Apex saved me

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Just as the thread title says. I wake up a hour ago, glance @ my phone and notice the leak sensor was in a 'closed' state (which is bad). Also tank temp & sump temps are down a few degrees (I have 2 temp probes) and salinity is through the roof.

I rush downstairs to my tank and find that...

I did my normal 10g water change last night, decided to clean the pump while I was at it. I forgot to replace the plastic clamp I use at the hose end and from looking at the past 6 hours, apparently the silicone hose popped right off the pump barb within minutes of me walking away to head to bed. Maybe I shouldn't do water changes at 12:30 a.m. anymore!

In short the elcheapo leak detector I installed, which is tied into the 'bob' did its job. It saw water and automatically shut down the skimmer, uv, return pump & heaters (I have it leave on the powerheads at least for minimal agitation. I also silicone the seams and triple coated with plastidip paint the inside of the stand. Nothing got out onto the wood floors.

If you have a breakout box with a spare port, buy this, buy it now and install it where you think you will need it Then you have to of course program it... It's saved me twice now.

Lesson to me and everyone else, check and triple check your work!

Edit: looking at the temp logs, it totally shut off right after I was done! 11:50 pm. Was when I pumped in the mixed 10g water...

 

[vetteguy53081]

Just as the thread title says. I wake up a hour ago, glance @ my phone and notice the leak sensor was in a 'closed' state (which is bad). Also tank temp & sump temps are down a few degrees (I have 2 temp probes) and salinity is through the roof.

I rush downstairs to my tank and find that...

I did my normal 10g water change last night, decided to clean the pump while I was at it. I forgot to replace the plastic clamp I use at the hose end and from looking at the past 6 hours, apparently the silicone hose popped right off the pump barb within minutes of me walking away to head to bed. Maybe I shouldn't do water changes at 12:30 a.m. anymore!

In short the elcheapo leak detector I installed, which is tied into the 'bob' did its job. It saw water and automatically shut down the skimmer, uv, return pump & heaters (I have it leave on the powerheads at least for minimal agitation. I also silicone the seams and triple coated with plastidip paint the inside of the stand. Nothing got out onto the wood floors.

If you have a breakout box with a spare port, buy this, buy it now and install it where you think you will need it Then you have to of course program it... It's saved me twice now.

Lesson to me and everyone else, check and triple check your work!

The reason for a controller

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

The reason for a controller

Seriously. I'm more than thankful it did its job!

 

[NotoriousDMC]

Apex saved me twice in the last week. Both times I was alerted to power being lost. Turns out heater was tripping GFCI. Not a sales pitch for Apex, but I was away for multiple days during one alert and would have no doubt lost the entire tank without the alert.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Apex saved me twice in the last week. Both times I was alerted to power being lost. Turns out heater was tripping GFCI. Not a sales pitch for Apex, but I was away for multiple days during one alert and would have no doubt lost the entire tank without the alert.

I travel a bit for work, I'm glad I'm home today, or else that could of went bad! Normally I would of did the 10g WC, got a few hours of sleep then been trying to rush to the airport for a 6 a.m. flight, probably wouldn't of even noticed it.

 

[Sean Clark]

Nice PSA. I'm glad it worked for you.

 

[workhz]

and if you don't go the full apex route, wifi water sensors are very cheap insurance

 

[Karen00]

Nice save! You mentioned not doing a water change at 12:30am. I would also say to never do a water change when you have a migraine either. I forgot to turn my heater back on once while doing a water change with a migraine. I need to get something that is inexpensive but sends alerts. Thankfully the temp didn't drop much so no losses. It could've been a disaster!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

and if you don't go the full apex route, wifi water sensors are very cheap insurance

Downside of a wifi sensor, without some extravagant setup to go with it its still would of pumped out the sump, within a few minutes, unless you can program a wifi leak detector to turn off a specific outlet. I'd go with that if I had a. Basement or garage sump.

I need full automation since my display is in a living room location and I want anything that moves water to shut off automatically when a leak is detected, and rather quickly @ that.

 

[blaxsun]

Thanks for sharing your story. Apex FMM and leak detection kit got bumped up the "to do" list.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Lol@ the mods. Just noticed the title of my thread was edited @ some point!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Thanks for sharing your story. Apex FMM and leak detection kit got bumped up the "to do" list.

I considered the fmm, just never found one used and I hear mixed reviews of neptunes rope sensors, they tend to false positive after sometime in use (I assume electrical resistance issues). That water sensor was the best 12 bucks I could of spent!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Nice save! You mentioned not doing a water change at 12:30am. I would also say to never do a water change when you have a migraine either. I forgot to turn my heater back on once while doing a water change with a migraine. I need to get something that is inexpensive but sends alerts. Thankfully the temp didn't drop much so no losses. It could've been a disaster!

Yikes, that could of ended badly in your case. Im glad I live somewhere where it doesn't get too cold @ night. Only a 2.5 degree drop in tank overnight with the windows open.

 

[Karen00]

Yikes, that could of ended badly in your case. Im glad I live somewhere where it doesn't get too cold @ night. Only a 2.5 degree drop in tank overnight with the windows open.

Ya, and I like to keep my house cooler in winter regardless. My house temp isn't compatible with my tank if the heater isn't on.

 

[Gtinnel]

I have considered plugging in something like a radio into one of my eb832 outlets so that when certain errors occur I can set it to turn on and it will be an obvious alarm so I know there is an issue. I dislike that the only notification I get of a major issue is a quiet alert sound on my phone. I’d prefer some kind of loud audible alarm.

 

[takitaj]

To prevent the hose coming off again try using zip ties as hose clamps. They work really well, especially on silicone hose. Not reusable but very cheap and easy to add & remove.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

To prevent the hose coming off again try using zip ties as hose clamps. They work really well, especially on silicone hose. Not reusable but very cheap and easy to add & remove.

If you probably didn't see in my 1st post, I addressed that as I use plastic hose clamps. It was on me that I forgot to put it back on after cleaning the pump.

 

[takitaj]

Sorry, you're right I missed that. Good you had the sensor on there!