Question For the DIY'ers Out There

[LatinP]

I wanted to do something for a while now and I think I have the idea down just not the exact know-how to get it started. I've switched to a bigger skimmer and the main thing that I really miss is a small drain output my old coralife had on the collection cup, I used to be able to leave out a large milk jug and forget about it for a few days. Now I have a much bigger skimmer but the cup is no where near the capacity of the milk jug. Now I'm not lazy I just keep my doors to where I have the electronics closed alot and instead of drilling and potentially destroying a collection cup I thought I'd do something else hear me out...

I was thinking much like an ATO unit about siliconing or gluing a small electronic float switch on the inside of the collection cup maybe at 80% full or so, then hooking that up to some sort of small audible alarm system so when the switch closes up (water up high) the alarm sounds and tells me to come empty it without having that stinky gunk get back (overflow) into my sump. I know it sounds easy enough on paper but with very little DIY expierence and not being sure what parts to even get other than the small float switch I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction or tell me hey man you're crazy just drill a drain hole (I really don't want to).

 

[redfishblewfish]

Let me explain one law of electronincs you might not be aware of; The alarm will only sound when you are not home.

Drill the bloody skimmer cup!

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Drilling the skimmer cup can result in even bigger problems - if your collection jug is outside the sump and it overflows, you've got water going on to your floor, draining the system, and your return pump will shortly burn out. IMHO it's foolish to implement a remote collection system without some method of overflow prevention.

To do what you want, just get one of those "leak alert" devices from Amazon or your local hardware store:

http://www.amazon.com/Zircon-Leak-A...XOVI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289920663&sr=8-1

Find a way to rig it such that the sensor is at the level where you want the alarm to go off, and you're done.

 

[redfishblewfish]

I do agree with Friedrich Nietzsche above, where you should have some means to control a skimmer going nuts. I’ve done that with a two fold method. The first is that the drain tubing sticks down into the collect jug by 3 – 4 inches. What this does is that when the fluid gets to the hose, the back pressure knocks down the foam in the skimmer. If the skimmer is really going nuts, the second line of defense is a float switch in a bucket that holds the collect jug. The float switch is attached to an outlet box that has the plug to the skimmer pump. Here’s picture that might make it a little clearer.

FLOAT SWITCH

FLOAT SWITCH IN BUCKET THAT HOLDS SKIMMATE COLLECT JUG