Apex DOS -- Action setting

[Bartwick]

Some thoughts on my Apex Dos that I got my about a week ago. At first I thought the "Action" setting did nothing but then I realized that the it controls the direction of the pump. When set to Add it runs in the direction of the arrows on the head. When set to Remove it runs in reverse from the arrows.

At first I this seemed like a bit of stupidity since controlling the direction of flow is done by properly connecting the tubes. Giving the option of spinning the pump in reverse is unnecessary and confusing.

I briefly got exiced when I realized that it's possible to have a program where the pump turns in different directions at different times. This makes it possible to do a water change with a single pump. First the pump would drain and then it would fill. However to get the flow right -- new water added, tank water sent to the drain -- would take at least two check valves and two solenoids. Simply way more complicated than it's worth.

I'm left thinking that this Action setting shouldn't exist.
Feedback?

 

[DLHDesign]

There are a few use cases;
1) Auto-water Change. While it's certainly possible to run auto-water changes with both pumps in the "forward" direction, this can get confusing if the pump labels aren't clearly identified. By having the "action" set to "reverse", you can look at the programming and confirm which pump is the one that removes the water. This is the default configuration when you use the Fusion Task.
2) DDR. The Neptune DDR is the storage chamber that attaches to the DOS. When you run the pump "forward", then the Fusion dashboard will show that the volume in the DDR is going down. If you run the pump in "reverse", then the volume goes up. At least; I think that's how it's supposed to work - I've not tested that myself. ;-)
3) Auto-feeder. It's possible to use the DOS to auto-dose in liquid food. When that's done, it's often a good idea to clear the line of the food so that it does not spoil. To do this, the pump can run "forward" to add the food, then run in "reverse" to clear the lines.

Hope that makes some sense. Obviously these are slightly uncommon use cases, so not something that is critical to people who are using the DOS for adding additives into their tanks.