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

n2585722

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Hydros Feeder feedback/review and question

Just installed the feeder a couple of weeks ago. Works pretty well for what's its design for.

Plus+
- Cheap
- good control on the amount of food to dispense and consistent
- Mount works well

Minuses
- Limited programming (maybe user's fault?)
- I would love to 'feed' after a few seconds delay of turning off the return pump so the food doesn't go straight to the overflow. There is no way to program this. Anyone have any clues?
- I have a "feed" mode, which only turn off the pump. I then press the manual feed button on the app. Works ok, but with this i cannot automated the feeding on schedule. I have to press 2 button on the app to feed. Semi automated feeding at best. I hope future apps update will have this feature.
- I know i can use feeding rings, but the pellets (hikari marine) will just sink, and get "stuck" in the rocks. my fish is stupid, trained to eat the floating pellets only.
One way to do this is to create a generic output with the schedule for the time you want the return pump off. You do not need to set an output device since we are using the output for logic only. Now go to the settings for the return pump and set the depends on setting for the output just created. Set it to off when on. The every time the created output is on your return pump will go off. Now setup a schedule on your feeder that is a couple minutes after the time set on the created output. You can always go to the Hydros forum here and look up how people have done things like this https://forum.coralvuehydros.com/ .
 

Ober_Reef

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Most of the issues that I have seen/heard revolve around peoples WiFi, especially with cable company equipment. I would head to the Hydros forum like n2585722 mentioned another good resource is CoralVue YouTube page.
Here is a link to the instructions for getting the control unit connected to your wifi https://www.coralvuehydros.com/prod...ol/connecting-to-your-wifi-network-bluetooth/.

Here is a link for paring the wifi strips. You have to do the Control unit first https://www.coralvuehydros.com/product-support/hydros-control/pair-wifi-strip-smart-outlet/ .

Also if you want to get to the online manuals press the three horizontal dots in upper right of the app. On the popup menu that comes up press help.
Unfortunately these are what I followed previously, thank you for taking the time though. Maybe I will have to call in when I start my paternity leave in a week or two.
 

rtparty

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I still get daily WiFi drops with mine. Both Power Bars drop randomly for no rhyme or reason. I thought I had it under control and working better but I have had 8 drops today now. I may try to turn off the notifications on the drops since they aren't reliable anyway. Sadly, if this isn't fixed soon, it will be time to move back to Neptune.

I have reached out or been contacted by about 6 other users and this WiFi dropping isn't uncommon. All of us experience it to some degree. If this problem is more widespread than some would have you believe, it is a major blow and needs to be CoralVue's number one priority. Getting their wired power strips to market should be the most important thing they are working on. Not sure I can trust my new tank to this system in its current state.

I find it odd to hear CV go on and on and on about wireless mesh systems and how they suck so we should all be using WIRED mesh systems. Yet, in the same breath they tout how wonderful wireless is for all their stuff. The truth is wired is better. I hardwire everything else in my house if I can. I am now realizing my aquarium controller should be the same.
 

DaddyFish

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I still get daily WiFi drops with mine. Both Power Bars drop randomly for no rhyme or reason. I thought I had it under control and working better but I have had 8 drops today now. I may try to turn off the notifications on the drops since they aren't reliable anyway. Sadly, if this isn't fixed soon, it will be time to move back to Neptune.

I have reached out or been contacted by about 6 other users and this WiFi dropping isn't uncommon. All of us experience it to some degree. If this problem is more widespread than some would have you believe, it is a major blow and needs to be CoralVue's number one priority. Getting their wired power strips to market should be the most important thing they are working on. Not sure I can trust my new tank to this system in its current state.

I find it odd to hear CV go on and on and on about wireless mesh systems and how they suck so we should all be using WIRED mesh systems. Yet, in the same breath they tout how wonderful wireless is for all their stuff. The truth is wired is better. I hardwire everything else in my house if I can. I am now realizing my aquarium controller should be the same.
I supply/use my own WiFi Router (Netgear) and rarely experience any WiFi drops with the Hydros. And that's with a single 2.4 GHz SSID running all, and I mean ALL my outlets, switches, receptable strips, thermostats, fireplace controls, cameras, baby monitors, you name it. There's well over 50 devices on that WiFi segment that includes all my controllers and Alexa-enabled receptacle strips on four tanks.

All my heavy bandwidth devices (desktop computers, TVs, streaming players, network storage devices etc. run on a 5 GHz SSID segment.

In my opinion the WiFi disconnect problem truly is directly related to cable company/ISP provided equipment.

I'm running a Linksys EA8300 WiFi Router. At this moment, there's 21 active devices on the 2.4 GHz segment.
 
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rtparty

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I supply/use my own WiFi Router (Netgear) and rarely experience any WiFi drops with the Hydros. And that's with a single 2.4 GHz SSID running all, and I mean ALL my outlets, switches, receptable strips, thermostats, fireplace controls, cameras, baby monitors, you name it. There's well over 50 devices on that WiFi segment that includes all my controllers and Alexa-enabled receptacle strips on four tanks.

All my heavy bandwidth devices (desktop computers, TVs, streaming players, network storage devices etc. run on a 5 GHz SSID segment.

In my opinion the WiFi disconnect problem truly is directly related to cable company/ISP provided equipment.

I'm running a Linksys EA8300 WiFi Router. At this moment, there's 21 active devices on the 2.4 GHz segment.
I run my own router. My neighbor is my ISP and has been in IT for decades. I had him over to check on things and there is nothing wrong with my router. Nothing else on my WiFi is dropping or having issues.

I've been setting up and running networks for close to 20 years now. My entire house is basically a smart home now with all my devices.

No one can explain why the Hydros bars are randomly dropping and the only answer from CV (or anyone in this thread) is I'm the issue. My network is the problem. Yet, if you truly ask around you'll see the problem is widespread.

Again, maybe I turn the notifications off since they don't benefit me in any way. Problem is I can't trust any part of the tank's life support to be on a power bar that could fail and I wouldn't know.

CoralVue could easily handle this. Send me two brand new units and let's test them. If the problem still exists, then I can go back to my router and see what could possibly be going on. Maybe even change routers and see if the problem continues.
 

jrill

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I run my own router. My neighbor is my ISP and has been in IT for decades. I had him over to check on things and there is nothing wrong with my router. Nothing else on my WiFi is dropping or having issues.

I've been setting up and running networks for close to 20 years now. My entire house is basically a smart home now with all my devices.

No one can explain why the Hydros bars are randomly dropping and the only answer from CV (or anyone in this thread) is I'm the issue. My network is the problem. Yet, if you truly ask around you'll see the problem is widespread.

Again, maybe I turn the notifications off since they don't benefit me in any way. Problem is I can't trust any part of the tank's life support to be on a power bar that could fail and I wouldn't know.

CoralVue could easily handle this. Send me two brand new units and let's test them. If the problem still exists, then I can go back to my router and see what could possibly be going on. Maybe even change routers and see if the problem continues.
And yet people like me never have that problem. Odd.
 

n2585722

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I don't have that issue either. The only issue I have is I keep randomly loosing the internet. Then I get notifications about my camers and other devices along with the ones for the hydros devices. They are usually the control units and not the wifi strips though.
 

DaddyFish

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I run my own router. My neighbor is my ISP and has been in IT for decades. I had him over to check on things and there is nothing wrong with my router. Nothing else on my WiFi is dropping or having issues.

I've been setting up and running networks for close to 20 years now. My entire house is basically a smart home now with all my devices.

No one can explain why the Hydros bars are randomly dropping and the only answer from CV (or anyone in this thread) is I'm the issue. My network is the problem. Yet, if you truly ask around you'll see the problem is widespread.

Again, maybe I turn the notifications off since they don't benefit me in any way. Problem is I can't trust any part of the tank's life support to be on a power bar that could fail and I wouldn't know.

CoralVue could easily handle this. Send me two brand new units and let's test them. If the problem still exists, then I can go back to my router and see what could possibly be going on. Maybe even change routers and see if the problem continues.
I feel your frustration. I'm a few years up on you as I was heavily in IT for about 35 years from back in the day when dinosaurs used computers, and I built and ran a regional ISP. However that doesn't qualify my opinion to be anything more than MY OPINION. :)

It's not my intent to say there's no way it's a Hydros problem. Just to offer up that I have a heavily loaded 2.4 GHz network segment that appears to be running well with Hydros. I certainly experienced the same problems you are having back a couple firmware releases ago. As of release 190, I've experienced very little network dropping with my setup using the Linksys EA8300 WiFi Router.
 

n2585722

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I just went through a weeks worth of alerts on my iPad. There were 75 alerts and not a one of them was for a wifi outlet or the wifi feeder. The latest one was from Saturday and had to do with the sump level. Most of them were from internet drops and that usually gives me 16 alerts total. Two for each control unit. Internet drops don't alway create alerts. It depends on how long they are and when I beleive.
 

Bob Tiffany

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I run my own router. My neighbor is my ISP and has been in IT for decades. I had him over to check on things and there is nothing wrong with my router. Nothing else on my WiFi is dropping or having issues.

I've been setting up and running networks for close to 20 years now. My entire house is basically a smart home now with all my devices.

No one can explain why the Hydros bars are randomly dropping and the only answer from CV (or anyone in this thread) is I'm the issue. My network is the problem. Yet, if you truly ask around you'll see the problem is widespread.

Again, maybe I turn the notifications off since they don't benefit me in any way. Problem is I can't trust any part of the tank's life support to be on a power bar that could fail and I wouldn't know.

CoralVue could easily handle this. Send me two brand new units and let's test them. If the problem still exists, then I can go back to my router and see what could possibly be going on. Maybe even change routers and see if the problem continues.

Have you checked your router settings to make sure your 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz networks are running SEPARATELY? Many new routers, especially wireless mesh systems, combine their 2.4 and 5Ghz networks into a 'single' network, meaning they appear as one network with a single SSID, even though they are actually not the same signal. CV (as do many companies with 2.4Ghz only devices) advises that you go into your router setup and turn that option off, make sure that the 2.4Ghz network has it's own SSID, and connect all of your 2.4Ghz only devices to that network. I had the same issue with my wifi power strips (all of my wifi power strips, not just the Hydros strips), along with my IP camera and my Sicce Syncra return pump. As soon as I separated the 2.4 and 5Ghz networks, everything has worked much better. I do still get the random odd "disconnect" error, but I've tested the system immediately after these errors have popped up and everything worked as it should, both my Control 4 and Control 2 could communicate with the strips and turned off/turned on the appropriate outlets depending on what test I ran. I believe most of these disconnect errors are just very random, very brief hiccups in the connection. And when I say brief, I'm talking a second or less in most cases.
 

rtparty

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Have you checked your router settings to make sure your 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz networks are running SEPARATELY? Many new routers, especially wireless mesh systems, combine their 2.4 and 5Ghz networks into a 'single' network, meaning they appear as one network with a single SSID, even though they are actually not the same signal. CV (as do many companies with 2.4Ghz only devices) advises that you go into your router setup and turn that option off, make sure that the 2.4Ghz network has it's own SSID, and connect all of your 2.4Ghz only devices to that network. I had the same issue with my wifi power strips (all of my wifi power strips, not just the Hydros strips), along with my IP camera and my Sicce Syncra return pump. As soon as I separated the 2.4 and 5Ghz networks, everything has worked much better. I do still get the random odd "disconnect" error, but I've tested the system immediately after these errors have popped up and everything worked as it should, both my Control 4 and Control 2 could communicate with the strips and turned off/turned on the appropriate outlets depending on what test I ran. I believe most of these disconnect errors are just very random, very brief hiccups in the connection. And when I say brief, I'm talking a second or less in most cases.

Yep. I separated them a long time ago. That isn't the issue and something CV and I already went over.

My disconnects are very short. Not even a second usually. However, when I get 10 in one day (my end total from yesterday) and 2 this morning, something isn't right and it isn't something I am willing to live with on a $500 system.

So, I either figure out a way to disable the push notifications, buy an all new router, or go back to Apex.
 

n2585722

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I used to get the alerts when I lost the internet on the wifi strips but lately I have not had them only the control units. They may have dropped them from cloud monitoring on new firmware. Since I am on beta firmware it may be that firmware 190 still reports the strips when internet is dropped. Are you getting any for the control unit itself or just the power strips? What are you powering with the strips? Is all the strips doing this or just certain ones? Sorry for all the questions.
 
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shred5

shred5

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By the way watch the video above. A commercial about 1/2 way through shows a new product coming and it is something a lot of people have been asking for.
 
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JeffB418

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Well looky here :p

130FBC37-A14B-4972-9413-3A5DF4281947.png
 

rtparty

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I used to get the alerts when I lost the internet on the wifi strips but lately I have not had them only the control units. They may have dropped them from cloud monitoring on new firmware. Since I am on beta firmware it may be that firmware 190 still reports the strips when internet is dropped. Are you getting any for the control unit itself or just the power strips? What are you powering with the strips? Is all the strips doing this or just certain ones? Sorry for all the questions.

It is only the power strips and it is both of them doing it. I tried a fix this morning before leaving for work but still didn't fix the issue.

So for anyone that can answer this...how can I turn these notifications off? I only want emergency level notifications to come through. I want to know that if I get a notification it is because it is an ACTUAL OH S$%T moment happening. Is this possible?
 

JeffB418

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About time! LOL Glad to see this coming out.

It will go on my wife's tank if I can get my problems solved and the 4 will go on my new upgrade.
Yeah this has been ready to go for awhile from what I hear, just supply chain issues slowing everything down. But this little guy will be a beast. BRS pushed the ElMo (BRS Apex Version) a couple of years ago. This will be very comparable in the starter pack version.

for example the x3 starter pack is $299 for:
Control x3
Power supply
Temp probe
Ph probe
4 outlet WiFi strip

the BRS Elmo was:
Apex EL
Temp probe
Ph probe
2 float switches and mount
Power supply
And it was $250 2 years ago (so idk what they technically could charge today)

The main diff between the 2 is that the Elmo had 6 switch inputs (where 2 were used for float switches) while the x3 has an extra sense port that you can use with any sense port accessory (single float switch, door switch, water level sensor, leak sensor, or can even wire 2 float switches in series and have a high/low float switch alert like the Elmo but wouldn’t be able to know which direction the issue is in). Plus you get a 4 WiFi outlet strip with the x3 starter pack while you get no outlet control with the BRS ELMO.

This here will be a great starter pack for entry level reefers who want pH.
 

n2585722

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It is only the power strips and it is both of them doing it. I tried a fix this morning before leaving for work but still didn't fix the issue.

So for anyone that can answer this...how can I turn these notifications off? I only want emergency level notifications to come through. I want to know that if I get a notification it is because it is an ACTUAL OH S$%T moment happening. Is this possible?
If you click on the wifi strip on the status screen one of the options is notification level. You can set it to yellow and set you notification for the yellow level to email only. That way you will still get the email but not the alerts. I like getting the alerts and then I can decide if it is something that requires immediate attention or not, but that is just me.
 

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