I recently received this product (SOS Skimmer Overflow Stopper from http://www.soszaya.com/) and have been testing it out for the past couple of weeks. So far it is a pretty solid product that is inexpensive enough to give you peace of mind. Here's the youtube video of it in action:
Came in a nice box.
Apex adapter that connects to your breakout box for alerts, basically acts like a sensor.
This is the unit installed and both sensors mounted in skimmer cup and on side of the sump.
The concept of this device is simple: when water level reaches sensor it shuts the skimmer down to prevent overflowing into the sump or floor. This unit can be used as a standalone product or connected to your Apex for notification and actions. There are DIY products out that but trying to mount a float sensor in the skimmer cup requires some creativity. This is an all in one solution that also adds a sensor in the sump to start up the skimmer once the water level goes back down to normal.
The sensor in the skimmer cup is a no brainer. Sometimes the skimmer fills up much faster than you anticipate or you're on vacation and forgot about having your tank sitter check the skimmer and you come home to skimmate flowing into your sump and back into your system. This will shut down the skimmer when it reaches the sensor level and a rather loud alarm will sound. I would rather the skimmer be off than have all the junk dumped back into the tank. Also now I don't have to keep checking the skimmer every day to make sure it doesn't overflow.
The sensor in the sump is an added bonus because a lot of times I do maintenance on the tank and turn off the return pump. This would raise the water level in the sump and sometimes causes the skimmer to overflow. The concept is simple: set the sensor at the water level you want it, when water reaches the sensor it shuts off the skimmer and alarm goes off. I've tested this out a few times and it has worked flawlessly.
Some other things I forgot to mention:
The controller has a feed and service timer button that allows you to set the amount of time you need. Timer options are (10, 20, 30 min), (1,2,4,12 hours), and (1,2,3 Days.)
The optional feature is the Apex adapter. I wired it into my breakout box just like any other sensor and programmed it to email and text me when the sensor trips. Works just as advertised.
Some of the nice features about this is that the sensor has no moving parts with titanium probes that last forever in saltwater environment. It comes with a magnet mount so I can mount it anywhere I want. Cleaning the sensor when I clean the skimmer cup is easy also. One annoying thing though is that the alarm on the unit is super loud and annoying. Since I have the Apex adapter I'm already getting phone notifications and the alarm from the display, so I don't need this. I contacted Stephen Ho at Zaya and he informed me that this unit does not have an option to turn off the alarm but he sent me instructions on how to open up to unit to cut the wire that connects to the speaker. He mentioned that the next model he may put in a mode to disable alarm with the push button.
Overall this is a solid unit and the price point is excellent considering the features it comes with
Came in a nice box.
Apex adapter that connects to your breakout box for alerts, basically acts like a sensor.
This is the unit installed and both sensors mounted in skimmer cup and on side of the sump.
The concept of this device is simple: when water level reaches sensor it shuts the skimmer down to prevent overflowing into the sump or floor. This unit can be used as a standalone product or connected to your Apex for notification and actions. There are DIY products out that but trying to mount a float sensor in the skimmer cup requires some creativity. This is an all in one solution that also adds a sensor in the sump to start up the skimmer once the water level goes back down to normal.
The sensor in the skimmer cup is a no brainer. Sometimes the skimmer fills up much faster than you anticipate or you're on vacation and forgot about having your tank sitter check the skimmer and you come home to skimmate flowing into your sump and back into your system. This will shut down the skimmer when it reaches the sensor level and a rather loud alarm will sound. I would rather the skimmer be off than have all the junk dumped back into the tank. Also now I don't have to keep checking the skimmer every day to make sure it doesn't overflow.
The sensor in the sump is an added bonus because a lot of times I do maintenance on the tank and turn off the return pump. This would raise the water level in the sump and sometimes causes the skimmer to overflow. The concept is simple: set the sensor at the water level you want it, when water reaches the sensor it shuts off the skimmer and alarm goes off. I've tested this out a few times and it has worked flawlessly.
Some other things I forgot to mention:
The controller has a feed and service timer button that allows you to set the amount of time you need. Timer options are (10, 20, 30 min), (1,2,4,12 hours), and (1,2,3 Days.)
The optional feature is the Apex adapter. I wired it into my breakout box just like any other sensor and programmed it to email and text me when the sensor trips. Works just as advertised.
Some of the nice features about this is that the sensor has no moving parts with titanium probes that last forever in saltwater environment. It comes with a magnet mount so I can mount it anywhere I want. Cleaning the sensor when I clean the skimmer cup is easy also. One annoying thing though is that the alarm on the unit is super loud and annoying. Since I have the Apex adapter I'm already getting phone notifications and the alarm from the display, so I don't need this. I contacted Stephen Ho at Zaya and he informed me that this unit does not have an option to turn off the alarm but he sent me instructions on how to open up to unit to cut the wire that connects to the speaker. He mentioned that the next model he may put in a mode to disable alarm with the push button.
Overall this is a solid unit and the price point is excellent considering the features it comes with
