Solenoid valve with Atk?

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

leepink23

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 22, 2016
Messages
2,749
Reaction score
2,206
Location
Mississippi
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Can I use the apex solenoid valve with my Atk to stop the siphon that happens when I fill up the reservoir? It's not practical with my setup to use the push fitting that comes with it to stop the siphon.

Screenshot_2017-10-11-18-17-17.png
 

lennyd19

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
404
Reaction score
134
Location
Hudson Valley
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Does your ATK fill your sump or reservoir? Where are you getting a syphon from/to?
 

kinetic

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,264
Reaction score
935
Location
Albany, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Can you describe why you can't use the siphon break? It's literally just a small hole. If it's out of the water, it will break the siphon when your PMUP stops. The push fitting is just a bit wider than the actual 1/4" tubing, so it seems difficult to be in a situation where this won't work. You can also just drill a very small hole in the 1/4" tube right above your reservoir's water level.

The Solenoid will need an additional FMM module if I'm not mistaken. It needs the same accessory plug as the PMUP.
 
OP
OP
leepink23

leepink23

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 22, 2016
Messages
2,749
Reaction score
2,206
Location
Mississippi
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have a 10 gallon aquarium for my ato, filling it up to the top gets me a full week but creates a siphon, when using the siphon break, because I have to put at the top of the 10 gallon it causes water to spill out when running. I have an eb832 for the solenoid. If I just fill the 10 gallon up 80% it is fine.
 

siggy

My Aquariums Going Again
View Badges
Joined
Feb 16, 2017
Messages
7,123
Reaction score
21,417
Location
MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have had the same problem, the check already has a small hole drilled, that is the check, mine got clogged due to running kalk or a plastic burr. I cleaned it has never done it again. must say The ATK is troublesome, always needing adjustments and the float switch is of poor quality and difficult to adjust
 

kinetic

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,264
Reaction score
935
Location
Albany, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I’ve had 5 different topoffs, the ATK is by far the easiest I’ve used. Not sure why yours needs constant adjustments? My float switch never needed to be adjusted.
 
OP
OP
leepink23

leepink23

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 22, 2016
Messages
2,749
Reaction score
2,206
Location
Mississippi
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My low sensor has failed twice in a few months and allowed water to run dry. Both times the sensor needed cleaning. I had less hassle with float switches and toms aqualifter to be honest.
 

siggy

My Aquariums Going Again
View Badges
Joined
Feb 16, 2017
Messages
7,123
Reaction score
21,417
Location
MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I’ve had 5 different topoffs, the ATK is by far the easiest I’ve used. Not sure why yours needs constant adjustments? My float switch never needed to be adjusted.
That's just it, the float is there to stop the siphon but it leaked water and caused the drain of the reservoir, High level fault is the most common on mine. wounder why ? solenoid valve would be the ticket.
hey a simple relay powered by ATK output command to turn on pump & solenoid would work. it would require an additional power supply
 
OP
OP
leepink23

leepink23

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 22, 2016
Messages
2,749
Reaction score
2,206
Location
Mississippi
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
That's just it, the float is there to stop the siphon but it leaked water and caused the drain of the reservoir, High level fault is the most common on mine. wounder why ? solenoid valve would be the ticket.
hey a simple relay powered by ATK output command to turn on pump & solenoid would work. it would require an additional power supply
Thanks, luckily I have am eb832 that I could plug it into. My plan was program the solenoid to be open if atk on.
 

siggy

My Aquariums Going Again
View Badges
Joined
Feb 16, 2017
Messages
7,123
Reaction score
21,417
Location
MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have an apex waiting for me to catch up on everything before diving into that pool, please let me know what you figure out.
 

kinetic

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,264
Reaction score
935
Location
Albany, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Or program if swx_1 open then open.

The swx_1 open doesn't always get the PMUP to turn on, since the PMUP has it's own set of rules (like how often, max time, etc). So if you can get it to be triggered the same way, I think that would work well.

I just think it's overkill and really not needed. Solenoids can also fail, and I've heard need it's own set of maintenance.

A simple siphon break is all you need. A tiny hole or anything right above the waterline in your reservoir will immediately fix the issue. Drill a 1/8" hole into the line pointing back down into the water. I only had a 1/4" drill because my siphon break connector's hole came without being drilled all the way through, and I made a hole twice the designed size. Still works fine, just a lot of water shoots out. My ATO reservoir is covered well enough, so no water gets out.
 
OP
OP
leepink23

leepink23

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 22, 2016
Messages
2,749
Reaction score
2,206
Location
Mississippi
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The swx_1 open doesn't always get the PMUP to turn on, since the PMUP has it's own set of rules (like how often, max time, etc). So if you can get it to be triggered the same way, I think that would work well.

I just think it's overkill and really not needed. Solenoids can also fail, and I've heard need it's own set of maintenance.

A simple siphon break is all you need. A tiny hole or anything right above the waterline in your reservoir will immediately fix the issue. Drill a 1/8" hole into the line pointing back down into the water. I only had a 1/4" drill because my siphon break connector's hole came without being drilled all the way through, and I made a hole twice the designed size. Still works fine, just a lot of water shoots out. My ATO reservoir is covered well enough, so no water gets out.
True, I would probably just use the atk command, I really don't think the hole is going to work because of my setup and spillage, i would probably just not fill it completely before going that route. I am hoping someone has used it with that setup. I definitely don't want to add more problems.
 

kinetic

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
1,264
Reaction score
935
Location
Albany, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
True, I would probably just use the atk command, I really don't think the hole is going to work because of my setup and spillage, i would probably just not fill it completely before going that route. I am hoping someone has used it with that setup. I definitely don't want to add more problems.

I guess I can't picture what the problem is. Can you take a photo?
 

action21

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 3, 2017
Messages
277
Reaction score
51
Location
Racine, WI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would like to thank everyone for their input here and wish I would have read this thread prior to me purchasing 3 Solenoids for ATK and Auto water change setup. Would have saved me $$
 
OP
OP
leepink23

leepink23

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 22, 2016
Messages
2,749
Reaction score
2,206
Location
Mississippi
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would like to thank everyone for their input here and wish I would have read this thread prior to me purchasing 3 Solenoids for ATK and Auto water change setup. Would have saved me $$
Yeah I ended up not getting them and raised the level of the Atk which fixed it
 

Algae invading algae: Have you had unwanted algae in your good macroalgae?

  • I regularly have unwanted algae in my macroalgae.

    Votes: 45 35.4%
  • I occasionally have unwanted algae in my macroalgae.

    Votes: 28 22.0%
  • I rarely have unwanted algae in my macroalgae.

    Votes: 9 7.1%
  • I never have unwanted algae in my macroalgae.

    Votes: 10 7.9%
  • I don’t have macroalgae.

    Votes: 31 24.4%
  • Other.

    Votes: 4 3.1%
Back
Top