Is there a sensor that can monitor the water level in a sump so that I could program my apex to say something like turn off the skimmer if the level is above 10 inches, turn on the ATO if the level is below 8 inches, turn off the return if the level is below 6 inches, etc. I'm sure I could do what I want with half a dozen float switches, but that seems kind of silly.
Sump water level monitoring
- Thread starter morganatlanta
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Surely the technology exists...
You might just be adding water when you don't need to, imho
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Not secure of what you are trying to do, but an ATO will keep your sump water level constant. Do you have a separate skimmer section and return section in your sump? The skimmer section should be a constant level, with the return section where the evaporation shows with a lowering level. This is where you want your ATO sensors/float switches.
I have this setup in my sump. In the skimmer section I have a float switch that in set just a bit higher than the constant level, and when I use feed mode on my RKE, which turns off the return pump and the skimmer pumps, the sump level rises higher than the skimmer section. The float switch activates an alarm which also cuts power to the skimmer pumps off. So when feed mode is over, the return pump starts, but the skimmer pumps stay off until the water level in the skimmers ration goes down to normal and the float switch drops, allowing the skimmer pumps to restart at normal water level, whereas without the float switch the skimmer could flood on restart.
I have this setup in my sump. In the skimmer section I have a float switch that in set just a bit higher than the constant level, and when I use feed mode on my RKE, which turns off the return pump and the skimmer pumps, the sump level rises higher than the skimmer section. The float switch activates an alarm which also cuts power to the skimmer pumps off. So when feed mode is over, the return pump starts, but the skimmer pumps stay off until the water level in the skimmers ration goes down to normal and the float switch drops, allowing the skimmer pumps to restart at normal water level, whereas without the float switch the skimmer could flood on restart.
That's more or less what I want to do, but I'd also like to alert or take action via the apex if the sump level got too low, or really high, etc. I'm sure I could think of a lot of things. Seems like a distance sensor attached to the roof of the stand pointing at the water in the sump, or something like that, could give a reading that would allow doing more with more precision than just a set of float switches.
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you could do something like rich did with his ato setup and just have one floating magnet in the sump and a bunch of magnetic switches outside the sump so as the floating magnet passes the swtiches at different levels it will do different things. heres a link so you can see what/how he did it.
You might also try using a pressure switch but you would still need 1 switch for each action point you wanted to trigger. If you have an Apex and an ATO though you already have most of the switches you need. Just program the return to go off 1 minute before feed time, set the skimmer to always turn off when the return is off, set it to delay startup by 5 minutes for the water level to settle.
For the ATO you probably already have a water level sensor and a high level cutoff in case of malfunction? All you would want to change here is cut power to the ATO during the above feed mode so it doesn't run or alarm.
For the ATO you probably already have a water level sensor and a high level cutoff in case of malfunction? All you would want to change here is cut power to the ATO during the above feed mode so it doesn't run or alarm.
The level in my sump shouldn't vary much in normal operation, but if it does, it might indicate a problem that I would want to take action on to avert a bigger problem. For example, I have an auto-waterchange system and a leak or clog in the tubing either in the input or output can cause a big problem. I also had my main pump freeze once when I was out of town and I didn't know it, so I want to alert on a high water condition. I know I could do everything with float switches, but it just seems like there should be a better way.
Just providing an idea here... you can buy distance sensors for Arduino applications. How to hook one up to an apex is beyond me. If the sensor cant register the water level, you could put a ping pong ball in a pvc pipe and monitor it that way.
I imagine this would require writing code, but it could work.
I imagine this would require writing code, but it could work.
That's kind of what I was thinking, but I wondered if someone has already done one. I'm sure there would be a trick to getting the Apex to recognize it. Maybe mimic the output of a temperature probe such that 6" of water = 76 degrees and make every inch up or down change the output a degree.
+1
I run 3 float switches (technically 2 of them are horizontal liquid level switches & 1 is a float switch) in my sump hooked up to my Apex for this purpose.
#1 - High Water Level - something bad happened; alert email & keep everything running
#2 - Operating Water Level - water level drops below switch longer than 60 seconds; trigger ATO pump to fill until water level normal again
#3 - Low Water Level - something bad happened; alert email & turn off pumps
Works great for me.
