Sump Water Level Switch for Apex

[MickYoumans]

Those of you that use your Apex to control the water level in your sump, what switch are you using and where can I get it? Thanks!

 

[HPballer76]

You will need the apex breakout box or a DIY version and then connect a float switch to that. I use a flot switch from autotopoff.com

 

[MickYoumans]

Thanks for the website!

 

[slief]

I use Reef Fanatic float switches. I made my own breakout box for my Apex and used headphone jacks for the different switch inputs.

The Reef Fanatics are standard float swithces with a sealed headphone jack preinstalled. This makes changing a float switch very simple and brainless. They can be set for normally open or normally closed which is nice. Also, using the headphone jack, I got a head phone splitter from radio shack and set my ATO float up so that two switches had to be functional to activate my ATO. I did this for redundancy purposes.

I also removed the rubber suction cups from the removable mounting bracket and glued a pair of the brackets to a cheap magnetic glass scrubber which makes it easy to adjust my water level while also insuring the floats don't come loose.
Not a great picture but you can see the magnet and the pair float switches mounted to it in this picture.

You can get the Reef Fanatic switches here:
http://premiumaquatics.com/store/me...Code=PA&Product_Code=RF-RFLCFS&Category_Code=

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

lol DO NOT TOUCH is right...

 

[MickYoumans]

Thanks for the responses everyone. This is exactly what I was looking for!

 

[ldc3000]

http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/Auto-Top-Off-Deluxe-Digital-IO

 

[RandoReefer]

I use Reef Fanatic float switches. I made my own breakout box for my Apex and used headphone jacks for the different switch inputs.

The Reef Fanatics are standard float swithces with a sealed headphone jack preinstalled. This makes changing a float switch very simple and brainless. They can be set for normally open or normally closed which is nice. Also, using the headphone jack, I got a head phone splitter from radio shack and set my ATO float up so that two switches had to be functional to activate my ATO. I did this for redundancy purposes.

I also removed the rubber suction cups from the removable mounting bracket and glued a pair of the brackets to a cheap magnetic glass scrubber which makes it easy to adjust my water level while also insuring the floats don't come loose.
Not a great picture but you can see the magnet and the pair float switches mounted to it in this picture.

You can get the Reef Fanatic switches here:
http://premiumaquatics.com/store/me...Code=PA&Product_Code=RF-RFLCFS&Category_Code=

Scott,

I've been drooling over your build thread ALL day and LOVE LOVE this setup! I am not an electrical/wiring guru by any means.... How hard is it to find the color code wiring schematic for the stripped computer cable to the break out box.....(As you can see I know NO official terms.) I imagine someone could build this for me fairly cheap? They may laugh at me for how easy this is...?

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Silef,

Just re-read the part about using a headphone splitter and putting two switches on one input. I'm assuming you could do this with the neptune BOB also by just attaching two switches to the same terminal? Once you do this, the virtual switch (lets say Switch1) is only closed when both physical switches are closed? But if either of the two physical switches are open, the whole virtual switch will read open? Is that right?

 

[Pseudo69]

No, If you put both switches across the same terminals then only one is needed to close the switch regardless of which one does it. They must either be wired in series or on 2 different terminals with programming for both to act as a redundancy. I don't see how Silef has his wired but doesn't seem like it would work as intended. But He might have them wired that way through the jacks ? Nice job on the break out box though. Looks cool