Hydros Launch vs X4?

[mizukage]

Hello fellow reefers! Looking to get into controllers.. but the myriad of options is dazzling and confusing.

I am trying to decide which of these Hydros Launch or X4 Pro pack which includes the XP8 will cover my needs the most. Needs is powering the standard general equipment in a reef tank such as pumps, skimmer, heater, wave makers, automated fish feeder, ATO. Capabilities to measure salinity, ph/ORP would be great too, for temperature measurement, I believe my heater already covers that. For the most part, my skimmer, return pump, and wave makers are all reef octopus. I believe i might need to get a separate wave engine to control those too.

Thank you kindly in advance!

 

[corosato]

so I started with the launch and added an xp8 later. The launch has been great. Depending on immediate power needs I would recommend launch and add xp later if needed. I only added the xp because when I upgraded my tank I needed a few extra plugs and wanted it all on one thing.

 

[mizukage]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Decided to go with the launch too. The AC plugs and salinity probe sealed the deal for me

 

[n2585722]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Decided to go with the launch too. The AC plugs and salinity probe sealed the deal for me

It does not matter which controller a input or output is on once they are a member of a collective. All inputs and outputs are shared across all controllers in the collective so you can control an output on one controller using an input on another. I have 15 controllers in my collective now. Main differences between the Launch and X4 Pro Pack is for one the XP8 outlets have power monitoring the ones on the Launch do not. Also the X4 has 4 0-10v outputs and the Launch does not have those output. The launch has 2 more drive ports and the salinity port that the X4 does not have but it only has one probe port for either a pH or ORP probe. The X4 has 2 of those. So it is just a matter of your needs but you can always create a collective and add another controller using a command bus cable and a couple of terminators.

 

[mizukage]

Thanks, I fully understand the concept of collectives. It matters to me as I can’t afford to buy more than 1 controller in the beginning. I’ll get the one that covers the most needs or good enough and then can expand in the future. But for now, it was either between the launch or x4 pack.

 

[n2585722]

Thanks, I fully understand the concept of collectives. It matters to me as I can’t afford to buy more than 1 controller in the beginning. I’ll get the one that covers the most needs or good enough and then can expand in the future. But for now, it was either between the launch or x4 pack.

There is nothing wrong with getting one and adding on later. I started with a X4 starter kit but that was 4 years ago and the launch was not available or the X4 Pro Pack at that time. I already had a Archon but since Dynon decided to get out of the aquarium controller business and I needed to add some things I went with the Hydros. Now all things are controlled with Hydros except for my moon lights. It took me a few years to convert everything over but I am very happy with how things have progressed.

 

[Peair]

Hello fellow reefers! Looking to get into controllers.. but the myriad of options is dazzling and confusing.

I am trying to decide which of these Hydros Launch or X4 Pro pack which includes the XP8 will cover my needs the most. Needs is powering the standard general equipment in a reef tank such as pumps, skimmer, heater, wave makers, automated fish feeder, ATO. Capabilities to measure salinity, ph/ORP would be great too, for temperature measurement, I believe my heater already covers that. For the most part, my skimmer, return pump, and wave makers are all reef octopus. I believe i might need to get a separate wave engine to control those too.

Thank you kindly in advance!

I have the X4 Pro Pack with XP8 and WeveEngine controllers, and I feels like I am Full, and I don't need anything else, you can hook up so much, and any marine equipment can plug into the XP8 and somehow someway it can control it, and the X4 with the ports and sensors will control all your little equipment, PH, Temp, ATO, stuff like that, but it is very important to have a Collective in your Hydros app, so everything can work together, and you can monitor everyday and make adjustments on all your inputs, outputs, and devices, and Hydros just had a recent 348 update and it went good with my 3 controllers, the only thing I would not like if I had say 10 controllers, for you have to download and then install the new update for each controller, that could be a pain if you had 10 controllers because it is not a quick process and sometimes you have to download or install twice if the first one does not go through, and the downloads/Installs could run slow, but I am very satisfied with my three controllers, and with only three the updates are not that bad.

 

[mizukage]

There is nothing wrong with getting one and adding on later. I started with a X4 starter kit but that was 4 years ago and the launch was not available or the X4 Pro Pack at that time. I already had a Archon but since Dynon decided to get out of the aquarium controller business and I needed to add some things I went with the Hydros. Now all things are controlled with Hydros except for my moon lights. It took me a few years to convert everything over but I am very happy with how things have progressed.

It sounds like you’re happy with the hydros ecosystem. I’m most likely going to add a wave engine after but will start with the launch first.
Gear isn’t cheap in this hobby. Bought my tank in May but it’s still dry as I’m buying equipment slowly. Hoping there’ll be some good Black Friday sales.

 

[n2585722]

I have the X4 Pro Pack with XP8 and WeveEngine controllers, and I feels like I am Full, and I don't need anything else, you can hook up so much, and any marine equipment can plug into the XP8 and somehow someway it can control it, and the X4 with the ports and sensors will control all your little equipment, PH, Temp, ATO, stuff like that, but it is very important to have a Collective in your Hydros app, so everything can work together, and you can monitor everyday and make adjustments on all your inputs, outputs, and devices, and Hydros just had a recent 348 update and it went good with my 3 controllers, the only thing I would not like if I had say 10 controllers, for you have to download and then install the new update for each controller, that could be a pain if you had 10 controllers because it is not a quick process and sometimes you have to download or install twice if the first one does not go through, and the downloads/Installs could run slow, but I am very satisfied with my three controllers, and with only three the updates are not that bad.

I have 15 controllers and You can press download and hold for a couple seconds and release and it will start downloading on all controllers in the collective. Once you are sure all controllers did download the new firmware without any errors then press and hold Install for couple of seconds and it will install on all the controllers.

 

[mizukage]

I have the X4 Pro Pack with XP8 and WeveEngine controllers, and I feels like I am Full, and I don't need anything else, you can hook up so much, and any marine equipment can plug into the XP8 and somehow someway it can control it, and the X4 with the ports and sensors will control all your little equipment, PH, Temp, ATO, stuff like that, but it is very important to have a Collective in your Hydros app, so everything can work together, and you can monitor everyday and make adjustments on all your inputs, outputs, and devices, and Hydros just had a recent 348 update and it went good with my 3 controllers, the only thing I would not like if I had say 10 controllers, for you have to download and then install the new update for each controller, that could be a pain if you had 10 controllers because it is not a quick process and sometimes you have to download or install twice if the first one does not go through, and the downloads/Installs could run slow, but I am very satisfied with my three controllers, and with only three the updates are not that bad.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Yeah the wave engine is on my list after I get the launch. Maybe an xp8 too but don’t see myself getting any dosing controllers or anything too fancy.

 

[n2585722]

It sounds like you’re happy with the hydros ecosystem. I’m most likely going to add a wave engine after but will start with the launch first.
Gear isn’t cheap in this hobby. Bought my tank in May but it’s still dry as I’m buying equipment slowly. Hoping there’ll be some good Black Friday sales.

Yes, I am happy with it. I have my mixing station and RODI unit controlled by the Hydros. In fact that is where the first Hydros gear ended up to begin with.

 

[Peair]

I have 15 controllers and You can press download and hold for a couple seconds and release and it will start downloading on all controllers in the collective. Once you are sure all controllers did download the new firmware without any errors then press and hold Install for couple of seconds and it will install on all the controllers.

I would love to do that, it just seems like every update for me is not a quick and easy process, and something always does not go right, but it's good to have people like you that I can go to for help.

 

[n2585722]

I would love to do that, it just seems like every update for me is not a quick and easy process, and something always does not go right, but it's good to have people like you that I can go to for help.

I always make sure I have some time just to make sure before I update. Also make sure you are at the tanks location when doing any updates to firmware. With 15 controllers it is not unusual for one or more to fail and download but I just restart the download on the on or ones that fail and wait before installing the update on any of the controllers.

 

[leepink23]

I have 15 controllers and You can press download and hold for a couple seconds and release and it will start downloading on all controllers in the collective. Once you are sure all controllers did download the new firmware without any errors then press and hold Install for couple of seconds and it will install on all the controllers.

That’s nice to know, you do this on the first device showing?

 

[n2585722]

That’s nice to know, you do this on the first device showing?

Yes, I do it on the first device.

 

[Summitwynds2]

I made a list/table of what I wanted to control. It helped me decide what I needed. Started with a Launch and Wave Engine 2. Added a Kraken and x4.

 

[mizukage]

I made a list/table of what I wanted to control. It helped me decide what I needed. Started with a Launch and Wave Engine 2. Added a Kraken and x4.

Curious…What was your use case for the kraken?

 

[Fenral]

Curious…What was your use case for the kraken?

kraken = battery back up. (And wire simplification - collective, lights, and pumps (with wave engine) all powered by one block…(or in my case a solar array and batteries )

The launch is great - i use it for my mix station. But from your first list of things it sounds like the xp4 combo fits better for the initial piece for you.

 

[n2585722]

Curious…What was your use case for the kraken?

I was able to remove all of these from my system and also added battery backup. I also have added a couple of things since and was able to use Kraken outputs instead of their power supplies. The Kraken has 8 24v and 4 12v controllable DC outputs and also has a 12v battery backup input and will also charge lead acid batteries. All the controllers that have power ports use 24v inputs. These are the X10, XD, Sole, Sole and Wave Engines. All of these can use the Kraken 24 outputs instead of the 24v power supplies. The 24v outputs called force ports will output 12v only during a power outage when running on battery backup. Some pumps will still run at a lower flow rate. My MP10's will but they also have a 12v input on them for doing that.

Below is a photo with the Kraken and it's Meanwell power supply mounted above it. The controllers were in party mode when the photo was taken so the LED's were not lit in their normal mode of operation.