Improved apex breakout box!

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by Thatgrimguy, May 4, 2012.

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  1. Thatgrimguy

    Thatgrimguy Flying Squid

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    I have never felt like 4 Feed timers was enough. With dimming leds, I can think of 4 timers I would use just for light shows!. I have also never used more than 2 ports on my I/O breakout. So, I decided to get crafty because I couldn't sleep last night. I added 3 (could have added 4 but they only had 3 in stock and I am impatient) toggle switches to a hobby box and then put in a pair of speaker terminals so I can easily add 2 more devices to the breakout box later. (double float switch or water on floor sensors)

    I'm going to program my Major maintenance items to the switches and an easy off switch to my vortechs so I can show people the epic top down view.

    Then I can use my feed timers for light settings! I hope someone finds this useful in one form or another.

    [​IMG]

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    Last edited: May 5, 2012
    Thatgrimguy, May 4, 2012
    Thatgrimguy, May 4, 2012
    #1

    2. Click Here!

  2. Todd_Sails

    Todd_Sails Giant Squid

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    Grim,

    I don't got no Apex (yet anyways)

    But,

    I like your DIY style! Nice job
     
    Todd_Sails, May 4, 2012
    Todd_Sails, May 4, 2012
    #2
  3. Thatgrimguy

    Thatgrimguy Flying Squid

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    Thanks!! I appreciate it! I came out pretty clean all in all!
     
    Thatgrimguy, May 4, 2012
    Thatgrimguy, May 4, 2012
    #3
  4. Thatgrimguy

    Thatgrimguy Flying Squid

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    Hehe, cool. I have on demand storms now! I love toys!

    Everything works great! Simple diy, but it's nice being able to flip a single switch and cut off my return, heaters, ato, skimmer, reactors, uv, dosing pumps, and powerhead in my sump! I love simplicity.
     
    Thatgrimguy, May 5, 2012
    Thatgrimguy, May 5, 2012
    #4
  5. Biocube

    Biocube Giant Squid

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    Love the idea!
    Very clean and simple.

    Nice job
     
    Biocube, May 5, 2012
    Biocube, May 5, 2012
    #5
  6. Thatgrimguy

    Thatgrimguy Flying Squid

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    I was waiting on you to get on! I figured you would like it. There are infinite applications.

    I made 3 light settings. You could probably make even more.

    Feed A: typical slow down on my vortech for feeding
    Feed B: typical blue to highlight the fluorescence
    Feed C: reddish color to highlight other colors
    Feed D: An on demand storm

    Switch 1: Skimmer and reactors off (minor maintenance)
    Switch 2: All filtration off (major maintenance)
    Switch 3: Vortech's completely off (to still water for the top down look... love that view)
     
    Thatgrimguy, May 5, 2012
    Thatgrimguy, May 5, 2012
    #6

    7. Click Here!

  7. Biocube

    Biocube Giant Squid

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    That's really nice! There are so many times I need to pull my phone out or go to my Apex display to turn off my ATO and return pump for maintenance. Your idea makes everything a lot easier.

    How many "switches/inputs" does the Breakout box have?
     
    Biocube, May 5, 2012
    Biocube, May 5, 2012
    #7
  8. Thatgrimguy

    Thatgrimguy Flying Squid

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    6.


    And they all go to the same ground, so I just ran a single ground and all the others into a wing nut to make it easier to use all of the inputs.

    You can program feed timers the same way, but with this I can make sure the skimmer delays after turning return back on no matter when I cancel it. And I get extra!
     
    Thatgrimguy, May 5, 2012
    Thatgrimguy, May 5, 2012
    #8
  9. Biocube

    Biocube Giant Squid

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    Very cool, I know Apex isn't happy to hear this but I plan to make my own breakout box.

    I need to run:
    3 ATO switches
    2 water floor sensors
    1 toggle switch ( for lightining, thanks to you) :)
     
    Biocube, May 5, 2012
    Biocube, May 5, 2012
    #9
  10. Thatgrimguy

    Thatgrimguy Flying Squid

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    I thought about doing it, but it didn't seem that much cheaper and I don't have any experience with electrical.

    Nice. I'm probably going to add 2 water on floor sensors too. Did you see Pink4miss's post?

    Lays out exactly which sensor to get.
     
    Thatgrimguy, May 5, 2012
    Thatgrimguy, May 5, 2012
    #10
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