Programming outlet to turn off on schedule

[dsouth1103]

I have the Apex EL and I was looking to do automatic water changes with the DŌS. My question is, how would I program my auto top off to be off during the daily 1 hour period that the auto water changes take place. The ATO is by Duetto and i’m afraid that it might interfere with the water changes and could throw off salinity. My guess would be to program the outlet that it uses to be off when DŌS is on but i’m not sure how to. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Blue Cheese]

I think your over thinking this
If your doing awc through dos the ml that’s being changed is low and won’t have an affect,if your using Neptune atk,even more so your awc won’t affect the top off

 

[dsouth1103]

I think your over thinking this
If your doing awc through dos the ml that’s being changed is low and won’t have an affect,if your using Neptune atk,even more so your awc won’t affect the top off

I’ve been monitoring my logs and the ‘dirty’ head cuts on a couple seconds before the ‘clean’ head will start to add new water. I feel like at first it won’t be a problem but over time if the ATO is putting freshwater in when saltwater should be going it will lower salinity.

 

[Blue Cheese]

Do you use Neptune atk?
Auto top of usually uses 2 sensors a high and a low,it keeps water level between,the few ml or few second delay I can’t ever see dropping your salinity to a catastrophic level or being able to catch on your apex

you could write your outlet
When “salt” on then “Ato” off
When “waste” on then “Ato” off

Substitute your names
But using those programs are probably going to over work your energy bar causing it to prematurely fail from paranoia imo

 

[sfmacguy]

you could also very easily add:

"If Time 18:01 to 09:59 Then OFF" <- adjusted to the time you want via the advanced outlet coding.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Unless you are doing the remove first, then add for large volumes, don't bother. ATO will have no effect on salinity.

If you do the remove then add method, just add an if Time statement to turn the ATO off during the same time period you do the water change.

 

[dsouth1103]

Unless you are doing the remove first, then add for large volumes, don't bother. ATO will have no effect on salinity.

If you do the remove then add method, just add an if Time statement to turn the ATO off during the same time period you do the water change.

It should be simultaneous, there is a few second delay between the two though. I guess i can just monitor if salinity changes.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

It should be simultaneous, there is a few second delay between the two though. I guess i can just monitor if salinity changes.

If you program them identically there shouldn't be any delay. Make sure they are the exact same duration and amount and they should line up.

If you need different amounts like I do, make one 23 hour interval that matches and a 1 hour interval for the difference. I do this to correct salinity from 2 part dosing, so I remove 200ml extra a day to correct salinity.

 

[Blue Cheese]

Are you changing your water over 24 hours or all at once?

 

[Gtinnel]

It should be simultaneous, there is a few second delay between the two though. I guess i can just monitor if salinity changes.

If the same amount is going in that’s coming out then it won’t matter. If your head to pull water out comes on a few seconds before the one putting new water in then your ATO my add a small amount of fresh water. But it won’t be enough to make a difference and it will evaporate out so it won’t make any difference to salinity over time.
The only way that it would matter is if you’re removing all of the water before adding the new, or your in/out aren’t the same amount.

 

[dsouth1103]

Are you changing your water over 24 hours or all at once?

Over a 2 hour period, I guess 24 hours would be smarter huh?

 

[Blue Cheese]

I don’t know how others do it,I change 1% daily over 24 hours,no worries,no swings,no problems with ato

 

[Gtinnel]

I change 1.5% in my tank per day but I do mine over 1 hour. I don’t allow mine to go 24 hours.
I like to know when it shuts off, plus I use an old industrial peristaltic pump and even though it’s in a utility room that I’m rarely in I can still hear a slight hum from the pump in my living room.

 

[n2585722]

If it is just 2-3 seconds even if the ATO does run then once the AWC is complete it will take longer than normal for it to do another top off. So basically the top off at the beginning of the water change will be offset by it not running for a while after the water change. I am not familiar with the Apex but you might be able to set a maximum run time on it so if there were an issue it would only run so long before sending an alert to you and shutting off. Also it would be helpful if you can do it to setup a maximum off time so if the ATO does not top off in a given time it would also send an alert. That way if the AWC starts to overfill you would also get an alert, You never know when one or the other of the pump heads might spring a leak and cause an issue with the drain or fill side.

 

[Blue Cheese]

To turn your outlet off the programming would be written as:

If time 12:00 to 14:00 then off

Just change the time to suit yours if you decide to program it

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Over a 2 hour period, I guess 24 hours would be smarter huh?

24 hours is better. The efficiency of the change is identical regardless of how long the interval when you are simultaneously adding and removing, so 24 hour will have increased parameter stability.