Skimmer mods

[wangspeed]

Two things I hate about my RLSS 6i. First is that if I screw it on just a little too tight, it can be a royal pain to remove. The other is that once in a while, something in my tank would cause it to overflow like crazy.  Finally resolved both of those. First, I got a piece of scrap from Adam @ Incredible Corals. I cut, polished, and welded it onto the skimmer cup. The other mod was getting a BoB (break out box) for my Apex, and an Avast pressure switch. I wanted something that was easy to remove for the cup cleanings, so regular float switches were out. Besides, they don't even fit from top down.

 

Here's a pic just after I tested. The red line is where the switch triggers:

 

[zygote2k]

silicone lube will help with the cup removal.

[wangspeed]

I tried that first actually. It comes off too easily during cleaning. Plus it didn't really help.

 

 

--

Warren

[rtsusc83]

I got the rlss 8i and have the same problem with removing so I just attached a skimmate locker.  I like what you did glueing that one acrylic piece to get more torque and turn that darn cup.  

[TrueTricia]

Can you go through the Avast/Apex part in more detail? I'm interested....

[wangspeed]

Sure. It's really quite simple. Buy the Apex Break out Box, plug it in, hook the bare wires for the pressure sensor into the GND and I6 ports, and then just add this piece of code to the skimmer outlet programming:

 

 

If Switch6 OPEN Then OFF
Min Time 015:00 Then OFF

 

I also add this to the email outlet so that I get alerted:

 

 

If Switch6 OPEN Then ON

 

The hardest part was getting the right length of tubing. I've since also switched to a right angle john guest connector so that the sensor sits flat on the skimmer cup instead of oddly protruding into the air.