ReefKeeper Elite V2 Help

So i just got this controller, i have read through the user guide, and i understand the general idea of the controller. But i am unsure of the specifics and i am in need of some assistance. I already signed up on DigitalAquatics.com forum and have been reading and asking questions there. I have been a member of 3reef.com for quite some time so i thought id ask some questions here as well. I have so many questions that i dont even know where to begin? Here goes nothing:-/
1. Do you have to download myreef 2.0 before hooking up the modules via the SID to your computer so you can update the firmware on each module?
2. How do you hook your Net Module to your router if you only have one ethernet port?
3. When hooking up the Net Module to your router/computer, you are able to access your net modules "Web Pages" from your computer? IDK what that means? Net Module Web Pages?
4. ATO: i have the Digital Aquatics Double Float Switch Kit and need some help installing it. I put it together and onto my sump in a way which looked right to me? DA says to configure them so that the safe state is open? IDK how that is achieved or how to tell if its set up this way?
"Note: it is best practice to wire Two float switches in series with one slightly above
the other, they should be configured so that they close when down and open when up.
This acts as a failsafe in case the lower switch gets stuck".
DA also suggests connecting the wires with marine type butt splices and cover them with heat shrink tubing? Any idea where i could get these things?

These are just the start of my questions, im sure:-X I can't wait to get this all up and running!

 

For the switches, they mean the safe state should be open. For example, if you want the alarm to trip on your ATO reservoir when it gets low, the low side should be open, while the high side should be closed. If you want a water alert to stop your return pump if the water in your DT gets too high, you want the closed side to be on the bottom, and the open side to be on top. It's kinda confusing, TBH, but "OPEN" is the default for a float switch port if it ever gets disconnected, so you want that to be the safe side.

So, in sum, if you have a float switch monitoring for a low water level, you want the open side to be down, and closed to be up. If you have a float monitoring for a high water level, you want the open to be up, and the closed side to be down. The side with the screw end is the closed side.

Heat shrink tubing is at RadioShack, butt splices online via Google as that's just a method of "wrapping wires together". Heat shrink you just put on the wire before you splice it, then you splice the two wires, move the heat shrink over the exposed bits, and wave a lighter under it quickly to shrink it.

 

blackraven1425 thanks alot! u just cleared up alot of my ?'s. Im still a little confused about the float switches. Ill take a picture of what i am working with and my setup, and explain what i would like them to do. And hopefully we can figure it out

 

this is how i have them set up. they arent hooked up or anything yet. I was just getting anxious and curious as to how they worked so i just put them together and hung them on my sump.
I would like one to trigger the ATO pump when the water gets low and the other to shut off the ATO pump in the event that the main switch gets stuck on. Any ideas on how i should set these up. Do i have them setup correctly in regards to what Blackraven1425 had mentioned earlier about "safe state" and "open and close"? From what i can figure, if the switches are triggered when the float "closes" or moves closest to the threaded end with the wires coming out, than the switch that i want to set up to trigger the ATO pump should be placed "upside down"(refer to the pic) so that the switch "closes" when the water level drops. Am i correct on this? And than the switch that is set up as a back up should be "right side up" so that the switch "closes" when the water level rises. Is this correct?

 

can anyone comment on this setup?

 

The "open" and "closed" refers to the circuit. The circuit is naturally open; as in, when no float is connected, there's a gap between the two wires in the connection. Closed means that something completes the circuit by closing that gap and letting current pass through. The float switch will do this when triggered. You can tell what state the switch is in by going to the head unit and scrolling to the SW1 and SW2 inputs - it'll literally say "open" or "closed". No specifics here from me, since I have a RKL, not a RKE, but the general idea should be the same.

I would flip them around. If the float switch is ever disconnected on your current setup, you're going to have your entire ATO reservoir dump into your tank. "Open" should be the safe state, which, for an ATO, means to keep the ATO pump OFF when the state is open.

Again, if the pump set to turn on on "Open", then you're going to dump your ATO reservoir into the tank at some point in the future if you ever slip up while doing maintenance, or if the wires are even a bit exposed. That's why the safe state, AKA the "can not go wrong" state, should be with a pump off, and should be on the OPEN end.

I think it's weird that I'm the only one in this thread too, btw. Does nobody else have a RKL/RKE and ATO?


For the record, and to try giving a clearer picture of what I'm talking about here, I have two float switches on my system.

The first is set up to send me an email if my ATO gets low. The switch is oriented with the threads facing up. This way, when it gets low, the circuit opens, and lets me know via text message. It will also let me know if the float is ever unplugged, via the same text message.

The second is in the backsump of my DT, and is there to prevent the DT from overflowing if my overflow box ever fails. It sends me a text message, and turns off a switch, if the water level gets too high. The switch is oriented with threads down. If the DT ever overflows, OR if the switch is unplugged, it will turn off the pump and send a text.

See what I mean about "safe state" and "open/closed" now?

 

yes thanks. its much clearer now. so im going to flip one of the switches around so the threads are down (for the one that triggers the ATO pump when the water level in the sump gets low)> how should the other "safety switch" be set up. I know it should be positioned a little higher in the sump, but when it closes when the water level gets too high wont it trigger the pump to come on, or can you program the system to turn off the pump?