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Thread: optical sensor question

  1. #1
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    optical sensor question

    i want to place it in my skimmer part of my sump.
    so if the water gets to high it will turn off the skimmer.
    or should i place it right in the skimmer cup?

    Please if you could help with the code.

    thank you

  2. #2
    Frequent Contributor iamchadster's Avatar
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    Get 2 and do both. Both of those applications are really different and tough to say IMO which is better. I have one in the sump and in my skimmer cup overflow reservoir.
    Chad

  3. #3
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    Optical Sensors aren’t the best choice for a skimmer since they would tend to get dirty quickly. I’d use a float sensor

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    I want to do same thing. However, I'm confused how best to wire this to the apex. I see neptune has the OS-1 optical sensor with a small head phone-like plug on the end of the wire and it appears this can plug into the FMM Fluid Monitor Module. There also is an FMM Power Supply, but I believe this is not required unless I want to connect a small pump/solenoid to the FMM. So all I need is a couple OS-1 and an FMM??

    Or alternatively, is it better to get I/O Breakout Box and connect the OS-1 optical sensors to that instead of FMM? To do this, i would need to cut off the nice head phone-like plugs on the OS-1 cable.

    Please advise on best option..

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sleepydoc View Post
    Optical Sensors aren’t the best choice for a skimmer since they would tend to get dirty quickly. I’d use a float sensor
    I though about this. My skimmer has a small fitting on the bottom of the skimmer cup that I can attach a tube. So I attached a silicon tube and looped it up to about half the height on the skimmer cup and then down to a 1 pint cup clipped to the inside side of my sump. When the water level rises high enough in the skimmer cup it will spill over into the 1 pint cup. If the 1 pint cup over flows, it spills over into the sump and back in the tank (yuk, but better than on my floor). I can also reposition the tube to completely drain the skimmer cup of liquid before I remove the skimmer cup for cleaning.

    I would like to instead run the tube from the bottom of the skimmer cup to a small square plastic box, just barely large enough to hold the OS-1 optical sensor. The box with sensor would be mounted on the outside of the skimmer cup as a trigger to turn off the skimmer and send me a message. I can adjust the trigger level by moving the box up or down. When I clean the skimmer cup, I can also clean the tube and sensor easily.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by NoReligion View Post
    I want to do same thing. However, I'm confused how best to wire this to the apex. I see neptune has the OS-1 optical sensor with a small head phone-like plug on the end of the wire and it appears this can plug into the FMM Fluid Monitor Module. There also is an FMM Power Supply, but I believe this is not required unless I want to connect a small pump/solenoid to the FMM. So all I need is a couple OS-1 and an FMM??

    Or alternatively, is it better to get I/O Breakout Box and connect the OS-1 optical sensors to that instead of FMM? To do this, i would need to cut off the nice head phone-like plugs on the OS-1 cable.

    Please advise on best option..
    The FMM only needs the power supply if you are running something off of the 24V port. Otherwise, the power to run the interface and sensors comes from the Aquabus cable. One FMM can run or interface with up to 4 devices - optical sensors, flow sensors or leak detectors.

    The optical sensors need to use the FMM. (If you look at the plug, it actually has 4 contacts - I assume 2 for the emitter LED and 2 for the sensor) Float switchies are simple open/closed contact switches, just like a push button, and use a breakout box.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by NoReligion View Post
    I though about this. My skimmer has a small fitting on the bottom of the skimmer cup that I can attach a tube. So I attached a silicon tube and looped it up to about half the height on the skimmer cup and then down to a 1 pint cup clipped to the inside side of my sump. When the water level rises high enough in the skimmer cup it will spill over into the 1 pint cup. If the 1 pint cup over flows, it spills over into the sump and back in the tank (yuk, but better than on my floor). I can also reposition the tube to completely drain the skimmer cup of liquid before I remove the skimmer cup for cleaning.

    I would like to instead run the tube from the bottom of the skimmer cup to a small square plastic box, just barely large enough to hold the OS-1 optical sensor. The box with sensor would be mounted on the outside of the skimmer cup as a trigger to turn off the skimmer and send me a message. I can adjust the trigger level by moving the box up or down. When I clean the skimmer cup, I can also clean the tube and sensor easily.
    That would work better. I initially had something similar to that. Now I have a length of silicone tubing (with a valve in it) running from the fitting under the skimmer cup to a collection jug. I put a float sensor at the top of the jug so when it fills up, it triggers the float sensor and signals Apex to shut off the skimmer. As a tip, if you do something like this, set the float switch as a normally closed switch, so Apex shuts off the skimmer if the switch is open. That way if the cable comes unplugged from the breakout box Apex will shut off the skimmer rather than having it overflow without being detected.

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