That picture is a few weeks old. I've added a couple of Kamoer X1 Pro T dosers to the Kraken drive ports. Also, I have the Red Sea ReefMat, RS Skimmer, Radion XR15 on the Drive and Force ports. Coming along nicely.Nice setup! I see a couple of extra Probe Ports, Drive Ports, and an XP8 outlet for the HYDROS Slow doser....you could set up HYDROS Alk Testing without purchasing a new HYDROS Control... There is a tip that'll save ya $600 at least
I'm just going to chime in as a satisfied user, all of this is really spot on and works as claimed. I love that you can break the system apart, put it together, change it however you like. It's really great. A lot of products don't live up to their claims, for me, so far Hydros absolutely has.Obviously I am going to be a bit bias as my username implies, however, I have this to share:
One of the major benefits of HYDROS would be this issue in the future! HYDROS is a completely modular system; at no point will ANY HYDROS equipment go obsolete...you want to expand in the future, just pick up another HYDROS Control. You separate part of your system into a smaller tank and break off some of your HYDROS to automate that tank!
Hydros offers an extremely user-friendly aquarium automation experience, zero coding; everything is a drop-down menu.
You may see that there are a lot of HYDROS Controls and you're wondering which one you need to start on, YOU CAN START WITH ANY! However, is that Hydros Control big enough, and have the ports available to do the jobs that you wish to do?
Maybe you decide to start small, when it's time to grow, that original device NEVER BECOMES OBSOLETE! You can just add on to the system, to grow your COLLECTIVE! Multiple HYDROS brains linked up, creating a redundant system, and a neural network of safety. If we release a new device, no need to sell the original one to get the newest and greatest, just add it on!
No modules! Accessories are extremely affordable, as long as you have the port available on a Hydros control, you can hook up that matching accessory.
The devices don't use outdated USB connections, HYDROS use CANBus, via command bus cable on GX-12 connectors, extremely reliable, and IP65 waterproof splash proof dustproof, aquarium stand proof We've seen too many aquarium equipments go bad with moisture, we didn't want that to happen to ours.
Partnering with other companies, YOU the end user should have the option to run whatever equipment you want. With HYDROS, We work hard to partner with other companies to incorporate their tech into our system. That way, the end user can have the best experience possible. So far we have integrated with Kamoer for the KH Carer, Focustronic for Alkatronic and Mastertronic, Sicce for their SDC Pumps...and more are coming....just you wait.
However, we have given away the software to test Alkalinity on HYDROS FOR FREE!!! The X10 has everything that is needed, so that is the most convenient route. However, all you need is a pH probe, HYDROS iV, and 3 Dosers. So, ANY HYDROS Control can test alkalinity, assuming you have those ports available.
Customer support, along with research and development, is our number one priority. Phone number, email, support portal, Facebook group, another Facebook group, and online forum are all available at your disposal. Call us, beep us, if you need to reach us.
It's going to be a HUGE year for HYDROS. Y'all will see, we aren't playing.
You know what! I’ll sell my opened Apex and jump onto hydros. I’ll save this post if hydros screws me, I’ll be the first to file against the parent company. I love a company that puts it down!Obviously I am going to be a bit bias as my username implies, however, I have this to share:
One of the major benefits of HYDROS would be this issue in the future! HYDROS is a completely modular system; at no point will ANY HYDROS equipment go obsolete...you want to expand in the future, just pick up another HYDROS Control. You separate part of your system into a smaller tank and break off some of your HYDROS to automate that tank!
Hydros offers an extremely user-friendly aquarium automation experience, zero coding; everything is a drop-down menu.
You may see that there are a lot of HYDROS Controls and you're wondering which one you need to start on, YOU CAN START WITH ANY! However, is that Hydros Control big enough, and have the ports available to do the jobs that you wish to do?
Maybe you decide to start small, when it's time to grow, that original device NEVER BECOMES OBSOLETE! You can just add on to the system, to grow your COLLECTIVE! Multiple HYDROS brains linked up, creating a redundant system, and a neural network of safety. If we release a new device, no need to sell the original one to get the newest and greatest, just add it on!
No modules! Accessories are extremely affordable, as long as you have the port available on a Hydros control, you can hook up that matching accessory.
The devices don't use outdated USB connections, HYDROS use CANBus, via command bus cable on GX-12 connectors, extremely reliable, and IP65 waterproof splash proof dustproof, aquarium stand proof We've seen too many aquarium equipments go bad with moisture, we didn't want that to happen to ours.
Partnering with other companies, YOU the end user should have the option to run whatever equipment you want. With HYDROS, We work hard to partner with other companies to incorporate their tech into our system. That way, the end user can have the best experience possible. So far we have integrated with Kamoer for the KH Carer, Focustronic for Alkatronic and Mastertronic, Sicce for their SDC Pumps...and more are coming....just you wait.
However, we have given away the software to test Alkalinity on HYDROS FOR FREE!!! The X10 has everything that is needed, so that is the most convenient route. However, all you need is a pH probe, HYDROS iV, and 3 Dosers. So, ANY HYDROS Control can test alkalinity, assuming you have those ports available.
Customer support, along with research and development, is our number one priority. Phone number, email, support portal, Facebook group, another Facebook group, and online forum are all available at your disposal. Call us, beep us, if you need to reach us.
It's going to be a HUGE year for HYDROS. Y'all will see, we aren't playing.
Any of the controllers with a probe port will do either pH or ORP on the port. If you wan salinity at this time the only controller with a salinity port is the X10. It has 4 precision dosing pumps, 2 drive ports and 4 sense ports and a probe port along with the salinity port. I have run this controller stand alone with the iV and a simple doser to do the alkalinity test and also dose a KH buffer and All For Reef. I also got a pH reading and salinity reading every time a alkalinity test was performed. I ran it that way for a few months until I added it into the collective. My suggestion if salinity is important is the X10 and the X4 Pro Pack. Also get a command bus cable to add the X10 to the collective with the X4 and XP8 that are a part of the pro pack. If you want alkalinity testing then add the iV and also get the salinity kit to get the salinity probe and 2 calibration fluids. The X10 comes with a pH probe and a temp sensor and some tubing for the 4 pumps. The XP8 has 8 AC outputs. The X4 has 2 probe ports, 2 drive ports, 4 sense ports, 4 0-10v inputs and 4 0-10v outputs. That should get you going. The sense ports are were you would add temp sensors, leak detectors, flow sensors, TDS meters, water level sensor and the like. Hope this helps. I just use Hanna testers for calcium, nitrate, magnesium and a couple of others. There is a way to setup static inputs in the Hydros where you can add the results of these test. These will also show in the graphs. At this time you cannot use the static input for any control on the Hydros though. Hope this helps. Let us know if there are any specific questions though.
Here is a screenshot of my test page for my Hydros. The last input is from a probe port setup for ORP with a ORP probe attached and in the sump. There is also on that second row the realtime reading for the ports with the pH and salinity probe in the iV but these readings are only good just before the start of the alkalinity testing so there is also a sampled input for each with those readings. The reading also has the time and dat the reading was taken. I also have salinity probe in the sump and that reading is in the first line of inputs. The inputs and outputs on this page are related to testing either by the Hydros system or the manual test I do with test kits. The static inputs also have a time and date that the reading was entered. I also have a KHC that I occasionally use but I do no have it testing at the moment so those inputs are not displayed on the screen but the Hydros will interface with the Kamoer cloud and get the KH Carer readings.
BTW, how do you control your light? Does hydros offer light profiles like apex with MXM?Here is a screenshot of my test page for my Hydros. The last input is from a probe port setup for ORP with a ORP probe attached and in the sump. There is also on that second row the realtime reading for the ports with the pH and salinity probe in the iV but these readings are only good just before the start of the alkalinity testing so there is also a sampled input for each with those readings. The reading also has the time and dat the reading was taken. I also have salinity probe in the sump and that reading is in the first line of inputs. The inputs and outputs on this page are related to testing either by the Hydros system or the manual test I do with test kits. The static inputs also have a time and date that the reading was entered. I also have a KHC that I occasionally use but I do no have it testing at the moment so those inputs are not displayed on the screen but the Hydros will interface with the Kamoer cloud and get the KH Carer readings.
I control the lights with 0-10v outputs 6 to be exact. Then I setup a schedule and I use the latitude light mode so they come around sunrise and go off around sunset. The light gradually increases to max then slowly decreases till off. The 2 screenshots of the schedule are below. It was too long to fit on one screen but on the iPad you can scroll up and down to the different settings in the schedule. I did also select El Salvador for the location since it is in the central time zone and keep daylight savings time from changing the schedule an hour. That also keeps all the other timers on their original non daylight times.
thanks for the reply. I really ppreciate yohr take.
I have nothing to add here and agree. Pick something and stick with it. It's a tool. If it were a case of one simply not working, then it would be different, but they all work and have their caveats to go along with them. It is what it is. I won't go so far to say any one is better than the other.
It all depends on what you are trying to do with it but it is expandable so you can start with something like the X4 Pro Pack. That has the X4 controller and a XP8 controller. It also has one command bus cable and 2 terminators for creating a collective between the X4 and XP8. To add another all you would need is the new controller of your choice and a command bus cable got get it connected to the collective. The Pro Pack also comes with a temp sensor and a pH probe. The XP8 has 8 AC outlet for it's 8 output ports. The X4 has 2 probe ports for either pH or ORP. Each can be individually setup for either probe type. There is also 2 drive ports which are 12v output ports. There is also 4 sense ports. These can be used with temp sensors, water level sensors, leak detectors, flow sensors and several others. Then there are 4 0-10v inputs in one port and 4 0-10v outputs in another port. So it has quite a few of the different types of ports on it. That makes it a good starting point. My collective is up to 14 controllers. I have 55 inputs setup and 126 outputs setup. So it is a larger collective.
