Adjusting Osomot

[matt_rogers]

Roger I am going crazy!

I thought I had the Osomot dialed in, it said water was level.
A couple hours later it turns on and pumped a lot of water. Now the high sensor is going off. I removed some water but it just keeps doing the same thing.

Not fun.

Please help.

 

[rvitko]

OK. This is a bit of a problem from a new sensor. The new optic sensor is a bit too polished and traps an air film. This an be resolved by rinsing under very warm- hot as you can stand from the tap- water and a bit of detergent. Rinse it well and wipe it down with a new paper towel. Just place it in the tank and turn it on and let the unit top itself up, it will make you insane to try to do it manually. If the water level is too high or too low in the tank raise the box a notch on the rail or lower it (you will have to removge water if you lower it to avoid the overflow alarm. Let me know if you need more help.

 

[matt_rogers]

Great to know!

I ended up wiping it with my fingers and turning it on and off a lot. Now it is behaving perfectly. I am very excited. Evaporation was a constant annoyance on my small 20 hex.

At this point, my only grip is the mounting system. If you guys come out with a mount specifically for American tanks, I am sure it would be will be well received. Something slip on that you don't have to spend a lot of time assembling. (Typical American here.)

I had to use a 4 suction cup plate from a rio pump on the bottom of the rail to fill the gap and secure it. I still don't like the fact that the suction cups could come loose it will move out from the side.

Just a suggestion on an otherwise promising product.

It's nice to know you are here if I need you... thanks again Roger.



Matt

 

[matt_rogers]

Oops I forgot, is it ok to turn it off by unplugging it from the controller? Or should I pull the plug? (A kill switch would have been nice. )

Also, I have the transformer set at 9 volts because of something I read in the instructions. Is this ok? Or should I set it to 12v?

Thanks again,

Matt

 

[rvitko]

9V is for longer pump life-12V is for more pump power. The 3000.244 set should give a good mounting on Oceanic tanks, it includes a strong suction cup. They just started including this set. I agree that for the Osmomat the current mounting system presents some difficulties, it is the hardest for this product. It is difficult though when you have to make these sets to work on all the diiferent tank designs in the world.

 

[matt_rogers]

Thanks Roger... I'll leave it at 9v then.

 

[matt_rogers]

Roger I am really upset.

I had to do some tank maintenance last night so I shut down the Osmomot.

When I was done, I turned it back on and it said the water level was normal.

Well I went to work today, came back and my water level has gone down 1/2 inch and the pump inside the osmomot is shooting air in my tank. THe sensor was still saying water level is normal.

I've unplugged it, plugged it back in. Doesn't matter.

I was willing to overlook my initial problems with the new sensor and the hours I spent on mounting it, but now I am very disappointed.

This is very stressful and if I get it to work again, I won't trust it at all.

 

[matt_rogers]

Ok...
went to the gym and worked out my stress.

So this is what I am thinking...

When I was able to get it to activate the pump by removing the sensor from the water, this told me it's not the sensor - it's the overflow box and pump. I think what's happening is the pump is not removing water fast enough.

I also consider the box and pump to be the weak link in general. Because of the mount (had to use suction cups) I don't think it's permanent by any means and can come loose. Problem 1.

Problem 2 is that the little 70gph pump inside the box can become clogged easily preventing the water from lowering below the sensor.

(A related problem is that the box is rather small and the pump had to go in sideways and sits up against the sensor more than I would like. Plus, being sideways, it sucks in air easier as the intake is now vertical and not horizontal.)

What I am thinking about now is...

can I flip the sensor over so that it points up? This effectively raise the sensor quite a bit and I bet it would work. However the instructions say to point it down. Why is that?

If that isn't really an option, can I ditch the box and pump all together and mount the sensor with some zip ties or something on the side of a filter tube in my tank? I would then mount the high water sensor somewhere as well.

I would feel a lot better about it doing this as it would no longer have to rely on the overflow pump and it gets the box out of my tank.

Thoughts?

 

[rvitko]

Just chill, when you get it right it will work flawlessly. I am telling the truth when I say I have only ever gotten back one 5017 that was truly defective, the odds are very slim because they are all tested before they leave the factory. I bet the answer is very simple, try some of the suggestions from my other post and I will check back in tomorrow if possible. It is critical that all the cords be tidied with the guides in the box and that the pump be installed the correct way. Don't forget that new plastic whether it is in a skimmer or on a sensor behaves very unusual with water- it has a hydrophobic property, hot water and detergent can remove this property. The only other thin I can tell you is be sure the pump is fully inserted- the nozzle should be through the hole as far as it can go which requires a firm push- usually they aren't shipped assembled because the pump will break the holders if it gets loose in shipping. See what you can do, give me a chance and we will get this worked out.

 

[rvitko]

The pump output can be adjusted, check that it is full throttle, yes it does clog but you just have to clean the sponge. The reasons for using the box are that it makes the unit accurate to within say a 1/10th of a mm water drop in the tank, without the box it is maybe 1-2mm. It doesn't sound like a lot but over a large surface area that could kill Lysmata larvae and breeding Lysmata is our reference standard which we used to develop the units. Yes, the compactness makes it a pain to set up but when it is bigger, everyone would complain and the small box works when you get it set up right, I have used one andd I know the difficulties but they are worth it. I will send you a holder set when I get back next week. If you will bhe at IMAC you can get one to take with you.

 

[matt_rogers]

Thank you Roger.

Reading your suggestions, I realized you had indicated which direction the pump was to face. I had figured out it went sideways, but I had the top side facing the wall of the box, and not the intake side.

Once I had made this adjustment, it was evident that the pump sat lower, which would expose the sensor more when the water level went down. Sure enough it's working, at least when I raise and lower it, it behaves properly. I will know for sure when I return from work tomorrow night.

I looked at the instructions again out of curiousity and the pump positioning appears to be a big omission from the instructions. (There's not much for pictures either.) It talks about the sensors, but doesn't mention anything about the pump or the sponge. Had it done so, we may not have been going over this right now. FYI.

Thanks again, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to help me. I probably would not have figured that one out on my own.

As for the holding set, I will not be at IMAC this year but I would love that - THANKS!!



I am going to sleep better now.

 

[rvitko]

Yeah, I learned the instruction were lacking in this area myself. When it was releases they were shipped assembled but so many arrrived damaged they stopped and it is one of those 3D concepts that is hard to explain and I think the only way to do it would be with a cutaway view.

 

[matt_rogers]

Cutaway view is a good idea. That would really make it clear.

At the time I pointed it the other way because I was thinking it was farther away from the sensor. But I really should have tried the other (proper) way, it would have been obvious had I done so.

Anyway, just got home. Haven't been here in 15 hours or so, water level is exactly where I left it on an open top tank. GOOD SIGN! That makes me feel really good about it.

Thanks again Roger for all the help.



Matt

 

[matt_rogers]

Just following up Roger...

Osmomot is going strong.. I am seriously digging this thing.

Because of it, I am able to spread out the delay on my surge to go off every minute or so without it going out of whack.

The calcium dispenser is great too.

Thanks again!

Matt