Hydros Dosing best practice?

[n2585722]

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

My pumps are in the garage a little over 35ft from the tank and the tubing is run up through the attic and down to the tank. The Hydros does ATO and has been running a little over 2.5 years. The Intllab pumps I have had longer and the one used as a drian pump pulls water from the sump up through the attic down to the pump in the garage then back up through the attic down a wall and empties into the kitchen sink drain. I have done a little more than a gallon a day for a while but I do have the water change split into 4 times a day. I have then synced after the alkalinity testing and before the dosing is done and that is done 4 times a day. I think the Hydros pump is probably more durable than the Intllab pumps. I know the tubing has to be changes on the Intllabs about every 8 months. I only change the tubing once on the Hydros and after checking the old tubing I think I could have waited a lot longer. The Hydros dosing pumps are made by Kamoer. They did just anounce the Minnow controller that has 2 dosing pumps on it also. Those are smart dosers though and you would have to use the smart doser output which means you would need to use a schedule with them instead of the AWC output. That controller also has 4 sense ports on it beside the 2 dosing pumps.

 

[alpenreef]

My pumps are in the garage a little over 35ft from the tank and the tubing is run up through the attic and down to the tank. The Hydros does ATO and has been running a little over 2.5 years. The Intllab pumps I have had longer and the one used as a drian pump pulls water from the sump up through the attic down to the pump in the garage then back up through the attic down a wall and empties into the kitchen sink drain. I have done a little more than a gallon a day for a while but I do have the water change split into 4 times a day. I have then synced after the alkalinity testing and before the dosing is done and that is done 4 times a day. I think the Hydros pump is probably more durable than the Intllab pumps. I know the tubing has to be changes on the Intllabs about every 8 months. I only change the tubing once on the Hydros and after checking the old tubing I think I could have waited a lot longer. The Hydros dosing pumps are made by Kamoer. They did just anounce the Minnow controller that has 2 dosing pumps on it also. Those are smart dosers though and you would have to use the smart doser output which means you would need to use a schedule with them instead of the AWC output. That controller also has 4 sense ports on it beside the 2 dosing pumps.

The hydros pump has a speed of 43ml/min. That‘s over 4h of running time. A versa pump will do 3 gallons in 4 minutes (900ml/min).
I may just run two versa pumps simultaneously in and out of the sump and keep the level steady so the ato won‘t care.

 

[n2585722]

The hydros pump has a speed of 43ml/min. That‘s over 4h of running time. A versa pump will do 3 gallons in 4 minutes (900ml/min).
I may just run two versa pumps simultaneously in and out of the sump and keep the level steady so the ato won‘t care.

The Versa pumps can be setup to run when powered can't they? If so you can still use them you would need a XP8 output for each pump and a separate power supply for each pump.

 

[Peair]

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

In the X4 starter pack you should also have the XP8 controller, any pump can be connected to the XP8, the Hydros 2ml/min works good, or you can use the Hydros Coralvue dosing pump that has to be connected to your X4 drive port, but you only have two drive ports, the neat thing is that you can connect to Wifi and there is a lot of things you can do with the pump like setting different measurements, alerts, times, and other things through the Hydros App.

 

[n2585722]

In the X4 starter pack you should also have the XP8 controller, any pump can be connected to the XP8, the Hydros 2ml/min works good, or you can use the Hydros Coralvue dosing pump that has to be connected to your X4 drive port, but you only have two drive ports, the neat thing is that you can connect to Wifi and there is a lot of things you can do with the pump like setting different measurements, alerts, times, and other things through the Hydros App.

The starter kit comes with a wifi power strip and the controller. The pro pack has an XP8 with the X4 or X3 depending on which pro pack it is.

 

[alpenreef]

The Versa pumps can be setup to run when powered can't they? If so you can still use them you would need a XP8 output for each pump and a separate power supply for each pump.

Not looking to control pumps with a power strip. Looks like there is no integration with any pumps that would work for this. That sounds like a food reason to give apex / dos another look.

 

[Peair]

The starter kit comes with a wifi power strip and the controller. The pro pack has an XP8 with the X4 or X3 depending on which pro pack it is.

Ok, the Pro Pack has the XP8 controller, that's the better one, because the power strip is not as good as the XP8 Power Controller, for the price will reflect that, the good thing is that you can connect many power strips to the controller, and in the App it will just be part of the collective.

 

[n2585722]

Not looking to control pumps with a power strip. Looks like there is no integration with any pumps that would work for this. That sounds like a food reason to give apex / dos another look.

The XP8 is not a power strip. It is a controller that happens to have 8 AC outlets for the 8 outputs. It has no inputs so It would need to be in a collective to control outputs that need inputs but all you need is a command bus cable and a couple of terminators with it. You would have to remove the Power pack that comes with the starter kit to use the XP8 but the XP8 can power several controllers over the bus.

 

[Peair]

Ok, the Pro Pack has the XP8 controller, that's the better one, because the power strip is not as good as the XP8 Power Controller, for the price will reflect that, the good thing is that you can connect many power strips to the controller, and in the App it will just be part of the collective.

The XP8 is not a power strip. It is a controller that happens to have 8 AC outlets for the 8 outputs. It has no inputs so It would need to be in a collective to control outputs that need inputs but all you need is a command bus cable and a couple of terminators with it. You would have to remove the Power pack that comes with the starter kit to use the XP8 but the XP8 can power several controllers over the bus.

With the XP8 Controller you can Control up to 8 More Hydros Power Strips or 40 AC outlets, and make them part of the collective.

 

[n2585722]

With the XP8 Controller you can Control up to 8 More Hydros Power Strips or 40 AC outlets, and make them part of the collective.

Any controller can control up to 8 wifi decice but that can be power strips or if it is a collective the wifi master can control up to 8 wifi devices. It does not need to be a XP8. The X4 can also do that but if they are in a collective together the total is still 8 for the complete collective.

 

[lonhater]

Tring to figure out how to setup my mixing station about 30 feet away from the tank on the same level. The wifi strips controlling pumps makes me a little nervous so I'm looking to wire it. Could I run a long command bus cable between my x10 at the tank and what? another xp8? thats all I can think of but feels like overkill

 

[n2585722]

Tring to figure out how to setup my mixing station about 30 feet away from the tank on the same level. The wifi strips controlling pumps makes me a little nervous so I'm looking to wire it. Could I run a long command bus cable between my x10 at the tank and what? another xp8? thats all I can think of but feels like overkill

My mixing station is in the garage over 35ft from the tank. I have a data only cable between the controllers at the tank and the controllers in the garage. I have 8 controllers in the garage but they control my RODI filter which is also out there and the ATO pump, AWC pumps and the 4 pumps in the 3 reservoirs. It would depend on what you want to control out there. All the RODI control solenoids connect to drive ports. I also have three 24v DC pumps and a AC powered pump. I use a Minnow for my AWC pumps and a Sole for my ATO pump.

 

[alpenreef]

Tring to figure out how to setup my mixing station about 30 feet away from the tank on the same level. The wifi strips controlling pumps makes me a little nervous so I'm looking to wire it. Could I run a long command bus cable between my x10 at the tank and what? another xp8? thats all I can think of but feels like overkill

I left my xp8 near the tank upstairs and ran a power cable from it to my fill pump (thru a wall and the floor) which lives in a saltwater reservoir in the basement. Many ways to skin this cat but that seemed easiest.

 

[lonhater]

My mixing station is in the garage over 35ft from the tank. I have a data only cable between the controllers at the tank and the controllers in the garage. I have 8 controllers in the garage but they control my RODI filter which is also out there and the ATO pump, AWC pumps and the 4 pumps in the 3 reservoirs. It would depend on what you want to control out there. All the RODI control solenoids connect to drive ports. I also have three 24v DC pumps and a AC powered pump. I use a Minnow for my AWC pumps and a Sole for my ATO pump.

Yeah this is the direction I'm heading in. The more of the plan I put together the more plugs I'm going to need. Valve controls, heater, leak detector and I'm sure things I'm forgetting. It's a lot to hold in your head at once. Is there a tool people use to design systems? I'm brand new to this and jumped in the deep end

 

[n2585722]

Yeah this is the direction I'm heading in. The more of the plan I put together the more plugs I'm going to need. Valve controls, heater, leak detector and I'm sure things I'm forgetting. It's a lot to hold in your head at once. Is there a tool people use to design systems? I'm brand new to this and jumped in the deep end

Click on My Tank Tread banner on one of my post. The Hydros info starts on page 6 when I got my first Hydros controller which was the X4 starter kit. It was called a Control 4 then. Later on I got 2 X2's and a XS to go with it. All were in the garage with my mixing station and RODI. My ATO and AWC pumps were also in the garage. To use the Hydros for those I had to pass a signal to the Hydros from my Archon for ATO request and also that t was ok to do a AWC. I now have Hydros controllers in both places and a data only cable between the tank and the garage so all controllers can be in the same collective. The Hydros info is spread out over the rest of the pages. When new features came out and I used them I posted the changes I made to use them.