Aquarium Controller, Friend or Foe?

[flyfisher2]

If your wifi is up and then wifi strip itself is communicating with it as well as the controller the controller will continue to control it. One way to find out is in blue tooth if the wifi strip is not in communication it will be read. The only thing you can do in bluetooth mode is switch an output between Off/Auto/On. It will let you do that but it will not let you change any of the setup since that has to be loaded to the cloud when that is done. Below is a screenshot in bluetooth mode with one wifi strip not responding. The output that is on that strip is also red in the screenshot. Bluetooth on mine does not continue to monitor. You have to press refresh to get another poll of the controller.

The controllers respond to my phone when I access Bluetooth
They are not communicating with the wifi strips
The strips have the half blue half red lights on steadily like when you just plug them in for the first time
They do have the correct programmed outlets on and off
ATO is off
Heater is off
Return and circulation pumps are on

 

[n2585722]

It’s flashing green
I went in on Bluetooth tried to turn things on or off
No response
I came back to the “+” added my router and reinstalled it.
It took it successfully but the wifi outlets are not responding.

Does the lights around the push button on the wifi strips look like these of is the some blue light?

Here is my collective with no internet. I had to take the screenshots with my phone since my iPad will not do it with no internet. As you can see it is still connected to the wifi devices in the last screenshot. Also no inputs or outputs are red.

 

[n2585722]

The controllers respond to my phone when I access Bluetooth
They are not communicating with the wifi strips
The strips have the half blue half red lights on steadily like when you just plug them in for the first time
They do have the correct programmed outlets on and off
ATO is off
Heater is off
Return and circulation pumps are on

Blue usually means there is an issue with wifi. I kind of hate to have you do something and have no outputs on. Usually either unplugging the wifi strip and plugging it back in or rebooting the router will fix this but if it does not work then all the output will be off when powered back up and stay off until you get the power strips to connect to the router again.

 

[flyfisher2]

In addition my lights which are connected independently are functioning flawlessly and responding to the programs
They do not respond to anything I try to do with my phone.

Blue usually means there is an issue with wifi. I kind of hate to have you do something and have no outputs on. Usually either unplugging the wifi strip and plugging it back in or rebooting the router will fix this but if it does not work then all the output will be off when powered back up and stay off until you get the power strips to connect to the router again.

I really appreciate you taking the time to help me with this.
I expect to have the internet back on Wednesday.
Can we pick up where we left off at that point?

 

[n2585722]

No problem, glad to help.

 

[flyfisher2]

No problem, glad to help.

Okay, Sorry for delay getting back to you. Internet is back and seems to be stable.Once internet kicked on the controllers went through the color cycles and resumed all operations as normal. I've dedicated the last few days to reading and working on isolating the Hydros by adding a Netgear EX3700 Extender for 2.4GHz. As it stands it seems to be working okay but I really want to make sure that if and when internet should drop again I don't end up with unresponsive gear connected to my controllers. I need clarity regarding what I can expect as far as functions if internet is down for an extended period. Will the heater turn on if temp drops? Will ATO sensor activate and trigger the pump connected to the WIFI outlet?

 

[flyfisher2]

Does the lights around the push button on the wifi strips look like these of is the some blue light?

Here is my collective with no internet. I had to take the screenshots with my phone since my iPad will not do it with no internet. As you can see it is still connected to the wifi devices in the last screenshot. Also no inputs or outputs are red.

Initially the lights on the wifi strips were red and after a length of time, the lights switched to the half blue, half red like when they are first installed.
The Controllers (all 3) were flashing yellow then went to flashing Red. At this point the communication is lost.

 

[n2585722]

Okay, Sorry for delay getting back to you. Internet is back and seems to be stable.Once internet kicked on the controllers went through the color cycles and resumed all operations as normal. I've dedicated the last few days to reading and working on isolating the Hydros by adding a Netgear EX3700 Extender for 2.4GHz. As it stands it seems to be working okay but I really want to make sure that if and when internet should drop again I don't end up with unresponsive gear connected to my controllers. I need clarity regarding what I can expect as far as functions if internet is down for an extended period. Will the heater turn on if temp drops? Will ATO sensor activate and trigger the pump connected to the WIFI outlet?

Is you modem a separate device? If it is you can unplug power to simulate no internet and see what happens. I posted some bluetooth screenshots of mine without the modem plugged in in the thread. The controllers will breath a yellow or green color when there is no internet. As you can see from the screenshots everything as far as inputs and outputs are fine. The only issue is the controllers do not have internet access. If they start breathing red then that indicates they cannot connect to the wifi the blue on the wifi strips also indicate no wifi connection. If you get that then the wifi power strips are not being controlled and will remain in their current state until wifi communication is restored. Any outputs directly connected to a controller will continue to be controlled by the controller. That would be drive ports, 0-10v outputs and XP8 outlets. The wave engine outputs will continue to work since they do not rely on wifi. I also got a UPS to use with my router, access point and modem. I got that after we had or rolling blackouts that lasted almost a week a little over a year ago. There were two or three times that one or more of the wifi strips didn't reconnect when power come back up. That was out of hundreds of times but it helps if the wifi is booted up and running when all the other devices boot up and try and gain internet access. The times they didn't reconnect on their own I just powered them down and powered them back up and they connected without issue. I have had no issues with them since I got the UPS for the router and modem, but There have been few if any power outages.

 

[n2585722]

Initially the lights on the wifi strips were red and after a length of time, the lights switched to the half blue, half red like when they are first installed.
The Controllers (all 3) were flashing yellow then went to flashing Red. At this point the communication is lost.

Sounds like initially you just had a internet loss, but eventually had a wifi issue. Breathing yellow is a indication of no internet service. The error means they cannot connect to the cloud account. A cloud issue can also trigger this but it is on Amazon servers from what I understand. Breathing red means they cannot connect to wifi with the credentials that are setup in the controller. If all controllers and wifi strips are doing this I would look at the router if it has the built in wifi or an access point as the cause. The odds of several controllers and wifi strips having the same issue at the same time would be very unlikely.

 

[flyfisher2]

Okay I disconnected the cable to the router modem. This is one unit which serves as both router and modem It’s a Triband Netgear. With my service I do not need a separate modem.
The controllers are flashing between green for a few and then go red and this cycles.
The wifi strips are glowing red steadily.
In Wifi mode they show as unresponsive.
In Bluetooth mode they are in Overide only mode.
Note: the EX3700 is connected. Not sure if this is contributing to the Strips power switch staying red vs going to the flashing blue/red or if that will change.
As it stands I pulled the ATO sensor up and the pump kicked in.
I’m assuming that the heater will respond as well.

 

[n2585722]

Okay I disconnected the cable to the router modem. This is one unit which serves as both router and modem It’s a Triband Netgear. With my service I do not need a separate modem.
The controllers are flashing between green for a few and then go red and this cycles.
The wifi strips are glowing red steadily.
In Wifi mode they show as unresponsive.
In Bluetooth mode they are in Overide only mode.
Note: the EX3700 is connected. Not sure if this is contributing to the Strips power switch staying red vs going to the flashing blue/red or if that will change.
As it stands I pulled the ATO sensor up and the pump kicked in.
I’m assuming that the heater will respond as well.

Bluetooth mode is override only. That is all that is allowed other that to check on the status of things such as inputs and outputs. Also everything will show on one page. If the controllers start breathing red then they are loosing wifi. Since you router is also the modem this could be the issue. Mine are separate. The modem belongs to Spectrum and I own the router which is an Asus. It is nothing special I think I only paid around $100 for it a few years ago. It does have both 5ghz and 2.4ghz and a couple of guest channels. It is not a mesh type router.

 

[flyfisher2]

I have a brand new Centurylink modem router in the box. The tech told me to keep it as a backup. Will consider connecting that one just to see if there is any difference.

 

[n2585722]

Set it up with the same name and password as the other one so you don't have to change any of your devices and they will be able to access the new router. What brand and model is the old one?

 

[lefkonj]

Never used the Hydros controller but my Apex works with and without internet service, 100% functional as long as it has power. Seems like a design flaw if it must be connected to work properly. Sorry for your issues but I think you have picked the wrong product.

Apex controls my power, chiller, heater, AWS, feeder, testing all work without internet. I also have Mobius controlling lights, pumps, dosing and power heads, works without internet.

 

[n2585722]

Never used the Hydros controller but my Apex works with and without internet service, 100% functional as long as it has power. Seems like a design flaw if it must be connected to work properly. Sorry for your issues but I think you have picked the wrong product.

Apex controls my power, chiller, heater, AWS, feeder, testing all work without internet. I also have Mobius controlling lights, pumps, dosing and power heads, works without internet.

The Hydros works without internet but if you are using any wifi power strips it still needs wifi to communicate with them. If you don't have then then it does not need wifi either. You do need the internet to change any programming, but that is not usually an issue once it has been setup. I am thinking in this case the router is stopping wifi when it looses the internet since it has a built in modem. Some of those do that. I am not sure if there is a way to keep it from happening. I have a Hydros system and it has 9 controllers in it and I don't have an issue when I loose internet and that is quite frequent. It is out several times in a day. I do have a separate router which is mine and the modem which belongs to Spectrum. I can power down the modem and my controllers and wifi strips continue to run without issue.

 

[Projects with Sam]

The nice thing about Hydros is that you don't have to have a cable connecting everything together so easier to setup I bet.

 

[n2585722]

The nice thing about Hydros is that you don't have to have a cable connecting everything together so easier to setup I bet.

For the controllers to act as a collective they have to be connected together with command buss cables and have terminators at each end controller. They can communicate with the wifi power strips without a wired connection. They also have a wifi feeder. They do have a controller with 8 AC outlets that will connect to other controllers in a collective. That will work without wifi or internet with the other controllers in a collective. The wifi strips have to have wifi so the controller can control them. For some reason when the OP looses internet the wifi also stops working if it is off long enough.

 

[Sean Clark]

I use a controller but it could fail completely and my reef would still be safe. I only use it for remote monitoring and to control non critical equipment. Also if the internet were to go out I would still have access and be able login to the controller on my wifi network without an outside connection.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Get just a plain wifi router and plug everything into that turn off the modem's wifi and plug the new router into that.

 

[n2585722]

I use a controller but it could fail completely and my reef would still be safe. I only use it for remote monitoring and to control non critical equipment. Also if the internet were to go out I would still have access and be able login to the controller on my wifi network without an outside connection.

I have battery backup for my two flow pumps. With that I can go several hours without any power or controller. I have gone several hours at a time before. A little over a year ago we had rolling blackouts that lasted a week. At times the power was out over 4 hours at a time. I was lucky and did not loose anything. Some in my area lost everything in their tanks. Make sure your tank can go for a while without power. When the power was off my return and heaters were not working. The main thing is to keep flow going inside the tank.