Reef Discussion

[fordy]

Hi guy s just wanted to post this little mod that i have made for my skimmer .
I have a 2 wire probe that sits on the lid of my skimmer it connects to the brake out box on my Apex.
When the level rises to the top probe it turns off the skimmer.
In the past ive come home only to find my skimmer has overflowed for what ever reason and all that goodness is back in my tank so i came up with this it works great and it could be done without an Apex ,just a relay would do.
So far very happy with the way it works
Just wanted to share this idea maybe it could help you.
Cheers Steve

 

[Sam Parker]

nice one Steve, I use the same with a basic float valve to an solid state DC/AC relay which kills power to the skimmer should it be full. That being said, I have my skimmer hard plumbed to the drain, but I am still worried of that blocking and it overfilling for days (I rarely check it because its plumbed to the drain.....)

 

[RobbieMVFC]

Hi Steve,
After our little discussion at deer park , I ended ip getting an APEX also.
You should get into sales for APEX...lol
I have the breakout box also , I have the float switch in the sump so that if if the water level in the sump reaches a point then it turns the skimmer off.
This caters for when the return pump is off and if My RO unit goes mad.

Same Same but different.

 

[MagicJ]

Nice idea @fordy - is the 'probe' anything special, or just two wires?

 

[fordy]

nice one Steve, I use the same with a basic float valve to an solid state DC/AC relay which kills power to the skimmer should it be full. That being said, I have my skimmer hard plumbed to the drain, but I am still worried of that blocking and it overfilling for days (I rarely check it because its plumbed to the drain.....)

Couldn't fit a float in my skimmer found the probe to work really well any its about peace of mind yeah

 

[fordy]

Nice idea @fordy - is the 'probe' anything special, or just two wires?

It was probe i got from work but really is just 2 stainless wires works great

 

[fordy]

Hi Steve,
After our little discussion at deer park , I ended ip getting an APEX also.
You should get into sales for APEX...lol
I have the breakout box also , I have the float switch in the sump so that if if the water level in the sump reaches a point then it turns the skimmer off.
This caters for when the return pump is off and if My RO unit goes mad.

Same Same but different.

Glad to hear it we can compare notes.lol You won't regret it

 

[MagicJ]

It was probe i got from work but really is just 2 stainless wires works great

So, the liquid in the skimmer cup is sufficient to complete the circuit?

 

[Sam Parker]

With just the two probes, have you had any issues with foam or even moisture completing the circuit when the skimmer level is low?

 

[fordy]

So, the liquid in the skimmer cup is sufficient to complete the circuit?

Yeah salt water is very conductive

 

[fordy]

With just the two probes, have you had any issues with foam or even moisture completing the circuit when the skimmer level is low?

At first i did thats why i put a tube around it ,seems to work so far

 

[Sean81]

Nice. I have done the same also because of a small skimmer. I used two gold plated pins from work connected to an arduino moisture detector that signals a leak on my profilux.

 

[MagicJ]

At first i did thats why i put a tube around it ,seems to work so far

Is the tube open at the bottom?