Hydros Control 2 , Control 4 and accessories question and answer thread.

[n2585722]

Patiently waiting for it's release. I was leaning towards the Apex....then I stumbled upon the WaveEngine which has been a dream so far (only 2 days in lol) and then caught wind of the Control4. So far, I'm sold just on the concept and from the experience of setting up the WaveEngine. So easy to use. Now just hoping they have something in the works like the Apex DOS system.

I switched from DA DP1 modules to the dosing units in the photo below. This was so I can convert to the Hydros in the garage as a begining. I paid around $25 a piece for these. You will have to have a free AC output for each pump. There is a control to control flow rate. I use the two on the right for auto water change and was able to get the flow rate to match. I got them form Amazon. I have had the one on the left which is for ATO for 4 months the others for 3 months. So far no issues.

 

[n2585722]

According to this video you can have 32 combined strips.

If that is the case 32 is a lot. I don't think I will get that high. Thanks for the info.

 

[n2585722]

Yea it is similar to the DA OS and how it works. I always liked my DA equipment.

I think what you are trying to do is similar to what I am eventually trying to do.
Sounds like it could be pretty much done with the level Sensor, Hydros DC solenoid for the RO/DI and some pumps.

Eventually I would like to have the Control unit fill up my freshwater reservoir. I will manually open a valve to fill my Saltwater Vat..
I want to eventually tie my fresh water right to my sumps for ATO. I also want to set up auto water changes from my saltwater vat. I may actually just buy a Control 2 just to handle this stuff. The Control 2 is so cheap it may not be much more than buying additional sense and drive ports or WIFI strip.

I am not sure how close the functions are to the Archon but my programming for DI fill solenoid are in the photos below. With the float switch function you can have seperate inputs for on and off. The empty float switch is selected to turn it on. The full float switch is selected to turn it off. The numbers to the left of the name on the inputs are Module number : port number. The second photo show the alarms that are set for the output. Only 2 of the alarms are selected for this output and they will turn it off if triggered. I also have to turn on the solenoid that feeds the RODI. This is done with an alarm. if the DI solenoid is on it triggers the DI fill on alarm. The RODI on output is set to turn on if that alarm triggers. On the Archon the alarms can be set as to whether they will send an email or not. Since this alarm is just for control it is not set to send any type of alarm if triggered.

 

[shred5]

I am not sure how close the functions are to the Archon but my programming for DI fill solenoid are in the photos below. With the float switch function you can have seperate inputs for on and off. The empty float switch is selected to turn it on. The full float switch is selected to turn it off. The numbers to the left of the name on the inputs are Module number : port number. The second photo show the alarms that are set for the output. Only 2 of the alarms are selected for this output and they will turn it off if triggered. I also have to turn on the solenoid that feeds the RODI. This is done with an alarm. if the DI solenoid is on it triggers the DI fill on alarm. The RODI on output is set to turn on if that alarm triggers. On the Archon the alarms can be set as to whether they will send an email or not. Since this alarm is just for control it is not set to send any type of alarm if triggered.

Here is a screen shoot of a generic output. It could be any output like the DC solenoid water valve pump etc. Just so you can see the settings and get a idea, some output devices have different settings. There are allot of preset output devices. This is using a level sensor. These were shown in one of the videos. Pretty flexible and pretty easy. Also things can change between now and launch.

 

[n2585722]

Thanks, I will have to see if it I can get it to work once I get one and try it out.

 

[120reefkeeper]

#howdoyouhydros

 

[wishntoboutside]

I have been fortunate enough to be running one of these now for about 3 weeks. I have to say I am more then impressed on how easy it was to set up. Simple logic to follow and a great App. I still need to get both of my KLIR's filters running on it thou. I really think this controller is the controller of the future. CV and its engineers did great on this one.

 

[mzaslove]

I want a mini-mind!!!

 

[TheHarold]

 

[Viva'sReef]

I was an early beta tester on the Reefkeeper elite and that was awesome knowing what everyone else didn't lol....anyway, super pumped for this thing to release so I can start really dialing things in and automating what I can on my new build.

 

[shred5]

Must watch New info..

 

[n2585722]

Must watch New info..

I really like what I seen. That answers a lot of my questions. Thanks for posting.

 

[shred5]

One power supply runs a Control 4, WaveEngine, Varois 4 Pump, (3) circulation pumps, AT0, Klir plus all the stuff the controller runs off its sense and drive ports.

 

[ingchr1]

One power supply runs a Control 4, WaveEngine, Varois 4 Pump, (3) circulation pumps, AT0, Klir plus all the stuff the controller runs off its sense and drive ports.

Any concerns with having just one power supply for everything being a single point of failure?

 

[TheHarold]

Any concerns with having just one power supply for everything being a single point of failure?

The actual power bars (with your return pump, heaters, etc) wouldn’t be powered from that. They would continue to function in their last state until they regain connection. And, you would be notified really quickly- within minutes.

 

[ingchr1]

Duplicate post

 

[ingchr1]

The actual power bars (with your return pump, heaters, etc) wouldn’t be powered from that. They would continue to function in their last state until they regain connection. And, you would be notified really quickly- within minutes.

Understood, so one would have to setup their system with that in mind and have fail safes in place.

For example, ensure your heater has its own thermostat incase the last state of the outlet was on. If I understand correctly it would stay on if it were on and the brain is lost?

For pumps, if they are 0-10V would they shut off if the 0-10V is lost?

We all want to reduce the number of power bricks in our systems, but going down to one for everything may not be the best from a redundancy stand point.

 

[TheHarold]

Understood, so one would have to setup their system with that in mind and have fail safes in place.

For example, ensure your heater has its own thermostat incase the last state of the outlet was on. If I understand correctly it would stay on if it were on and the brain is lost?

For pumps, if they are 0-10V would they shut off if the 0-10V is lost?

We all want to reduce the number of power bricks in our systems, but going down to one for everything may not be the best from a redundancy stand point.

If connection to the brain(s) were lost, they would stay in their current state. So yeah it would stay on and rely on the heaters internal thermostat, but that is what it was the outlet was doing even before it lost communication. You shouldn’t have your controller doing the switching- the heaters internal thermostat does it. So nothing will have changed besides potentially losing the high-temp cutoff. And you will be notified if any communication is lost so know to check on the system in general.

That said, most people don’t understand that these sort of things use the *local* wifi to communicate. Don’t confuse unreliable internet with unreliable wifi- modern wifi is great. When you think of your internet being slow, or down, these items would have 0 issues with communication. Doesn’t matter if the local landscaper cuts though your Fiber.

Also in the case that one (of multiple) does goes down, the outlets etc will continue to function based off the other Control. They have a designation for Master/Secondary, either of which can connect to the local network and control all devices.

Re 0-10v:
That side is hardwired, just like any other controller system. No matter what, if the controller loses power, you get 0v to the pump.

I probably am not explaining it well, or all the features. But my home has concrete walls and a pretty ancient ISP provided router, and I haven’t had an issue.

 

[ingchr1]

If connection to the brain(s) were lost, they would stay in their current state. So yeah it would stay on and rely on the heaters internal thermostat, but that is what it was the outlet was doing even before it lost communication. You shouldn’t have your controller doing the switching- the heaters internal thermostat does it. So nothing will have changed besides potentially losing the high-temp cutoff. And you will be notified if any communication is lost so know to check on the system in general.

That said, most people don’t understand that these sort of things use the *local* wifi to communicate. Don’t confuse unreliable internet with unreliable wifi- modern wifi is great. When you think of your internet being slow, or down, these items would have 0 issues with communication. Doesn’t matter if the local landscaper cuts though your Fiber.

Also in the case that one (of multiple) does goes down, the outlets etc will continue to function based off the other Control. They have a designation for Master/Secondary, either of which can connect to the local network and control all devices.

Re 0-10v:
That side is hardwired, just like any other controller system. No matter what, if the controller loses power, you get 0v to the pump.

I probably am not explaining it well, or all the features. But my home has concrete walls and a pretty ancient ISP provided router, and I haven’t had an issue.

Can the Wave Engine act as a brain, or just the Controls and Sense box? What would you need in a system to have redundant brains?

I was thinking how do you need to build in fail safes to a system that has a single brain. The heater for example, I let my controller do the switching and the heaters internal thermostat is the backup. I have no concern with my controllers Powerbar to perform that function. If I was running another brand controller, then I would probably let the heater control itself and set the controller as the backup. I also run redundant heaters. There are also those out there that may run a titanium heater straight off of their controller. Not a good idea on any controller.

With my controller if communication is lost with the brain I essentially have it to fail all outlets in the on state, the tank should keep running as if nothing happened. The return pumps are AC, the lower wattage heater will run off its internal thermostat, the powerheads will run off of their controllers, the ATO will run off of its controller as will the skimmer.

If I was building a Hydros system I would have two brains, a power supply to each and a temperature sensor to each. Hopefully I get to build one when I win the Hydros giveaway!

 

[shred5]

Any concerns with having just one power supply for everything being a single point of failure?

I just want to let you know I have a message to the team on something that is why I have not answered this yet. As you can imagine it is the weekend and they have allot going on with the launch.

The next question as of right now the WaveEngine is not part of the collective. They mentioned that in the last video I think, they are working on bringing some of the functions in.

There is allot to come yet and there are things they are working on we have not heard about yet ourselves.