Hydros Owners: how happy are you long term?

[n2585722]

You keep saying that, but not everyone can make that work. I bought this system, *specifically* for it's ability to control my AWC, which requires a wifi power bar (they didn't have a hard wired one at the time). Had they included a disclaimer that you shouldn't use their wifi power bars for these applications, I certainly wouldn't have bought it.


Again, not an option for everyone. My AWC fill pump and ATO are too far away and draw too much power for that to work. In order to even get the AWC working properly, I had to move my ATO from the (very reliable) Tunze system over the the Hydros. The little tiny Tunze pump draws a hair too much power so the Hydros wouldn't even try. I ended up having to use the drive port to control a relay and a relay to turn the ATO pump on and off.
Yet another workaround.

I can't tell, but I really hope you understand why this isn't acceptable.

That's where I'm headed. I wouldn't buy any more of their stuff since it, empirically, does not work properly. It really shows what they think of their customers when they release this garbage.

As soon as I can find a good replacement for the AWC, the hydros is in the garbage.

The new controllers they will be releasing in 2023 that have drive ports which the Kraken and the XD have a 1.5a limit per port and 3amp total for the XD with three drive ports and a 4 amp total limit for the Kraken with 4 drive ports. I guess they are listening when designing the nee devices. There will always be some kind of limit. The higher it is the more expensive the controller will be as a general rule. The XD does require a external power pack but it has a separate port to hook it up and it will also supply power to the control buss if needed. The Kraken has a huge 24v power supply but it also has 8 24v DC outputs on it. They call then Force Ports. It will power and control pumps such as the Neptune PMUP pumps if you are into making a GX12 to microfit 3.0 connector. I don't know if CoralVue will ever make a connector for doing that but it is easy enough to do. Also The Kraken 24v outputs can be used to power the controllers like the XD and WE instead of using individual power packs for each. It can also replace the power packs used for most 24v DC pumps. It will not replace the controllers though.

 

[areefer01]

Can you please add to your profile that you are the admin for the BRS Facebook group. That BRS/Aperture owns Neptune. Your views are biased and you need to stop posting unless you are going to announce who you are. I find it hard to believe that all your hydros **** broke and that the replacements broke like you claim.

I like Hydros and have never had issues, but I also have no vested interest. You on the other hand do, you work for the competitor. So when you give your opinions. State that.

Need to dial down the intensity. It has nothing to do who he is on FB or what controller he currently owns. They also note a similar complaint with the Apex Jr. Personal attacks are not the way to go.

People have different experiences using the same hardware be it a controller, a light, or salt mix. Don't believe me go look at the Tropic Marin Turkey vs Germany salt thread as one example.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Need to dial down the intensity. It has nothing to do who he is on FB or what controller he currently owns. They also note a similar complaint with the Apex Jr. Personal attacks are not the way to go.

People have different experiences using the same hardware be it a controller, a light, or salt mix. Don't believe me go look at the Tropic Marin Turkey vs Germany salt thread as one example.

People do have different experiences. But when you’re in a Hydros happiness thread and voice your issues or concerns over and over, which is fine, I guess. To conclude with “save yourself the trouble and get an Apex”people should know where that’s coming from. People on here that represent a brand or company in whatever capacity should have to identify themselves.

 

[areefer01]

People do have different experiences. But when you’re in a Hydros happiness thread and voice your issues or concerns over and over, which is fine, I guess. To conclude with “save yourself the trouble and get an Apex”people should know where that’s coming from. People on here that represent a brand or company in whatever capacity should have to identify themselves.

Maybe. Then again everyone here has their personal bias. I just wanted to point out they had a complaint against a Neptune product. Could the post message have been just as good while leaving off the 'change controller' bit? Probably.

Does it matter though if they are an admin of a competing products forum? I mean if they purchased the product in question with their own money, experienced the problems, and posted in a thread asking about long term happy meter then I beg to ask isn't that what they did?

If they haven't purchased and just talking then I would agree. Noise and agenda. On the other hand if they own one then it is fair game. Of course constructive is always better. I hear you. May not agree though. Not that it matters

 

[rtparty]

Can you please add to your profile that you are the admin for the BRS Facebook group. That BRS/Aperture owns Neptune. Your views are biased and you need to stop posting unless you are going to announce who you are. I find it hard to believe that all your hydros **** broke and that the replacements broke like you claim.

I like Hydros and have never had issues, but I also have no vested interest. You on the other hand do, you work for the competitor. So when you give your opinions. State that.

I do not work for BRS and am not a BRS employee in any way. I own my own business in Utah. It isn't even a hobby related business at that.

I paid for every Hydros item out of my own pocket. My opinion is completely valid and fair. If you don't want to see that or believe it, nothing I can say to change that.

Go ask Carlos about my stuff. I had to send multiple items to them so they could look into them closely to see what failed and why.

 

[reefiniteasy]

I do not work for BRS and am not a BRS employee in any way. I own my own business in Utah. It isn't even a hobby related business at that.

I paid for every Hydros item out of my own pocket. My opinion is completely valid and fair. If you don't want to see that or believe it, nothing I can say to change that.

Go ask Carlos about my stuff. I had to send multiple items to them so they could look into them closely to see what failed and why.

Are you or are you not a moderator/administrator of the BRS Facebook group? The affiliation matters when you traverse groups and forums pushing one thing over the other.

I don’t have to ask anyone about your stuff. You post it everywhere. I just find it odd that everything breaks.

Your opinion is your opinion, just openly state your affiliations. So one can get a look at the big picture when making decisions based off your opinion.

 

[rtparty]

Are you or are you not a moderator/administrator of the BRS Facebook group? The affiliation matters when you traverse groups and forums pushing one thing over the other.

I don’t have to ask anyone about your stuff. You post it everywhere. I just find it odd that everything breaks.

Your opinion is your opinion, just openly state your affiliations. So one can get a look at the big picture when making decisions based off your opinion.

I've never hid from the fact that I'm a moderator for the BRS group. Do I have to have that in my signature?

Does every Hydros beta tester state they are such in every post? Do half the people in here post they are customer service for CoralVue?

Isn't that important to know as well? Or just not a convenient thing to state?

I push halides from Premium Aquatics. Doesn't make much sense if my opinion is only allowed to fall in line with BRS and what they sell.

Do I not speak negatively about Neptune as well? I sure have. How about Ecotech? You bet ya.

My opinion is my opinion based on real world experience. I make no money pushing anything or helping others.

 

[reefiniteasy]

I've never hid from the fact that I'm a moderator for the BRS group. Do I have to have that in my signature?

Does every Hydros beta tester state they are such in every post? Do half the people in here post they are customer service for CoralVue?

Isn't that important to know as well? Or just not a convenient thing to state?

I push halides from Premium Aquatics. Doesn't make much sense if my opinion is only allowed to fall in line with BRS and what they sell.

Do I not speak negatively about Neptune as well? I sure have. How about Ecotech? You bet ya.

My opinion is my opinion based on real world experience. I make no money pushing anything or helping others.

Until now, in any of these posts about Hydros, you have never acknowledged you’re connection with BRS (through Facebook moderation) until now. Reading your opinions, I think it matters.

The only person from customer service from CV on here is Connor, and his name says so. The beta testers that post here have said many times they are testers throughout the forum.

 

[n2585722]

I've never hid from the fact that I'm a moderator for the BRS group. Do I have to have that in my signature?

Does every Hydros beta tester state they are such in every post? Do half the people in here post they are customer service for CoralVue?

Isn't that important to know as well? Or just not a convenient thing to state?

I push halides from Premium Aquatics. Doesn't make much sense if my opinion is only allowed to fall in line with BRS and what they sell.

Do I not speak negatively about Neptune as well? I sure have. How about Ecotech? You bet ya.

My opinion is my opinion based on real world experience. I make no money pushing anything or helping others.

I have gone back and looked and I cannot find a post in this thread that I know of from someone that works for Hydros. I did find post from three beta testers but they are not Hydros employees. I am one of the beta testers and implied that in a post in this thread when I said I had a beta XP8 for a year without having any issues with it. So far I have had no hardware issue with any Hydros devices. I am an electronics technician by trade. I worked for Motorola for 30 years as a engineering technician. I worked on ion implanters in a semiconductor factory. I worked at the same site for 30 years before retiring a few years back. I started out at Motorola and they spun off the semiconductor sector into Freescale. NXP bought Freescale several years back. So I was working for NXP when I retired. I like helping people so that is what I try to do here and some other forums. I have lots of experience with Digital Aquatics and now Hydros. I have never messed with the others. I bought my first controller in 2008. It was a Digital Aquatics RKE. Funny thing is it has never controlled a tank that was up and running. By the time I got my tank ready to run I had a Archon beta unit to use. Before woking at Motorola I worked at a place that did warranty work for 26 brands of consumer electronics. Believe me they all break and have their issues.

 

[artieg1]

I’m running x4 and XP8. Works without issues.

My setup exactly. Love it. No issues. I have a mesh system and signal is weak in the basement, which is where my Hydros is. Works great. Once gave a wonky alarm and I just restarted. All good.

 

[VanJoe]

I have a similar issue. I've witnessed the spike when my heaters turn on. I think any electrical interference causes the issue. I've checked for stray voltage, but no amount to cause concern. I did not have this issue before the latest firmware.

I set my max ph to 8.7, but I still get the notifications on occasion. At 8.5, I get them hourly. I swapped probes today, so we'll see if that makes any difference.

Was curious if this issue got resolved with your new probe or a later firmware fix/rollback?

New to controllers and am reading back through all these Hydros threads as that is what I picked for my new tank arriving in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks!

 

[VanJoe]

As far as I know, I haven't had a single wifi drop with my X3. I have an ATT fiber router/modem. Controller is in the basement, one floor away.

I do have the strange almost non issue I describe below. Still interested if anyone has experienced the same.

Was wondering if you are still having these issues with refresh response? Still there or did they go away as the product matured and new firmware updates came out?

Just bought a few controllers in December and set them up in a collective but haven't used them yet as still waiting on the tank to arrive. The app seemed a little sluggish.

 

[srobertb]

I started with the Wi-Fi power strips, a control4, and a control XS. I also have the wave maker on another tank.
We have a very high-end router system that never played well. I turned off the “disconnected from Wi-Fi” errors Hydros would give off after 30 errors in 12 hours.

I setup a special-snowflake 2.4ghz router just for this system and that fixed it- coupled with upgrading to the expensive hydros power supply. It works just fine. Not as reliable, fast, or programmable as Apex (on my main display) but it works ok for the 2 tanks it runs on- a 20g planted tank (CO2 and heater) and 10g SW tank (heater and fan). I ignore 80% of the erroneous errors it throws off.
I will never trust $20-$30k of equipment, pets, and hard work to cheap lowest/common denominator equipment. Yes…I know Neptune isn’t innocent in the cheap-component discussion. That being said, every time the Hydros system needs an update I have to plan an entire day around it as it typically bricks the device it wants to update (3 months ago I spent 6 hours after a mandatory update to the 8-outlet power supply).
Hydros doesn’t have the basic-system level reliability to make it worthy of expensive display tanks. Furthermore, who puts 8 proprietary ports on a device but forgets CAT6?

 

[ThaBeast]

I started with the Wi-Fi power strips, a control4, and a control XS. I also have the wave maker on another tank.
We have a very high-end router system that never played well. I turned off the “disconnected from Wi-Fi” errors Hydros would give off after 30 errors in 12 hours.

I setup a special-snowflake 2.4ghz router just for this system and that fixed it- coupled with upgrading to the expensive hydros power supply. It works just fine. Not as reliable, fast, or programmable as Apex (on my main display) but it works ok for the 2 tanks it runs on- a 20g planted tank (CO2 and heater) and 10g SW tank (heater and fan). I ignore 80% of the erroneous errors it throws off.
I will never trust $20-$30k of equipment, pets, and hard work to cheap lowest/common denominator equipment. Yes…I know Neptune isn’t innocent in the cheap-component discussion. That being said, every time the Hydros system needs an update I have to plan an entire day around it as it typically bricks the device it wants to update (3 months ago I spent 6 hours after a mandatory update to the 8-outlet power supply).
Hydros doesn’t have the basic-system level reliability to make it worthy of expensive display tanks. Furthermore, who puts 8 proprietary ports on a device but forgets CAT6?

GHL comes to mind on the missing CAT6 port

 

[Coach v]

I have only had my Hydros for a bit over a week, but I am beyond happy. I purchased a used X4 with a bunch of accessories, including 3 wifi power strips, the wifi feeder, a dc micro pump (bought new), and water level, and temp sensors. Everything connected right up, was easy to program, and has worked flawlessly. I cannot wait to add ATO to my observation tank and AWC.

 

[n2585722]

I started with the Wi-Fi power strips, a control4, and a control XS. I also have the wave maker on another tank.
We have a very high-end router system that never played well. I turned off the “disconnected from Wi-Fi” errors Hydros would give off after 30 errors in 12 hours.

I setup a special-snowflake 2.4ghz router just for this system and that fixed it- coupled with upgrading to the expensive hydros power supply. It works just fine. Not as reliable, fast, or programmable as Apex (on my main display) but it works ok for the 2 tanks it runs on- a 20g planted tank (CO2 and heater) and 10g SW tank (heater and fan). I ignore 80% of the erroneous errors it throws off.
I will never trust $20-$30k of equipment, pets, and hard work to cheap lowest/common denominator equipment. Yes…I know Neptune isn’t innocent in the cheap-component discussion. That being said, every time the Hydros system needs an update I have to plan an entire day around it as it typically bricks the device it wants to update (3 months ago I spent 6 hours after a mandatory update to the 8-outlet power supply).
Hydros doesn’t have the basic-system level reliability to make it worthy of expensive display tanks. Furthermore, who puts 8 proprietary ports on a device but forgets CAT6?

I have had mine for over two years and have not had those issues. I have nine controllers in a collective also. In fact I lost internet access for 5 days and it operated like a champ during the outage. Of coarse I had to be home to connect to it using bluetooth. All the outputs continued to work as they should during the event.

 

[srobertb]

I have had mine for over two years and have not had those issues. I have nine controllers in a collective also. In fact I lost internet access for 5 days and it operated like a champ during the outage. Of coarse I had to be home to connect to it using bluetooth. All the outputs continued to work as they should during the event.

I wish I had your experience with it but I’ve literally had the exact opposite. Tweaking or changing anything is like touching a live wire. I know I’m going to be in pain after.

 

[n2585722]

I wish I had your experience with it but I’ve literally had the exact opposite. Tweaking or changing anything is like touching a live wire. I know I’m going to be in pain after.

It could be I don't normally use a phone. I use an iPad to do changes. I have issues using my phone for anything like that. It is too small. I had to use it for 5 days when the internet was out and it was a pain replying to post and messages on that thing. I am glad to have the internet back up again so I can use the iPad.

 

[Devaji]

i'll admit I skipped most of this thread...

been pretty stocked about Hydros sine they came out but help off as I have been burnt with early adopting into a promising reef pi controller ( witch i belive was bought out by apex 6+ years later they came out with the water level sensor that i was going to get back in 2016/17)

anyway i digress...
IF one was going to get in the the Hydors where should one start?
seams like the Xp8/ X4 is the most logical option. but dang $650 and you would still need a heater controller.

question: is the Xp8 a stand alone controller? for some reason I find Hydros very confusing . maybe that a sigh its above my pay grade. haha

 

[n2585722]

i'll admit I skipped most of this thread...

been pretty stocked about Hydros sine they came out but help off as I have been burnt with early adopting into a promising reef pi controller ( witch i belive was bought out by apex 6+ years later they came out with the water level sensor that i was going to get back in 2016/17)

anyway i digress...
IF one was going to get in the the Hydors where should one start?
seams like the Xp8/ X4 is the most logical option. but dang $650 and you would still need a heater controller.

question: is the Xp8 a stand alone controller? for some reason I find Hydros very confusing . maybe that a sigh its above my pay grade. haha

The pro kit is a good place to start since the XP8 is a controller with 8 AC outputs but no inputs, but since the pro kits have either an X4 or X3 those have inputs. The pro kit also has a command buss cable and two terminators that are needed to create a collective. A collective is a virtual controller which consist of all it's controller members. So all inputs and outputs are shared. So you can use a temp sensor on the X3 or X4 to control a output on the XP8. Since the are hard wired together it does not require wifi to continue to work if something were to happen to your wifi since the controllers communicate via the command buss with each other for control purposes. The X4 has more ports than the X3 so if you can swing it it would be a better choice. You can always add to the collective later by adding another controller using another command buss cable. Only two terminators are required and those come on the pro kits you would not need any more of them. Hope this helps some.