Apex vs Hydros

[n2585722]

Why do you have an ice bladder?

It is a RO bladder tank off of the RO only part of the RODI. the output of it goes to the water dispenser and ice maker in the refrigerator. That in not aquarium related but turning it on every 4 hours for 15 minutes keeps the pressure up enough for the usage it gets. Mostly ice since we usually drink bottled water. Our water comes from a lake and during certain times of the year the ice will have a bad smell to it if we just use tap water for the ice maker. The RO unit removes the smell. There are some other non aquarium things I use the Hydros for since I have it and it can do it without any trouble.

 

[xtianGEO]

Ha! I don’t think apex can do this

 

[n2585722]

Ha! I don’t think apex can do this

Not sure since I have never tried on a Apex.

 

[n2585722]

Ha! I don’t think apex can do this

I have a DI reservoir, fresh saltwater reservoir and a mix tank in my garage under my work bench. The Hydros will refill the DI reservoir when it goes low back up to full using the RODI unit. It will also refill the fresh saltwater reservoir from the mix tank if the water in the mix tank is ready to use. Once the water from the mix tank has all been transferred to the fresh saltwater tank it refills the mix tank with the RODI unit. All I have to do is add the salt mix and press a button when the mix tank is ready to use. The Hydros also turn off the pump used to mix the contents of the mix tank when the level in that tank drops below 60%. It turns it back on again when it reaches 60%. I also have a dispense pump in the fresh saltwater reservoir and the DI reservoir I can use to dispense the contents into buckets. I press a button to turn on the pump for the reservoir I want to remove some water from. When I release the button the pump will stop. I also have a manual valve on those outlets I close when I am not using the pumps to dispense water. I also have a button I can press that will turn on the bench light above the bench and it will stay on an hour then go off on it's own. That is also done on the Hydros. There is also a switch if I turn it on it disables all those buttons and the AWC. The ATO and two AWC pumps are also in the garage. The fill pump gets it water from the fresh saltwater reservoir. The ATO pump gets its water from the DI reservoir. If the fresh saltwater reservoir is low the schedule for the AWC will be stopped also. Same with the ATO if the DI reservoir goes low. The drain pump pumps the waste into the kitchen sink drain. There is also a time shutdown for both the DI and mix tank refills from the RODI unit if it take more than 5 hours to refill it will stop the refill and send an alert. Also a detected leak will stop the refill. I also have float valves in those reservoirs that will also stop the refill if the water level gets that high. So the Hydros can do a lot it is just done differently than the other controllers.

 

[xtianGEO]

Ha! You’re using the Hydros beyond its intended use. As for me, I’m still struggling. I set up my X10, and, like you said, wiped the memory. The problem now is that the 28 ppt calibration solution is sold out, and the single-use 100ml bottle is a rip-off! What are you doing to calibrate your salinity probe?

 

[n2585722]

Ha! You’re using the Hydros beyond its intended use. As for me, I’m still struggling. I set up my X10, and, like you said, wiped the memory. The problem now is that the 28 ppt calibration solution is sold out, and the single-use 100ml bottle is a rip-off! What are you doing to calibrate your salinity probe?

I pour enough of it in another container. I don't use the whole bottle for one calibration. So I can get several calibrations out of the bottle using each portion only once.

 

[xtianGEO]

I saw that you run intllab 12v peristaltic pumps, what housing do you use? Do you solder 2 pin females?

 

[n2585722]

I saw that you run intllab 12v peristaltic pumps, what housing do you use? Do you solder 2 pin females?

It is the same cable as the Hydros simple doser. I started using the Inllab pumps before the Hydros simple doser was available. So I made my original cables for my ATO and AWC pumps. The Hydros end was a GX12 2 pin connector I got from Amazon. I think I have been getting the 5 at a time but it has been a while since I got any I got the DC plug on a cable from Mouser and soldiered on the GX12 connector to the open end of those cables. I now use a Hydros doser for my ATO but it is plugged into the original cable I made for the Intllab. Here is a link to the cables I think I used on them looking back on my orders. I don't remember ordering any others like that from Mouser https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/172-181152-E .

 

[xtianGEO]

It is the same cable as the Hydros simple doser. I started using the Inllab pumps before the Hydros simple doser was available. So I made my original cables for my ATO and AWC pumps. The Hydros end was a GX12 2 pin connector I got from Amazon. I think I have been getting the 5 at a time but it has been a while since I got any I got the DC plug on a cable from Mouser and soldiered on the GX12 connector to the open end of those cables. I now use a Hydros doser for my ATO but it is plugged into the original cable I made for the Intllab. Here is a link to the cables I think I used on them looking back on my orders. I don't remember ordering any others like that from Mouser https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/172-181152-E .

Yes, but the housing for the pump? I saw the pump on Amazon; it’s just the mechanical portion without housing

 

[n2585722]

Yes, but the housing for the pump? I saw the pump on Amazon; it’s just the mechanical portion without housing

This is the one I was using . It has a dial to adjust the flow rate but once you get it set you will have to do a calibration on the Hydros. The Hydros will run it for one minute and then you tell the Hydros how much was dispensed. Then the Hydros knows how much flows in 1 minute so it can calculate how long to run it to get a specific dose amount dispensed. I was trying to attach a link but it didn't work apparently so here is a photo of the ones I was getting.