Hydros help! Information overload!

[Joe31415]

the only pump that can connect to the drive port is the one hydros makes, though it is reasonably priced and has a great lift height.

Are you sure? The drive port is marketed as a "universal output port that provides switched 12v DC power to run all kinds of devices like small motors, pumps, fans, and even low wattage lights!". Are you confusing it with the pump port on the Wave Engine?

just note that you would only want to use the power bar option if you have the hardwired xp8, as if the wifi fails while the ato is on then the pump would continue filling your tank indefinitely.

That's another thing that's bugging me about the Hydros. I had such an incredibly difficult time getting the power bars to work in the first place that I almost returned it on the assumption that something was broken. So I know it already has some connectivity issues, but then I read this. I understand whoever makes the power bars puts their own firmware on it and Hydros just has to work with it, but there's such an easy work around for this issue. Instead of sending a command to turn an outlet on and then sending another one to turn it off, it could send a single command that turns it on and tells it how long to stay on for. It can still send a command to shut it off, but if the power bar never gets that command, it'll turn off based on the time it was given. Again, I understand that's a firmware issue and Hydros doesn't have any (or much) control over it, but somehow it's our problem.

Another option could be that all wireless devices need to check in every X seconds/minutes. If they lose connectivity, everything stops...or at least everything that can move water in or out of the tank stops until it's dealt with.

Had I known about this issue before I bought it, I wouldn't have bought it. I got it *specifically* because of the wireless power bars. I got it to set up an AWC where one of the pumps is in my basement. On my other tank, I just use a set of Versa pumps, which work great. Problem is they're never in stock.

That's why I'd like to set everything up from scratch on this new tank build. I plan to buy my equipment with the Hydros in mind, and get compatible stuff as much as I can to avoid potential issues.

I got this to experiment with it. It's on my invert QT. So it is essentially being done from scratch. I picked up a starter pack that came with a power bar, I bought an extra power bar and two BRS dosing pumps. I struggled for a few weeks just to get those few things to work with each other and had to get help (here, in another thread) to get the ATO to work with it. Still not entirely happy with it, but really wanting to like it, I picked up the Wave Engine/Ice Cap Gyre package. Turns out they don't play nice together...at all. The gyre just runs at a single speed regardless of what you tell it to do. There's a workaround, which is to tell the gyre to run backwards and then tell the flow pattern to run in reverse, then it'll do what you ask it to do, however, if you use a mode that runs backwards and forwards, when it goes backwards the motor gets really loud.

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

Are you sure? The drive port is marketed as a "universal output port that provides switched 12v DC power to run all kinds of devices like small motors, pumps, fans, and even low wattage lights!". Are you confusing it with the pump port on the Wave Engine?


That's another thing that's bugging me about the Hydros. I had such an incredibly difficult time getting the power bars to work in the first place that I almost returned it on the assumption that something was broken. So I know it already has some connectivity issues, but then I read this. I understand whoever makes the power bars puts their own firmware on it and Hydros just has to work with it, but there's such an easy work around for this issue. Instead of sending a command to turn an outlet on and then sending another one to turn it off, it could send a single command that turns it on and tells it how long to stay on for. It can still send a command to shut it off, but if the power bar never gets that command, it'll turn off based on the time it was given. Again, I understand that's a firmware issue and Hydros doesn't have any (or much) control over it, but somehow it's our problem.

Another option could be that all wireless devices need to check in every X seconds/minutes. If they lose connectivity, everything stops...or at least everything that can move water in or out of the tank stops until it's dealt with.

Had I known about this issue before I bought it, I wouldn't have bought it. I got it *specifically* because of the wireless power bars. I got it to set up an AWC where one of the pumps is in my basement. On my other tank, I just use a set of Versa pumps, which work great. Problem is they're never in stock.


I got this to experiment with it. It's on my invert QT. So it is essentially being done from scratch. I picked up a starter pack that came with a power bar, I bought an extra power bar and two BRS dosing pumps. I struggled for a few weeks just to get those few things to work with each other and had to get help (here, in another thread) to get the ATO to work with it. Still not entirely happy with it, but really wanting to like it, I picked up the Wave Engine/Ice Cap Gyre package. Turns out they don't play nice together...at all. The gyre just runs at a single speed regardless of what you tell it to do. There's a workaround, which is to tell the gyre to run backwards and then tell the flow pattern to run in reverse, then it'll do what you ask it to do, however, if you use a mode that runs backwards and forwards, when it goes backwards the motor gets really loud.

Didnt see the part about it being universal! I havent seen any non-hydros accesorys with that type of plug so I just kind of assumed.

sorry to hear about your issues, for the gyre one I would reach out to customer support, many people are very happy with their hydros controllers.

 

[n2585722]

Didnt see the part about it being universal! I havent seen any non-hydros accesorys with that type of plug so I just kind of assumed.

sorry to hear about your issues, for the gyre one I would reach out to customer support, many people are very happy with their hydros controllers.

I have powered Intllab dosing pumps on drive ports. They have to run on 12v and run on less than 1 amp of current from a single port or less than 1.5 amps both drive ports combined.

 

[n2585722]

In the video I watched, they talked about creating groups when adding pumps. My thought is that I will have 2 pumps on each end of the tank. I'm doing LPS, so I'll be setting them at lower velocity, but I want good coverage, hence 4 smaller pumps instead of 2 larger ones.

What I'm thinking is if I "group" 2 pumps to the left, and "group" 2 pumps to the right, then each end is treated as one unit. But what I'm not clear on is if all the pumps have to be in one "group", each assigned to their appropriate end (two "same end" and two "opposite end") for it to work the way I'm thinking.

Then what if I wanted to put two of the pumps on the ends, and then 2 of them (or even just 1 pump) in the back? How do I set that up so they'll all work together?

I'm probably just over complicating things in my head (Hey, it happens! ). There is plenty of info on setting pumps up, but very little info on getting them working together, how to leverage multiple pumps, etc.

I don't have the WaveEngine so I cannot say what the actual flow patterns are like. But from what I gather the groups are similar to the ones on the MP type pumps which also have the two different sides and the back. If you do that you will probably want to use them in the same schedules. You can use multiple schedules as long as you have it enter another schedule when one schedule ends. My tank is a Hex tank so both of my flow pumps are on the back. I have two MP10's and have Reeflink so the WaveEngine has not been on my priority list.

 

[JeffB418]

Is it possible to control a small ATO pump via the drive ports on the Control? I blindly assumed I'd be able to do that. So I picked up a connector and wired my Tunze ATO pump (just the pump, not the entire unit) to a drive port. As soon as I connected it, I started getting "Collective Broken" errors. Currently I have the Tunze ATO unit plugged into a power bar. While that works, I wanted to try letting the Hydros handle the ATO.

I'm really trying to like the Hydros but I swear it's just one problem after another with this thing. I've got a a laundry list of things that I still can't get to work on it. Honestly, at the moment, I'm pretty annoyed with it. I've spent about $600 on it Hydros gear and the only thing I can get to work properly is the AWC.

I either grossly misunderstood what the Hydros is supposed to be able to do, I'm entirely missing something that's making it difficult to use or it's broken.

The Tunze ATO pump is not compatible with the hydros drive port. While it is a 12V pump, it draws too much inrush current for the hydros 12V drive port to supply.

have you reached out to [email protected] for your other issues yet?