- One of the most flexible and useful sensors out there
is the beloved optical level sensor.
Capable of detecting when a liquid like water
has touched it or stopped touching it,
the optical level sensor has found itself
a myriad of uses for our aquariums.
Some are quite obvious and others quite ingenious.
So, let's take a look at all of the ways
these tiny little sensors can help us
become more successful reefers.
By using these sensors, you can keep track
of not only the level of water,
but also the level of various other liquids
that are important for your reef,
which can be hugely helpful.
By detecting when a liquid is too high or too low,
we can make sure we know
when our aquarium needs our attention.
The most common place that we see these sensors
is on our auto top-up systems,
which monitor the level of water in the sump or display
and activate a pump to add fresh water when it gets too low.
But adding remote optical level sensors
that are connected to an apex
unlocks a world of liquid level monitoring
that goes well beyond your sump's return section.
How an optical level sensor actually works is very simple.
You can use remote optical level sensors
to monitor the water level in your ATO reservoir.
So it can send you a notification
before it runs completely dry.
You can do the same with dosing reservoirs
so you're never completely out of the essentials
like two part.
You can add them to your sump higher up
to let you know if the water level ever gets too high
like when your return pump stops running,
or if your ATO fails on,
and even have that sensor automatically tell apex
to turn off that equipment.
But, uses for optical level sensors
also goes well beyond that.
You can use them inside your display tank
above the water line to let you know
if your tank is ever overfilling
from an algae covered overflow weir or blocked drain.
You can set up automated water changes
with added redundancy to make sure
things are running perfectly with minimal risk.
You can use them in conjunction
with a solenoid valve to have your RDI filter
automatically fill your ATO reservoir
while also minimizing TDS creep.
You can add one to your skimmer cup
to shut down your skimmer in the event
that the cup fills up without you noticing.
So you don't end up with a mess of skimmate
ending up back in the sump.
And if you want to use them for those more advanced setups,
hang tight, 'cause I got you covered.
But before we go diving into the techy stuff,
let's look at the basic setup for an optical level sensor.
In order to connect your optical level sensor to your apex
you'll need an FMM module.
Connect the FMM to your apex with an aquavest cable,
then you can plug in your optical level sensors
into the FMM.
When you open up the Fusion app,
the sensor will show up right on your dashboard
and will be named SWX with a number and an underscore
and another number which indicates what port
it's plugged into on the FMM.
You can click on the cogwheel icon
and scroll to the bottom to rename it
if you'd like to call it something
a little bit more intuitive.
If you do change the name, make sure to save the changes
by clicking on the upload icon at the top,
then go back to your dashboard and scroll down
to the email alarm virtual outlet and click the cogwheel.
Scroll down to the configuration field
and type in this simple code.
If it's being used as a low level sensor
that is detecting when water has dropped too far,
use the word open.
And if it's going to be a high level sensor
that detects when water has gotten too high,
use the word closed.
Then, click the upload icon to save your settings
and you'll receive a notification
whenever that sensor is tripped.
But if you're like me and you wanna take it one step further
and have an audible and visual alarm right at the aquarium,
you can also pick up an alarm from Adaptive Reef
that plugs directly into one of the 24 volt access reports
on your EB832 energy bar.
Then on the Fusion dashboard,
you can click on the triple cogwheel icon
to reveal the hidden icons.
Then click on the flowchart icon, click on EB832,
then click on the cogwheel on link A or link B
depending on which of the 24 volt ports
you've plugged the alarm into.
Scroll down to the bottom where the configuration field is
and enter in this code.
I'll also leave a link to the code
in the description below as well
so you can just copy and paste it.
Once you're finished, scroll back up to the top
and click the upload icon.
And from then on, anytime a sensor is tripped,
your Adaptive Reef alarm will beep and flash
to immediately draw your attention
even if your phone isn't in your pocket.
As promised, for those who wanna use
their optical level sensors for more advanced uses
like automatic water changes or skimmer cut monitoring,
we walk you through how to set them up
in this Master Your Apex playlist right here.
(bright electronic music)