My experience with Coralvue Hydros

[VanJoe]

It might be a rare occurrence but one problem I have had with a different system in the past is the failure of the controller's power supply (more than once) which ultimately resulted in the complete loss of my tank, so it is a bit of a concern for me.

If I bought 2 Hydros control units, that each come with a power supply, and I connected them together with a power supply in each controller then I would damage the system. If this wasn't possible then, in my opinion, there should be a warning to that effect in that set of instructions. However, it is actually easily possible to use 2 power supplies for redundancy; you just need to use a different command bus cable so that the power doesn't transfer between the 2 controllers.

I'm entirely new to controllers and am reading back through these old threads regarding Hydros as that is what I've bought for my new (undelivered as yet) tank. I'm about half way through that monster "Hydros Owners: how happy are you long term?" thread

Am I reading it correctly that you are saying using two controllers and connecting with their command bus cable (power + data) and if both have their own power supply then it will damage the controllers? I hadn't seen that listed anywhere. Maybe that is what you are saying by saying there should be a warning? Or was your statement "If I bought 2 Hydros control units, that each come with a power supply, and I connected them together with a power supply in each controller then I would damage the system" meant to be a question?

I currently have the setup as XP8 (powered) connected to X4 connected to WEv2 (powered) connected to XS. All using the powered command bus cables. If I set up a water station in the garage I'd probably run a long data only cable out to the one out there.

Thanks for any clarification.

 

[FishyFishFish]

I'm entirely new to controllers and am reading back through these old threads regarding Hydros as that is what I've bought for my new (undelivered as yet) tank. I'm about half way through that monster "Hydros Owners: how happy are you long term?" thread

Am I reading it correctly that you are saying using two controllers and connecting with their command bus cable (power + data) and if both have their own power supply then it will damage the controllers? I hadn't seen that listed anywhere. Maybe that is what you are saying by saying there should be a warning? Or was your statement "If I bought 2 Hydros control units, that each come with a power supply, and I connected them together with a power supply in each controller then I would damage the system" meant to be a question?

I currently have the setup as XP8 (powered) connected to X4 connected to WEv2 (powered) connected to XS. All using the powered command bus cables. If I set up a water station in the garage I'd probably run a long data only cable out to the one out there.

Thanks for any clarification.

Have a look here:

HYDROS Control - Adding to Collective

Here is an easy to follow how-to add your WaveEngine to your existing HYDROS Collective.

www.coralvuehydros.com

Under the paragraph:

Multiple Power Supplies WITHOUT DATA-Only Cable (Big NO NO!)​

 

[n2585722]

I'm entirely new to controllers and am reading back through these old threads regarding Hydros as that is what I've bought for my new (undelivered as yet) tank. I'm about half way through that monster "Hydros Owners: how happy are you long term?" thread

Am I reading it correctly that you are saying using two controllers and connecting with their command bus cable (power + data) and if both have their own power supply then it will damage the controllers? I hadn't seen that listed anywhere. Maybe that is what you are saying by saying there should be a warning? Or was your statement "If I bought 2 Hydros control units, that each come with a power supply, and I connected them together with a power supply in each controller then I would damage the system" meant to be a question?

I currently have the setup as XP8 (powered) connected to X4 connected to WEv2 (powered) connected to XS. All using the powered command bus cables. If I set up a water station in the garage I'd probably run a long data only cable out to the one out there.

Thanks for any clarification.

The only supply that is not compatible with another supply is the power packs that connect directly to the command buss. Those come in the starter kits. All supply's can run more than one controller. I had a X4, XS and 2 X2's on a single supply before. I do not use any of the direct connect power supplies at this time. I have a WE, and a couple of XP8's that power the buss with 9 controllers in the collective.

 

[VanJoe]

Have a look here:

HYDROS Control - Adding to Collective

Here is an easy to follow how-to add your WaveEngine to your existing HYDROS Collective.

www.coralvuehydros.com

Under the paragraph:

Ok, thanks. I had read only some of that plus the bottom of the page when setting it up in the app. Makes more sense after having played with all the cables.

I guess the terminology is what I was messing up as I was thinking of both XP8 and the WEv2 as being "controllers". I see where it states" "As with the previous example, WaveEngine, WaveEngine LE, and XP8 have power isolation from the bus. You can safely connect them using a “data/power” command bus cable, creating the ultimate power redundancy setup!"

 

[VanJoe]

The only supply that is not compatible with another supply is the power packs that connect directly to the command buss. Those come in the starter kits. All supply's can run more than one controller. I had a X4, XS and 2 X2's on a single supply before. I do not use any of the direct connect power supplies at this time. I have a WE, and a couple of XP8's that power the buss with 9 controllers in the collective.

Ok, so it looks like how I will have it set up (XP8 (powered) connected to X4 connected to WEv2 (powered) connected to XS) should be good to go then?

I'll have to make sure if I were to add another tank next to it, if I were to say buy another X4 that I don't use a power bus cable to add to the XS at the end....

 

[n2585722]

Ok, so it looks like how I will have it set up (XP8 (powered) connected to X4 connected to WEv2 (powered) connected to XS) should be good to go then?

I'll have to make sure if I were to add another tank next to it, if I were to say buy another X4 that I don't use a power bus cable to add to the XS at the end....

You can use a command buss cable as long as there is not a power pack that connects directly to that X4 on the other tank. Also there is maximum length limit for the standard command buss cable. If you need a longer cable then you can use a data only cable but you would need a source of power for that X4. Also make sure you have two terminators one for each end on a collective.

 

[n2585722]

Ok, so it looks like how I will have it set up (XP8 (powered) connected to X4 connected to WEv2 (powered) connected to XS) should be good to go then?

I'll have to make sure if I were to add another tank next to it, if I were to say buy another X4 that I don't use a power bus cable to add to the XS at the end....

I have a build thread that has a lot of Hydros information with screenshots starting on page 7. If you want to check it out click on my build thread contributor banner on one of my post.

 

[VanJoe]

I have a build thread that has a lot of Hydros information with screenshots starting on page 7. If you want to check it out click on my build thread contributor banner on one of my post.

I'll be doing that.

You spend a ton of time posting and responding in detail in this thread and even test out scenarios for people's issues. Thanks for taking all the time.

 

[Redemptioner]

Did not take long for the regular plants to infiltrate the thread.......

Have to agree with OP and from personal experience I can say he has only touched the tip of the iceberg. If you don't heavily use Focustronic products then there is a much better option than Hydros for your monitoring and control.

 

[n2585722]

Well, let me start by saying that I haven't got a Coralvue Hydros, I didn't get that far.

I saw the system advertised and was really excited about it. As I always do with things like this, I tried to research it's capabilities (I enjoy the pre-purchase research part of the hobby almost as much as the hobby itself) but couldn't find much information. I reached out to Coralvue to see if there was a manual but there isn't one and they directed me to their 'get started' website and their online forum. If you search these websites and watch all of the YouTube videos then you will have a pretty good idea of how it works, but it's a painful process and neither of the websites really work well together (you need to read all of the forum threads to discover things that should really be on the 'get started' website in my opinion). As an example of where I have already seen this approach break down, there is a 3* online review on one of the retailer websites complaining about the power strip not correctly connecting to the Hydros app. However, I don't believe that the strip actually connects directly to the Hydros app, by design, without one of the controllers. This important fact isn't stated on the product description on the website (in fact, it almost leads you to think the opposite) and there is no manual, so it was never going to work as the purchaser intended.

When I questioned the lack of manual, it became clear that Coralvue believes that their method of promulgating the information is best and their tone was that, effectively, my opinion was wrong.

I then asked, on their forum, a very basic question about the use of the drive ports. I am pretty well educated in electronics but it has been a long time since I used that training and I am certainly not a software engineer. The reply to the question that I posed (how many Kamoer X1 dosers, if any, could I plug into a drive port) descended into a runaround of ifs and buts when the answer should really have been very simple; I never did get an answer and then the thread was locked. This does make me wonder how much electronics experience the Coralvue team has and whether they are predominately software engineers.

Several other basic questions I asked were ignored.

I really did want to try the system, even with the concerns I had with the instructions, as it does look really good at first glance. But the responses I received from the CoralVue Hydros team have left me disenchanted. I don't feel that if I bought a Hydros, which is undoubtedly still early in its development phase, that I would get the professional level of support that I would be expecting. It might be me expecting too much and I accept that they are probably very busy with product development, but had I received more friendly and accurate responses to my questions then I would be sitting here now with a Hydros in my hand. As it is, I am contemplating whether to go for GHL or whether to forego the computer completely.

If you do decide to go down the Hydros route then I would make sure you research fully before buying so that you know exactly what you are getting. If you use any of the DIY options (e.g. breakout boxes, adding components to drive ports etc) make sure you fully read the specs on the forum as there are some limitations on these ports that aren't widely advertised, and I believe could result in damage to your system if used incorrectly.

Rant over - I just needed to vent my frustration!!

The manuals are online. Here is a link https://www.coralvuehydros.com/product-support/ . If you click help in the right menu of the app it will take you there also.

 

[n2585722]

I'm entirely new to controllers and am reading back through these old threads regarding Hydros as that is what I've bought for my new (undelivered as yet) tank. I'm about half way through that monster "Hydros Owners: how happy are you long term?" thread

Am I reading it correctly that you are saying using two controllers and connecting with their command bus cable (power + data) and if both have their own power supply then it will damage the controllers? I hadn't seen that listed anywhere. Maybe that is what you are saying by saying there should be a warning? Or was your statement "If I bought 2 Hydros control units, that each come with a power supply, and I connected them together with a power supply in each controller then I would damage the system" meant to be a question?

I currently have the setup as XP8 (powered) connected to X4 connected to WEv2 (powered) connected to XS. All using the powered command bus cables. If I set up a water station in the garage I'd probably run a long data only cable out to the one out there.

Thanks for any clarification.

The only supply that has an issue is the power pack that connects directly to the command bus port. Those you cannot use if you have another power pack or another power source such as a XP8, Wave engine, XD or Kraken unless you use a data only cable between them. The Power pack can power several controllers so unless you have a large collective all you will probably need is one power source. I have 5 controllers at my tank and 5 controllers in my garage. Since they are 35ft from each other it requires a data only cable between the tank and garage. All the controllers in the garage are powered by one of the controllers. The ones at the tank now have three sources and XD, WEv2 and XP8. Before getting the XD and WEv2 they were powered by the XP8. Unless you get one of the starter packs and not one of the pro packs you will not get one the power packs in question. If the controller plugs in the wall or has a power pack that plugs into a port that is not the command bus they will work together with each other without issues since there is an isolation circuit built into the controller. With the three controllers you mentioned the XP8 , X4 and WEv2 there is no issue. I have that setup at my tank with a XD added to it. I also have a IceCap V3 backup battery with the adapter cable set hooked to the WEv2 so the controllers at the tank remain powered at the tank and will go into low power mode.

 

[thom_smith]

Did not take long for the regular plants to infiltrate the thread.......

Have to agree with OP and from personal experience I can say he has only touched the tip of the iceberg. If you don't heavily use Focustronic products then there is a much better option than Hydros for your monitoring and control.

OP was over two years ago. Ancient history... And even last post was several months ago. But in comes @Redemptioner to revivie every dormant potentially negative Hydros thread he can find tonight and spewing crap because he has an axe to grind. Take a chill dude! It'll all be okay.