AutoAqua Smart Skimmer Security System

A skimmer does not fail gradually. It runs correctly for weeks, then something shifts the bubble column – a dose of carbon, a water change, a feed, a slug of fresh top-off water – and the cup fills in under an hour.

• The cup overflows, not the tank. Skimmate runs down the body, out the cup lid, and into the cabinet or across the sump. On a sump in a cabinet, the first sign is usually the smell.
• Nothing upstream notices. An ATO, a controller running a dosing schedule and a return pump all keep working normally while this happens. The skimmer is the only thing misbehaving.
• It happens on the days you are not there. Skimmers go unstable after the changes you make and then leave alone – which is the weekend and the night before a trip.
• The cost is not the skimmate. It is a litre or two of nutrient-dense waste back into the display, and a cabinet floor that stays wet.

The unit sits between the wall socket and the skimmer pump. There is nothing to program.

The delays are the part that matters in practice. An overflow sensor with no delay logic trips on froth and gets unplugged within a fortnight, which leaves you with no protection at all.

Fit is decided by the collection cup wall, not by the skimmer brand. The sensor is a two-part magnetic clamp: it grips through the cup wall, so the wall has to be thin enough for the magnets to hold.

• Cup wall thickness is the limiting figure. AutoAqua publishes a maximum mounting thickness for the skimmer sensor of 8 mm on the current model. Most acrylic skimmer cups sit well under that.
• Cable reach is 3 m from the sensor back to the switch unit, which covers a sump skimmer and a socket outside the cabinet on almost any setup.
• Load is a non-issue. At 10 A the unit will switch any aquarium skimmer pump, DC or AC, with a very large margin.
• Set the sensor height deliberately. Mount it near the top of the cup, not at the neck. Too low and you lose most of the cup's useful volume to nuisance trips.

The three Security units share the same switch body and the same delay logic. What differs is the sensor and the failure it watches for.

They are independent devices, each with its own switched outlet. Running more than one is normal – they do not talk to each other and do not need a controller.

Suitable for

• Any marine setup where the skimmer sits in a cabinet or a sump room
• A new skimmer during its break-in weeks, when overflows are most likely
• Reefers who dose carbon, bacteria or amino acids and see the skimmer react
• Anyone who travels and leaves the tank running unattended
• Skimmers without any built-in level control of their own

Not suitable for

• Controlling skimmer output or tuning the foam head – it is a cut-off, not a regulator
• Tank water level or ATO duty – use the Smart Level Security or an AutoAqua Smart ATO Duo
• Temperature protection – use the Smart Temp Security
• Cup walls thicker than the published mounting limit, where the magnet cannot grip reliably
• Replacing a drain line or a sump with enough freeboard – this is a second line of defence, not the first

• Keep the switch unit dry and above the water line. AutoAqua states this plainly in the manual. It is a mains switch, not a submersible device.
• Run it on an RCD-protected circuit and use a drip loop on every cable, as with all mains equipment near an aquarium.
• Test it before you rely on it. Lift the sensor into wet skimmate by hand and confirm the skimmer cuts and the alarm sounds. Do this when the unit is new and again after any cup change.
• Do not exceed 10 A on the switched outlet, and do not daisy-chain a powerboard of equipment through it. It is intended to switch the skimmer alone.
• Clean the sensor face. Skimmate film on an optical sensor is the usual cause of a late trip.

• Wipe the sensor and the inside of the cup wall whenever you empty the cup – an optical sensor reads through the film that builds up on both.
• Re-test the trip after moving the sensor, changing skimmers, or swapping the collection cup.
• Check the magnet grip after cleaning. Salt creep under a magnet foot lets the sensor slide down the cup over time.
• There are no consumable parts and nothing to calibrate.

• AutoAqua Smart Temp Security – covers the other overnight failure that empties a reef tank, a heater stuck on.
• AutoAqua Smart Level Security – sump and display level protection, the natural pair with skimmer protection on a sumped system.
• AutoAqua Smart ATO Duo – dual-sensor auto top-off, so top-off water arrives at a steady rate rather than in the slugs that upset a skimmer.
• Red Sea Reefer Skimmer 300 PSK600 – an in-sump skimmer this unit is well matched to.
• Aqua Medic Turboflotor 5000 – a larger in-sump skimmer, comfortably inside the 10 A switching limit.

AutoAqua does not publish a warranty term for the Smart Security range. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law apply to this product and are not limited by any manufacturer's warranty.

The unit accepts 100-240 V AC, so it runs on Australian 230-240 V mains. Ships as a standard parcel.

Does the AutoAqua Smart Skimmer Security work with any brand of skimmer?

Yes, provided two things are true. The collection cup wall must be within the published magnetic mounting thickness so the sensor can clamp to it, and the skimmer pump must draw under 10 amps, which every aquarium skimmer does. The unit switches mains power to the pump, so it is indifferent to the skimmer's brand, body design or whether the pump is AC or DC.

Do I have to reset it after the skimmer trips?

No. The unit has an auto-recovery function: once you empty the collection cup and the sensor is clear, power is restored to the skimmer without pressing anything. A power-on delay holds the skimmer off briefly before it restarts.

Will it false-trip every time the foam surges?

It is designed not to. AutoAqua builds a detection delay into the Smart Security range specifically so a momentary splash or a passing bubble does not shut equipment down, and a separate power-on delay so the skimmer does not restart into an unstable state straight after a blackout.

How much power can it switch?

The unit is rated 100-240 V AC at 10 amps, which AutoAqua states as 2,200 W at 220 V AC and 1,100 W at 110 V AC. On Australian mains that is roughly 2,200 W – far more than any aquarium skimmer pump requires. It should still be used to switch the skimmer alone rather than a powerboard of equipment.

How long is the sensor cable?

Three metres, which AutoAqua also lists as 10 feet. That is enough to run from a skimmer cup in a sump, out of the cabinet, to a switch unit mounted dry near the power outlet.

Is this the same as an auto top-off controller?

No. An ATO adds fresh water to replace evaporation. This unit only removes power from the skimmer when the collection cup fills. They protect against different failures and are commonly run together on the same system.