Fazio92 January 27, 2012 Share January 27, 2012 Hey Everyone, Just wanted to see if anyone has ever build a DIY leak detector for their controller (Apex, ACIII, RKE, etc.)? I am finding very little google'ing besides using waterbugs, etc... Others have said they have rigged up some sort of sensor that is connected through a breakout box, but i can't find plans/instructions anywhere. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! -Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvreef January 27, 2012 Share January 27, 2012 As with you I am looking to do a diy for this just in case my sump overflows or my skimmer goes nuts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S January 27, 2012 Share January 27, 2012 As a new Apex owner, I was curious if Neptune sold a product that did this? Or do you have to DIY? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazio92 January 27, 2012 Author Share January 27, 2012 As a new Apex owner, I was curious if Neptune sold a product that did this? Or do you have to DIY? Unfortunately, they don't sell one...I thought that would be a no brainer on their end, guess not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 27, 2012 Share January 27, 2012 Anthony, if you had a leak, it would lower the water level in your sump or cause your ato to run longer than usual. Could you somehow detect that in the Apex code? If you used a separate, smaller ATO reservoir that is more than your evaporation, you could also detect a substantial leak by finding that the water level in the reservoir has dropped more than is reasonable in a window of time. This could be done with a simple float switch providing a binary signal to the Apex. It's not a direct indication of a leak (like sensing water on the floor), but indirect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazio92 January 27, 2012 Author Share January 27, 2012 Anthony, if you had a leak, it would lower the water level in your sump or cause your ato to run longer than usual. Could you somehow detect that in the Apex code? If you used a separate, smaller ATO reservoir that is more than your evaporation, you could also detect a substantial leak by finding that the water level in the reservoir has dropped more than is reasonable in a window of time. This could be done with a simple float switch providing a binary signal to the Apex. It's not a direct indication of a leak (like sensing water on the floor), but indirect. Yeah, i've already done that, but my floods tend to be due to me leaving an RO valve on too long, etc.. Just a piece of mind thing, especially if I know its on the floor vs. evaporation (as i get those alarms too frequently, and tend to scare me after all my mishaps). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals January 27, 2012 Share January 27, 2012 You could just get on of thoes auto shut off systems for your ro tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazio92 January 27, 2012 Author Share January 27, 2012 You could just get on of thoes auto shut off systems for your ro tank. Yeah, still need something if i'm not home, so i get an email. That would shut off the RO, but i still need something goes wrong somewhere else on the tank. Slow leaks can easily be refilled by ATO and not noticed by a low sump sensor. If a sensor was on the floor that is an instant response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami January 27, 2012 Share January 27, 2012 There's an article in this month's newsletter that goes over fault-tolerant design. It features the ATO system that I assembled and the system of controls that I put in place to completely automate my topoff and replenishment of my top off container. Take a look at it and maybe you can use it to seed your thinking on this matter. The solution that I mentioned above would work well with the system that I put together. You would just monitor the water level in the 10 gallon intermediate top off reservoir such that if it fell below, say the 3 gallon level, it would send an alarm. This example would limit any unnoticed spill to 7 gallons or less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 28, 2012 Share January 28, 2012 All you need is a breakout box with a waterbug WB200 added to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazio92 January 28, 2012 Author Share January 28, 2012 All you need is a breakout box with a waterbug WB200 added to it. I have a breakout box, just didn't know how to do the waterbug part or what portions of the waterbug system i needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar January 28, 2012 Share January 28, 2012 Here's a pic of an old water detector I built to detect water in my stand. Each of two metal rods is one leg of a "switch", and is wired to the Aquacontroller digital input. If a leak puddles across the two metal rods, it completes the circuit and the Aquacontroller program can then turn off the return pump, activate the alarm, etc. You can build several sensors like this and put them in various places. They can all connect to a single digital input if you wire them in parallel. This maximizes your protection while minimizing the number of inputs required. I made this one out of old RC airplane control rods, but a piece of bare ~16 gauge wire would also work nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind January 28, 2012 Share January 28, 2012 Jon, how/where did you wire it to the break out box? Where does it get the power from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar January 28, 2012 Share January 28, 2012 Jon, how/where did you wire it to the break out box? Where does it get the power from? See the two white wires? One goes to Input 1 on the breakout box, and the other goes to Ground. You could wire several sensors to the same breakout box terminals. No power is needed because the sensor is really just a switch to tell the Aquacontroller what to do. Your program could be something like: If Switch1 CLOSED Then SUM ON ; If water momentarily detected in stand, the false timer SUM comes ON and stays ON If Timer SUM = ON Then ALM ON ; Sounds alarm If Timer SUM = ON Then PMP OFF ; Turns return pump off If Timer SUM = ON Then ROD OFF ; Forces RO/DI OFF in case that's the source of the leak, and prevents low salinity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazio92 January 28, 2012 Author Share January 28, 2012 See the two white wires? One goes to Input 1 on the breakout box, and the other goes to Ground. You could wire several sensors to the same breakout box terminals. No power is needed because the sensor is really just a switch to tell the Aquacontroller what to do. Your program could be something like: If Switch1 CLOSED Then SUM ON ; If water momentarily detected in stand, the false timer SUM comes ON and stays ON If Timer SUM = ON Then ALM ON ; Sounds alarm If Timer SUM = ON Then PMP OFF ; Turns return pump off If Timer SUM = ON Then ROD OFF ; Forces RO/DI OFF in case that's the source of the leak, and prevents low salinity That's exactly what i was looking for! It's essentially like a DIY ato sensor, but the water is closing the circuit not to mechanical pieces touching, right. Rig it up the same way as an ATO to the breakout box, just the 2 wires per sensor. Easy enough if i'm reading into this correctly. Thanks! -Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dholmblad February 3, 2012 Share February 3, 2012 Yeah, still need something if i'm not home, so i get an email. That would shut off the RO, but i still need something goes wrong somewhere else on the tank. Slow leaks can easily be refilled by ATO and not noticed by a low sump sensor. If a sensor was on the floor that is an instant response. When I read this, I got a terrible feeling in my gut. "oh man, did I shut off my rodi this morning"....... yes, yes I did.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvreef February 4, 2012 Share February 4, 2012 will a coat hanger work for thee rods.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind February 4, 2012 Share February 4, 2012 When I read this, I got a terrible feeling in my gut. "oh man, did I shut off my rodi this morning"....... yes, yes I did.. I've had that feeling before!! I really need to finish setting it up so it automatically turns off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind February 4, 2012 Share February 4, 2012 will a coat hanger work for thee rods.... Most metal coat hangers have a clear coating on them so they don't get rust on the clothes so that would have to be removed. If that was absent then it should work fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvreef February 4, 2012 Share February 4, 2012 how bout galvanized wire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind February 4, 2012 Share February 4, 2012 Anything that has good conductivity between the two leads would work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvreef February 4, 2012 Share February 4, 2012 Anything that has good conductivity between the two leads would work. thanks alot....I am going to be working on some of these this weekend....how many can u put in a series.... I would like to do 4 of them for my skimmer, sump and ato..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind February 4, 2012 Share February 4, 2012 I have been hearing different things about the amount or lack of power the break out box can send out. Some people had to add a seperate transformer to their project so I would try it and see what works for you. Let us know what you find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvreef February 4, 2012 Share February 4, 2012 cool thanks alot for all the info on this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind February 4, 2012 Share February 4, 2012 They would have to go parallel not in series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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