Aqualifter connected to DC8

I'm trying to get my aqualifter hooked up through my AC3, but I'm running into trouble.

Once anything switches the aqualifter on, it will not shut off. It's not a programming issue at all. I can have no programming on that channel whatsoever, go into manual mode and swith it off and it will not power down.

It does this regardless of channel on the DC8, so it's not a faulty outlet. Other items work just fine. In my first 5 minutes of research I read that it had to be on outlets 4 or 8... so I moved it to 4 and it still didn't work. I'm going to try moving it to 8 here in a bit (EDIT: Tried it on 8 as well, still doesn't work), but wanted to get this out there and see if others had any thoughts on this.

Thanks!
Matt

A little more research, and I ran across this from ReefCentral:

I have read that you have to put a surge protector between the outlet and the plug

That's one of several options. Another is to use a short extension cord with multiple taps, and then plug the low-power device into the extension and then add a small additional load onto the outlet such as an incandescent nightlight.

What does the AC3 use to control the outlet? Is a float switch controling the signal?

I was going to try to skip the float valve and just run it timed. Just time it short so that I manually add once a week or so when I fill up the top off container.

The programing wasn't the deal though. Even if I go into manual control and shut it off it still wouldn't shut off. Something about the type of outlet needing a certain number of volts drawn to be triggered off.

I've got a small pump that would draw more amps if you wanted to go that way, but DYI ATO's are fairly easy.

I actually have been wanting to direct a small powerhead into the rockwork in the back corner of my tank to keep things from settling in there. I'm going to slide the koralia nano underneath that and leave it back there hooked up with the aqualifter. It'll only turn on a few times a day to clear stuff out... and help keep the aqualifter on schedule.

I'm trying to stick with the lower power pump because I'm likely going to try mixing kalk into the top off water for awhile and would prefer it to drip in. I'm not going to do any of that yet though... that's just me thinking about later. I measured approx 30 minutes of dripping so I've got it setup to turn on for 5 minutes every 6 hours currently... so only 20 minutes a day. If it works well I'll check how often I'm having to top off over the next few weeks and raise it slowly. Hopefully when I go out of town for a week someone only has to stop by once or twice! ;-)

Yep, that's coming up!