Hex Tank Build

[n2585722]

I decided to try out the auto water change regimen built into the Hydros system instead of the dual dosing pump. It started out as temporary to see if I could figure out how to pause the water change part without also pausing the ATO part of the water change for another user. This is what I came up with. The first three screen shots are of the automatic water change output settings. The ATO portion is copied from the original ATO settings. I use a Hydros dosing pump for my ATO pump. The original AWC pump is now my drain pump with the fill head removed. It was running for 11 minutes three times a day with the old dual head setup so I set the drain duration for 11 minutes. I believe if you use the depends on setting on this output it will stop all three pump even in mid sequence. So I do not use it at this time. I went another route I will explain latter on.

Below this output is split into three screen shots. It has a lot of settings. The type is automatic water change. The high level input is sump full. I don't use the low level input but you set it it will drain down till it is dry. I use the time instead which is drain duration. That is set to the 11 minutes like it was before on the dual head pump. The ATO device is drive port 1 on the X4 in the garage. The ATO power safe range is set for 1 watt to 2 watts. If it gets out of that range when on I will get an alert with the notification level set to orange. The drain output device is set to drive port 2 on the X4 in the garage. It's power safe range is set for 1 watt to 2 watts and notification level set to orange. This will also send an alert if it get out of range when on.

The fill output device is set to drain port 1 on the X2 in the garage. The fill power save range is set for 1 watt to 2 watts and it will send an alert if it gets out of that range when on since the notification level is set to orange. Active in modes was left at the defaults. Depends on is unused. ATO advanced settings is set to on. ATO minimum off time is set to 15 minutes. ATO maximum off time is set to 6 hours. If it goes that long without topping off it will send an alert. The ATO minimum on time is set to 1 minute. ATO maximum on time is set to 6 minutes.It will send an alert once it runs that long. ATO run past max on time is set to off so the pump will turn when it hits max on time.

ATO Notification level is set to orange. Enable drain advanced settings is set to on. Drain maximum on time is set to 12 minutes. That is one minute more than the run time setting. Drain run past max on time is set to off so the pump will stop if it runs 12 minutes and ill send an alert since drain notification level is set to orange. Enable fill advanced setting is set to on. Fill maximum on time is set to 18 minutes. Fill run past maximum on time is set to off so the pump will stop if it runs that long. Fill notification level is set to orange so it will send an alert if it run to 18 minutes.

Now for the schedule settings. The type is water change regimen. Since I was already doing this three times a day I set the water change count to 3. I set the AWC output to the previous output setup earlier. Since the original start time was 7am I set that here also. Since the schedule treats the run time and off time between the next time as one complete change I had to set the end time to 1am to keep them at 7am, 1pm and 7pm. I also have it set to run every day and all days of the week. I set the depends on to a output I will show later called AWC Halt. The dependency mode is off if on. If this output is on we do not want the AWC to run.

Now on to the halt and pause output settings. The output below is a combiner type output and is used to combine two other outputs so it has an input count of 2. The first input is the Low FSW output. This output is active if the fresh salt water container level is low. This will prevent the start of a water change if active. The second input is a output called AWC Pause. It is use to stop the AWC schedule if it is needed for some reason. Notice there is no actual output device assigned to this output since it is just being used for the logic. Halting the AWC schedule will not halt the ATO.

Below is the Low FSW output settings.The type is generic. The input count is set to 1. It is setup using the FSW low input sensor. When the water level is low the sensor will go into the dry state and this output will be active. This output also does not have an actual output port set to it since it also is just for logic. If this output goes active in the middle of a scheduled water change the water change will continue the active schedule. All other settings are at their defaults.

The second output is in the screenshot below. This is a basic constant output type. Default to off is turn on. If I want to pause the water change schedule just turn this output on and then turn it back to auto when you want the water change schedule to resume. I can alway change this to a generic output and use a switch as a input to pause and restart the AWC if I wanted.

Below is a photo of the AWC, ATO and dosing pump. The bottom left pump is now the drain pump. The upper left pump is the fill pump. The bottom right pump is the ATO pump. The upper right pump is dosing All For Reef. These are in the garage behind the workbench. The DI storage tank, fresh salt water tank and mix tank are under the workbench. They do have casters so they can be rolled out from under the workbench as needed.

That is about it for the auto water change output and schedule built into the Hydros controllers.

 

[n2585722]

I added some redundancy to my ATO and AWC using three drive ports and three 12v relays. The drive ports that power the relays and the drive port used to power a particular pump are not on the same controller. This assures some redundancy if something were to happen to the controller that powers that particular pump. I have never had an issue with the drive ports to date but I had three that were not in use and also had the relays on hand. I also already had the drive port connectors so all it cost me was the time to do it. I thought I would post it if anyone was interested in doing this. First I will go over the schematic for wiring the solenoids.


I will start with the drain pump. Drive port 2 of my X4 in the garage powers the drain pump. I previously posted the screenshots of the AWC setup so I will not post them here also. The output of that drive port is connected to the common contacts of a DPDT relay. You can use a SPDT relay instead but I already had several of these relays. The cable going to the plug for the pump is connected to the normally open contacts of the relay. The polarity does matter. Pin 2 of the GX12 connector for the drive port has to connect to the center of the plug since that is the positive terminal of the pump. So if the relay is not on the power from the X4 drive port 2 will be applied to the pump when that drive port is on. If the relay is powered by drive port 2 of the second X2 then the connection is disconnected by the relay and power will be removed from the pump regardless of drive port 2 on the X4. I will get into the setup for the output on the second X2 port 2 later.

Now for the ATO pump. The ATO pump is powered by drive port 1 of the X4 in the garage. The output of that drive port is connected to the common contacts of a DPDT relay. The cable going to the plug for the pump is connected to the normally open contacts of the relay. The polarity does matter. Pin 2 of the GX12 connector for the drive port has to connect to the center of the plug since that is the positive terminal of the pump. So if the solenoid is not on the power from the X4 drive port 2 will be applied to the pump when that drive port is on. If the solenoid is powered by drive port 2 of the second X2 then the connection is disconnected by the relay and power will be removed from the pump regardless of drive port 2 on the X4. I will get into the setup for the output on the second X2 port 2 later.

Now for the fill pump. The fill pump is powered by drive port 1 of the second X2 in the garage. The output of that drive port is connected to the common contacts of a DPDT relay. The cable going to the plug for the pump is connected to the normally open contacts of the relay. The polarity does matter with this one also. Pin 2 of the GX12 connector for the drive port has to connect to the center of the plug since that is the positive terminal of the pump. So if the solenoid is not on then the power from the second X2 drive port 1 will be applied to the pump when that drive port is on. If the solenoid is powered by drive port 2 of the first X2 then the connection is disconnected by the relay and power will be removed from the pump regardless of drive port 1 on the second X2. I will get into the setup for the output on the second X2 port 2 later.

Now to the settings for the Drain Stop output. I used the generic output type. It has 5 inputs that are used for control. Input one is the leak detector on the stand. If this is active there is water in the stand and I do not want to start a water change. The second input is a leak detector in the garage where the pumps, storage tanks and RODI unit is. So if there is a leak detection there I do not want to start a water change sequence. The third input is sump low. If this input is active I do not want to start the drain pump. The forth input is FSW Low which is a low level for fresh salt water storage. If this is low I do not want to drain any water from the tank. The fifth input is skimmer full. If it is full the skimmer will be off which will throw the water level in the sump off and I do not want the water change to happen since it uses the full level sensor the ATO uses. The output device is the second GR2 drive port 2. The inputs are all OR'ed together so if any one is active the output will turn on. Also if any input becomes unavailable the output will turn on. The depends on is set to the skimmer and it is set to on if off. If the skimmer is off for any reason I do not want the water change to start. The skimmer will be off if the return pump is off so that will stop the drain pump also.

Now to the ATO Stop output. This Also uses the generic type of output. It has three inputs that are used for control. Input one is sump high. If this input is active I do not want to start the ATO sequence since something is wrong. The second input is the leak detector on the stand. If this is active there is water in the stand and I do not want to start ATO. The third input is a leak detector in the garage where the pumps, storage tanks and RODI unit is. So if there is a leak detection there I do not want to start the ATO. The output device is the first GR2 drive port 1. The inputs are all OR'ed together so if any one is active the output will turn on. Also if any input becomes unavailable the output will turn on. The depends on is set to the return pump. It is set for on if off. If the return pump is off for any reason I don't want the ATO to run.

Now to the Fill Pump Stop output. I used the generic output type. It has 4 inputs that are used for control. Input one is the leak detector on the stand. If this is active there is water in the stand and I do not want to start a water change. The second input is sump high. If this input is active I do not want to start the fill sequence since something is wrong. The third input is a leak detector in the garage where the pumps, storage tanks and RODI unit is. So if there is a leak detection there I do not want to start a water change sequence. The forth input is skimmer full. If it is full the skimmer will be off which will throw the water level in the sump off and I do not want the water change to happen since it uses the full level sensor the ATO uses. The output device is the second GR2 drive port 2. The inputs are all OR'ed together so if any one is active the output will turn on. Also if any input becomes unavailable the output will turn on. The depends on is set to the skimmer and it is set to on if off. If the skimmer is off for any reason I do not want the water change to start. The skimmer will be off if the return pump is off so that will stop the drain pump also.

I will continue this on another post. More to come.

 

[n2585722]

I also got some photos of the relays installed on the DIN rail. in the photo below the two relays are from left to right fill stop and drain stop. Both are off in this photo.

The photo below has the drain stop relay turned on. Each relay has a LED that lights when it is powered.

The photo below has the fill stop relay turned on.

The photo below is of the ATO stop relay. There is a 12v power supply to the right of it is used to power my three level sensors.

This is a photo of the ATO stop relay powered on.

The relays are Magnecraft 782XBXM4L with a 12v coil. The socket is Magnecraft 70-782D8-1. The last ones I bought were from Mouser and were branded Schneider Electric. The relay # was 782XBXM4L-12D and the socket # was 70-782D8-1A. The sockets mount to a DIN rail which I think is a standard size other than the length of the rail. That is about it for this setup.

 

[n2585722]

There was a app and firmware update released near the end of July. One of the features I really like is the ability to change the icon on the tile for the inputs and outputs. I got some screenshots of me changing the one I now use for controlling my skimmer. The output was originally an output I was using to turn it off depending on certain inputs. Below is a screenshot before I changed the icon for the skimmer. It still has the default icon for a generic output type. The output is 42g Skimmer on the left middle row of outputs. The current icon is the normal icon for the generic output type. By the way the little lightning bolt icone in the upper left of the output tile means the output has power monitoring.

Below is the normal edit screen for an output. Here it is the 42g Skimmer output. The is an icon of a pen in the upper left corner. This used to be for changing the name. Now it does either the name or icon.

Below is a screenshot after clicking the pencil. If you click on the icon that is highlighted it will open a menu to select the icon you want from.

Below is the menu for the icons. They do not all fit so I had to scroll to the one I wanted.

Below is a screenshot of the menu scrolled to the icon I want. This happens to also be at the bottom so all icons that are available to choose from are on one of the two screenshots of the menu. Hopefully they will add to them in the future.

Below is a screenshot after selecting the icon I wanted from the menu. Now all that is needed is to click ok and continue.

Below is a screenshot after clicking ok on the popup in previous screenshot. There is now a upload changes bar at the bottom. I just need to click on that to upload the changes to all controllers and the cloud.

After clicking upload changed bar is screenshot above you get the screen of the upload status. Below is a screenshot of that screen as the changes were being uploaded.

Below is a screenshot of the same status page on the first screenshot after the icon change.

That is about it for that feature. I have changed several of the icons to match what the input or output is related to. In the top row the DI Level and the FSW Level have their icons changed they used to have a frown face icon. Several of the outputs related to ATO or AWC have had their icons changed to match the ATO/AWC icon.

 

[n2585722]

I got some more additions to the tank today. The last time I got anything live to put in the tank was in 2017. I got a cardinal, 9 snails and a emerald crab. I have some bubble algae showing up. I guess it must have been dormant since I have not added anything since 2017. The last photo is of my clown goby which I have had since 2017.

 

[n2585722]

I found an issue with my setup for the wave pumps. Either something changed during a firmware update or it was not working right when I set it up but when I pressed feed mode in the app it would not run the feeding flow schedule. There is a new app and firmware update that was release earlier this week. It was still dropping the pumps to their lowest setting. You cannot turn off the EcoTech pumps completely from the Hydros but they do run at a very low speed. I fixed it by adding another output and using the same output I use to trigger the feed mode when my feeder runs. The only thing is if you go back to normal the flow pumps will stay in the feed mode for at least 30 minutes which is no big deal. Normally I do not press the feed mode on the app since it automatically goes into that mode when the feeder runs. Below is a screenshot of the new output I called 42g Feed Off. It is a constant type output and will normally be in the on state. There is no output device assigned since this is only used for logic. Active in modes in the second screenshot is set to be inactive in both feed mode and low power mode. I have a different schedule that will run for low power mode. Depends on is unused.

I also had to add an input to the output in the screenshot below. I added input 2 to this output. It is the previous output. So input 2 is the feed off output. This output is inverted since I want this output off unless it is on feed mode which is when feed off is off. The combiner mode is set to OR since I want this output on if either input is active. Input 2 is active when the feed off output is off. Nothing else was change on this output. So now it will use the feeder schedule for at least 30 minutes if either the feed mode is pressed in the app or the feeder runs.

Below is the feeder flow schedule. The schedule is the flow pattern type. The flow pattern is set to constant speed. The speed is set to 6%. So the pumps will run at 6% in feed mode or if the feeder runs for at least 30 minutes. The start time and end time is set to 00:00:00 so it will run any time of the day as long as the depends on is met. The depends on is set to the 42g Feed Mode output. The dependency mode is set to off if off. So if the 42g feed mode output is off this schedule will not run which is the normal state.

Below is one of the normal schedules which run when the time of day is within their setup schedule. All of the other schedules are the same as far as the settings for feed mode so I am only posting one of them. This one again is a flow pattern type schedule. This one has the pattern set to SPS reef. The max speed is set to 70%. This is 70% of the max speed set for the pump. I use EcoTech pumps so that is set on the pump and not the Hydros. Also since I use EcoTech there are 3 outputs that are automatically setup when you turn on EcoTech mode in the Wave Engine. One is same side, one is opposite side and the last one is back. This is in relation to the master pump, but in this case the master pump is the Wave Engine and not an actual EcoTech pump. I put all three in the schedules. The one used by a particular pump is set in the pump itself. So I figured it was a good idea to setup all three just in case a pump gets changed at least it will run a pattern. This particular schedule will run at noon and run until 4pm. The rest of the settings are at defaults except for depends on and dependency mode. Depends on is set to the 42g Feed Mode output just like the feed mode schedule but this one and the rest of the other schedules except low power mode have the same depends on and dependency mode settings. The dependency mode setting is off if on. So if the 42g feed mode output is on then this and the other schedules other than the feed mode schedule and low power schedule will not run if the 42g feed mode output is on. That is about it for the changes.

 

[n2585722]

My nitrate dropped to 3.4 on the Hanna high range so I ran the test on the Hanna low range and got 3.57. They are close enough for me. I will probably continue using the high range since it is a lot easier to do. I also dropped the AWC drain pump duration by 2 seconds. So it will run for 9 seconds now.

Also my calcium has a steady drop and so I bump up the All For Reef dosing settings slightly.

That is about it for now.

 

[Reefing102]

Nice drop in nitrates.

 

[n2585722]

Nice drop in nitrates.

I bumped up the amount water changed each time on the AWC. It was a slow process doing it that way. Now that it is down I am going to try and back off on the water change volume some. It was going throuh a 20 gallon Brute can in 19 days, but since it doesn't use all the contents and it does not fill completly it is probably around 16-17 gallons on on a 42 gallon tank in 19 days.

 

[n2585722]

I decided to try out the automatic flush in the RODI Filter output type but to do that I needed to create a RODI filter type output that would be on regardless of which of the three things was turning it on. I already use the RODI Filter type for the DI refill solenoid and the Mix Refill solenoid. Since you can only use an actual output port once I could not set the output port on each of the two others using the RODI filter output. I created another output to power that solenoid and the input solenoid to the RODI input. The issue was that inputs are required to turn on and turn off the RODI input type. So I had to create an input that was tied to an output to accomplish that. The used is in the screenshot below. I called it RODI control. The type is sense port. The sense mode is water level. So it will show as wet or dry. The port is connected to relay contacts. The relay is energized by another output I will go ofer later in the post. The sense port is on my Control 4 in the garage. The notification is none.

Now to the output that energizes the relay. The type is combiner and the input count is three. Input one is RODI timer. This turns on the RODI 6 times a day to refill the RO bladder if needed. The bladder is used to feed the ice maker in the fridge. Input one is not inverted. Input 2 is DI Refill. This is the output that turns on the solenoid between the DI out on the RODI and the DI reservoir. Input 2 is not inverted. Input 3 is the Mix Refill output. This output turns on the solenoid between the DI out on the RODI and the mix tank. This input is not inverted. The combiner mode is OR. The output device is set to the output port that energizes the relay for the previous input.

Next is the output created to power the RODI input solenoid valve and the added flush solenoid valve. The type is RODI Filter. The feed output device is the output port that power the RODI input solenoid. Since this is a 12v solenoid powered by a small DC power pack the wattage se is quite low. So the power range is set from 6.5 watts to 8.5 watts. the notificationmlevel is set to orange. The flush output device is set to the port that powers the new flush solenoid valve. The power range is set the same as the feed settings since it is the same type solenoid power the same way. I don't have a booster pump on the RODI unit but I setup the output temporarily for now just to see how it reacts. Since I don't actually have it powering anything the power range does not matter or the notification level. The high level input is set to the input created earlier so when it is wet it will turn on this output. The low level input is set to the same input since a dry reading will turn on the RODI output. The leak detector setting is set to the RODI leak detector. If wet it will turn off the two solenoids controlled by this output. I did not set a start time or end time so it will run anytime the inputs are dry and turn off anytime they are wet. The depends on is set to the leak garage output. The dependency mode is set to off if on. Enable advanced settings is set to on. The minimum off time is set to 5 minutes. The minimum on time is also set to 5 minutes. The maximum on time is set to 5 hours. Feed run past max on time is set to off and the notification level is set to orange.

Below is a photo of the RODI with the new solenoid connected. when it is on it bypasses the flow restrictor. The is a manual flush valve integrated into the flow restrictor.

I will finish this in another post. I have graphs of the inputs and logs for the outputs while refilling the DI reservoir.

 

[n2585722]

Ok the graph for the first DI reservoir refill is below. I was doing some testing also before the refill. I also drained the tank and cleaned it before refilling it. So the sensors were disconnected for a while when doing that so that had an effect on the graphs. The first graph is the sensor DI full. It is normally dry on this tank unless it was just refilled. This sensor shuts off the RODI when it goes wet. The second graph is the DI level sensor which is a pressure sensor. The third graph is the DI low sensor. This goes dry when the DI reservoir goes low starting the RODI to refill the tank. The last graph is the new input which is the relay that will show wet as long as it is not energized. It will go dry when the RODI On output is on. The RODI is on as long as this input is dry and there is no leak.

Below in the first screenshot is the outputs state after it has ben running for several minutes. The second was just after the first hour it was running. It started at 2:21. The third is after a minute from the second screenshot, The flush runs for a minute when first turned on and then repeats every hour.

Below is the log for the RODI output that was created to control the input solenoid and the flush solenoid. The fill started at 2:21. The feed output which power the input solenoid turned on and stayed on until turning off at 6:11. The flush valve turned on for 1 minutes and repeated the 1 minute process every hour until it turned off. The boost output which I don't use turend on and stayed on the entire time.

Below is the log for the RODI On output. It turned on at 2:21 and turned off at 6:11. The previous on and off cycles were from testing or the RODI timer output turning on.

Below is the RODI refill output which is what triggered the other previous outputs to turn on. It turned on at 2:21 and off at 6:11. The flush and booster pump outputs are not used on this output. I use the RODI type here since it has the built in process for filling from a low level sensor to a full sensor. You can do it without using this output vut it requires 4 outputs to replace this one output. That is about it for adding a flush solenoid to the RODI unit that the Hydros controls.

 

[n2585722]

I decided to go ahead and replace the tubing in my ATO pump since it has been running for a year. I took some photos of the process. Below is a photo of the pump head removed from the pump along with the tubing I got a while back. Since this is a Hydros dosing pump and is made by Kamoer and looks like a X1 that the X1 would be the same process. In fact the tubing is X1 replacement tubing. They also sell the pump head as a separate item. I plan on getting one when they are back in stock.

Below is the pump head with the back cover removed.

Below is the pump head with the tubing and roller assembly removed.

Below is the new tubing with the clips installed.

Below is the pump head after replacing the tubing and the rollers and roller bracket.

Below is the pump head with the back cover back in place.

Below the pump head is ready for install back on the pump assembly.

I will continue in another post.

 

[n2585722]

Below is the pump ready for the pump head that had the tubing replaced. It is the one in the lower right.

Below is the pump with the pump head in place. I just need to install the tubing on the barb fittings.

Below is the pump connected to the tubing ready for use again.

Below is the old tubing cut at the center of the area that the roller pinch the tubing. It looks like I could have got more time on this before replacing it. I might wait a little longer next time before replacing it. I was only getting 6-8 months on the Intllab tubing using it as the ATO.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

I get years out of the Litremeter tubing.

 

[n2585722]

It may be the same type of tubing. My others use silicone tubing it does not last near as long. That is why I went ahead and changed it early.

 

[n2585722]

I received my Kamoer KH Carer yesterday. I got it hooked up and calibrated today. It test alkalinity and also give a pH reading. It can also add buffering to the tank to maintain the alkalinity. The test frequency if from once a day to once every hour. I set mine for twice a day to begin with and will probably go back to once a day. It appears to be built well. I was not too bad setting it up and calibrating it. I also set it up to use Randy's recipe for alkalinity buffering. Below is a photo after setup and calibration. Water remains in the beaker after testing to keep the pH probe wet. It will drian that water and refill before testing. It has a stirrer built in. It adds the testing reagent one drop at a time and stirs after each drop so it does take a while to test.

This is a side view. There is an empty 10 gallon tank beside it that is there just in case.

Here is a view from the side with the pump heads. The clear door is kept closed with magnet and can easily be pulled open.

Below is a photo with the door open.

Below is a photo of the back of the unit. The green tubing is water coming from the tank. The yellow tubing is from the testing reagent tank. The black tubing is from the KH buffer tank. The blue tubing goes to the tank and is the one used to dispense the buffering agent to the tank. The red is the waste from the testing and in my case it goes back into the tank.

Below is the readings from the first test. The pH is 8.0 and the alkalinity is 8.4. After the test completed I check the pH on my Hydros and it was reading 8.06. So those seem close enough for me considering that the probe on the Hydros is about 1.5 years old.

I check the alkalinity with my Hanna tester and it got 8.4 as well.

I have only had it up and running for a few hours but so far I am impressed with it. I will have to post some screenshots of the app once it runs a few test. It is the same app that is used with the Kamoer dosing pumps.

 

[n2585722]

I did recalibrate today. The pH reading dropped compared to the Hydros. This is common on new probes after the cap is removed and calibrated the first time. I usually wait 2-3 days after placing a pH probe in the tank but with this you have to calibrate before it will let you do most things. I may have to do it again in a couple of days to be sure. It did read close to the the Hydros and the Hanna tester again after recalibration. I did get some screenshot of the app. Below is the pH and KH data from yesterday and the graph.

Below is the readings from today and the graphs. The last two readings are after recalibration. I did dump some of the buffering into the tank during recalibration before I realized it was doing that. So it got about 30 seconds more than what was stated which is 20ml. So it will probably be a couple of days before it gets back down to 8.5 which I currently have it set.

With the reading going above 9.0 it gave me a chance to check out the alerts. Below is a screenshot of the alerts which there are two. There is a red dot to the left of the alert before it is clicked on. The next post is what shows when you click on the alert.

This is a sample when a alert is clicked on. Since all I have got are ones for a high reading they were both the same.

Below is the inital screen when the app is opened. Since all I have is the one Kamoer device that actually uses the app that is all that is listed here.

Below is the screen when you click on the device. Which is the status page. The first 4 I posted above were of the data page.

Below is the bottom part of the status screen after scrolling down.

Below is the test screen. Here you can set it to automatic like I have it and also set the times you want a test performed. Right now I have tests set for 6am, noon and 6pm. I will probably drop it to once a day after another day of testing.

That is it for the post. Since this is a very new device I believe there will be several changes on the app and firmware as they feedback on it.

 

[Reefing102]

Just looked that up as I hadn’t heard of it before. Looks nice just well outside my price range lol

 

[n2585722]

Just looked that up as I hadn’t heard of it before. Looks nice just well outside my price range lol

It is expensive but the Alkatronic is almost $1000. So I went with this one. I have used Kamoer built pumps even thogh the are branded Hydros. I have liked them so I am giving this one a try hoping for Hydros integration soon. So far it has been stable after the recalibration. It and the Hydros pH readings have been close. I have not checked with the Hanna today. I figured I would wait till the next test to do that.

 

[n2585722]

I finally got around to making my button boxes and mounting them to the workbench. There is three of them. I put one above each storage tank. Below are a couple of the boxes I used. They are 80 X 50 X 26 mm boxes.

Marking them for drilling holes. This is going to be a side hole for the connector that the cable from another box or the controller attach to. I used GX12 4 pin connectors since I had enough of them to finish all three boxes.

This is marked for drilling the holes for the push button switches. I only had to do this with one box. I have a drill press so once the holes were lined up for the sides I drilled all of them before going to the top and did the same with the top.

Below is a drilled box and the parts for it less the wiring and resistors. The push button switches were push on then push again for off but since all but one switch have to be momentary I opened up the ones I wanted to be momentary and removed the latch mechanism then reassembled them. That make them momentary or on only when pushed. This will be the box above the mix tank. On switch will be the Mix ready switch and the other will be a switch to turn on the lights above the bench. The mix ready switch when pressed will cause the mix ready latch output to turn on which will turn on the mix ready output. These outputs do not have an actual output assigned on the controller and are only used as logic. Once on the mix low sensor has to go dry to reset the mix ready latch. At that time the controller will refill the mix tank with DI from the RODI until the mix tank full sensor goes wet. It also turns on the stirring pump once the water level is above 60%. It also turns it off when it drops below 60%. It will not use the water to refill the fresh saltwater tank until I press the mix ready button. The bench light push button will turn on the bench light when pressed and turn it back off when pressed again. If it is not pressed again the controller will turn off the light after 30 minutes.

This is a photo of the box from the side.

Photo of the box with the two GX12 connectors installed.

A photo with the two switches installed.

This is a photo of the box complete without the wiring and resistors. Each box will have different resistors since they will be on the same 0-10v input.

I will continue with the other boxes and the switch input setup in another post.