What are your favorite Apex features and toys?

[bubbaque]

Does your sump run dry before the pump in the barrel kicks on? I just got the dos today and am trying to figure out if I want to use it for water changes or not.

 

[thabizness]

I manually control it for now. I turn the outlet PMUP_Waste ON and it drains until I turn it OFF. I then turn on the outlet PUMP_ASW to AUTO and it fills until the float is triggered then turns off.

I just set this up so I haven't put all the float switches in yet. I would put one in the barrel for empty status so It can turn off if empty and alert. I could also put one in sump to alert when I have taken out water to a specific level or just time it. I have 2 breakout boxes in the different areas with open slots so I should be ok.

2 PMUPs are only $100

Works so far as a concept and it frees the DOS for other tasks that require more precision so I think Imma finish it up.

 

[joekool]

Trick to no siphon is to have the tub pump from a lower location to the higher location of your sump. And drain line higher than sump. The no solenoid needed. Just make sure you don't put the fill tub under water in the sump because it will pull back water.

 

[DBR_Reef]

Definitely power outage notifications- can do it for every eb8 individually in case a circuit trips. Then leak detection. Then auto water changes- I don't like the dos for it. I prefer the 2 pump method or the 2 head peristaltic pumps

 

[pelphrey]

Surprised no one has mentioned the break out box. Must have! I have a float in my ATO container for low level notifications. High level sump float shuts down skimmer and ATO. Low level float shuts down return, heaters and skimmer.

Delayed skimmer startup. No accessories required! Enter the code for your skimmer to delay start up. Also enter code if return pump off then off. If you shut your return down for water changes your skimmer turns off. When you turn your return back on skimmer won't turn on for specified time. Mine is set to ten minutes, this gives my sump time to level out.

 

[DBR_Reef]

Does your sump run dry before the pump in the barrel kicks on? I just got the dos today and am trying to figure out if I want to use it for water changes or not.

A t fitting above the water line breaks the siphon

 

[DBR_Reef]

I like my lsm with the moonlights matching real world phases

I'm pretty sure you can use the lunar command on any leds- I don't think you need the module

 

[Salty1962]

WXM and WAV pumps.

 

[divewsharks]

Already some solid suggestions. I will say the PM2, salinity monitor can be a bear to calibrate. It's a great failsafe but should always be checked manually to confirm.

Save some $$$ for the FMK, you're GOING to want this. I got in the beta with a bit of a "meh, maybe it's not for me" attitude, but now I think they're indispensable. I'm already planning uses for my second one when they come out!

Also, if you don't already have some high-end power heads the WAVs really are a lot of bang for the buck.

What are the use cases for the FMK?? having trouble coming up with any...

 

[DBR_Reef]

Already some solid suggestions. I will say the PM2, salinity monitor can be a bear to calibrate. It's a great failsafe but should always be checked manually to confirm.

Save some $$$ for the FMK, you're GOING to want this. I got in the beta with a bit of a "meh, maybe it's not for me" attitude, but now I think they're indispensable. I'm already planning uses for my second one when they come out!

Also, if you don't already have some high-end power heads the WAVs really are a lot of bang for the buck.

I'm not sure I'm convinced by the fmk. They appear to be standard magnetic Hall effect turbine sensors. The 2" sensor is less than 20 on eBay , yet they have rebadged it and are charging 90. I would just buy the module and use the generic sensors. But these sensors tend to reduce flow significantly and and need to be cleaned frequently. I would be all over it if they had used a Doppler sensor. Has fouling been a problem for you?

 

[Velcro]

What are the use cases for the FMK?? having trouble coming up with any...

Only thing I can come up with would be variable speed pumps on reactors. When I was running biopellets it would've been nice to know the baseline flow rate through the feed line of my recirculating reactor for fine tuning.

 

[JustinFromAL]

What are the use cases for the FMK?? having trouble coming up with any...

So, I'm currently using a 1" sensor (return manifold) and two 1/2" sensors (GFO & Carbon). It's just piece of mind on my return pump, just one more metric to know that everything is working as normal. It's neat though, I can tell when some ulva sneaks out of my refugium and gets stuck to the return pump, my GPH drops by about 20gph. It's really helpful on my GFO. I've figured out that my GFO tumbles perfectly at 28gph, so I set an alarm if it goes above/below so I know to adjust that manifold.

I'll be purchasing a second FMM to replace some mission critical float switches with optical sensors and set up a couple water on the floor sensors.

I'm not sure I'm convinced by the fmk. They appear to be standard magnetic Hall effect turbine sensors. The 2" sensor is less than 20 on eBay , yet they have rebadged it and are charging 90. I would just buy the module and use the generic sensors. But these sensors tend to reduce flow significantly and and need to be cleaned frequently. I would be all over it if they had used a Doppler sensor. Has fouling been a problem for you?

Over my head dude. Not that familiar with the products mentioned. Terrance or someone with Neptune might be able to speak more about the sensors themselves, but I can say that I've been running about 40 days now and haven't seen a decrease in flow. As for how the sensor itself affects flow, I can't really speak for that since I wasn't measuring it before. :/

 

[truepercs]

Already some solid suggestions. I will say the PM2, salinity monitor can be a bear to calibrate. It's a great failsafe but should always be checked manually to confirm.

Might be of help?

I was having an issue with calibration until I stumbled on to this... then all went well.

Click on COND CALIBRATE
Fail purposefully. It will reset to Defaults by clicking on SAVE, OK, SAVE, Etc.

Plug the Cond probe into your PM2
Go to SETUP and start process.

Getting it to default was key for the calibration. Doing a manual check with the refractometer my readings matched.

Maybe basic info but that solved my issues during the process.

 

[truepercs]

Another thing that was mentioned to me that I really liked. If you run a long enough Aquabus/USB cable (ie water station in basement) you can set up an eb8 (or module, etc...) and control everything for the remote area.

I guess the light bulb went off when I realized everything does not have to be right by the aquarium. (I have limited room near the aquarium)

 

[fabutahoun]

I have Apex classic with AFS, WMX and PMK and pre-ordered the new FMK, Alos I am thinking to upgrade to the new apex. also I am aiming to have all the toys. all Apex all the Time

 

[jboone82590]

I have a PMUP in my sump connected to a EB832 that goes to a drain in my laundry room. I then have another PMUP connected to a EB8 in my 50g saltwater barrel in another room that drains to my sump. I used to do AWC with DOS so I already had the 1/4 inch hose ran thru my ceiling to the barrel and drain. Used a 3/8 to 1/4 adapter on the PMUPs and connected them to existing hoses. I have float switches for correct sump level. I run the PMUP for how ever long I want (right now Im just eyeballing it but later I will calculate time/gallons) and turn it off. Then I kick on the PMUP in the water barrel and it runs till the float is triggers. Its two buttons right now but eventually it will be setup on a outlet for 10g, 20g, or what ever gallon water change (up to the 50g barrel size)

The only gotcha is that the PMUP creates a siphon from the barrel to the sump so I attached a always off solenoid to that line and when the PMUP comes on the solenoid opens (also connected to same plug in EB8)

Do you always keep water in the 50 gallon barrel?

 

[thabizness]

Yes

 

[jboone82590]

Yes

Ok thanks.