Hydros Owners: how happy are you long term?

[FishyFishFish]

Note that some of these replies are from Hydros Beta testers or people with a connection to Coralvue.

Mine has been Ok. The Wi-Fi connection drops are enough for me to thing about switching to something else, and it’s not as flexible as some of the other systems, but it does work.

 

[Schraufabagel]

I have a Hydros X2 and Hydros XS. I run my ATO, sensors for preventing sump water level issues, and temp control for both saltwater and freshwater tanks. It's worked well and have had no issues for the 8 months I've had it setup.

 

[rtparty]

Running one for something like 8 months now? I'd have to go look at my order history and find it.

Would I buy one again? Only if I had the money to buy the "pro" version with the XP8. I wouldn't trust the Wifi bars with anything critical.

I much prefer the Apex UI and wealth of help that the Apex community gives. If Hydros can give better graphs and let me track parameters, that will help catch them up to Apex on a couple things.

This is my opinion and what I want out of a controller (I really want to just call all of them monitors at this point. That is what the majority of people are using them as.)

 

[polyppal]

Running one for something like 8 months now? I'd have to go look at my order history and find it.

Would I buy one again? Only if I had the money to buy the "pro" version with the XP8. I wouldn't trust the Wifi bars with anything critical.

I much prefer the Apex UI and wealth of help that the Apex community gives. If Hydros can give better graphs and let me track parameters, that will help catch them up to Apex on a couple things.

This is my opinion and what I want out of a controller (I really want to just call all of them monitors at this point. That is what the majority of people are using them as.)

yeah I never really used the graphs and all that on my last Apex, more concerned just for the automation and monitoring, plus I like the idea of easily tying the hydros in with another aquarium around the corner if I put it on a hydros controller as well

 

[polyppal]

Note that some of these replies are from Hydros Beta testers or people with a connection to Coralvue.

Mine has been Ok. The Wi-Fi connection drops are enough for me to thing about switching to something else, and it’s not as flexible as some of the other systems, but it does work.

wifi loss in regards to the power bars? or the unit itself?

 

[FishyFishFish]

wifi loss in regards to the power bars? or the unit itself?

I would need to defer to an expert, but I think the controller can drop off the Wi-Fi for some time before you get a notification. If the power strip drops off then you get a notification fairly quickly, so I don’t really know how often the controller drops off or for how long.

The power strip was initially dropping off 3 or 4 times a day; I bought a separate 2.4Ghz access point and now it is better, but it still drops off once or twice per day. It’s not bad but it doesn’t inspire confidence.

 

[n2585722]

wifi loss in regards to the power bars? or the unit itself?

I have very few wifi drop offs normally. They will do it if I reset a controller or update the firmware which also will do it. They do reconnect for me within a couple of minutes when I do reset a controller. I do not use them for ATO, AWC or dosing. I also don't use them to refill my DI storage or mix tank storage. Those are all on drive ports. I have used them to control heaters but they also have a backup thermostat. I would not control my heaters without a backup regardless of which controller was in use. I have also controlled my return pump, skimmer pump and various other devices. I now have most of that on a XP8 I was beta testing the last few months. Below is screenshots of my alerts. They go back to Wednesday. Wednesday there were a lot of internet outages which are the cause of most of the alerts that day some of the others were when I powered down a couple of controllers. Sine the iputs were missing for those controllers I got alerts for that but it was when I was messing with it. The only alerts for wifi strips are the ones for 42g 1 and 110g 1. I have tow others that did not alert. I was updating firmware both times that happened. The one that are "Device has been offline for too long" and "Device connected to the cloud" are controllers, but the cause in this case was loosing the internet. That is a common occurrence at my house. Since I was messing with things there is about one of any alert you might get. The cryptic name are mine and not from Hydros.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Note that some of these replies are from Hydros Beta testers or people with a connection to Coralvue.

Mine has been Ok. The Wi-Fi connection drops are enough for me to thing about switching to something else, and it’s not as flexible as some of the other systems, but it does work.

Not a Beta tester if you are referring to me. As an early adopter I was given the chance to buy one early. I don’t receive anything for free or have the opportunity to test equipment.

 

[FishyFishFish]

Not a Beta tester if you are referring to me. As an early adopter I was given the chance to buy one early. I don’t receive anything for free or have the opportunity to test equipment.

Nope. @n2585722 is a beta tester (as he confirms above) but there does not appear to be any requirement on R2R to state any affiliations.

I believe @JeffB418 is a Hydros retailer who also sells his own Hydros accessories, and he confirmed earlier that he is also a beta tester.

I’m happy to be corrected if this is wrong.

 

[reefiniteasy]

I know both users well. I’m not sure why there should be a need for affiliations. We are all Hydros users and we enjoy the product. If I am interpreting your post correctly, you insinuate that they would be biased because of their “affiliation.” It’s a good product. I have been using it for over a year with no issues. It’s been wonderful and easy. Just like munch of the equipment I use, I have no issues.

If someone asks what we think, we pop up and share. Both of those users have done some incredible advanced things with Hydros. It’s quite impressive, they shouldn’t need a disclaimer to share their opinion, which was what was asked for. I’ll confirm their opinions. It’s a great ecosystem.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

What a timely thread. Although I missed the door buster sale a couple weeks back on GHL controllers, I have been debating getting a hyrdos as it is on the cheaper end of the spectrum. I honestly only care about tracking PH and none of the other bells and whistles.

 

[reefiniteasy]

What a timely thread. Although I missed the door buster sale a couple weeks back on GHL controllers, I have been debating getting a hyrdos as it is on the cheaper end of the spectrum. I honestly only care about tracking PH and none of the other bells and whistles.

An X3 is what you want. That or an X4 but monitoring with an X3 would get you pH, temp and something else.

 

[FishyFishFish]

I know both users well. I’m not sure why there should be a need for affiliations. We are all Hydros users and we enjoy the product. If I am interpreting your post correctly, you insinuate that they would be biased because of their “affiliation.” It’s a good product. I have been using it for over a year with no issues. It’s been wonderful and easy. Just like munch of the equipment I use, I have no issues.

If someone asks what we think, we pop up and share. Both of those users have done some incredible advanced things with Hydros. It’s quite impressive, they shouldn’t need a disclaimer to share their opinion, which was what was asked for. I’ll confirm their opinions. It’s a great ecosystem.

Fair enough. I am not suggesting that either of those people have been disingenuous, but to suggest that they definitely aren't unconsciously biased as a result of their affiliation may be.

If I ask for opinions, I'm happy to take all information from anyone who is willing to provide it, but it is helpful to know whether a review or opinion comes from someone connected to the company/product, or whether they are independent.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

An X3 is what you want. That or an X4 but monitoring with an X3 would get you pH, temp and something else.

Yup..that is what I was looking at. Still annoys me that I am at 300 just to monitor PH..but I dont see other options.

 

[rtparty]

What a timely thread. Although I missed the door buster sale a couple weeks back on GHL controllers, I have been debating getting a hyrdos as it is on the cheaper end of the spectrum. I honestly only care about tracking PH and none of the other bells and whistles.

Hydros definitely has this market pinned down for now. The X3 will do what you need easily

The Apex ELMO will as well if we ever see it come back to market

 

[jhuntstl]

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.

I have an X3 and I've been pleased. I use it to monitor pH, temp, and leaks. It controls my Ranco temp controller as well. I would like to grab an XP8 and maybe a wave engine eventually.

The only goofy thing I've noticed is it's behavior after regaining power. Let's say I pull the power plug and then reconnect it. Everything will start operating as usual. Return, ATO, ranco, and doser come back no problem. But when I load up the Hydros app on my phone or computer, no inputs or anything are displayed. If you go into settings, they are all as usual. But again nothing at the STATUS page. I've had this persist for quite a while, hours iirc, after coming back online. If I change a setting and save, it uploads and suddenly everything is displayed again... BUT my return and anything on the wifi strip will turn off briefly(15-30 sec) and then power back on. Basically it does a quick reset.

Anyone experience the same?

 

[n2585722]

Nope. @n2585722 is a beta tester (as he confirms above) but there does not appear to be any requirement on R2R to state any affiliations.

I believe @JeffB418 is a Hydros retailer who also sells his own Hydros accessories, and he confirmed earlier that he is also a beta tester.

I’m happy to be corrected if this is wrong.

Yes I am a beta tester. I do not get paid by Coralvue for doing it. So I am not an employee and never have been for them. I was a beta tester for Digital Aquatics when they were around also. I got the Hydros about mid November 2020. I liked it form the start. It was similar to the Digital Aquatics with the built in outputs for different devices but that is about as close as it got. I didn't become a beta tester until February or March of last year for them. I do like the Hydros a lot better than the Digital Aquatics controllers. The Digital Aquatics controllers were solid and reliable, but now there are not a lot of ways to expand them. I originally got the Hydros to control things in the garage. So it was quite a while till I added any of the Hydros devices at the tank? I now have an X3, XS and XP8 at the tank. I got the controller advisor banner on here for my expertise with the Digital Aquatics platform. I still have the RKE and Archon and do help with questions about that platform as well.

I am a technician by trade. I retired from NXP semiconductor a couple of years back. I worked on a tool called an ion implanter. It is kind of like a mini super collider with the exception it accelerates atoms using high voltages instead of particles. Before that I repaired consumer electronics devices. Motorola where I started was willing to pay more for the upkeep on a 4.5 million dollar tool than a customer with somthing that only cost $200 to $300 dollars. So the pay and benefits were too hard to pass up. That is a quick background about me.

 

[n2585722]

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.

Have you submitted a support ticket for this. I did have that happen a couple of times but it has been a while, but I have been on beta firmware for a while now. Here is a link https://support.coralvue.com/submit_ticket

 

[reefiniteasy]

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.

I’ve seen where the icons disappear but not the reset. I’ve never experienced it. Have you ever put in a ticket to have it looked at?

 

[reefiniteasy]

Yup..that is what I was looking at. Still annoys me that I am at 300 just to monitor PH..but I dont see other options.

Not that my opinion is worth anything, I think you’d be happy with your experience even at $300.