Hydros Dosing best practice?

[alpenreef]

So I have a new X4 starter pack. Mainly purchased to monitor leaks and shut down pump if detected (had the hose come off the return pump and dumped a lot of water on floor so now I am paranoid).

Question: best way to use my current setup to start dosing All For Reef? Which pump, what level of integration (standalone or controlled by X4)?
Youtube videos and r2r threads on the topic are outdated so not sure what to purchase next.

Thanks Roland

 

[n2585722]

So I have a new X4 starter pack. Mainly purchased to monitor leaks and shut down pump if detected (had the hose come off the return pump and dumped a lot of water on floor so now I am paranoid).

Question: best way to use my current setup to start dosing All For Reef? Which pump, what level of integration (standalone or controlled by X4)?
Youtube videos and r2r threads on the topic are outdated so not sure what to purchase next.

Thanks Roland

I dose All For Reef with my Hydros but I have a X10 that I use for that. There is the Hydros simple doser that connects to a drive port. Those have a fixed flow rate that will be near 43ml a minute. The minimum dose time on a simple doser is 2.5 seconds. So the minimum amount you can dose at any one time would be a little less than 2ml. So keep that in mind if you use that pump for this. I mix my All For Reef using the powder and I mix it half strength so that doubles the amount I dose. There is also a AC powered Hydros doser but I would not use a doser, ATO or AWC on a wifi strip. The reason is if for some reason you loose communication between the controller and a wifi strip the wifi strip will remain in whatever state it is in until communication is restored or it is powered off and back on. So if an outlet is on when the communication is lost that outlet will remain on until power is restored. So if you are going to control dosing with AC then use a XP8 instead of the wifi strips.

 

[alpenreef]

I dose All For Reef with my Hydros but I have a X10 that I use for that. There is the Hydros simple doser that connects to a drive port. Those have a fixed flow rate that will be near 43ml a minute. The minimum dose time on a simple doser is 2.5 seconds. So the minimum amount you can dose at any one time would be a little less than 2ml. So keep that in mind if you use that pump for this. I mix my All For Reef using the powder and I mix it half strength so that doubles the amount I dose. There is also a AC powered Hydros doser but I would not use a doser, ATO or AWC on a wifi strip. The reason is if for some reason you loose communication between the controller and a wifi strip the wifi strip will remain in whatever state it is in until communication is restored or it is powered off and back on. So if an outlet is on when the communication is lost that outlet will remain on until power is restored. So if you are going to control dosing with AC then use a XP8 instead of the wifi strips.

Thank you. I plan to start with 40ml per day. It looks like I won’t bother with dosing via the hydros and go with a stand alone solution instead unless there is a pump that integrates with the X4 other than thru AC outlet.

 

[n2585722]

Thank you. I plan to start with 40ml per day. It looks like I won’t bother with dosing via the hydros and go with a stand alone solution instead unless there is a pump that integrates with the X4 other than thru AC outlet.

The Hydros simple doser uses a drive port. The X4 has 2 of those but the ATO kit will also use one. I use a simple doser for my ATO pump.

 

[DenverSaltyFarm]

Wahoo! Welcome to team hydros . I like the simple WiFi doser like this

Hydros Dosing Pump - CoralVue

The HYDROS Dosing Pump is a simple and affordable way to automate the addition of liquid supplements, trace elements, and two-part solutions to an aquarium. Connect the Dosing Pump to any available HYDROS Control Drive Port for easy automation using the intuitive and straightforward yet robust...

topshelfaquatics.com

Or there is a $74 version as well that you can keep adding more units as you start dosing more things.

 

[n2585722]

Wahoo! Welcome to team hydros . I like the simple WiFi doser like this

Hydros Dosing Pump - CoralVue

The HYDROS Dosing Pump is a simple and affordable way to automate the addition of liquid supplements, trace elements, and two-part solutions to an aquarium. Connect the Dosing Pump to any available HYDROS Control Drive Port for easy automation using the intuitive and straightforward yet robust...

topshelfaquatics.com

Or there is a $74 version as well that you can keep adding more units as you start dosing more things.

You will need a drive port for each dosing pump. The X2, X4, X10, XD and Kraken have drive ports. So you can get one of those and create a collective if you don't already have a collective to add more ports. You will need a command bus cable and a coupe of terminators. Also if you get a controller that has a power source you will need to remove any power supply that connects directly to the command bus. The power from the controller with it's own power source will also power the command bus. The Kraken, X10, XD, wave engines and XP8 all have their own power source but can be used with each other. Only the power supply that connects directly to a command bus port cannot.

 

[alpenreef]

Wahoo! Welcome to team hydros . I like the simple WiFi doser like this

Hydros Dosing Pump - CoralVue

The HYDROS Dosing Pump is a simple and affordable way to automate the addition of liquid supplements, trace elements, and two-part solutions to an aquarium. Connect the Dosing Pump to any available HYDROS Control Drive Port for easy automation using the intuitive and straightforward yet robust...

topshelfaquatics.com

Or there is a $74 version as well that you can keep adding more units as you start dosing more things.

Thank you! Just ordered it. Plus a bracket to mount it to my control board. Weird that that’s not included.

 

[n2585722]

Thank you! Just ordered it. Plus a bracket to mount it to my control board. Weird that that’s not included.

The mount is made by a different manufacturer than the pump. The pump is a Kamoer dosing pump made for Hydros. I did get a spare head and some tubing for mine. I change the tubing the first time just after one year but after dissecting tubing I decided to go longer this time. I think it has been 1year and three months so far. CoralVue does have the pump heads and the tubing for it on the parts site. Here is a link to the pump head I got https://store.coralvue.com/catalog/...moer-x1-dosing-head-replacement/category/889/ .

Here is the link for the tubing https://store.coralvue.com/catalog/product/view/id/3161/s/dosing-head-pharm-tube-5-5/category/889/ . You probably won't need it for a while though. I use mine for ATO and it pump from the garage up through the attic and down a wall into the overflow and mine has lasted over a year without replacement.

 

[alpenreef]

I did end up adding a hydros simple doser via drive port and dose about 50ml per day spread out over 5 doses. Works quite well.

 

[DenverSaltyFarm]

that set up looks great! I also purchased the hydros wifi automatic fish feeder and hasn't skipped a beat. another hydros piece if equipment I highly recommend

 

[alpenreef]

that set up looks great! I also purchased the hydros wifi automatic fish feeder and hasn't skipped a beat. another hydros piece if equipment I highly recommend

What do you feed? I have 3 clowns, 2 tangs, 1 foxface, 2 damsel, 1 blenny, one cleaner goby - I feed them frozen mysis and seaweed mostly. Not sure I can get away with pellets.

 

[alpenreef]

The mount is made by a different manufacturer than the pump. The pump is a Kamoer dosing pump made for Hydros. I did get a spare head and some tubing for mine. I change the tubing the first time just after one year but after dissecting tubing I decided to go longer this time. I think it has been 1year and three months so far. CoralVue does have the pump heads and the tubing for it on the parts site. Here is a link to the pump head I got https://store.coralvue.com/catalog/...moer-x1-dosing-head-replacement/category/889/ .

Here is the link for the tubing https://store.coralvue.com/catalog/product/view/id/3161/s/dosing-head-pharm-tube-5-5/category/889/ . You probably won't need it for a while though. I use mine for ATO and it pump from the garage up through the attic and down a wall into the overflow and mine has lasted over a year without replacement.

I understand you also do automatic water changes controlled by your hydros? I would love to hear what pumps you use for that.
Both my saltwater reservoir and my drain are about 25ft away in the basement. I was considering versa pumps for a 3 gallon daily water change (running simultaneously to keep the water level even so my tunze ato doesnt go off). But I would prefer it being controlled by hydros.

 

[crabgrass]

that set up looks great! I also purchased the hydros wifi automatic fish feeder and hasn't skipped a beat. another hydros piece if equipment I highly recommend

The reviews on the feeder are very mixed. In addition it has the same flaw as the WiFi boards - if it loses connection with the controller it will operate in its current state. Which could mean continued feeding if you get very unlucky.

I got one, and the unit was non-functional. Swapped it out for a battery operated Enhiem which has been perfect.

 

[n2585722]

I understand you also do automatic water changes controlled by your hydros? I would love to hear what pumps you use for that.
Both my saltwater reservoir and my drain are about 25ft away in the basement. I was considering versa pumps for a 3 gallon daily water change (running simultaneously to keep the water level even so my tunze ato doesnt go off). But I would prefer it being controlled by hydros.

I use dosing pumps but the most I do in a day is about 1 gallon and that is when the nitrate starts creeping up. I have it split into 4 separate changes during the day that happens just before my dosing so it does not interfere with the dosing. I run one as a drain pump first and them the fill pump. There is a AWC output you can use with any pumps that are set to run when powered. The ATO will also have to be controlled within that AWC output for it to work since it drains and then fill back up. It uses the same sensor as ATO when filling back up. Since that output controls the ATO pump also it can make sure it is full before the start of the AWC and keep it from running during the AWC sequence.

 

[n2585722]

The reviews on the feeder are very mixed. In addition it has the same flaw as the WiFi boards - if it loses connection with the controller it will operate in its current state. Which could mean continued feeding if you get very unlucky.

I got one, and the unit was non-functional. Swapped it out for a battery operated Enhiem which has been perfect.

As far as I know it will only do the amount of revolutions that it is set to do since that is a parameter passed to it when the feeding is scheduled. It is not the same as the wifi strips in that respect. At most you will loose a feeding if wifi is down. I have one since it came out and have not had an issue with it. I put it in place of a Eheim feeder. It is on the same platform the Eheim was sitting.

 

[alpenreef]

I use dosing pumps but the most I do in a day is about 1 gallon and that is when the nitrate starts creeping up. I have it split into 4 separate changes during the day that happens just before my dosing so it does not interfere with the dosing. I run one as a drain pump first and them the fill pump. There is a AWC output you can use with any pumps that are set to run when powered. The ATO will also have to be controlled within that AWC output for it to work since it drains and then fill back up. It uses the same sensor as ATO when filling back up. Since that output controls the ATO pump also it can make sure it is full before the start of the AWC and keep it from running during the AWC sequence.

which pumps and connected via drive port?

 

[n2585722]

which pumps and connected via drive port?

I have 2 Intllab pumps and 1 Hydros simple doser. I got the Intllab pumps before the Hydros dosing pumps were out. The Hydros one come with a cable to connect to the drive port. I made cables for the Intllab pumps but I think you can get cables now that will work.

 

[alpenreef]

Thanks. The hydros punps aren’t up to the task for my use case. I need something powerful like the Kamoer AWC pumps or Versa. I don‘t understand how and why Hydros doesn‘t integrate with any proper pumps for water changes.

 

[n2585722]

Thanks. The hydros punps aren’t up to the task for my use case. I need something powerful like the Kamoer AWC pumps or Versa. I don‘t understand how and why Hydros doesn‘t integrate with any proper pumps for water changes.

What volume are you trying to run?

 

[alpenreef]

What volume are you trying to run?

3 gallons daily, about 21 ft away downstairs from it in the basement