. You can wire the power switch header to the relay on the Aquaero and get the Aquaero to essentially hold the power switch for a few seconds and cause force shutdown.
 
Just means there are two of us answering the questions now :D

UPS just needs new batteries. RAID controllers are upset about the disappearance of power to the cache (no, they're not battery backed in this server unfortunately) so disk checks all round for now. Now I know I don't have to rebuild it from the ground up, I'm more upset that my espresso machine has just been declared uneconomical to repair. No more geek-fuel :( Difficult finding somewhere that even knows what a triple ristretto IS, let alone able to make one. Triple ristrettos are to double espressos what double espressos are to Americanos. Proper geek-fuel :D
 
Cenedd said:
You beat me to it - UPS decided to self-test with a dead battery and took out everything :rolleyes:

The alarms are good - that's why I bought one. It'll alarm if temps get too high or flow is too low or the res is low etc. Peace of mind. Also, peace and quiet with the fans but my curves are quiet----------quiet--PANIC! rather than gently ramping up.

You can send the 0 rpm signal (or more accurately, lack of signal) to the motherboard but it depends on the motherboard as to what options you have. Mine (Gigabyte) only lets me sound an alarm not shutdown and I think the Asus before that was the same. If it's a feature you want and you motherboard won't do it, there are two options to do that:

1. There's an ATX intercept cable that runs the switch wire via the relay on the Aquaero allowing the Aquaero to control power.

2. You can wire the power switch header to the relay on the Aquaero and get the Aquaero to essentially hold the power switch for a few seconds and cause force shutdown.
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For the Aquaero shutdown thing, I presume that requires another 2 pin cable, one from the power switch going to the Aquaero and then one soldered to it (bridged) and connected to the power switch headers on the motherboard?
 
Actually it turns out there is an option to have the Aquaero emulate a USB keyboard and 'press' the 'power' key. Haven't tried it but it would rely on Windows being in a running state and given that this is a hypothetical emergency situation, I'm not sure that's necessarily a good assumption.

Regardless of which way you do it, you need the relay connector plug which is Aquacomputer part number: 53080 and is currently in stock at OCUK :D

The Aqua computer ATX Break cable is part: 53047 but it seems to have two sets of wires broken out of the ATX power cable: a standby power (which only applies to the Aquaero 5, not 6) and the green wire which is looped. Essentially, they're tapping the wire in the ATX cable that you shove a paperclip in when you want to power the PSU up without the motherboard attached. Given that, you could either tap your PSU's cable or buy something like this and tap that.

So, two methods:

1. You RTFM page 12 because the pinouts of the relay connector are, helpfully, reversed between the Aquaero 5 and 6. Then you connect the normally open and the common pins of the relay to the motherboard's power switch connection in parallel with the case's power switch. You might want a 2-pin extension (also good for temp probe extensions and available from OCUK in a variety of colours :D ) to do this and it will involve a bit of soldering as I'm not aware of a 2-pin splitter off the shelf. Then you set the emergency alarm action to close the relay for 10 secs and it executes a forced shutdown (regardless of Windows state) in the same way that holding down the power button would.

2. You tap the ATX "PS_ON" wire which is pin 16 and wire that through the relay on the Aquaero using the normally closed and common connectors. The alarm action then is to open the relay. This turns the PSU off in the same way that taking the paperclip out does. This is probably the most failsafe way of doing it simply because it directly tells the PSU to turn off whereas option 1 tells the motherboard to tell the PSU to turn off. Should the motherboard already be knackered, it's conceivable that it would fail to do so.

I should point out that I haven't tried either of these but from what I've read on the Aqua Computer forums, the manuals etc it should work. I'd advise you to do your own research to check though - not that I think I'm wrong...but I'm definitely not responsible :p
 
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