Willapa Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 I'm soooo excited! I'm so tired of cleaning that stinky skimmer. Didn't get the locker yet, that will be next. I'll try the@pdxmonkeyboy homebrew air lock milk jug for now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 Congrats! I love my swabbie. Will you be controlling it with an Apex? If so, I can share my programming with you if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willapa Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 I will. I've got one outlet left on the eb8 for it! Sure, pass along any programming. Haven't even thought the far. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 I have mine set to run for 2 minutes every 6 hours: Fallback OFF OSC 000:00/002:00/358:00 Then ON If Output EB_3_Skimmer = OFF Then OFF The OSC timers are: 000:00 = zero minutes after midnight until the first run 002:00 = two minutes of actual run time 358:00 = 5 hours & 58 minutes to delay until the next run I've found 2 minutes gives it enough time to thoroughly wipe the neck clean. Adjust the timers to your liking. The last line of code keeps the Swabbie off when the skimmer outlet (EB_3_Skimmer) is off. I don't want it to accidentally start rotating when I'm in the middle of skimmer maintenance. If your skimmer is controlled by your Apex, then substitute the name of your outlet in that code, otherwise remove it. Let me know if you have any questions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 I've been really pleased with mine. Went from cleaning my skimmer 1x/week to 1x/month. I still have to dump it out here and there but the Swabbie was a hobby changing piece of gear. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willapa Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 I have mine set to run for 2 minutes every 6 hours:Fallback OFFOSC 000:00/002:00/358:00 Then ONIf Output EB_3_Skimmer = OFF Then OFF The OSC timers are: 000:00 = zero minutes after midnight until the first run 002:00 = two minutes of actual run time 358:00 = 5 hours & 58 minutes to delay until the next run I've found 2 minutes gives it enough time to thoroughly wipe the neck clean. Adjust the timers to your liking. The last line of code keeps the Swabbie off when the skimmer outlet (EB_3_Skimmer) is off. I don't want it to accidentally start rotating when I'm in the middle of skimmer maintenance. If your skimmer is controlled by your Apex, then substitute the name of your outlet in that code, otherwise remove it. Let me know if you have any questions. Cool, thanks. I'll just copy and paste that in and adjust as needed. Does it have to be plugged into one of the low wattage eb8 outlets? Mine only has 2 of these and my dosing pumps are plugged into them. If they are plugged into the standard outlets they'll keep running after the time period ends since the watt draw is so low. I can bypass this issue by adding another load to the outlet if need be.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 3 minutes ago, Willapa said: Cool, thanks. I'll just copy and paste that in and adjust as needed. Does it have to be plugged into one of the low wattage eb8 outlets? Mine only has 2 of these and my dosing pumps are plugged into them. If they are plugged into the standard outlets they'll keep running after the time period ends since the watt draw is so low. I can bypass this issue by adding another load to the outlet if need be. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Sorry, I don’t know the answer on the EB8 outlets. I have the newer EB832 which doesn’t have that issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 Mine is just plugged in to a regular outlet and a cheap digital timer which doesn't have any special power draw. Hopefully that helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willapa Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 I've been really pleased with mine. Went from cleaning my skimmer 1x/week to 1x/month. I still have to dump it out here and there but the Swabbie was a hobby changing piece of gear. I was going to add a piece of soft silicon tubing to my skimmer cup drain port with a cap or valve on the end. That way I can drain it by just putting the end of the silicone tube in a bucket, open the valve, drain it, then close the valve. May get clogged over time, but no big deal.I'm still considering just having an open drain with an airlock but worried about skimmer going crazy and overflowing the bucket. We'll see. That's where the skimmate locker is king.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willapa Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 Mine is just plugged in to a regular outlet and a cheap digital timer which doesn't have any special power draw. Hopefully that helps. Well sounds like if I run out of Apex outlets I can always just go this route. Those energy bars are expensive!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 Just now, Willapa said: Well sounds like if I run out of Apex outlets I can always just go this route. Those energy bars are expensive! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I wouldn't know. I've never used a controller and don't plan to! 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willapa Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 Sorry, I don’t know the answer on the EB8 outlets. I have the newer EB832 which doesn’t have that issue.That was a much needed improvement! I mistakenly plugged in a third doser to automate another liquid supplement into a standard eb8 outlet and despite Apex only set to run it 3 minutes, the doser kept running and dumped 450 ml of KZ Pohls xtra into my tank! It didn't harm anything but it was about $50 worth of supplement! I just added a splitter to the outlet and plugged in a spare air pump that gets the wattage up enough to trigger the relay in the outlet.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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