Apex Newb - Need help with programming

[edunn]

Hi,
I am a newbie in reef keeping and would appreciate some help programming my make shift ATO. I have an Apex Pro with the liquid level sensor. I have a 5 gallon reservoir filled with RODI water that I would like my Neptune DOS to dose into my tank depending on the liquid level sensor height. Below is the programming that I uploaded. It is not working. Would anyone be able to help? I appreciate your expertise and assistance.
Kindly,
Evan
If LLS14 < 9.3 Then ON
If LLS14 > 9.3 Then OFF

 

[BuffaloLake]

I like the idea of the liquid level sensors that Neptune uses. But for me, they have been unreliable at best. I installed 6 of them on a previous tank to monitor auto water changes, ATO, return pump chamber, etc. 6 months later, I had 1 that still worked. Two wouldn’t read anything below 8”, one would climb continuously, and two would not calibrate. I have one liquid level sensor on the new tank in the return pump chamber. It sits in 6” of water, but reports anywhere from 11”-15”. I would not recommend using one as an ATO.

 

[Bear22]

Hi,
I am a newbie in reef keeping and would appreciate some help programming my make shift ATO. I have an Apex Pro with the liquid level sensor. I have a 5 gallon reservoir filled with RODI water that I would like my Neptune DOS to dose into my tank depending on the liquid level sensor height. Below is the programming that I uploaded. It is not working. Would anyone be able to help? I appreciate your expertise and assistance.
Kindly,
Evan
If LLS14 < 9.3 Then ON
If LLS14 > 9.3 Then OFF

These are just the basics: make sure the device name LLS14 (in Fusion) matches what's labeled within the Apex itself. They have to be the same.

 

[MegabiteOG]

Hi,
I am a newbie in reef keeping and would appreciate some help programming my make shift ATO. I have an Apex Pro with the liquid level sensor. I have a 5 gallon reservoir filled with RODI water that I would like my Neptune DOS to dose into my tank depending on the liquid level sensor height. Below is the programming that I uploaded. It is not working. Would anyone be able to help? I appreciate your expertise and assistance.
Kindly,
Evan
If LLS14 < 9.3 Then ON
If LLS14 > 9.3 Then OFF

I'd put a bit of a differential in there of either .1 or .2 (9.3 and 9.1). The slightest little wave may trigger the pump on and off too much without it. My LLS has been rock solid for a year without issue, but don't use it for ATO purposes.

 

[Tangdora]

LLS is fine to use but where you place it is critical and even still you should have backup redundancies in place. Been running one for 3 years and it never has sent me an alert to due to a false reading. First and foremost the sensor must be placed in extremely calm water which typically is hard to find in a return chamber as water is rushing in. The slightest splash up the strip is enough to throw it off. If you can’t find a calm spot you can easily solve for this by putting a 1.5 in pvc pipe in the corner the goes from the floor to a few inches above the water. Then drill a small hole or two near the bottom. The walls of the pipe will create a calm water surface inside and the whole will allow the water column to move up and down with respect to the rest of the chamber. As for redundancies. Would then add a float valve and set it to close a half inch higher than your max level. If using an eb832 would also take note of how long it takes to fill from your low to high level and add a WHEN command to kill power if the pump runs longer then expected. Also evaporation does not happen that quick so to cut down on chances that the sensor were to fail, I would look to fill at certain intervals of the day. As for your actual code as other have noted. Put a small range and add defers to prevent false trips

See LLS14
If LLS14 < 9.2 Then ON
If LLS14 > 9.3 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 then on
When ON > (your max fill time) Then OFF be sure you understand this will kill your power and trip the outlet to and off state requiring you manually turn it back to auto.