Apex ATO programming

aoe2king1 · May 17, 2018

I have an apex and need help programming a max on timer for my ato. I currently don’t have a low level float switch inside of my ATO container and don’t won’t to risk burning up my pump if I forget to fill my ATO. My pump only needs to run for 10 seconds before it reaches the desired level and only needs to turn on every 2 hours. Thanks

DLHDesign · May 19, 2018

Here's my programming:

Code:

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Swx4_1 OPEN Then ON
If Swx4_2 CLOSED Then OFF
When On > 005:00 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON
Defer 000:04 Then OFF
Min Time 060:00 Then OFF

Do you have an Apex ATK or something else?

aoe2king1 · May 19, 2018

I have the Aqua Gadget Titanium HydroFill ATO. This is the code I am currently using, I just added the OSC line of code a few days ago and believe it will only turn on the the apex outlet for the ATO pump for 20 seconds every hour from what I have read.

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
OSC 000:00/000:20/059:40 Then ON
If Swx4_6 CLOSED Then ON
If PH > 8.70 Then OFF

DLHDesign · May 20, 2018

The ATO you have is more of an "all in one" solution. Aside from using the power-monitoring to map it's draw (and that only if you have the new Apex, of course), I don't really think I'd try to mess with the outlet, myself...
The ATO has two sensors - a low on for "on" and a high one for "off"; if you've got these placed correctly, the pump should only run for the time needed to keep the tank at the proper level. The further apart the sensors are, the more swing you'll get, but the less often the pump will come on (and thus it's service life will generally extend). So you "tune" the ATO by how far apart in depth the sensors are set in the tank.
It would be highly uncommon for your evaporation rate to be the same throughout a 24hr period, which means that your top-off rate won't be the same throughout. That's why pretty much every ATO worth it's cost uses a two-sensor setup to control the on/off cycle of the pump.

Basically; the "OSC" command you have is you trying to manually override the "smartness" of the ATO. If that is your goal (and it's your tank so your goals matter more than anyone else's), then yes - you would get a "20 seconds on at the start of every hour" from that line. You mentioned that you don't have a low-level sensor in your ATO container, so where is the "Swx4_6" sensor located?
The PH check is something I've seen before, but I've always felt it to be undesirable. Turning off the ATO when PH rises may very well compound any tank issues (a salinity rise on top of a PH spike). There are certainly arguments as to why it's good to have such a check in there (and I don't really have good counters to those if/when they are raised), but for me personally; I prefer my tools to do one thing - and an ATO is for controlling salinity in my tanks.

aoe2king1 · May 20, 2018

The Swx4_6 switch is built into the tubing holder that goes inside the tank and is hooked up to a breakout box for the apex that acts as a backup incase the probes malfunction on the smart ATO (overfilling tank). The PH code is because I run kalkwasser (to keep from overdosing). Thanks for confirming the osc code runs 20 seconds each hour, pump only runs a max of 10 seconds when it needs to refills so now I can stop worrying that the pump is running dry all day because I forgot to fill ATO container knowing that the OSC code will kill the outlet after 20 seconds. This info will buy me some more time to buy an ATO reservoir and mount another float switch to turn off outlet running the smart ATO pump when/if the ATO reservoir gets too low. Thanks

Gary Ellis · Nov 11, 2019

Currently have the Tunze. The pump is loud. Was wonder about the Apex ATO pump. Is it very noisy?

Mikeltee · Aug 3, 2020

Is this the correct code to kill the ato if the return is off or in feed mode? I added the code at the beginning as I think if I add it at the end it won't turn off.

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Output Return = OFF Then OFF
If Output Return Percent < 90 Then OFF
Defer 005:00 Then ON
If ATO-Lo OPEN Then ON
If ATO-Hi CLOSED Then OFF
When On > 005:00 TheFallback OFF
Set OFF
If Output Return = OFF Then OFF
If Output Return Percent < 90 Then OFF
Defer 005:00 Then ON
If ATO-Lo OPEN Then ON
If ATO-Hi CLOSED Then OFF
When On > 005:00 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON
Defer 000:04 Then OFF
Min Time 060:00 Then OFFn OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON
Defer 000:04 Then OFF
Min Time 060:00 Then OFF

DWill · Aug 4, 2020

DLHDesign said:
Here's my programming:

Code:

Fallback OFF Set OFF If Swx4_1 OPEN Then ON If Swx4_2 CLOSED Then OFF When On > 005:00 Then OFF Defer 000:10 Then ON Defer 000:04 Then OFF Min Time 060:00 Then OFF

Do you have an Apex ATK or something else?

Isn’t 060:00 = to 60 minutes?