Hydros Owners: how happy are you long term?

[n2585722]

Not sure how I feel about the x8. By buying the x3/4 and the X8, you are now on par with the cost of the GHL or Apex. If I am going to be on par with the Apex, I might as well go with the apex because the testing and dosing add ons for the Apex actually make it more affordable for the all in.

Just wish someone had the X3 controller and the PH probe in stock. Done want the entire starter package.

The X3 controller only is $200. The power supply is $20. The pH probe is $37. The temp sensor is $25. That is $282. The starter kits are $300 but come with either a leak detector or wifi power strip. They both are another $40. If you buy controller only you will also need the power supply as controller only is controller only. It does not come with the power supply.

 

[nashvillian]

They normally reconnect in a minute or two without unplugging them when this happens. This can happen when trying to use them on a mesh type wifi network. Make sure the 2.4ghz band is separated form 5ghz band with a different name. I rarely have that happen but I don't even have a 5ghz band running for wifi.

Yeah this is the kind of stuff they need to fix in the firmware before I consider purchasing

 

[n2585722]

Yeah this is the kind of stuff they need to fix in the firmware before I consider purchasing

Most of those is the wifi itself. CoralVue has no control over what wifi router a customer has. Like I said I rarely have an issue like that unless I am rebooting or changing firmware in thr controllers. If for some reason in a collective the wifi master switches to a different controller it will cause a power strip reconnect with the new wifi master but I does not take very long to happen. I do not run ATO, AWC or dosing from a wifi power strip. I also don't control my RODI solenoids with a wifi power strip. I use the drive ports for those which I have 6 of them on three different controllers. I have no problem using the wifi power strips for controlling heaters, skimmers, return pumps, cooling fans and other similar devices. I do have MP10's for flow pumps with a battery backup. My tank has been without power for over 4 hours so it had no return pump, skimmer, heater, cooling or lights for that amount of time. Every thing survived. In fact last February we had rolling blackouts for almost a week and it was below 32 degrees outside the house. At one point the power was off for 4 hours and on for 4 hours at a time. I guess they were going with 50% balance of on and off. They do have the XP8 that s a wired controller if you are worried about wifi issues and the power bars. So you can alway put mission critical devices on it. It has 8 AC outputs and has power monitoring on each output. Below is a output powering my skimmer on a XP8. Below that is the setup on that output.

 

[nashvillian]

i don't know that having to name a network on a different band would be a router issue. sounds more like a host issue

 

[polyppal]

@n2585722
So the XP8 is now in stock at Coralvue, think I'm gonna pull the trigger...

Question I have: I should be able to control 2 tanks from one X4, Right? This is what I believe Id need:

X4 Control
2x Temp Probes
2x PH Probes
2x XP8 bars
-maybe- 2x ATOs (Hydros ATO kit)

 

[n2585722]

@n2585722
So the XP8 is now in stock at Coralvue, think I'm gonna pull the trigger...

Question I have: I should be able to control 2 tanks from one X4, Right? This is what I believe Id need:

X4 Control
2x Temp Probes
2x PH Probes
2x XP8 bars
-maybe- 2x ATOs (Hydros ATO kit)

That may be possible, but if you need more of a specific port just get one of the controllers that has the ports you need and add it to the collective. You will have two XP8 on the collective already. Don't forget the buss cables and terminators to connect the controllers in a collective. Also once you connect an XP8 to the buss you will have to discontinue use of the Power pack if you get one.

 

[polyppal]

That may be possible, but if you need more of a specific port just get one of the controllers that has the ports you need and add it to the collective. You will have two XP8 on the collective already. Don't forget the buss cables and terminators to connect the controllers in a collective. Also once you connect an XP8 to the buss you will have to discontinue use of the Power pack if you get one.

yeah id skip the wifi things and just get XP8s. The idea was to control the heaters on one xp8 for tank1, and the heaters for tank2 on the other xp8 (same with PH). That's if the interface would allow me to separately control two tanks, or can it only handle one temp/ph probe per control unit?

 

[n2585722]

i don't know that having to name a network on a different band would be a router issue. sounds more like a host issue

The controllers are 2.4ghz compatible only. They will not work on 5ghz. So that is why you need a different name for the two. The wifi strips and the controller need to be on the same band. The router is the host. The controllers and wifi strips are just devices connected to you network.

 

[n2585722]

yeah id skip the wifi things and just get XP8s. The idea was to control the heaters on one xp8 for tank1, and the heaters for tank2 on the other xp8 (same with PH). That's if the interface would allow me to separately control two tanks, or can it only handle one temp/ph probe per control unit?

You can have 4 temp probes on a X4 if you want to do that but it would use all of you sense ports. You just have enough ports to do what you are asking about since you will need two for pH, two for temp and two for water level. That leaves you 4 0-10v inputs and 4 0-10v outputs to use other that what is on the 2 XP8's. So if you want to add another sensor you may have to get a XS or one of the others to add to the collective.

 

[polyppal]

You can have 4 temp probes on a X4 if you want to do that but it would use all of you sense ports. You just have enough ports to do what you are asking about since you will need two for pH, two for temp and two for water level. That leaves you 4 0-10v inputs and 4 0-10v outputs to use other that what is on the 2 XP8's. So if you want to add another sensor you may have to get a XS or one of the others to add to the collective.

I can't imagine what else id really want beyond those, don't think Id need the room for expansion. In cart, im prob looking around $1000 for all of that though, so maybe having one all encompassing controller isn't as economical as id hoped...

 

[n2585722]

I can't imagine what else id really want beyond those, don't think Id need the room for expansion. In cart, im prob looking around $1000 for all of that though, so maybe having one all encompassing controller isn't as economical as id hoped...

If you do ever need more all you have to do is pick out a controller and add it to the collective. Once in a collective they are like one larger controller with all the input ports and output ports shared between them. That is the beauty of the system. You don't have to replace the controllers you have to expand. You just need to add to them. You setup an input or output then choose the port you want to use for it. If you change your mind on the port all you have to do is choose another port in the settings. You don't need to create another input or output setup to change it.

 

[nashvillian]

You can have the same SSID for a 5ghz and 2.4ghz network. the antenna on the client should identify the correct band.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Ease of expandability is what makes this great. I started with an X4 for my 16 gallon BioCube. Then I wanted to add a leak detector and a level sensor and skimmer sensor so I added an XS. When I moved to a Nuvo 40, I decided to add a wave engine. You can make the controller as big as you want.

 

[n2585722]

I can't imagine what else id really want beyond those, don't think Id need the room for expansion. In cart, im prob looking around $1000 for all of that though, so maybe having one all encompassing controller isn't as economical as id hoped...

If you have an X4 and 2 XP8's you have 3 controllers and have a collective already. I forgot to mention that.

 

[n2585722]

You can have the same SSID for a 5ghz and 2.4ghz network. the antenna on the client should identify the correct band.

I think it does on the controllers but the issue is the wifi strips and mesh networks that try and switch the bands. I don't use or need 5ghz at all. It is turned off on my router. It was causing issues with some of my other equipment. Namely my iPad.It would connect to 5ghz and it would take forever for thing to load on the internet. So there must be some kind of interference where I live. 2.4ghz works fine for me. if you want to keep you name the same you can always get a wired access point and assign a different name for it and setup your hydros to it and problem solved.

 

[Gawlfa]

I'm looking at adding a Hydros controller for my new 50G lagoon. (I don't use a controller on my other reef tank, a Red Sea Max Nano.) Could someone please explain the difference between the Control 2/4 , the X3/4, and the Pro versions? Are the X3 and X4 the newest versions? I want to monitor temp, salinity, and use the hydros ato kit. Would a Control2 be sufficient or should I get the X3? Thanks for the help.

 

[n2585722]

I'm looking at adding a Hydros controller for my new 50G lagoon. (I don't use a controller on my other reef tank, a Red Sea Max Nano.) Could someone please explain the difference between the Control 2/4 , the X3/4, and the Pro versions? Are the X3 and X4 the newest versions? I want to monitor temp, salinity, and use the hydros ato kit. Would a Control2 be sufficient or should I get the X3? Thanks for the help.

None of the Hydros controllers monitor salinity at this time. If you want to monitor ph or ORP but only one you can use the X3. If you want two pH/ORP ports you will need the X4. If you want to use the Hydros ATO kit you would need an X2 or X4. The X4 will do pH/ORP, temp and has 2 drive ports which you need to drive the ATO pump. To me that sounds like you best bet. If you end up needing more you can alway add a controller of you choice and start a collective. In a collective they share inputs and output with each other so it is like a larger controller. So it will expand when your needs grow. The pro versions are packaged with the XP8 controller and includes a buss cable and two terminator so you can create a collective with them. The XP8 is a controller with 8 AC output ports. All 8 have individual power monitoring. The wifi strips will not do that. Also the X4 does have 4 0-10v inputs and 4 0-10v outputs that can be used for various things.

 

[ReefBeta]

Overall my experience with Hydros is meh.

They have the benefits of cheap controllable outlets. I have 5 wifi power strip with the X4 now. Would not have that many if it weren't that cheap. X3 is also good price when pH monitoring is all I want. The mode button on the app is very big and easy to click, so I don't need to get a set of physical button like I did for Apex. But the good things basically stopped here.

The software of Hydros sucks. The most annoying part is the app/webapp can't stay connected. It will only last for 2 minutes or so, the that refresh button will pop up. But the worst is that refresh button is buggy for half of the time. It too often takes a minutes to refresh. It should be within a second. So when I tweaking something, I use the app, go to check or doing something on the tank, go back to the app, and already need to wait for a minute for it to refresh. It's ridiculously annoying. And the faster way to refresh is actually go to select the collective again, which takes less than 5 second to load. That shows the problem is purely client side.

I also asked coralvue can they make it keep the app refreshing, for dashboarding purpose, and they straight told me know, because the server load it would generate. So all I heard is that they're too cheap to pay for the AWS fee.

Then it comes to the software design itself. The graphs take up so many space. In a tablet I used as dashboard I can't keep more than 2 graphs on the screen with the mode button. And there is still no way to zone in into the graph, or look at older data.

Coralvue's software development is incompetent. Like drill down mode on graph, history data view, they promised since launch and it's still no where close to be seen. Even as simple as feature of increase pH range limit to 13 for kalk monitoring took them a year to deliver.

The last frustration with them is, my new X3's pH reading somehow managed to get interfered by one of my DIY LED. When the light is on, the pH reading jumps by 0.1. I have 5 other pH checking devices/controllers, none are affected. When I contact coralvue support, of course they said it's the problem of the light, because it's not FCC approved. Yeah sure, for a DIY LED...

And with XP8 the main advantage of them of prices are all gone. What we want is a in line connected power strip, not a power strip that can run itself. Without any sensor input, bring able to run itself is completely useless feature (a simple smart wifi outlet can do that already for $30). The whole point of wire is to guarantee connection between power outlet and sensor. So why I would want one to work without sensors? If a slave only corded power strip for $100 less, it would be a lot more useful and competitive advantage. Yet their device architecture seem too limited to do that.

 

[polyppal]

Overall my experience with Hydros is meh.

They have the benefits of cheap controllable outlets. I have 5 wifi power strip with the X4 now. Would not have that many if it weren't that cheap. X3 is also good price when pH monitoring is all I want. The mode button on the app is very big and easy to click, so I don't need to get a set of physical button like I did for Apex. But the good things basically stopped here.

The software of Hydros sucks. The most annoying part is the app/webapp can't stay connected. It will only last for 2 minutes or so, the that refresh button will pop up. But the worst is that refresh button is buggy for half of the time. It too often takes a minutes to refresh. It should be within a second. So when I tweaking something, I use the app, go to check or doing something on the tank, go back to the app, and already need to wait for a minute for it to refresh. It's ridiculously annoying. And the faster way to refresh is actually go to select the collective again, which takes less than 5 second to load. That shows the problem is purely client side.

I also asked coralvue can they make it keep the app refreshing, for dashboarding purpose, and they straight told me know, because the server load it would generate. So all I heard is that they're too cheap to pay for the AWS fee.

Then it comes to the software design itself. The graphs take up so many space. In a tablet I used as dashboard I can't keep more than 2 graphs on the screen with the mode button. And there is still no way to zone in into the graph, or look at older data.

Coralvue's software development is incompetent. Like drill down mode on graph, history data view, they promised since launch and it's still no where close to be seen. Even as simple as feature of increase pH range limit to 13 for kalk monitoring took them a year to deliver.

The last frustration with them is, my new X3's pH reading somehow managed to get interfered by one of my DIY LED. When the light is on, the pH reading jumps by 0.1. I have 5 other pH checking devices/controllers, none are affected. When I contact coralvue support, of course they said it's the problem of the light, because it's not FCC approved. Yeah sure, for a DIY LED...

And with XP8 the main advantage of them of prices are all gone. What we want is a in line connected power strip, not a power strip that can run itself. Without any sensor input, bring able to run itself is completely useless feature (a simple smart wifi outlet can do that already for $30). The whole point of wire is to guarantee connection between power outlet and sensor. So why I would want one to work without sensors? If a slave only corded power strip for $100 less, it would be a lot more useful and competitive advantage. Yet their device architecture seem too limited to do that.

im wondering if the direct input from the XP8 to the controller (being wired) eliminates these wifi connection problems people are having. Before I purchase, id want to be sure its the cheap wifi power strips that are loosing signal and not the unit itself. Then there's the difference between people having strong or weak wifi signals based on their provider/router/etc. If the units signal/connection is good (or as good as apex) id be happy with it wired to a XP8.

yeah I agree had they made the xp8 with an actual controller built into it, it would be a game changer. but it would also undermine the rest of the hydros ecosystem. Like why apple would never make an iPad that ran macOS even though they easily could...

 

[JeffB418]

im wondering if the direct input from the XP8 to the controller (being wired) eliminates these wifi connection problems people are having. Before I purchase, id want to be sure its the cheap wifi power strips that are loosing signal and not the unit itself. Then there's the difference between people having strong or weak wifi signals based on their provider/router/etc. If the units signal/connection is good (or as good as apex) id be happy with it wired to a XP8.

yeah I agree had they made the xp8 with an actual controller built into it, it would be a game changer. but it would also undermine the rest of the product line

The XP8 technically has a controller built into it. The XP8 runs the same processor as all the other hydros Control units. Also it runs the same software as well. While it doesn’t have any physical input or probe ports, it operates the same way as other devices.