Hydros Owners: how happy are you long term?

[FishyFishFish]

Went to check the temperature, and all of the inputs, outputs and Wi-Fi devices are missing from the status screen. :mad:

 

[Joe31415]

That is why I don't use wifi outputs for ATO, AWC or dosing. If you do make sure it cannot drain below a certain level and same with fill make sure the fill container does not have enough water to overfill the sump. The same goes with ATO.

I'm not sure that's really feasible. It's an AIO tank, there's not a whole lot of free space for extra water (though I don't know how much extra space there actually is).
My ATO is a 5 gallon bucket feeding 2 tanks plus anything else I need RODI for. My fill bucket is a 35 gallon brute trash can.
However, I do have a 'rule' that my RODI filter won't turn on based on input from a float in the ATO bucket. So at least, worst case scenario, the ATO can only pump 5 gallons of water into the tank. And, again, with the standalone Tunze ATO, there's three safety mechanisms to prevent against overfilling (optical sensor, float sensor and timeout).

Having said that, I am looking to move my ATO pump from the Tunze controller over to the hydros and letting it control it via the drive port. On the one hand, that would give it better control over it. However, on the other hand, since I have a standalone ATO controller plugged into the wifi powerbar, the worst thing the hydros could do is prevent it from running, it could never force it to run.
It's a $10 part to break out the drive port into two wires, so at least it's a cheap experiment that, even if it doesn't work, will leave me with a useful part for future things I may want to use the drive port for.

 

[Joe31415]

Went to check the temperature, and all of the inputs, outputs and Wi-Fi devices are missing from the status screen.

That happens to me constantly. I have no idea why, but if you go to the Wifi Devices menu, you'll see everything there so you know the hydros is at least aware of the fact that there should be two devices listed there, then at some point they'll reappear on the status screen.

 

[n2585722]

Went to check the temperature, and all of the inputs, outputs and Wi-Fi devices are missing from the status screen. :mad:

Have you tried clicking upload changes in the right popup menu?

 

[n2585722]

I'm not sure that's really feasible. It's an AIO tank, there's not a whole lot of free space for extra water (though I don't know how much extra space there actually is).
My ATO is a 5 gallon bucket feeding 2 tanks plus anything else I need RODI for. My fill bucket is a 35 gallon brute trash can.
However, I do have a 'rule' that my RODI filter won't turn on based on input from a float in the ATO bucket. So at least, worst case scenario, the ATO can only pump 5 gallons of water into the tank. And, again, with the standalone Tunze ATO, there's three safety mechanisms to prevent against overfilling (optical sensor, float sensor and timeout).

Having said that, I am looking to move my ATO pump from the Tunze controller over to the hydros and letting it control it via the drive port. On the one hand, that would give it better control over it. However, on the other hand, since I have a standalone ATO controller plugged into the wifi powerbar, the worst thing the hydros could do is prevent it from running, it could never force it to run.
It's a $10 part to break out the drive port into two wires, so at least it's a cheap experiment that, even if it doesn't work, will leave me with a useful part for future things I may want to use the drive port for.

I have used the drive port for my ATO since I got the Hydros without any issues. I did setup minimum on time, minimum off time, Maximum on time and maximum off times. The maximum times if exceeded will send an alert. I also have it set mot to run past maximum on time. If it runs that long and does not get a wet indication on the full sensor it needs to be checked into. I use the Hydros dosing pump for my ATO so it will only add 43ml a minute so my max and min times are a lot different that what you would use with the Hydros ATO pump.

 

[FishyFishFish]

Have you tried clicking upload changes in the right popup menu?

Yep, I finally discovered that would fix it, at 3am!

I’ve no idea why I have to do that though.

 

[n2585722]

I have not had to do that for a long time. The last time it did that on me the upload changes was not in the menu. I had to change something and change it back to get it to do the upload.

 

[FishyFishFish]

The joy of Hydros :mad:

 

[WVNed]

The joy of Hydros
I ordered an X4 to add to my XS yesterday.
Mine glitched yesterday and they logged into it and fixed it. They said this should go away with the next firmware upgrade. I have had problems twice and both times they were resolved by opening a ticket. I am happy with it so far.
Coming soon will be pH and ORP logging.

 

[n2585722]

The joy of Hydros :mad:

That seems to all be the same strip. Is that the only one you have?

 

[FishyFishFish]

That seems to all be the same strip. Is that the only one you have?

Yes, just one strip.

 

[n2585722]

Yes, just one strip.

If you are not using the USB ports try setting up an output using them that turns on and off every 15 minutes and see if that takes care of your wifi dropping out issue.

 

[FishyFishFish]

If you are not using the USB ports try setting up an output using them that turns on and off every 15 minutes and see if that takes care of your wifi dropping out issue.

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried that but it makes no difference.

 

[n2585722]

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried that but it makes no difference.

Someone else posted on facebook that fixed the issue with theirs of the wifi strips dropping out. It was worth a try just to see if it had the same effect on yours.

 

[WVNed]

I moved my networked all in one printer to a table that is between the Hydros and my router because I had to scan several things. My WIFI power strip started dropping.
I moved the printer 10 feet farther away to the side. It stopped.

 

[FishyFishFish]

It’s getting worse!

The power strip dropped off 12 times yesterday. It’s getting to the point now where it’s disconnected more than it’s connected.

I’ll raise a ticket but it’s getting to the point now where it is becoming unusable.

 

[Joe31415]

Some more questions:
1)When using the AWC feature, why won't it work properly if the high water sensor is dry. What I've found is that if the water is below the high water sensor when the AWC is set to start, nothing happens. However, after it's done draining, it will start filling until the sensor is wet.
For starters, it really should be one or the other. Either drain and refill as instructed to OR cancel the AWC (and maybe notify me). But that it doesn't drain but does fill is not only confusing but causes other problems as well. For example, I'll start the draining manually, but since I did that, it'll just merrily continue draining water even after it starts filling.

2)Is there a way to utilize the high water sensor for filling the tank outside of an AWC? Sometimes I manually take some water out for one reason or another. I wouldn't mind making a 'fill to sensor' button for when I need to refill the tank for one reason or another.

3)Is there a way to manually trigger an AWC or does it have to be scheduled. If I want to do a water change right now, I either have to change the start time on the schedule to right now or run (start and stop) the drain and then the fill pumps. Everything is right there, I'd think that would be doable.

4)Why don't the schedules update right away? A few times now I've changed the AWC schedule only to find my change didn't go through. Whether me playing with it or just waiting a day fixes it, I don't know, but it does seem to resolve itself.

5)Is there a way to "pause" a schedule. Again, with the AWC, I needed them to stop for a few weeks. I didn't see any way to tell it to not run short of deleting it. And it was kind of a PITA to set up and I didn't want to do that again. I originally tried unchecking all the the days, but it continued to run anyway (that might be related to #4). After a few days I moved the "Every X Days" slider out as far as it would go and it said the next time it runs will be sometime in March [checks...it says March 1st, glad I looked at it].

 

[n2585722]

I think you are suppose to use the full sensor for AWC and not a high sensor. That should be the same sensor used with your ATO. I assume you are using the built in ATO function which you have to for the AWC to work correctly. ATO and AWC have to work together from the Hydros for the built in AWC to work. To stop it you can manually set the drain and fill pump outputs in off. There are three positions on/auto/off. The controller will only control the output in the auto position. If you set it to on or off it will stay in that state until you change it or sometimes when updating firmware it will get changed so if you have outputs in off or on manually always check them after a firmware update.

 

[Joe31415]

I think you are suppose to use the full sensor for AWC and not a high sensor. That should be the same sensor used with your ATO.

I didn't know there was a difference. I'm not near the tank, but on the Hydros app, the built in AWC has a spot for "High Level Input", which is pointed at an input with Sense Mode "Water Level". It's been working, hopefully it's right.

I assume you are using the built in ATO function which you have to for the AWC to work correctly.

Built in ATO function, yes. However, my Tunze ATO is plugged into a wifi outlet. I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to drive the pump directly from the drive port. When I tried, everything stops working and I get errors. I mentioned it here somewhere and someone said the drive port doesn't provide enough power to do that. I don't know if that's true or not, but I gave up on trying to make it work...that is gave up trying to get the Hydros to control the Tunze ATO pump. It can easily turn the entire Tunze ATO system on and off, which is how I have it, but not quite ideal.

To stop it you can manually set the drain and fill pump outputs in off.

Are you saying this as a way to pause the AWC? The problem with that is that I do sometimes use the pumps manually. Having to remember to turn a pump off with "off" or "auto" depending on if I want the AWC to run is just asking for trouble.

if you have outputs in off or on manually always check them after a firmware update.

That's another one of those things that really gets under my skin. There's no reason an end user should have to know what settings to check and fix after a firmware update. What else might change? At the very least, if there's really no workaround for it, I'd hope that before updating, the user would get a warning that [certain settings] might get changed, and to make a note of their current settings and check them later.

Also, how do you restore a back up? I've tried making a few back ups, but when I try to restore them all it gives me is a text box (instead of taking me to the place where they're saved). But without having any idea what I named the back up or if it has an extension, I have no way to use it.

 

[n2585722]

I didn't know there was a difference. I'm not near the tank, but on the Hydros app, the built in AWC has a spot for "High Level Input", which is pointed at an input with Sense Mode "Water Level". It's been working, hopefully it's right.



Built in ATO function, yes. However, my Tunze ATO is plugged into a wifi outlet. I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to drive the pump directly from the drive port. When I tried, everything stops working and I get errors. I mentioned it here somewhere and someone said the drive port doesn't provide enough power to do that. I don't know if that's true or not, but I gave up on trying to make it work...that is gave up trying to get the Hydros to control the Tunze ATO pump. It can easily turn the entire Tunze ATO system on and off, which is how I have it, but not quite ideal.


Are you saying this as a way to pause the AWC? The problem with that is that I do sometimes use the pumps manually. Having to remember to turn a pump off with "off" or "auto" depending on if I want the AWC to run is just asking for trouble.


That's another one of those things that really gets under my skin. There's no reason an end user should have to know what settings to check and fix after a firmware update. What else might change? At the very least, if there's really no workaround for it, I'd hope that before updating, the user would get a warning that [certain settings] might get changed, and to make a note of their current settings and check them later.

Also, how do you restore a back up? I've tried making a few back ups, but when I try to restore them all it gives me is a text box (instead of taking me to the place where they're saved). But without having any idea what I named the back up or if it has an extension, I have no way to use it.

The Tunze is turning the pump on and off when the ATO output the way I understand. The Hydros has to be able to directly turn the ATO pump on and off itself for the AWC to work since it will turn on the ATO to fill to full before starting the AWC if needed. It cannot do that if the Tunze does not turn the pump on also. So the AWC will not start in that case. Yes use the same water level sensor you use for ATO as your high level on the AWC. The Drive port has a maximum output of 1 amp so if the Tunze pump needs more than that it can cause an issue. Also there is a maximum of 1.5 amp if both ports are on at the same time. I don't know anything about the Tunze pump since I have never had one. I have been using a dosing pump for the 6 years my tank has been running. I do have the ATO pump hooked to the drive port on a X4 controller. A few months back I switched to the Hydros dosing pump from the one I was using. It has worked great so far. My ATO storage is in my garage and the tank is 35ft away so the tubing is run up through the attic for both the ATO, AWC and AFR dosing. The pumps are all in my garage.

How do you use the pumps manually without turning them on and off from the app?

They have said to check for that issue at times when sending out a firmware update but not always. I have never had an issue but I don't normally have the outputs manually switched for for great lengths of time only a few hours while doing something where I don't want the outputs to turn on in auto such as changing my RODI filters.

Everytime you make a change it automatically saves a backup so I have never used the manual backup. on the right menu click on Device Properties and there is a button there named Review Archived Versions. You can select one from the list to restore from. Below is a screenshot of the Review Archived Versions screen.