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  1. #1

    Timer switch for cutting skimmer when feeding

    I'm struggling to find an outdoor timer switch which cuts the power for an specific amount of time. I want to turn off my air stone and skimmer for 5 mins when feeding. There are plenty of timer switches for outdoor lights which turn the power on for a specific amount of time, but not off.

    Does anyone here have a timer switch set up for feeding time...and can send me a link? Thanks!



  2. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    I don't use a timer as such I use a smart plug with the app you can set any number of timers, on or off

    https://www.lightinthebox.com/en/p/w...BoCwsgQAvD_BwE
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
    2 x Aerated Bottom Drains and Skimmer
    Filtreau HiFlow 30 Drum Filter
    Bio Chamber - 140 litres K1
    Bakki Shower - 30 KG Sakura Far Infrared Media
    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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  4. #3
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    Is this for a floating or wall skimmer?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #4
    Hi Roy. Thanks for the reply. I do have a load of these controlling lots of things but I'd like to press a button on the wall and not have to mess about with getting my phone out and setting a timer...

  6. #5
    It's to cut the power to a submerged pump pulling from a skimmer with floating rim. Thanks

  7. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by willshill View Post
    Hi Roy. Thanks for the reply. I do have a load of these controlling lots of things but I'd like to press a button on the wall and not have to mess about with getting my phone out and setting a timer...
    Your just so old fashioned lol

    We just say "Alexa" turn off the "pond air" and like a good girl she does it as she should
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
    2 x Aerated Bottom Drains and Skimmer
    Filtreau HiFlow 30 Drum Filter
    Bio Chamber - 140 litres K1
    Bakki Shower - 30 KG Sakura Far Infrared Media
    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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  9. #7
    Haha I have Alexa controlling my pond and house also even the temperature of the pond can be adjusted by Alexa using a temperature controller but I cant say..."Alexa, turn the skimmer off for 5 minutes " . A delay off switch is what I'm looking for. I've definitely read that on here a similar topic but cant find it.

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  11. #8
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    You could use a routine on the smart plug app

    Copied from the internet, not sure if that would work, just change the on for off

    I used an Alexa Routine to have my Amazon Smart Plug turn ON the heat in my chair (same as a light) for a fixed amount of time. (The chair heat plugs into an electrical outlet, so I inserted the Amazon Smart Plug between the chair heat plug and the electrical outlet.)

    After setting up your Amazon Smart Plug, I renamed the smart plug to something meaningful. In my case I renamed it “Chair Plugs”. Then I changed the Amazon Smart Plug to Type = Light.

    To create a Routine, I went to the Alexa App main menu and selected ”Routines” then selected the “+” in the top right of the screen.

    My routine is as follows:

    ROUTINE NAME: “Turn on my chair heat for 30 minutes”
    WHEN THIS HAPPENS: “Alexa, turn on chair heat”
    Add action:
    Select:
    1) Smart Home, Lights, Chair Plug, Next, Power: On
    2) Alexa Say, “Chair heat has been turned on”
    3) Wait, Duration is 30 minutes
    4) Smart Home, Lights, Chair Plug, Next, Power: Power: Off
    5) Alexa Say “Chair heat has been turned off”

    If you are turning on anything other than light, I would suggest testing your routine with a light connected to your Amazon Smart Plug. This same routine will probably work with any brand of smart plugs.
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
    2 x Aerated Bottom Drains and Skimmer
    Filtreau HiFlow 30 Drum Filter
    Bio Chamber - 140 litres K1
    Bakki Shower - 30 KG Sakura Far Infrared Media
    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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  13. #9
    Genius! I shall give this a try and will report back. Thanks Roy!

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  15. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by willshill View Post
    Genius! I shall give this a try and will report back. Thanks Roy!
    I just look for the easy way out hope it works
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
    2 x Aerated Bottom Drains and Skimmer
    Filtreau HiFlow 30 Drum Filter
    Bio Chamber - 140 litres K1
    Bakki Shower - 30 KG Sakura Far Infrared Media
    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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  17. #11
    It works! I set up a schedule within the alexa app. When I give the command, "Alexa, feeding time" it performs 3 tasks: skimmer off, delay 5 mins, skimmer on.

    I've also just seen that you can get echo buttons which trigger a schedule when pressed so will look into these.

    Thanks for the idea!

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  19. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by willshill View Post
    It works! I set up a schedule within the alexa app. When I give the command, "Alexa, feeding time" it performs 3 tasks: skimmer off, delay 5 mins, skimmer on.

    I've also just seen that you can get echo buttons which trigger a schedule when pressed so will look into these.

    Thanks for the idea!
    Nice one, glad it works
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
    2 x Aerated Bottom Drains and Skimmer
    Filtreau HiFlow 30 Drum Filter
    Bio Chamber - 140 litres K1
    Bakki Shower - 30 KG Sakura Far Infrared Media
    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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  21. #13
    Senior Member Rank = Jussai Alburglar's Avatar
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    A simpler way would be a ring of air in front of the skimmer and a 5 min, 'on' for a little air pump. This would disrupt the flow going into the skimmer.
    2660 Gallons. 4" Bottom Drain and Skimmer. Draco Solum 16 Drum. Anoxic Filtration. Air lift returns.

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  23. #14
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    That's kind of what I am trying to do.

    I have 2 x 50mm air stones on 4mm air lines hanging both sides of my skimmer about 8inches below the surface of the pond and currently just have to turn the air pump on and off at feeding times. As the air pump is under powered occasionally food gets past and into the skimmer so I am looking for a slightly more powerful air pump. Once I get the right pump I hope to be able to fit a timer so the pump only runs at feeding times for about 15 minutes each time.

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  25. #15
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion bowsaw's Avatar
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    put a DO button via IFTTT on the home screen of your phone, could also have Alexa skimmer on/off as a back up for when the phone is not in the pocket
    the slow pond build thread

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  27. #16
    Thanks bowsaw. It's the 'wait 5 mins before turning on again' which is the bit I want to achieve with a button. Can IFTTT do buttons trigger alexa routines? Or can you create routines using the do button instead of just a simple on/off?

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  29. #17
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    The way I was thinking of linking a feeder to the skimmer air pump was via a count down timer which is going to be triggered by the feeder getting powered up at the start of each feeding time, so would need to link the cable from the controller for the feeder to the timer for the air pump for the skimmer. Was even considering linking it to a temperature controller too so if it was too cold it wouldn't power the feeder or the air pump.

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  31. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper View Post
    The way I was thinking of linking a feeder to the skimmer air pump was via a count down timer which is going to be triggered by the feeder getting powered up at the start of each feeding time, so would need to link the cable from the controller for the feeder to the timer for the air pump for the skimmer. Was even considering linking it to a temperature controller too so if it was too cold it wouldn't power the feeder or the air pump.
    Funnily enough I was just discussing that yesterday, adding an interrupt on my feeder so I would only feed when the pond temperature was above a set temp, then you can get into increasing the time as it gets warmer, all controlled by a Raspberry PI


    No, not a Raspberry pie
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
    2 x Aerated Bottom Drains and Skimmer
    Filtreau HiFlow 30 Drum Filter
    Bio Chamber - 140 litres K1
    Bakki Shower - 30 KG Sakura Far Infrared Media
    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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  33. #19
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RoyLittle0 View Post
    Funnily enough I was just discussing that yesterday, adding an interrupt on my feeder so I would only feed when the pond temperature was above a set temp, then you can get into increasing the time as it gets warmer, all controlled by a Raspberry PI


    No, not a Raspberry pie
    I was just going semi old school and use a heating cooling controller that I was going to use for my QT heater and use the cooling terminals as it would need to switch it off as the temperature drops below say 5 or 10 degrees? I think that's the correct way to connect it?

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  35. #20
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    Cue the QT jibes

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