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Post by Pokahpolice on May 20, 2014 15:32:43 GMT -5
***EDIT - See pics on page 2 of 8mth review Just picked up this little gem. www.bulkreefsupply.com/autoaqua-smart-ato-auto-top-off-system.html I must say, it's awesome! takes about 3 mins to hook up and have running. There are no moving parts or floats. It simply magnets to the tank and you adjust the level by moving it. It has programing that records how long it takes to fill. If it goes over that time by 10 secs the pump is turned off and an alarm sounds. If the RODI bucket empties, the pump shuts off and an alarm goes off....simply awesome! |
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Post by speedyron on May 22, 2014 3:36:36 GMT -5
did it cost u 150 bucks tho?
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Post by Pokahpolice on May 22, 2014 7:13:41 GMT -5
Worth every penny!
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Post by Pokahpolice on May 22, 2014 7:18:04 GMT -5
Honestly is $150 a lot of money for a pivotal piece of equipment when none of us blink an eye at spending $50 on a half inch frag?
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Post by gotareef on May 22, 2014 7:32:45 GMT -5
$150 is allot.... but if it works for you awesome!
I am adding the $100 net module to my rkl, it will shoot me a text when something goes wrong....
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Post by jasonandsarah on May 22, 2014 8:06:22 GMT -5
Out of pure curiosity Bruce...why couldn't you hook up a ato with your controller?
This is where I believe I make my money back from my apex purchase because instead of spending money on my ato I only needed 2 float switches and my diy B.O.B. witch I was going to get that anyways. Total cost around $17 and I already hooked up my ato witch will send alerts and shut off if run to long.
I can also hook up door alarms and get it so lights under the stand will turn on when cabinet doors are opened, leak detection and diy dosing pumps(not really diy but just the pumps don't need the $300 dosing pump brain) the apex also sends email alerts out of the box no add on.
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Post by n00b- Ryan [Poland] on May 22, 2014 8:18:39 GMT -5
Honestly is $150 a lot of money for a pivotal piece of equipment when none of us blink an eye at spending $50 on a half inch frag? Hah......50 bucks on a frag..... I have a hard time paying more then $10.. |
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Post by gotareef on May 22, 2014 8:38:30 GMT -5
it seems like allot but its worth the piece of mind for someone that dosnt have controllers or dosnt want to do diy.
if it wasnt so pricey I wouldnt mind having it on my small tank
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Post by BriMc on May 22, 2014 8:43:37 GMT -5
Jason you can use your controller and keep your salinity and PH perfect. I have one line running straight ro/di water and another running ro/di at 1.026 the controller senses what the tank needs and adds it. I do the same with Calcium and PH.
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Post by Pokahpolice on May 22, 2014 9:22:51 GMT -5
Out of pure curiosity Bruce...why couldn't you hook up a ato with your controller? This is where I believe I make my money back from my apex purchase because instead of spending money on my ato I only needed 2 float switches and my diy B.O.B. witch I was going to get that anyways. Total cost around $17 and I already hooked up my ato witch will send alerts and shut off if run to long. I can also hook up door alarms and get it so lights under the stand will turn on when cabinet doors are opened, leak detection and diy dosing pumps(not really diy but just the pumps don't need the $300 dosing pump brain) the apex also sends email alerts out of the box no add on. Honestly, I could but it's a pain in the ass. I bought the float switches to start the project then my dad bought one of these and asked me to hook it up for him. 10 mins later we were having a coffee. I ordered mine that same day. I'm not going to take the Arduino any further until I get myself a fish room. The Arduino is a good application if you don't have to worry about aesthetics. Trying to hide the wires and components is a nightmare. I'm also pretty sick of staring at code, interesting at first but it's not fun anymore. |
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Post by Pokahpolice on May 22, 2014 9:26:55 GMT -5
it seems like allot but its worth the piece of mind for someone that dosnt have controllers or dosnt want to do diy. if it wasnt so pricey I wouldnt mind having it on my small tank This is a perfect set up for a small system. I'm getting pretty strapped for space in my 30"x12" stand.    |
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Post by jasonandsarah on May 22, 2014 9:30:54 GMT -5
Jason you can use your controller and keep your salinity and PH perfect. I have one line running straight ro/di water and another running ro/di at 1.026 the controller senses what the tank needs and adds it. I do the same with Calcium and PH. I know I was only specifically responding to the ato. I haven't yet got the module or probes for salinity only ph and temp |
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Post by jasonandsarah on May 22, 2014 9:33:09 GMT -5
Out of pure curiosity Bruce...why couldn't you hook up a ato with your controller? This is where I believe I make my money back from my apex purchase because instead of spending money on my ato I only needed 2 float switches and my diy B.O.B. witch I was going to get that anyways. Total cost around $17 and I already hooked up my ato witch will send alerts and shut off if run to long. I can also hook up door alarms and get it so lights under the stand will turn on when cabinet doors are opened, leak detection and diy dosing pumps(not really diy but just the pumps don't need the $300 dosing pump brain) the apex also sends email alerts out of the box no add on. Honestly, I could but it's a pain in the ass. I bought the float switches to start the project then my dad bought one of these and asked me to hook it up for him. 10 mins later we were having a coffee. I ordered mine that same day. I'm not going to take the Arduino any further until I get myself a fish room. The Arduino is a good application if you don't have to worry about aesthetics. Trying to hide the wires and components is a nightmare. I'm also pretty sick of staring at code, interesting at first but it's not fun anymore. That's why I like the apex it's mostly all written for you  still having the options to modify coding if you want to. |
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Post by gotareef on May 22, 2014 9:42:19 GMT -5
Out of pure curiosity Bruce...why couldn't you hook up a ato with your controller? This is where I believe I make my money back from my apex purchase because instead of spending money on my ato I only needed 2 float switches and my diy B.O.B. witch I was going to get that anyways. Total cost around $17 and I already hooked up my ato witch will send alerts and shut off if run to long. I can also hook up door alarms and get it so lights under the stand will turn on when cabinet doors are opened, leak detection and diy dosing pumps(not really diy but just the pumps don't need the $300 dosing pump brain) the apex also sends email alerts out of the box no add on. hummm apex seems expensive when you can diy an arduino to do the same thing, allot more work and a bunch of diy but $500+ for apex and $50+ for Arduino.... apex seems pricey  the ato for $150 dosnt sound so expensive anymore..... |
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Post by jasonandsarah on May 22, 2014 9:52:33 GMT -5
Out of pure curiosity Bruce...why couldn't you hook up a ato with your controller? This is where I believe I make my money back from my apex purchase because instead of spending money on my ato I only needed 2 float switches and my diy B.O.B. witch I was going to get that anyways. Total cost around $17 and I already hooked up my ato witch will send alerts and shut off if run to long. I can also hook up door alarms and get it so lights under the stand will turn on when cabinet doors are opened, leak detection and diy dosing pumps(not really diy but just the pumps don't need the $300 dosing pump brain) the apex also sends email alerts out of the box no add on. hummm apex seems expensive when you can diy an arduino to do the same thing, allot more work and a bunch of diy but $500+ for apex and $50+ for Arduino.... apex seems pricey the ato for $150 dosnt sound so expensive anymore..... My apex was only $229 and like I said with the $150 for the ato $50 for arduino and close to $300 for that beautiful dosing pump he has, seems like he's spent close to double what I have for the same thing to dose I'll have to spend another $120 but I'm still way under that cost and my options are still very wide. And I'm only using probably half of the capabilities of my apex. I regret not getting the full apex and will probably be upgrading soon! Haha you can run you entire house(almost) not just a tank off an apex while away. sounds like a good investment to me |
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![n00b- Ryan [Poland] Avatar](http://storage.forums.net/3415059/images/_F7mLiKNV9lvYUFAbeWJ.jpg)
still having the options to modify coding if you want to.