Hex Tank Build

[n2585722]

It really shows! Great work.

Thanks

 

[n2585722]

Before I get into the fresh saltwater reservoir or mix tank I figured I go over the settings for the mix tank ready part since it applies to both. First off is the switch input setup. I named it Mix Ok To Use. The type is 0-10v input. The 0-10v input mode is button. The input port is 0-10v input 4 on the Control 4. The trigger voltage is set to 0 for this switch. You can have more that one switch on a single 0-10v input. I chose 0 since I can do that without any components other than the switch. That will change when I add more switches to this input. Event duration is how long you want the input to be active after pressing the switch. It is set to 00:00:15 or 15 seconds. On second press it ends the event.

The input above is used on the output below. This one is named Mix Ready Start. It is used to initially start the mix ready sequence. It is used as a input to a combiner type output which only accepts other outputs as inputs. The Generic Type output is used With 1 input. The input is Mix Ok To Use. Has no schedule is set to off. There is no output device selected for this output. The rest are at their default settings.

The output below is the latch to keep the mix ready output on after the Mix Ready Start goes inactive. It uses the Combiner Type output. Input 1 is the Mix Ready Start output. Input 2 is the Mix Ready output which I will get to later. This output uses the OR combiner mode. If either input is active the output will be on. Output device is set to none. The rest of the settings are the default settings.

The screenshot below is the mix ready output. This output uses the Combiner Type. Input 1 is the Mix Ready Latch. Input 2 is the Mix Low output. It is also inverted so it is active when mix low is not active. The output will turn off once the mix low output is on. This output uses the AND Combiner Mode. This output does not have a Output Device selected. This output is only for the logic in the controller. The rest of the settings are left at their defaults.

The reason for these outputs is to have a way to allow use of the contents of the mix tank after it has had the salt mix added and is ready to use. Once the salt mix has been added and sufficient time has passed all I need to do is press the push button switch and the Mix Ready output will turn on and stay on until the Mix Low output turns on. That output is turned on by the mix tank low sensor. So it will stay on until the contents of the mix tank is transferred to the FSW tank. Below is the logic schematic for the mix ready outputs.

Next is fresh saltwater reservoir.

 

[n2585722]

Now it is on to the fresh saltwater reservoir. It has a full sensor and a low level sensor. When the low level sensor is triggered it shuts off the AWC output. It will also trigger a transfer from the mix tank to the fresh saltwater reservoir if the mix ready latch is on which was discussed previously. Below is the screenshot for the full output that follows the full sensor. It uses the generic output type With a input count of 1. Input 1 is the FSW Full sensor input. It is set to Active when wet. This output will be on if water goes above the sensor. This is used as an input to a combiner type output and just follow the full sensor input. All other settings are at default since they are not used. This is used for logic only.

Below is the FSW Low output. The low sensor is also used to turn off the auto water change as long as it is active. This is also a generic output type with input count set to 1. Input 1 is the FSW Low sensor input. It is set to active when dry. So this output will be on if the water level goes below the sensor. Minimum on and minimum off times are set to 1 minute. The Depends On for this output is set to the MIX Ready output. The Dependency Mode is set to Off if Off. So if the Mix Ready output is off the this output will remain off. The Mix Ready output was previously discussed, but basically it is set when the mix tank contents is ready to use. The rest of the settings were left at their defaults since they are not used.

Below is a hold output. It is used to hold the latch on in the case the full sensor is triggered. We want to wait and drain the mix tank to the low sensor If for some reason the full sensor is triggered. The transfer pump will turn off but the fill sequence will remain in hold until the water level drops below full. Since both tanks are the same size and the full sensoris set to a lower level in the mix tank this should not happen but this output is in place just in case it ever does. It uses the combiner type. Input 1 is the FSW Fill Latch. It is not inverted. Input 2 is the Mix Low output. The mix tank will be discussed later along with the mix low output.This input is inverted so it is active as long as the mix is not low. The Combiner Mode is AND. The output will be on as long as both the FSW Fill Latch is on and the Mix low outputs is off. This is also a latch type output. The other settings were left at their default settings since they are not used.

Below is the FSW Fill latch. It is triggered by the FSW Low output when it comes on. Once it is on it triggers the previous output the FSW Hold to on if the mix tank is not low. So they work together to keep the sequence running if the FSW tank were to fill before the mix tank goes low. It also uses the combiner output type. Input 1 is the FSW Low output which starts the FSW fill sequence. Input 2 is the FSW Hold output. Neither are inverted. The combiner mode is OR. So if either input is active then the output is on. The minimum off time is set to 1 hour. It actually should be several days between each fill sequence so this will prevent a fill for a or power interruption. The rest of the settings are left at their defaults since they are not used.

Below is the output that actually powers the transfer pump. It is also a combiner output type. Input 1 is the FSW Hold output. Input 2 is the FSW Full output. Input 2 is the only input that is inverted. The Combiner Type is AND. The output device is GR 1-2 which is outlet 2 on a WiFi power strip in the garage. The Depends On is set to Archon Alarm. Dependency is Off if On. The Archon still has all the leak detectors hooked to it. This output is active if the input coming from the Archon is in the wet state. For this output since it is a AND type it will be on if the FSW Hold Output is on and the FSW Full output is off as long as there are no leaks detected by the Archon.

Below is the fresh water fill logic schematic.

 

[n2585722]

Now on to the mix tank. It has three sensors. A low sensor, a full sensor and a pressure sensor. Below is the setup for the Mix Low sensor. The type is sense port since it is a float switch. The sense mode is water level. The sense port is on a Control 2 in the garage. The notification level was set to orange. alert when dry is turned on. So it will send an alert when the mix tank is low. This was a new feature added to the firmware during the time I was setting this up. Since this has not changes since then I used recent screenshots on this and the next one. Also I forgot to mention until now I had to flip the float on some of the float switches so they would read dry when the water level was below the float and wet when it was above the float.

Below is the Mix Full sensor setup. It also uses a sense port and is also a float switch. It is on the same Control unit as the Mix Low sensor above. The notification level was set to none on this.

Below is the water level input which uses a pressure sensor. It is only for a general idea of the water level in the tank. The input type is 0-10v. The 0-10v input mode is Analog. The 0-10v input used is on a Control 4 in the garage. It is input 3. Scale factor is 10 and offset is 0. There is an offset and gain adjustment on this sensor so no need to change them here. The DI and fresh saltwater uses a different sensor and these settings are different for them. The Data Type is Generic.

Below is the Mix Low output. It uses the generic output type. It has a single input. The input is the Mix Low input. This output is on when the Mix Low input is dry. The output device is none. This output is used for logic only. This output is also used in the mix ready logic to clear mix ready since the mix tank is low.

Below is the Mix Full output. It also uses the generic output type and uses only one input. The input is Mix Full. This output is on when the input is wet. It also has no output device selected.

Next is the Mix Fill Latch output. It is used to latch the mix fill output on once the Mix Low output turns on. It uses the Combiner type output. Input 1 is the Mix Low output. It is not inverted. Input 2 is the Mix Fill output. In is not inverted. The Combiner Mode is OR. So if either input is on the output will be on. This output has no output device selected since it is only used for logic.

Below it the mix fill output. It uses the combiner output type. Input 1 is the Mix fill latch. The second input on the mix fill latch is this output. So once this output turns on it causes the Mix Fill latch to stay on keeping this output on unless input 2 is on. Input two is the Mix Full output. This input is inverted. So when it is off it the same as on on a non inverted input. This uses the AND combiner mode. So input 1 has to be on and input 2 has to be off for the fill output to be on.The output device is a drive port on a Control 2 in the garage. This output depends on the Leak Garage output. The dependency mode is off if on. I switched the leak detectors from the Archon to the Hydros since the last post here. This output combines the AC Leak and RODI leak sensors. AC leak is a leak sensor under the central air conditioner which is on the other side of the wall from the RODI unit. The garage leak sensors were switched over to the Hydros when the screenshot was taken. So if a leak is detected at either it will stop any refill or water transfers in the garage until the leak is resolved. Advanced settings are enabled. A maximum on time is set for 5 hours and 30 minutes. Run past max on time is set to off. If the fill output stays on for 5 hours and 30 minutes it will turn off and send a notification. If it takes that long something is wrong.

Below is the logic schematic for the mix tank refill outputs. It is basically the same as the one for the DI refill except it uses different low and full sensors and drive a different solenoid. That is about it for now for the DI reservoir, fresh saltwater reservoir, Mix tank and RODI control for now. There were some dhanges I get to when I get to that time frame.

 

[n2585722]

With moving over most everything in the garage to Hydros around the latter part of March 2021. I had accomplished my original goal with the Hydros. I think it was near the end of February that I became a beta tester for them. I was impressed enough that I decided to expand it to the tank itself and hopefully have it take complete control. I got a X3 from them in late March to test. I decided to use it at the tank so I would be putting the cables I made to convert to CAT5 to get the command buss to the tank.The X3 is the same size as the Control 2 or X2. I guess I need to start using the X instead of Control now. The only place I could find was in the front cabinet, but it would not fit face out since the connector's would interfere with the door closing. So I decided to mount them on there side which required me to make a bracket to mount the controller to then mount the bracket to cabinet. Once ai can remove the Archon I may make a different bracket and mount them facing up since there will b more room. Below is a photo with the X3 mounted in the front cabinet. I had to remove some Archon modules to do this. The X3 has 1 pH or ORP port and 2 sense ports. I used the probe port for a pH probe so in Mach of 2021 the Hydros had pH information from the tank. I used sense port 1 for a temp sensor. Sense port 2 was used for a skimmer full sensor. So now with that I could control heaters and cooling fans on the tank. I could also control the skimmer without information from the Archon. Looks like I need some more sense ports.

Good thing I had ordered a XS starter kit. So I got that about the same time. Below is a photo with the XS installed on the left side. So I removed the other two SL modules to do that but gained 4 sense ports. Sense port 1 was used for the sump full sensor. Sense port 2 was used for the sump high sensor.Sense port 3 was used for the sump low sensor. Sense port 4 was not used at that time. Now I could control ATO, AWC and dosing and all I needed from the Archon was leak detection information.

I removed 2 of the PC4's from the Archon and added a wifi strip in place of them in the back cabinet. It was used to power the two heaters, Skimmer and return pump. So those were controlled by the Hydros system.

The pumps were alos hooked up in their shelves also at that time.

Below is a screenshot form around the time of the other photos in this post. This just has the inputs on this screenshot. I will see if I have any other screenshots saved from that timeframe.

 

[n2585722]

Ok, i found some screenshot from that time period. The ones in this post are the 5 inputs added after getting the X3 and XS installed at the tank. Below is the input settings for pH. The type is probe port and the probe mode is pH. It can be either pH or ORP. The probe port is the actual port which in this case is on the X3 port 1. The X3 is INP 1 42g and there is only the one porbe port. The drop down will only show ports that match the type and are not in use already. I set the pH low save range to 7.7 and the safe high rage to 8.3. If it get out of that range either way it will send an alert with the current value. The temperature input for temp compensation is set to 42g Temp which which is the tank temp. The next three are calibration data after probe calibration. The notification level is orange. So it will send an alert that is set for that level. The settings are email, audible and push notification. There is check boxes for each on the levels yellow, orange and red. None has no boxes as it will not send any alerts. The lights on the controllers will go into alert mode regardless of the settings other than none.

Below is the setup for the temp input. The type is sense port. The sense mode is temperature. I guess now is as good a time as any to give data on the sense port. There are 4 pins. Pin 1 is ground, Pin 2 is +5v supply (current limited), pin 3 is digital I/O example DS18B20 and pin 4 is analog input. The temp sensor is a digital xhip and uses three of the connections one being the digital I/O, ground and +5v. The sense port is X3 port 1. The safe range low is set to 75.5 and safe range high is set to 79. If the temp get out of that range either way it will send an alert with the current temp. On alerts if it is still active in 30 minutes it will send another alert. It also sends an alert if it is no longer active but that would be at least 30 minutes from the last alert. You can set the time duration in the setup but I choose 30 minutes. The offset is there if you want to mach the temp with another probe you have. The notification level is set to orange. I think all of mine are there, but the way I have it set there is not difference in yellow or orange. Red does have audible but currently I have none set to that. The only thing I think I would set to that is leak detectors.

Below is the sump High input. This will stop AWC, ATO and the skimmer. The type is sense port and the sense mode is water level The sense port is the XS port 2. INP 2 is the name of my XS at the tank.Notification again is orange. Since alert when dry is not set it will alert when wet. If you do not want an alert you would set notification level to none. Otherwise it will alert one way or the other. This is a float switch that is connected to pins 2 and 4 of the sense port. So it uses the analog input and +5v. The float switchIuse you can flip the float around to get the correct reading of wet or dry. If you cannot do that and it works backwards you can alway use a 1k ohm resistor from +5v to pin 4 and put the float switch from pin 4 and pin 1.

Below is sump low. The type is sense port like sump high. The sense mode is water level. The sense port is the XS sense port 3. Notification level is orange. This one set to alert when dry since it would be dry is the water level is low.

Below is sump full. This is the target level for the ATO. The type is sense port
Rhe sense port is the XS sense port 1.

Below is the skimmer full sensor. This is a new screenshot but nothing has change on it since I set it up. The type is sense port. The sense mode is skimmer water level. The only difference I can between that and water level is the icon used. This is also a float switch. The float switches are the same ones used on the Archon. I just had to change the connectors. The sense port is X3 sense port 2. Notification level is orange and since alert when dry is off it will alert when wet which is right for a skimmer full sensor. That is it for the new inputs during the time frame of the precious post.

 

[n2585722]

This will be the outputs added or changed with the addition of the X3 and XS at the tank. The firs is the skimmer it is new although I did have a outputs setup for it it was not actually connected to it. I did this with 2 outputs at that time now it is consolidated into one due to some firmware and app changes. At that time if I wanted the skimmer icon I had to use the protein skimmer output, but I wanted more control than it offered in that setup. The first output is the actual output that controls the skimmer. The type is protein skimmer. The skimmer level sensor is the skimmer full input. The output device is outlet 1 of a wifi power strip. The name of the strip is 42g 1. Active in modes was left at defaults. Depends on was set to the stop skimmer output which will be the next output. Dependency mode is set to off if on. If the stop skimmer output is on I do mot want the skimmer on. Enable advanced setting is set to on since I want to use minimum off time. If input unavailable is set to off. If for some reason the skimmer full input has an error the output will be off. The skimmer full imput is on the X3 if that goes out for some reason then the skimmer would turn off. Minimum off time is set to 5 minutes. So the skimmer will remain off for at least 5 minutes unless the output is overridden to on and then set back to auto, If the depends on has the output off the minimum off timer will not start until the depends on clears which in this case is the skimmer off output turns off. Next is the skimmer off output.

Below is the skimmer off output. The type is combiner since it will be using outputs as inputs. Input 1 is Return which is the return pump. This input is inverted since we want this output on if the return output is off. Input 2 is overfull sump. That output follows the sump high input. So if the sump is high it will be on. Input 2 is not inverted since the input is normally off. The combiner mode is OR since we want this output on if either input is active. The return input is active when return is off since it is inverted. The rest of the settings are left at their defaults.

The ATO output below was changed but already existed. The type is set to ATO. The level input was changed to the sump level input. It was a input coming from the Archon before. The Archon also would halt that if there were leak or the sump was overfull. Now some of those are on the Hydros only. The output device did not change. but is the X4 in the garage drive port 1. If the sump full input is not available the output will stay off. Active in modes was left at defaults. Depends on is set to stop ATO which is the next output in this post. The dependency mode is off if on. so if ATO stop is on then the ATO will remain off. Enable advanced settings is set to on.The minimum off time is set to 30 minutes. So this output will remain off for at least 30 minutes before coming back on. The Maximum off time is set to 6 hours. This setting will only create a alert if the output is setup to do that. If it has not topped off for 6 hours then it needs to be checked. The minimum on time is set for 2 minutes and 15 seconds. So once it turns on it will run at least that long unless depends on goes active. The maximum on time is set for 5 minutes. If goes ofer that an alert will be sent. The run past max on time is set to off so if it goes to max on time it will turn off and still send an alert. It does not show on the screenshot but the notification level was orange as usual for me. Next is stop ATO.

Below is stop ATO I had to get it on 2 screenshots. This is a new output since the X3 and XS was added. It is used to halt the ATO output. The type is generic. The input count is set to 2. Input one is the sump overfull output. It is set to active when wet. This is the same input as sump high. It got renamed at one time but not quit sure when. I was having issues with inputs and outputs that had the exact same name. Input 2 is the low DI input in the DI reservoir. It set to active when dry. Combiner type is OR since we want this output on if either input is active. The rest are left at defaults except depends on and it is set to the return pump and the dependency mode is on if off since the output needs to be on to stop the ATO if the return pump is off. Enable advanced settings is set to off.

Below is the AWC which has been changed quite a bit. It also too 2 screenshots to get it all. The type on this is generic. This has changed over time but this is the setup after adding the X3 and Xs at the tank. The input count is 4 since I used 4 different input for this output. Input 1 is leak archon since the leak detectors were still on the Archon at that time. It is set to active when dry since we want the output to be able to turn on if there is no leak. The second input is sump overfull or sump high depending on when the screenshot was taken since the name was changed along the way. This is also set to active when dry since we want the output to be able to run if it is not overfull. Input three is sump underfull or sump low depending on the time of the screenshot. This one is active when wet since this sensor is normally wet. Input 4 is FSW low which is the low sensor in the fresh salt water reservoir. The combiner mode on this output is set to AND since i only want the output on if all the imputs are active. Has schedule is set to on since this is a water change on a schedule. The output device is the X4 in the garage drive port 2. If input unavailable is set to off so if any of the 4 inputs is not available the ATO will be off. Active in modes and depends on are at the defaults. Enable advanced settings is set to on since I want a schedule for more than one time a day. The minimum and maximum time settings were left at their default. The start time is set to 7am so the first water change will happen at 7am. The runtime is set to 15 minutes so the AWC pump will run for 15 minutes. It is a dosing pump so that will be about the same volume each time. The run count is set to 3 since I want three 15 minute water changes each day. The run interval is set to 6 hours. The run interval is the time between each start. So the changes start at 7am then 1pm and the last at 7pm.This is it at this time I will continue the output setting on another post.

 

[n2585722]

Here is the rest of the outputs that were created after getting the X3 and XS. Below is a screenshot of one of the heater outputs. I use 2 50 watt heaters that have their own thermostats. Those are set for 79 degrees as a backup. The type is heater. On temperature was set to 76.1. Off temperature was set to 76.5. I made a suggestion to Hydros on the wording below where it says on temperature and off temperature to change it to turn on temperature and turn off temperature instead. Several users was setting them wrong. They believed that the heater would be on if it was between the two and that is not the case. This is just Hydros way of letting you set the hysteresis. The way it works is for the heater to turn on the temp had to get down to the on temperature then it would stay on until it got up to the off temperature. It would then stay off until it got back down to the on temperature. The temperature input is Temp 42g which is on the X3 sense port 1. The output device is the 3rd outlet on a wifi power strip which is named 42g 1. If input unavailable is set to turn off if the temps sensor is not available. Depends on is set to the return pump and dependency mode is set to off if off. The heaters are in the sump so I do not want them on if the return pump is not on since the temp sensor is mot in the same section of the sump. Enable advanced settings is set to off.

Below is the settings for the second heater. It is pretty much the same as the previous except for one setting. The output device is different it is set to the 4th outlet of the same wifi strip as heater 1.

Below is the fan output settings. The type is generic. Input count is 1. Input 1 is the temp sensor on the sense port of the X3. The temperature low point is set to 77.9. The temperature high point is set to 78.3. Active when is set to high since I want the fan on if the tank temp get high. Has schedule is set to off. The output device is outlet 1 on the wifi strip 42g 1. If input un available is set to turn off. The depends on is set to the return pump and the dependency mode is set to off if off. Enable advanced settings is set to off.

That is all I have the screenshots for that time frame but that is it if I remember correctly.

 

[n2585722]

I got some more Hydros stuff in April 2021. I got a wifi fish feeder, TDS meter and a XS controller. The TDS meter and controller went in the garage. I needed a sense port to hook up the TDS meter to.

Below is the fish feeder unpacked along side the fish feeder I was using. They look very close to each other. Almost like they are made by the same manufacturer.

Below is the TDS meter unpacked. This will be hooked to my RODI system. The main sensor will be on the DI output. The other will be between the RO and DI stages.

Below is the XS controller unpacked. It has 4 sense ports for input and no onboard outputs. It can use wifi power strips or thr other wifi devices, but I am adding it to my collective for the inputs.

Below is the dish feeder hooked up in place of my old one. The platform and tube are from the old feeder. I did have to add some feet under the new one for it to clear the tube when it rotated. Other than that it worked like a champ in place of the old one.

Below is the TDS meter after it was installed on my RODI unit. The unit takes a reading once an hour I believe. The meter was between test and the RODI was not in used when the photo was taken.

Below is the XS installed on the controller board between the 2 X2's. I found a used for all the inputs. I will see if I can find screenshots of the setup for the new devices from that time frame. If not they are still in use so I can post the current setup. It is probably not much different from then.

 

[n2585722]

Ok, I found a couple of screenshots for the feeder and just got some screenshots of the other since I have not really changed them since they were created. Below is the feeder wifi setup as a wifi device. The type is WiFi Feeder. Notification level is set to orange. The replace wifi device is if I ever need to replace it or replace it with itself I would click the replace button and it would pair the new device or the old one to the controller or collective. The main reason to use replace with the old one is if your wifi credentials were changed you can use replace to change them on the feeder after going throuh the wifi setup on the controller or controllers.

Below is the settings for the feeder output called 42g Feeder. The type is feeder. The first feeding was set for 10am. The feeding interval was set to 3 for three feedings a day. I did change this to 2 feedings at a later time. Rotations per feeding is set to 1. One is plenty for my tank. The output device is 42g feeder which is the name of the wifi device created in the previous screenshot. These were created June 2021.

Below is a recent screenshot of one of the inputs created for the XS. It is connected to the AC Leak detectors. This was moved from the Archon. The detector is under our AC unit. So if it starts to leak I will get an alert before it becomes a major issue. It is also close to the ROD and storage tanks in the garage. The house water heater is also close. This did actually catch a leak when it was still on the Archon. The drain tubing from the AC has split. We have a sunken living room with wood flooring. It could have been a disaster if that leak went unnoticed for a long period of time. The type is sense port. The sense mode is point leak detector. The sense port is sense port 1 on the XS in the garage show in the previous post. Notification is set to orange. Alert when dry is set to off so it will alert when wet which is what I want.

Below Settings for the RODI TDS input . The type is sense port. The sense mode is TDS. The sense port is sense port 2 on the XS in the garage. It only logs and alarms for Channel 1. The channel 2 reading does show on the tile For the input. The channel 1 safe range is set to 0-2 PPM. The offset is there so you can matxh the reading to another TDS meter if desired. This here is set to 0 or the default. Notification level I have set to none so I do not get a notification but the info is displayed on the status screen of the app.

Below is the settings for the RODI leak detector. The type is sense port. The sense mode is point leak detector. The sense port is sense port 3 of the XS in the garage. Notification level is set to orange. Alert when dry is set to off so it will alert when wet which is what I want.

Below is the input settings for the garage temp sensor. This sensor is the garage air temp. The type is sense port. The sense mode is temperature probe. The sense port is sense port 4 on the XS in the garage. The safe range is et from 44.6 to 100 degrees. This used to be the limit on both ends but they have increased the high limit. I guess I was not the only one that used it to measure the garage air temp. Next summer I will have to set that high limit up some more. The offset is at 0 which is the default. Notification level is set for none since it would have been sending alerts several times a day during the summer months. Now with the extended range I can raise it above 100 degrees. I am more interested in the low temp since I do not want the water to freeze in the tubing and pumps. I don't I have to worry about the tanks since there is normally so much in there.

That is it for the setup for the items added at the time frame of April 2021.

 

[n2585722]

There was a new firmware upgrade and app upgrade on the Hydros in May of 2021 . One is the addition of RODI control output type. So far it is targeted at someone that has a single DI storage tank. I have two tanks and a RO bladder I have to fill. I was able to try it out anyways since I don't use the booster or flush output. Below is a screenshot of the settings for the DI tank. The only one I will use on this is the Feed Output Device. It is the DI fill solenoid between the RODI unit and the DI tank. The other two outputs I don't currently have. The next setting is the high level input. This is the full sensor on the tank that is to be refilled. The next setting is the Low Level Input. This is the sensor that will start the fill sequence in the tank being filled. The next input is the Leak Detector Input. If you have a single leak detector at you RODI station and storage tank you can select that detector here. I have two sensors so I used the Depends On settings to do the same thing. The settings for start and end time were not used and are set to defaults. Active in mode is also the default settings.

The next setting is the Depends On setting. It is set to Leak Garage. That output is a combination of the RODI leak detector and AC leak detector. The Detector under the AC is within a few feet of the RODI unit and the storage tanks. So I use it as a backup for the RODI detector. The dependency mode is off if on. I have the advanced settings enabled. I did this so I can set the Feed Maximum On Time. I set this to 4 hours. I had to increase that time after this screenshot when it got colder in the garage. Feed Run Past Max On Time is set to off. I want it to turn off it it goes that long and is still on. Notification level is set to orange. That way I will get an alert if it runs too long. This will create three Tiles in outputs but all lead to these same settings. It is split into three outputs so there is an indicator for all three.

Once the output is created you will get these output tiles. Another new feature is pages. I will get into that next. This is a screenshot of a page I named Testing. Only the inputs and outputs I have selected show on the page. So under output I have it set to show only the three output tiles created selecting the RODI Filter output type. The flush and boost tile I don't use so the selecting tiles to display feature works great and allow me to deselect the two unused ones.

Below is a screenshot of the page in the mode for selecting outputs to view. You enter it by press and hold of one of the tiles. You exit the same way. In the screenshot below I have already deselected the two that I don't use.

After a press and hold the screenshot below is what I ended up with. The two unused output tiles are no longer displayed on the screen.

Basically what I did was replace two outputs from my original setup with this one. It was the DI Fill and the DI Latch outputs. This is done within the output type now. I still have a solenoid on the RODI input. All I had to do was change the inputs on the original RODI demand output to the new outputs setup using the new output type. The screenshot is below.

Since I changed the Mix fill to use the new output type also I change both inputs on this output. Otherwise it is still setup the same as before. I will not go into the mix tank setup since it is basically the same as the DI refill settings onther than the inputs and the output used.

This is it for now. I will get more into the pages on a later post. I really liked the addition of the pages. It makes it a lot easier by setting up pages with inputs and outputs related to certain functions or places.

 

[n2585722]

I got some more things in June of 2021. I misplaced a mounting bracket for one of my Hydros wifi strips and got another one. I got a command buss cable and a terminator as spares. I did end up using the terminator later. I also got one of the point leak detectors for the bottom of the stand. That is the only place where the Archon was still being used for leak detection.

Below is the screenshot of the poit leak detector setup. The type is sense port. The sense mode is point leak detector. The sense port is sense port 4 on the XS at the tank. That used up all the sense ports I had which was and still is 18.

Now on to more about pages. With pages added you can segregate the inputs and outputs on different pages. This is great for larger systems. Also you can select the page you wish the app to start on. Below is a screenshot of the pages setup. Here is a list of all the pages on my system and at the bottom is the one it will start on when the app is started where is says startup page. You can add and delete pages from this setup screen.

I will start with the home page Hex Tank. I could not get it all on one screenshot so the two screenshots below are of the Hex Tank page. At the top are the control units that pertain to this page. Below that are the modes I have setup. You can choose which ones are shown on the page by pressing and holding one of the tiles. Then select or deselect till only the ones you want shown on the current page are checked. Below the mode is the inputs that are selected for this page. Only the ones that are directly related to this tank are shown here. Below the inputs are the outputs. Just like the inputs these output are directly related to this tank. Below outputs is the wifi devices I want show on the page. The only stipulation is there has to be at least on item in each section. The page menu is just above the collective ok banner on collectives.

The next page is the AWC page. The inputs here are related to the AWC or auto water change operation. Leak AC is under the central air conditioner but it is only a few feet from the pumps and storage tanks in the garage. So I want to know if there is a leak there as it could be caused by the AWC components. The outputs are the AWC pump And Low fresh salt water tank and any leak at the tank, air conditioner or the RODI. The wifi device shown is the one in the garage and does not control the AWC components.

The next page is the ATO page in the screen shot below. This page is very similar to the AWC page except the tank level shown is the DI tank instead of the FSW tank. The outputs shown are ATO pump, Low DI and Leak all.

The next page that is next to the ATO is a page with all items shown. I did not get a screenshot of that it would take several screenshots to do that. The next one in the other direction from the Hex Tank page is the Living Room page. I put a wifi power strip in the living room to power and control some light houses, globes and jelly fish glass ornaments for my wife. These are scheduled to come on at 5pm and go off at 10pm every day. On mode I have the arrow to the left of the heading pointing down.This closes this section from view. Inputs is done the same way.Since there are no inputs in the living room or modes for the things in the living room.

I am going to have to split this into two post so here is a good place to do that. I will continue on the next post with this.

 

[n2585722]

The next page is RODI related. It is on the two screenshots below. The inputs are for the DI and mix tanks. It is only these two tank that the RODI refill with DI. There is a RO bladder tank which is charged up to pressure from the RO output. There is the leak detector inputs for RODi and air conditioner. These are only a few feet from each other. There s a TDS input. The main display on this is the output from the DI cartridge and the second one is the output from the RO membrane. The output displayed are for RODI control. There is one for the DI tank refill and one for the mix tank refill. I also have a solenoid on the input of the RODI that is the RODI on output which is on in this screenshot. The RODI On output is a combiner output if either the DI Refill feed, Mix Refill feed or the RODI timer output is on the RODI output will be on. When the screenshot was taken the RODI timer was on. The timer comes on for 10 minutes ever hour to refill the RO bladder if needed. The rest of the outputs are for flushing the RODI system. If the TDS is high it will run the flush in sequence with the RODI timer but only up to twice a day. If it triggers it is usually several days from the last use.

The next page is the Storage tank page. It is below on the two screenshots. This is inputs and outputs related to the three storage tanks Or the area they are in which is the garage. These are used to refill the DI and mix tank when they go low. Also it is used to transfer the mix tank to the FSW tank if the FSW tank goes low and the water in the mix tank is ready to use. The mix stir, mix full and garage fan are the three outputs on when the screenshot was taken. The garages gets very hot in the summer so I use the Hydros to control a fan that is aimed at the controller board. This helps keep them a little cooler during the summer months. The other non aquarium related uses to turn on the charger for the camera and light for the driveway and to turn on the light above the workbench. The mix stir output powers a powerhead in the mix tank. This will run if the water level is above 70% or the mix full input is active. There is a dispense pump in each of the three tanks. The one in the mix tank is used to transfer the mix tank to the FSW tank. The other two are used on demand to dispense either DI water or fresh salt water into containers as needed. all three lines have a manual valve also. The ones on the DI and FSW tank are kept closed until I want to dispense water from one of these tanks. That is about it for this page.

The page that is left is a test page. If I create any inputs or outputs to test something I put them on this page. When I am done they are easy to find and delete. If I am helping someone figure out a way to do something specific sometimes I will create inputs and output to make sure it will work the way it is intended to work. Below is a screenshot of that page. Right now I don't have anything there except for the output I use to do flow catches on dosing pumps.

That is about it for the pages part of Hydros for now.

 

[n2585722]

Here is a couple of photos of my Candy Cane. I got it in December of 2016 which is the first photo. The second is more recent, but this is only half of it. I got into it and it broke into two pieces. The third photo is the other piece.

Below is a couple of photos of my Duncan. I got it in November of 2017 which is the first photo. The second one is a more recent photo.

 

[Reefing102]

Great growth!

 

[n2585722]

Great growth!

Thanks, they seem to like it in the tank.

 

[JohnL]

Happy corals!

 

[n2585722]

Happy corals!

Thanks, I have not tried any SPS yet. I may wait until I get my 110 set back up. I did have some Zoanthids that were growing big time and then they started disappearing and were gone. Not sure what caused it but have not tried any since.

 

[n2585722]

I though that I would post what happens when the fresh saltwater reservoir goes low and the mix tank is ready to use. This event started September 16 at 8:42pm. Below is a couple of screenshots of related inputs during a transfer from mix tank to fresh saltwater reservoir. Then the refill of the mix tank. The first screenshot is the three sensors for the fresh saltwater reservoir The first one is the full sensor. It will halt the refill if it is active but only until it is inactive then it will continue. The second is the water level sensor. The last on is the low sensor. This is the one that triggers the transfer event if the mix tank is ready to use. The transfer stopped at 9:01pm and the mix tank refill started.

The second screenshot is the three sensors for the mix tank. The first is the full sensor. The second one is the water level sensor and the last one is the low sensor. This one stops the transfer and starts the mix tank refill. The mix tank refill started at 9:01pm and finished at 12:10am.

Below is a log of the fresh saltwater refill output. This output powers a Neptune PMUP pump to transfer water from the mix tank to the fresh saltwater reservoir. It turned on at 8:42pm and turned off at 9:01pm. It transfers about 20 gallons of water to fill the fresh saltwater reservoir.

Below is the mix tank refill output log. It turned on at 9:01pm. This output consist of three outputs for the feed, booster pump and flush valve. I only use the one for feed. I do not have the flush valve solenoid or a booster pump on my RODI. I do have a manual flush valve. It looks like the booster pump is on if the feed is on. The flush comes on for a couple of minutes at first and every hour the feed is on after that. The feed turned off at 12:10am. The feed is the output that powers the solenoid on the RODI output between the mix tank fill bulkhead on the mix tank. Since it was still jot in the garage at that time it did not take too long to refill the mix tank. The RODI is rated for 150 gallons per day.

Below is a log of the RODI on during the time frame. This one usually comes on once an hour for 10 minutes to refill the RO bladder for the ice maker on the fridge. It turned on at 9pm as usual and did not turn off until 12:10 am.

There is an input and a output that have to do with the mix tank so I will goover them here. First the input. It is called mix stir ok. It is active when it is ok for the power head used to stir the tank water to run. It is type 0-10v input. The 0-10v input mode is switch. The 0-10v input port is input three on the S4 in the garage. This is also the same input used for the water level input and comes from the same sensor. For this output the actual water level is not too critical I used this sensor. The voltage range is set for 6-10 volts. If it is in that range the input will be active. This sensor has an output 0 volts when empty and 10 volts when full. So 6 volts would be at approximately 60% full. So this input is active when the tank is between 60-100% full.

Below is the output for the mix tank stirring pump. The type is generic. The input count is 2 since there will be two inputs for control. Input 1 is the mix full sensor. It is active when wet. Input 2 is the mix stir ok input which was in the previous screenshot. It is active when the input is on. The combiner mode is OR since we want the pump on if either input is active. The output is on a controller called GR5 which is in the garage. It has 8 AC outputs. The power range is set from 6.8-8.8 watts. I don't have the power notification set for this. I use w Sicce silent 1.0 pump for the actual pump. I have 2 reactors that I was using that also used the same pump so I figured I would use it and I could always use it to replace one of the 2 on the reactors if I needed to do that. one reason I used the switch input with the full sensor is when I would lift the lid enough to add salt it would turn off the pump since the full sensor was lifted a little to do that. By adding in the other sensor that was active at 60% water level it would still run instead of turning off so it will run when adding the salt mix.

Below is the log for the stir pump output. It turned off 8:50pm and back on at 10:39pm. So it turn off when the transfer pump transferred enough water for it to fo below 60% and it stayed off till the RODI filled it back up to the 60% level.

 

[n2585722]

In September of 2021 there were some new features out on the Hydros. I used one of them for my AWC. Since I used the dual head dosing pump that I modified I used it with the simple doser output and a schedule. This was my AWC page. I have since redone the pages and this page and the ATO page have been removed.

Below is the 42g AWC output if you click on it. It has a calibration function to calibrate the pump flow. I did not use this since I had to divide the flow number anyway. Form this popup you can also do a manual dose with the pump.

This was the setup for the AWC output. It used the Simple Doser output type. The flow rate is set for 8.3 ml. The pump flow is actually 83ml but there was a 500ml limit on the dose at the time and my way of getting around that was to divide the flow rate by 10. Since this is from a reservoir that can hold up to 20 gallons the calculation for usage is not used and left at 0. Also the reservoir has a low level sensor on it.

Below is the schedule for the AWC output. I used the Dosing Regimen type for a dosing pump. The dosing amount is set for 275.7ml since the pump is actually pumping 10 time the amount set in the flow rate the actual amount that will be changed a day is 2757ml or about 2.9 quarts. I was using timers to do this and came up with that figure to match the pumping time already being used. The Dose Count is set to 3. So it will divide the dose into 3 equal dispenses. Doser count is set to 1 since there is only the one pump. The pump selected is 42g AWC. The doser speed is set to 8.3ml per minute. I think that carries over from the output selected. The start time is set for 7:00 am. The other two are spread out between the end time equally. The off time is included so the last dispense is not at the end time. It is set to run every day of the week. The depends on is set to the AWC Ok output and is set to off if off. So as long as AWC Ok is on the AWC will run on schedule.