Hydros collective

[BoonieMoe]

Got a question for all the hydros people out there. I am starting a collective on my new tank build that includes a Blenny, a wave engine LE, & a XP8. Do I have to use both the wave engine & blennys power bricks & plugs individually or can they be powered & ran through the command bus cables that link the three together with only the xp8 being plugged into a outlet?

 

[BriDroid]

The XP8 will be the main power giver. The others can get their power through the command bus.

On my tank collective only my XP8 and my Kraken are plugged in to 120VAC. My Minnow, XS, and X4 all get power from the command bus.

 

[BriDroid]

The negative current shows that the XP8 is giving its power to the other devices.

 

[BoonieMoe]

The negative current shows that the XP8 is giving its power to the other devices.

Okay awesome thank you! I had googled it but I was just more confused after that lol I was really hoping that would be the case

 

[n2585722]

Got a question for all the hydros people out there. I am starting a collective on my new tank build that includes a Blenny, a wave engine LE, & a XP8. Do I have to use both the wave engine & blennys power bricks & plugs individually or can they be powered & ran through the command bus cables that link the three together with only the xp8 being plugged into a outlet?

The Blenny will require it's power supply if you want the pumps and drive ports to work since those are on the power input port side of the isolation between it and the command bus on that controller. The same applies to the Wave Engine. The direct drive ports will not get any power from the command bus. So yes you will need to use their power supplies.

 

[BoonieMoe]

Got a question for all the hydros people out there. I am starting a collective on my new tank build that includes a Blenny, a wave engine LE, & a XP8. Do I have to use both the wave engine & blennys power bricks & plugs individually or can they be powered & ran through the command bus cables that link the three together with only the xp8 being plugged into a outlet?

The Blenny will require it's power supply if you want the pumps and drive ports to work since those are on the power input port side of the isolation between it and the command bus on that controller. The same applies to the Wave Engine. The direct drive ports will not get any power from the command bus. So yes you will need to use their power supplies.

Ah okay makes sense I guess. More zip ties it is then lol thanks for the info

 

[BriDroid]

The Blenny will require it's power supply if you want the pumps and drive ports to work since those are on the power input port side of the isolation between it and the command bus on that controller. The same applies to the Wave Engine. The direct drive ports will not get any power from the command bus. So yes you will need to use their power supplies.

Interesting, I assumed the Blenny was the same as the Minnow. It doesn’t require any external power.

@BoonieMoe On the plus side, that gives you a redundant power supply for your collective.

 

[n2585722]

Interesting, I assumed the Blenny was the same as the Minnow. It doesn’t require any external power.

@BoonieMoe On the plus side, that gives you a redundant power supply for your collective.

The Blenny has 2 more dosing pumps and also has 2 drive ports that the Minnow does not have.

 

[cPr]

Can the XP8 connect to the Blenny with data/power cable or data only?

 

[BriDroid]

Can the XP8 connect to the Blenny with data/power cable or data only?

Data/power cable is good. Any of the power givers with the built in power supply are isolated. You only can’t connect two controllers with the included wall warts with a data/power cable.

HYDROS Control - Adding to Collective

Here is an easy to follow how-to add your WaveEngine to your existing HYDROS Collective.

www.coralvuehydros.com

 

[cPr]

Data/power cable is good. Any of the power givers with the built in power supply are isolated. You only can’t connect two controllers with the included wall warts with a data/power cable.

HYDROS Control - Adding to Collective

Here is an easy to follow how-to add your WaveEngine to your existing HYDROS Collective.

www.coralvuehydros.com

Thank you!

I’m setting up a tank and have XP8, Blenny and X3, wasn’t sure if I could connect all with data/power cables or data only.

Can I cannot everything and then power everything on at once, then create the collective? I have a lot more reading to do lol.

Sorry to hijack your thread

 

[BriDroid]

Data/power cable is good. Any of the power givers with the built in power supply are isolated. You only can’t connect two controllers with the included wall warts with a data/power cable.

HYDROS Control - Adding to Collective

Here is an easy to follow how-to add your WaveEngine to your existing HYDROS Collective.

www.coralvuehydros.com

Thank you!

I’m setting up a tank and have XP8, Blenny and X3, wasn’t sure if I could connect all with data/power cables or data only.

Can I cannot everything and then power everything on at once, then create the collective? I have a lot more reading to do lol.

Sorry to hijack your thread

You can connect them all together and power them on. Then you create a collective and add them one by one. It’s really pretty easy. The directions on the website walk you through it.

 

[cPr]

You can connect them all together and power them on. Then you create a collective and add them one by one. It’s really pretty easy. The directions on the website walk you through it.

Really appreciate it!

 

[n2585722]

Really appreciate it!

If you already have things setup on a controller then select that controller and then create the collective. Every controller you add after creating it will have any setting erased. Only the controller used to create the collective will retain it's settings and they become the settings of the collective. So if you do have settings on other controllers take screenshots of the input and output settings before adding it to the collective. That way you have them so you can add them to the collective once the controller is a member. Also the only power supply that you cannot use with another source of power is the one that connects directly to a command bus port. Don't use one of those. The controllers that have an AC plug or a separate power port have isolation built into the controller between the power supply or power port and the command bus power. Also controllers that do have a separate power port or AC plug do require those to run correctly, Without them some outputs will not work at all, Like the Blenny the dosing pumps and drive ports will not work since their power is form the power port and the command bus power will not power them due to the isolation.

 

[cPr]

If you already have things setup on a controller then select that controller and then create the collective. Every controller you add after creating it will have any setting erased. Only the controller used to create the collective will retain it's settings and they become the settings of the collective. So if you do have settings on other controllers take screenshots of the input and output settings before adding it to the collective. That way you have them so you can add them to the collective once the controller is a member. Also the only power supply that you cannot use with another source of power is the one that connects directly to a command bus port. Don't use one of those. The controllers that have an AC plug or a separate power port have isolation built into the controller between the power supply or power port and the command bus power. Also controllers that do have a separate power port or AC plug do require those to run correctly, Without them some outputs will not work at all, Like the Blenny the dosing pumps and drive ports will not work since their power is form the power port and the command bus power will not power them due to the isolation.

This is helpful, thank you!

i purchased the XP8 and X3 used, and the Blenny new. I connected the XP8 and confirmed it’s not connected to the previous persons setup, but the unit was flashing red and didn’t seem to be able to get full connected to my network. Spoke with support and they explained sometime the Eero network can give issues with the Hydros.

I purchased a 2.4 AP that will be used strictly for the Hydros, and that’s where my next question comes in or confirmation my plan works.

Plan - Connect XP8, X3 and Blenny, then plug the XP8 and Blenny in, and start with the XP8 to get it onto my home network. Once connected to my network, then I will create a collective, and that should bring all 3 devices online?

Once the collective is created, then I’ll connect the Hydros ATO, Temp port and PH probe.

Does that make sense?

Also, i read Hydros default to off, so can I connect all my equipment before powering on, and then one by one configure the outlets until everything is running?

Thanks for the help and if I should create my own thread, please let me know

 

[n2585722]

You will still have to connect each controller to your wifi network before they are added to a collective. Also check the firmware on each before adding them to the collective and make sure it is the current version. Each controller still has to talk to the cloud server via your wifi and the internet even if they are a member of a collective.

 

[Hooz]

As a general rule, if a Hydros device has a dedicated power port, then it needs its own power source.

If it doesn't have a dedicated power port it can be powered by the command bus, as long as there is another "power giver" somewhere in the collective.

 

[BoonieMoe]

As a general rule, if a Hydros device has a dedicated power port, then it needs its own power source.

If it doesn't have a dedicated power port it can be powered by the command bus, as long as there is another "power giver" somewhere in the collective.

But units with power ports still use command power/data cable between correct? I.e my xp8, blenny, & wave engine le all individually plugged into wall but also all command port daisy chained?

 

[Hooz]

But units with power ports still use command power/data cable between correct? I.e my xp8, blenny, & wave engine le all individually plugged into wall but also all command port daisy chained?

Correct. They still communicate over the command bus, so appropriate cables and terminators are required to make a collective.

Also important to note... I would NOT power Hydros devices that require dedicated power by plugging them in to the XP8/Launch/Start. I have a generic power strip with switched outlets like a lot of people use in this hobby. My WEv2 is plugged in to that along with anything that requires power but is NOT controlled (i.e. lights and other "general" stuff) by Hydros. My XP8 is plugged in to it's own wall outlet, then anything that needs to be controled by Hydros (simple dosers, heaters, AC pumps, etc) gets plugged in there.

In the configuration I saw a few posts up with an X3, Blenny and XP8 ... The Blenny should NOT be plugged in to the XP8 for power. They should each have their own outlet, then daisy chain command bus cables between them with (ideally) a terminator at both ends of the chain.

Does that make sense?

 

[cPr]

Correct. They still communicate over the command bus, so appropriate cables and terminators are required to make a collective.

Also important to note... I would NOT power Hydros devices that require dedicated power by plugging them in to the XP8/Launch/Start. I have a generic power strip with switched outlets like a lot of people use in this hobby. My WEv2 is plugged in to that along with anything that requires power but is NOT controlled (i.e. lights and other "general" stuff) by Hydros. My XP8 is plugged in to it's own wall outlet, then anything that needs to be controled by Hydros (simple dosers, heaters, AC pumps, etc) gets plugged in there.

In the configuration I saw a few posts up with an X3, Blenny and XP8 ... The Blenny should NOT be plugged in to the XP8 for power. They should each have their own outlet, then daisy chain command bus cables between them with (ideally) a terminator at both ends of the chain.

Does that make sense?

So for the example you used - XP8 plugged into wall outlet, Blenny plugged into wall outlet, command bus cable from XP8 to X3, command bus cable from X3 to Blenny, terminator in XP8 and Blenny.