Hydros ecosystem full param automation setup?

[jnbrex]

If I wanted to set up a Hydros ecosystem that could both test and control:

• Ph
• Alk
• Cal
• Mag
• Phosphates
• Nitrates

using the maven (once it's released), what other devices, reagents, containers, and additives would I need to purchase to fully automate testing and dosing for the various params?

How complicated would it be?

How much space would be required?

 

[n2585722]

The Maven is a stand alone controller and does have 2 drive ports for outputs and 2 sense ports for inputs. It will test for the things you listed other than pH. For that you will need another controller and create a collective. The ones that have pH or ORP ports are X3, X4, X10 and Launch. The Launch also has salinity if you think you may need that. There are Hydros dosing pumps which start with the simple doser that is powered by a drive port. It has a fixed flow rate of 43ml. They also have a 2ml a minute that is AC powered and that would require an AC output. I would use either a XP8 or Launch to power those since the are dosing pumps. There are two different smart dosers. There is the Minnow that has 2 dosing pumps and 4 sense ports. Then there is the X10 which has 4 precision dosing pumps. With the smart dosers you can change the flow rate and direction of flow. The X10 would be the most precise of the 2 but is also the most expensive of the 2. When creating a collective you will need a command bus cable to go from one controller to the other in a daisy chain fashion and 2 terminators for the two end command bus ports. Also anything that has command bus ports at this time is a controller. All can work as stand alone or in a collective with other controller. A collective act like one large controller with all the input and output ports of it's member controllers. All are shared with each other so a input on one controller can be used to control an output on another. So if you only need 2 or less dosing pumps you can doit with just the Maven other than the pH port.

 

[jnbrex]

The Maven is a stand alone controller and does have 2 drive ports for outputs and 2 sense ports for inputs. It will test for the things you listed other than pH. For that you will need another controller and create a collective. The ones that have pH or ORP ports are X3, X4, X10 and Launch. The Launch also has salinity if you think you may need that. There are Hydros dosing pumps which start with the simple doser that is powered by a drive port. It has a fixed flow rate of 43ml. They also have a 2ml a minute that is AC powered and that would require an AC output. I would use either a XP8 or Launch to power those since the are dosing pumps. There are two different smart dosers. There is the Minnow that has 2 dosing pumps and 4 sense ports. Then there is the X10 which has 4 precision dosing pumps. With the smart dosers you can change the flow rate and direction of flow. The X10 would be the most precise of the 2 but is also the most expensive of the 2. When creating a collective you will need a command bus cable to go from one controller to the other in a daisy chain fashion and 2 terminators for the two end command bus ports. Also anything that has command bus ports at this time is a controller. All can work as stand alone or in a collective with other controller. A collective act like one large controller with all the input and output ports of it's member controllers. All are shared with each other so a input on one controller can be used to control an output on another. So if you only need 2 or less dosing pumps you can doit with just the Maven other than the pH port.

Thanks for all the info! Honestly I'm still a little confused - there are lots of Hydros devices and I'm not sure exactly what I need to meet my automation and stability goals.

 

[n2585722]

Thanks for all the info! Honestly I'm still a little confused - there are lots of Hydros devices and I'm not sure exactly what I need to meet my automation and stability goals.

I have a build thread that has lots of Hydros information. It has screenshots of setups and I talk about how to do things in it. The Hydros info starts on page 6 post #119 when I got my first Hydros controller. It was an X4 starter kit. Just xlick on My Tank Thread banner in my post to go to the build thread and then you can go to page 6 post #119. From there the Hydros info is spread out in lots of post along with some other things. That give you an idea how it works. Basically there are sense ports, pH/ORP ports, 0-10v inputs and salinity ports. For output ports there are drive ports, direct drive ports, force ports, 0-10v outputs and AC outputs. There are also wifi power strips and plugs. A controller or collective can control up to 8 wifi devices. So it is just a mater of what you want to control and how it is controlled. Then what kind of input do you need to control those devices. The thing with the Hydros you can start slow and add on as you need more of a particular port. Drive ports are 12v DC output ports and control 12v devices such as solenoids, small DC pumps and 12v dosing pumps. Basically anything that runs of 12v and is within the current capacity of the output can be powered with them. The force port is a 24v DC output so it is about the same as the drive port except it is 24v. Then there is the AC outputs wich can control anything that requires 120v AC as long as you just want to power it on and off. The direct drive ports a special ports for a type of motor used in a lot of DC pumps. Those are on the wave engine controllers. Then you have the 0-10v outputs which can be used to control lighting and pumps that have a 0-10v control input. The input ports like sense ports are for things like water level sensors, temp sensors, leak detectors, TDS meters, flow meters and more. The pH/ORP and salinity ports are for those particular probes. The 0-10v inputs you can get button boxes and other devices you can add to those. I made my own button boxes that I use at my mixing station. I also use a 0-10v input for a water level sensor in my three reservoirs at the mixing station. They show the water level in the percentage full. So I can see about how much water is in each without having to pull them out from underneath my workbench and lifting the lid to check. I use 0-10v outputs as control for my lighting. I use 6 of those outputs to control the intensity of my white, red, blue, green, royal blue and uv channels separately. You can find all this with more detail in my build thread. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have questions.