sleepydoc
Team RC
Several months ago I saw a post about a new skimmer controller called the SOS - Skimmer Overflow Stopper sold at SOSzaya.com for about $50. It looked like a good idea and for was reasonably priced, so I ordered one. I've had it for about 3 months now and my experience has been mixed.
(Note: this is a bit long so here's the summary - nice idea, a few minor flaws with the design. After 3 months of use persistent issues with the sensors have made it useless. I'm contacting the company to see if they have a fix.)
The package came promptly after ordering and was simple enough to set up. The controller is about 3" x 5" x 1" thick with a grounded receptacle on the bottom and a cord to plug in to the wall. There are two water level sensors that plug into the box and are held in place on the glass/acrylic by magnets. One to place in your sump to turn off the skimmer if the sump water level rises and a second to place in the skimmer collection cup. The skimmer sensor also has a plastic shield (presumably protect it from foam.) The magnets easily held the sensors on my 40b sump and Octopus skimmer cup. Also included was a small round file to file a notch in the top of the cup for the wire. (I didn't do this and just have my skimmer resting on top of the wire.)
The only control on the device is a single button on the front. Essentially it is always on. and you can pause the skimmer by pressing the button. The pause duration is set by how long you hold the button. While holding the button you hear a series of beeps - first one beep, then two beeps, etc. Releasing it after the set of 2 beeps will pause the skimmer for 20min, after 3 beeps for 30 min, after 4 beeps pauses it for 60 min, etc. The pause time can be set anywhere from 10 min to 3 days. Pressing the button again while paused re-starts the skimmer.
The device simply lets the skimmer run until water is detected at either of the sensors. The sump sensor detects a rise in water level that could cause the skimmer to overflow, and the skimmer sensor signals a full collection cup.
After setting the unit up it initially functioned exactly as expected and saved me from several overflows. Whenever the water level rises enough to touch one of the sensors the skimmer shuts off and the box starts beeping. The beeping is not obnoxiously loud, but loud enough to be softly audible one floor up from my tank with the box inside the stand. One minor complaint - there's no off switch, only the pause function described above. It would be nice to simply disable the alarm when I do water changes and the water level in the sump rises, but no such luck. As a practical matter, I simply paused it for 30 - 60 min.
So far so good... but after a couple months I began to have issues. After I did a water change (which raises the water level in the sump enough to immerse the sump sensor,) the skimmer would start up, run for about 15 seconds, then the device would start beeping and shut off the skimmer. After about 10-15 seconds the beeping would stop and the skimmer would start up again and the cycle would continue. This stopped after an hour or so but has been recurring on a regular basis. Initially I assumed it was because there was enough water on the sensor that it was conducting between the two metal contacts on the sensor. I finally took the sensor out and dried it off with a towel and that seemed to fix the problem, but then it began recurring and started happening with the skimmer sensor as well.
Yesterday I the skimmer cup filled up and the controller turned it off as it should, When I came home from work, I emptied the skimmer, only to have the start-stop-beep cycle start up. The sensor was never submerged, so only the tips of the metal probes touched the water, so I have no idea what's causing the issue. Further more, if there's enough conductivity between the metal contacts to cause the controller to shut off the skimmer, why is it starting up again in the first place?
At this point, although it's a nice concept, I can't recommend the device. Beyond the annoyance of the beeping, the continual starting and stopping is generally not good for AC motors and makes my skimmer useless.
The controller does have a 1 year warranty, so I'll try contacting the company and see if they have any suggestions. I'll post back with what I find out.
(Note: this is a bit long so here's the summary - nice idea, a few minor flaws with the design. After 3 months of use persistent issues with the sensors have made it useless. I'm contacting the company to see if they have a fix.)
The package came promptly after ordering and was simple enough to set up. The controller is about 3" x 5" x 1" thick with a grounded receptacle on the bottom and a cord to plug in to the wall. There are two water level sensors that plug into the box and are held in place on the glass/acrylic by magnets. One to place in your sump to turn off the skimmer if the sump water level rises and a second to place in the skimmer collection cup. The skimmer sensor also has a plastic shield (presumably protect it from foam.) The magnets easily held the sensors on my 40b sump and Octopus skimmer cup. Also included was a small round file to file a notch in the top of the cup for the wire. (I didn't do this and just have my skimmer resting on top of the wire.)
The only control on the device is a single button on the front. Essentially it is always on. and you can pause the skimmer by pressing the button. The pause duration is set by how long you hold the button. While holding the button you hear a series of beeps - first one beep, then two beeps, etc. Releasing it after the set of 2 beeps will pause the skimmer for 20min, after 3 beeps for 30 min, after 4 beeps pauses it for 60 min, etc. The pause time can be set anywhere from 10 min to 3 days. Pressing the button again while paused re-starts the skimmer.
The device simply lets the skimmer run until water is detected at either of the sensors. The sump sensor detects a rise in water level that could cause the skimmer to overflow, and the skimmer sensor signals a full collection cup.
After setting the unit up it initially functioned exactly as expected and saved me from several overflows. Whenever the water level rises enough to touch one of the sensors the skimmer shuts off and the box starts beeping. The beeping is not obnoxiously loud, but loud enough to be softly audible one floor up from my tank with the box inside the stand. One minor complaint - there's no off switch, only the pause function described above. It would be nice to simply disable the alarm when I do water changes and the water level in the sump rises, but no such luck. As a practical matter, I simply paused it for 30 - 60 min.
So far so good... but after a couple months I began to have issues. After I did a water change (which raises the water level in the sump enough to immerse the sump sensor,) the skimmer would start up, run for about 15 seconds, then the device would start beeping and shut off the skimmer. After about 10-15 seconds the beeping would stop and the skimmer would start up again and the cycle would continue. This stopped after an hour or so but has been recurring on a regular basis. Initially I assumed it was because there was enough water on the sensor that it was conducting between the two metal contacts on the sensor. I finally took the sensor out and dried it off with a towel and that seemed to fix the problem, but then it began recurring and started happening with the skimmer sensor as well.
Yesterday I the skimmer cup filled up and the controller turned it off as it should, When I came home from work, I emptied the skimmer, only to have the start-stop-beep cycle start up. The sensor was never submerged, so only the tips of the metal probes touched the water, so I have no idea what's causing the issue. Further more, if there's enough conductivity between the metal contacts to cause the controller to shut off the skimmer, why is it starting up again in the first place?
At this point, although it's a nice concept, I can't recommend the device. Beyond the annoyance of the beeping, the continual starting and stopping is generally not good for AC motors and makes my skimmer useless.
The controller does have a 1 year warranty, so I'll try contacting the company and see if they have any suggestions. I'll post back with what I find out.
