Hex Tank Build
- Thread starter n2585722
- Start date
n2585722
Well-known member
Thanks, I will also post screenshots of the setup for the input used for this also.
n2585722
Well-known member
Continuing with the button boxes below is the parts for the one that will be mounted above the fresh saltwater tank. The switch with the yellow button is a momentary switch and the one with the red button is a push for on and push for off switch. Other that the switches it is the same as the other until the resistors and wiring are installed.
The next photo is with the GX12 connectors installed.
Below is the box completed other tank the wiring and resistors.
Below are the parts of the third box. It is basically the same except for the switches.
Below is the inside of one of the boxes after installing the resistors and wiring. This is the one that will be installed above the fresh saltwater tank. This is the one that has the push for on and push for off switch. This switch grounds the signal line which causes 0v on the 0-10v signal. This will also prevent any other switches form working as long as it is on. This switch is used to pause my AWC. That means any scheduled auto water change will not start while this switch is on. If one is in progress it will finish. The other switch grounds two resistors in series with it and connected to the input. In this case the resistors are 1000 ohms each to form a 2k ohm resistor. There is a 510 ohm resistor form a 5v supply to one of the pins on the GX12 connector. Between it and the two 1k resistor you get 4 volts on the input. It does not have to be exact. If you choose 4 volts on the input setup if it is above 3.5 volts and below 4.5 volts it is considered 4 volts as far as switch input settings. More on this and the other boxes later.
This is a photo of the three boxes ready for use. The black pushbutton is not in use. If I need it I can use 10 volts instead of 5 volts and add it in. I would also have to change the settings on the other buttons since I doubled the voltage. The trigger point for the one mentioned earlier would be 8 volts instead of 4 volts.
Below I added some labels to the boxes for the buttons. The box on the left has the button to activate mix ready on the top and the button to turn on the bench lighting on the bottom. The middle one has the button to dispense fresh saltwater from the tank to another container when pushed. It will keep the dispense pump running as long as it is kept pressed. I also have a valve on the dispense line. There is about a 1 second delay for turn on and turn off. The pumps are Neptune PUMP pumps. The bottom button switch paused the AWC and disables the other switches when pressed. It will stay in that state until the button is pressed again. The box on the right has one button in use and that is DI dispense. It is the same as fresh salt water dispense except it is from the DI storage tank but woks the same. The bottom button is not in use at this time.
Here the three boxes are mounted to the front of the workbench above the appropriate tanks. The tank on the left is the mix tank. The middle tank is the fresh saltwater tank.The tank on the right is the DI tank. All that is left here is the cables between the boxes. The tanks are on the Brute dolly's so they can be rolled out from the work bench if needed. I do have to do that when adding salt mix to the mix tank.
This is a photo with the cables installed between the boxes.
I will continue with this on another post. There is a couple of third party people that make button boxes for the Hydros or breakout boxes for the 0-10v inputs. I am a electronics technician by trade so I made my own but I did use a modified version of a resistor ladder network used by one of the third party guy's making these.
The next photo is with the GX12 connectors installed.
Below is the box completed other tank the wiring and resistors.
Below are the parts of the third box. It is basically the same except for the switches.
Below is the inside of one of the boxes after installing the resistors and wiring. This is the one that will be installed above the fresh saltwater tank. This is the one that has the push for on and push for off switch. This switch grounds the signal line which causes 0v on the 0-10v signal. This will also prevent any other switches form working as long as it is on. This switch is used to pause my AWC. That means any scheduled auto water change will not start while this switch is on. If one is in progress it will finish. The other switch grounds two resistors in series with it and connected to the input. In this case the resistors are 1000 ohms each to form a 2k ohm resistor. There is a 510 ohm resistor form a 5v supply to one of the pins on the GX12 connector. Between it and the two 1k resistor you get 4 volts on the input. It does not have to be exact. If you choose 4 volts on the input setup if it is above 3.5 volts and below 4.5 volts it is considered 4 volts as far as switch input settings. More on this and the other boxes later.
This is a photo of the three boxes ready for use. The black pushbutton is not in use. If I need it I can use 10 volts instead of 5 volts and add it in. I would also have to change the settings on the other buttons since I doubled the voltage. The trigger point for the one mentioned earlier would be 8 volts instead of 4 volts.
Below I added some labels to the boxes for the buttons. The box on the left has the button to activate mix ready on the top and the button to turn on the bench lighting on the bottom. The middle one has the button to dispense fresh saltwater from the tank to another container when pushed. It will keep the dispense pump running as long as it is kept pressed. I also have a valve on the dispense line. There is about a 1 second delay for turn on and turn off. The pumps are Neptune PUMP pumps. The bottom button switch paused the AWC and disables the other switches when pressed. It will stay in that state until the button is pressed again. The box on the right has one button in use and that is DI dispense. It is the same as fresh salt water dispense except it is from the DI storage tank but woks the same. The bottom button is not in use at this time.
Here the three boxes are mounted to the front of the workbench above the appropriate tanks. The tank on the left is the mix tank. The middle tank is the fresh saltwater tank.The tank on the right is the DI tank. All that is left here is the cables between the boxes. The tanks are on the Brute dolly's so they can be rolled out from the work bench if needed. I do have to do that when adding salt mix to the mix tank.
This is a photo with the cables installed between the boxes.
I will continue with this on another post. There is a couple of third party people that make button boxes for the Hydros or breakout boxes for the 0-10v inputs. I am a electronics technician by trade so I made my own but I did use a modified version of a resistor ladder network used by one of the third party guy's making these.
Last edited:
n2585722
Well-known member
Thank you.Wow, very nice
n2585722
Well-known member
The first settings are from the first box on the left. I will start with the mix ready button. The first screenshot is the inputs I have visable on my garage page. These inputs are related to things that fo on in the garage with the RODI, ATO,AWC and All For Reef dosing. The mix ready tile is in the second row third from the left. It is currently off which is normal if it is not beeing pressed.
Below is the settings for the mix ready input. It is a 0-10v input type. The input mode is button. The 0-10v input port is my X4 in the garage and it is input 4 which if you are using the quad cable it is the orange 3.5mm plug on that cable. The trigger voltage is set to 3 volts. So if the controller sees between 2.5 and 3.5 volts on that 0-10v input channel then this switch input will change to the on state.The event duration is set to 10 seconds. After it is pressed then the on state will last 10 seconds. You do have to press it for a few seconds to activate it anyway. It is set to end the event on the second press. This is not important on this input but I do have one that it is and it will be next. The resistor that is connected to ground on this button is a 750 ohm. There is also a 510 ohm resistor attached from the input to a 5 volt source.
The switch input is used by the output. This output just changes the input to an output so it can be used by the other two outputs. It is the generic type. It has an input count of 1. The single input is the mix ready input. It is set to active when on or pressed. All the rest of the settings are default since they are not used.
The next output is the mix ready latch. This is used to keep the mix ready output in the on state after the mix ready button has been pressed. The signal that turn it off is the mix ready output turning off. It is the combiner type and has 2 inputs. One is the mix ready start output and the other is the mix ready output itself. It is set to xombiner mode OR which makes this a OR gate. If either input is on this output is on. Since this output will turn on mix ready provided the mix low sensor is not dry. The mix ready output will then keep this output on. Non of the other settings are used on this output.
Below is the mix ready output. It is a combiner mode output type. It has two inputs. One is the mix ready latch and the other is the low mix output. The low mix output is inverted So when it is not low this input will he seen as high or on in this combiner. Once it goes to low level then the output will he seen as off in the combiner. Since this output uses the AND combiner mode which makes it an AND gate it takes both inputs being seen as high or on. So the Mix ready output will turn off also causing the mix ready latch output to turn off. Also the The sensor that low mix uses is also used to trigger the RODI on and the mix fill solenoid on. This will refill the mix tank with DI water. The only thing left after it is full is to add the salt mix and then press that mix ready button so the Hydros knows it can be used to refill the fresh saltwater tank.
The other button in that box is for the work bench light. When pressed it turns the bench light on and if I press it again it will turn it off. It also has a timer set so it will go off after 30 minutes if I forget to turn it off. It is the 0-10v input type and it also uses the button input mode. It is also on the same input port as the first button. In fact all the buttons and the switch in these boxed are on the same input port.The difference is this one triggers at 2 volts. So if 1.5 to 2.5 volts is seen by the controller then this switch will turn on. The event duration is set to 30 minutes. It is also set to turn off if the button is pressed again. If I forget to press it again it will turn off in 30 minutes. This switch connects a 310 ohm resistor to ground.
Below is the output set to turn on the bench light. This uses a generic output type. It has one input and that is the bench light input. It is set to be active when the input is on. It uses a XP8 output in the garage as the output device. The bench light is plugged into that output.
That is it for this box. I will resume with the center box next.
Below is the settings for the mix ready input. It is a 0-10v input type. The input mode is button. The 0-10v input port is my X4 in the garage and it is input 4 which if you are using the quad cable it is the orange 3.5mm plug on that cable. The trigger voltage is set to 3 volts. So if the controller sees between 2.5 and 3.5 volts on that 0-10v input channel then this switch input will change to the on state.The event duration is set to 10 seconds. After it is pressed then the on state will last 10 seconds. You do have to press it for a few seconds to activate it anyway. It is set to end the event on the second press. This is not important on this input but I do have one that it is and it will be next. The resistor that is connected to ground on this button is a 750 ohm. There is also a 510 ohm resistor attached from the input to a 5 volt source.
The switch input is used by the output. This output just changes the input to an output so it can be used by the other two outputs. It is the generic type. It has an input count of 1. The single input is the mix ready input. It is set to active when on or pressed. All the rest of the settings are default since they are not used.
The next output is the mix ready latch. This is used to keep the mix ready output in the on state after the mix ready button has been pressed. The signal that turn it off is the mix ready output turning off. It is the combiner type and has 2 inputs. One is the mix ready start output and the other is the mix ready output itself. It is set to xombiner mode OR which makes this a OR gate. If either input is on this output is on. Since this output will turn on mix ready provided the mix low sensor is not dry. The mix ready output will then keep this output on. Non of the other settings are used on this output.
Below is the mix ready output. It is a combiner mode output type. It has two inputs. One is the mix ready latch and the other is the low mix output. The low mix output is inverted So when it is not low this input will he seen as high or on in this combiner. Once it goes to low level then the output will he seen as off in the combiner. Since this output uses the AND combiner mode which makes it an AND gate it takes both inputs being seen as high or on. So the Mix ready output will turn off also causing the mix ready latch output to turn off. Also the The sensor that low mix uses is also used to trigger the RODI on and the mix fill solenoid on. This will refill the mix tank with DI water. The only thing left after it is full is to add the salt mix and then press that mix ready button so the Hydros knows it can be used to refill the fresh saltwater tank.
The other button in that box is for the work bench light. When pressed it turns the bench light on and if I press it again it will turn it off. It also has a timer set so it will go off after 30 minutes if I forget to turn it off. It is the 0-10v input type and it also uses the button input mode. It is also on the same input port as the first button. In fact all the buttons and the switch in these boxed are on the same input port.The difference is this one triggers at 2 volts. So if 1.5 to 2.5 volts is seen by the controller then this switch will turn on. The event duration is set to 30 minutes. It is also set to turn off if the button is pressed again. If I forget to press it again it will turn off in 30 minutes. This switch connects a 310 ohm resistor to ground.
Below is the output set to turn on the bench light. This uses a generic output type. It has one input and that is the bench light input. It is set to be active when the input is on. It uses a XP8 output in the garage as the output device. The bench light is plugged into that output.
That is it for this box. I will resume with the center box next.
n2585722
Well-known member
Now to the center box. It has the fresh saltwater dispense push button and the AWC pause switch. The settings for the fresh saltwater dispense button are in the screenshot below. This is the 0-10v input type and the input mode is button. The port is the same one used for thr previous box. This one is set to 4 volts so if the controller sees 3.5-4.5 volts it turns on the fresh saltwater dispense button. The event duration is 10 seconds and pushing again will stop the event. The resistor in series with this switch is a 2k ohm resistor.
Below is the output controlled with the fresh saltwater dispense button. It is the generic output type with 1 input. The input is the fresh saltwater dispense button. It is set to active when on. It uses outlet 1 on a wifi power strip in the garage as the output device. I use a PMUP pump for this and it can be powered from a force port on the Kraken when it is available. The Kraken has 8 24 volt force ports and 4 12 volt direct drive ports. The PMUP uses a Microfit 3.0 connector. I got mine from Mouser. With this output if I press and hold the button it will dispense until I release the button. Most of the time I am not using much since the tank has AWC. I do use it to flush out the carbon in that reactor before I use it on the tank.
Below is the settings for the AWC pause switch. Again it uses the 0-10v input type. The input mode is switch instead of button. It uses the same input port as the rest of the buttons. This one is set to 0 volts so if the controller sees a voltage below .5 volts this switch is on. The data type is on/off and it is set to on when inside range. Notification level is set to none. If this switch is on none of the other switches will work. So it also locks out the other switches. This works great for me since I usually turn off AWC when I am going to be out of town for a few days. This switch has no resistor since the target voltage is 0.
Below is the output that is controlled by the pause ATO switch. It uses the generic output type with one input. The input is the pause ATO switch. It is set to active when on. When the switch s on this output is on.
This output is for AWC halt. It is the combiner output type and has two inputs. The first input is low FSW. If the fresh saltwater goes low then we do not want to run another water change after the current one finishes. The other input is AWC pause which is the previous output.
Below is the water change schedule settings. The type of schedule is water change regimen. The water change count is 3. It does three water changes at 7am, 1pm and 7pm each day. The start time is set to 7am the end time is set to 1am. This was done since each sequence includes the off time between it and the next water change. This also has to be included on the last one even though there is not another change. So that is the reason for extending the end time to 1am. This is set to run every day. It is also set to run all days of the week. Now to the settings that pause the AWC. The depends on is set to AWC Halt. The dependency mode is set to off if on. So if AWC halt is on the schedule will not start. Any schedule in process will complete the process. The dependency is used on the schedule instead of the AWC output for two reasons. Using the one on the output will immediately stop process and also stop the ATO from running since it is also a part of that output. Using depends on on outputs that have multiple outputs will affect all outputs. So if dependency mode is set to on if XX and XX is met all outputs will turn on. That also applies to off if XX also. Depends on takes precedence over any of the other output settings.
Below is the AWC output settings. It took three screenshots to get it all. It is a automatic water change output type. The high level input is the sump full sensor. This is used for the ATO and the fill pump. The next is a low level sensor. If this is set then it would drain down to that sensor the fill back up to the high level sensor. Since I use dosing pumps for this I don't use the low level sensor. I have it set to run the drain pump for 8 minutes under the drain duration setting. I don't use the leak detection here since I have three leak detectors I use it on other outputs which will kill power to the pumps if a leak is detected along with some other sensors as well. The ATO output port is on my X4 in the garage. The power safe range is set from 1-1.9 watts. The power notification is set to orange. So if the wattage is not within range the controller will send a alert. The drain output port is also on my X4 in the garage. The safe range for this pump is set from 1-2 watts. It is also set to a notification level of orange. The fill output port is a X2 in the garage. It also has a safe range form 1-2 watts. The fill and drain pumps are the same type and model of Intllab pumps. The ATO pump is a Hydros dosing pump. It is also set to a notification level of orange. The depends on statement is not used on this output. Advanced settings have been enabled for the ATO. I would suggest doing this. Set the values in the settings to match the needs of you tank if you are using a Hydros for ATO since these will limit the amount of water that can be added in a given time. I set the minimum off time to 15 minutes. With this setting it will only run every 15 minutes. This with maximum on time limits the amount of water that can be dispensed. I have the maximum off time set for 6 hours. This setting will only cause an alert to be sent. It will not turn on the pump. If it goes 6 hours without topping off something needs to be checked out. I have the minimum on time set to 45 seconds so it will run at least that long once it starts regardless of the high level sensor. I have the maximum on time set for 3 minutes and 45 seconds. If it goes that long it will send an alert that maximum on time has been exceeded. The next setting is the important one. I have run past max on time set to off so it will only run to the maximum on time then turn off. It will still send the alert. If this happens then things need to be checked unless you are still trying to get it set correctly for your tank. It will stay off until the high level sensor goes wet or you intervene by overriding to off or on and then back to auto. The drain and fill pump outputs also have their advanced settings enable. Both are maximum on times. The drain is set to 12 minutes and run past max on time is set to off. The fill is set to 18 minutes and run past max on time is set to off. Both have a notification level set to orange. So if either pump hits max on time I will get an alert.
That is it for this box. Next will be the last one. It only has one button connected on it. There is a second button installed but it is not connected at this time.
Below is the output controlled with the fresh saltwater dispense button. It is the generic output type with 1 input. The input is the fresh saltwater dispense button. It is set to active when on. It uses outlet 1 on a wifi power strip in the garage as the output device. I use a PMUP pump for this and it can be powered from a force port on the Kraken when it is available. The Kraken has 8 24 volt force ports and 4 12 volt direct drive ports. The PMUP uses a Microfit 3.0 connector. I got mine from Mouser. With this output if I press and hold the button it will dispense until I release the button. Most of the time I am not using much since the tank has AWC. I do use it to flush out the carbon in that reactor before I use it on the tank.
Below is the settings for the AWC pause switch. Again it uses the 0-10v input type. The input mode is switch instead of button. It uses the same input port as the rest of the buttons. This one is set to 0 volts so if the controller sees a voltage below .5 volts this switch is on. The data type is on/off and it is set to on when inside range. Notification level is set to none. If this switch is on none of the other switches will work. So it also locks out the other switches. This works great for me since I usually turn off AWC when I am going to be out of town for a few days. This switch has no resistor since the target voltage is 0.
Below is the output that is controlled by the pause ATO switch. It uses the generic output type with one input. The input is the pause ATO switch. It is set to active when on. When the switch s on this output is on.
This output is for AWC halt. It is the combiner output type and has two inputs. The first input is low FSW. If the fresh saltwater goes low then we do not want to run another water change after the current one finishes. The other input is AWC pause which is the previous output.
Below is the water change schedule settings. The type of schedule is water change regimen. The water change count is 3. It does three water changes at 7am, 1pm and 7pm each day. The start time is set to 7am the end time is set to 1am. This was done since each sequence includes the off time between it and the next water change. This also has to be included on the last one even though there is not another change. So that is the reason for extending the end time to 1am. This is set to run every day. It is also set to run all days of the week. Now to the settings that pause the AWC. The depends on is set to AWC Halt. The dependency mode is set to off if on. So if AWC halt is on the schedule will not start. Any schedule in process will complete the process. The dependency is used on the schedule instead of the AWC output for two reasons. Using the one on the output will immediately stop process and also stop the ATO from running since it is also a part of that output. Using depends on on outputs that have multiple outputs will affect all outputs. So if dependency mode is set to on if XX and XX is met all outputs will turn on. That also applies to off if XX also. Depends on takes precedence over any of the other output settings.
Below is the AWC output settings. It took three screenshots to get it all. It is a automatic water change output type. The high level input is the sump full sensor. This is used for the ATO and the fill pump. The next is a low level sensor. If this is set then it would drain down to that sensor the fill back up to the high level sensor. Since I use dosing pumps for this I don't use the low level sensor. I have it set to run the drain pump for 8 minutes under the drain duration setting. I don't use the leak detection here since I have three leak detectors I use it on other outputs which will kill power to the pumps if a leak is detected along with some other sensors as well. The ATO output port is on my X4 in the garage. The power safe range is set from 1-1.9 watts. The power notification is set to orange. So if the wattage is not within range the controller will send a alert. The drain output port is also on my X4 in the garage. The safe range for this pump is set from 1-2 watts. It is also set to a notification level of orange. The fill output port is a X2 in the garage. It also has a safe range form 1-2 watts. The fill and drain pumps are the same type and model of Intllab pumps. The ATO pump is a Hydros dosing pump. It is also set to a notification level of orange. The depends on statement is not used on this output. Advanced settings have been enabled for the ATO. I would suggest doing this. Set the values in the settings to match the needs of you tank if you are using a Hydros for ATO since these will limit the amount of water that can be added in a given time. I set the minimum off time to 15 minutes. With this setting it will only run every 15 minutes. This with maximum on time limits the amount of water that can be dispensed. I have the maximum off time set for 6 hours. This setting will only cause an alert to be sent. It will not turn on the pump. If it goes 6 hours without topping off something needs to be checked out. I have the minimum on time set to 45 seconds so it will run at least that long once it starts regardless of the high level sensor. I have the maximum on time set for 3 minutes and 45 seconds. If it goes that long it will send an alert that maximum on time has been exceeded. The next setting is the important one. I have run past max on time set to off so it will only run to the maximum on time then turn off. It will still send the alert. If this happens then things need to be checked unless you are still trying to get it set correctly for your tank. It will stay off until the high level sensor goes wet or you intervene by overriding to off or on and then back to auto. The drain and fill pump outputs also have their advanced settings enable. Both are maximum on times. The drain is set to 12 minutes and run past max on time is set to off. The fill is set to 18 minutes and run past max on time is set to off. Both have a notification level set to orange. So if either pump hits max on time I will get an alert.
That is it for this box. Next will be the last one. It only has one button connected on it. There is a second button installed but it is not connected at this time.
n2585722
Well-known member
The tank itself is a 42 gallon Oceanic hex tank. The sump is about the size of a 10 gallon tank but is never completely full. I have a 110 gallon tank also but do not currently have it setup.
n2585722
Well-known member
Now for the button box on the right. This only has one button hooked up. That is the DI dispense which is basically the same as fresh saltwater dispense. Below is the screenshot of the DI dispense input settings. It is a 0-10v input type and input mode is button. The 0-10v input port is the same one used by the other two button boxes. The trigger voltage on this one is 1v so if the controller sees a voltage between .5-1.5 volts then this button is on. The event duration is set to 10 seconds and second press ends event. The resistor in series with this switch is a 115 ohm resistor.
Below is the DI dispense output. It is a generic output type with a input count of 1. The input is the previous input button. It is set to active when on. The output device is one of the AC outlets on the wifi power strip in the garage. I use the button for dispensing DI into containers for various uses. I need DI for some of the test and for mixing reagent and KH buffering for the KH Carer mainly but since the button makes it so easy to get small amounts from the DI storage I am sure I will be using it quite a bit.
This is the schematic I used to come up with the resistor values. The big difference between this and mine is the 5v and ground connection are reversed on mine. that also means the voltage output at each switch is also reversed. The voltage on mine from left to right is 4v, 3v, 2v, 1v and 0v instead of what is labeled on the diagram. , The input has 5v when there is no button pressed and the switch is off. So basically I reversed the connections at pin 3 and pin 6. This schematic is posted in the Hydros forum in the DIY section. The input I used is pin 5. Here is a link to the post where I got the schematic from DIY 0-10V Input Switch Box (5 Switches) .
Below is the DI dispense output. It is a generic output type with a input count of 1. The input is the previous input button. It is set to active when on. The output device is one of the AC outlets on the wifi power strip in the garage. I use the button for dispensing DI into containers for various uses. I need DI for some of the test and for mixing reagent and KH buffering for the KH Carer mainly but since the button makes it so easy to get small amounts from the DI storage I am sure I will be using it quite a bit.
This is the schematic I used to come up with the resistor values. The big difference between this and mine is the 5v and ground connection are reversed on mine. that also means the voltage output at each switch is also reversed. The voltage on mine from left to right is 4v, 3v, 2v, 1v and 0v instead of what is labeled on the diagram. , The input has 5v when there is no button pressed and the switch is off. So basically I reversed the connections at pin 3 and pin 6. This schematic is posted in the Hydros forum in the DIY section. The input I used is pin 5. Here is a link to the post where I got the schematic from DIY 0-10V Input Switch Box (5 Switches) .
n2585722
Well-known member
There was a new app and firmware release for the Hydros today. One of the main differences is the ability to choose different time frames for the graphs. There is also graph value limit setting in the input settings to keep the graph values within those limits. The limits only apply to values after these settings are setup so any previous readings are not affected by this setting. Below are some screenshots of my graphs in the different time frames. These are set for one month. Also the Hydros can get readings from the Kamoer KH Carer now. I have not had mine for a complete month so I do not have a complete months worth of data yet.
Below is graphs for temp and pH that go back a year. You can see the three times my AC unit was out on the graph.
Below is a screenshot of the popup to select the time frame.
Below are a couple of screenshots of the temp and pH input with the graph value limits setup. For temp I have it set to between 73 and 82 degrees. This keeps the graph from expanding for outliers in the data. The second screenshot is for the pH input.
Below is a screenshot of inputs for my hex tank. The third and forth tiles are data from my KH Carer. There is a time and date of the last test from the KH Carer. I have it set to test at 6:00am, 2:00pm and 10:00pm. The test takes about 30 minutes to complete so the time on the readings are at the end of the test.
Since I brought up the KH Carer here is some data and a graph comparing readings from it with the Hanna tester and the Hydros pH probe. I have noticed that after it adds buffering the KH reading will drop compared to the Hanna. They will overlap again but it takes somewhere between 12 to 24 hours. I may go to a once a day testing, but I also plan on trying a different buffering recipe first to see if it reacts faster to it. Currently I am using baking soda and DI water. I have some baked baking soda mixed up to try after I go through the plain baking soda that is in use.
Below is graphs for temp and pH that go back a year. You can see the three times my AC unit was out on the graph.
Below is a screenshot of the popup to select the time frame.
Below are a couple of screenshots of the temp and pH input with the graph value limits setup. For temp I have it set to between 73 and 82 degrees. This keeps the graph from expanding for outliers in the data. The second screenshot is for the pH input.
Below is a screenshot of inputs for my hex tank. The third and forth tiles are data from my KH Carer. There is a time and date of the last test from the KH Carer. I have it set to test at 6:00am, 2:00pm and 10:00pm. The test takes about 30 minutes to complete so the time on the readings are at the end of the test.
Since I brought up the KH Carer here is some data and a graph comparing readings from it with the Hanna tester and the Hydros pH probe. I have noticed that after it adds buffering the KH reading will drop compared to the Hanna. They will overlap again but it takes somewhere between 12 to 24 hours. I may go to a once a day testing, but I also plan on trying a different buffering recipe first to see if it reacts faster to it. Currently I am using baking soda and DI water. I have some baked baking soda mixed up to try after I go through the plain baking soda that is in use.
Last edited:
I think we are officially well over my head lol but it looks cool!
n2585722
Well-known member
The data on the last screenshot is from an Excel spreadsheet that I have been tracking values from different devices to compare them over time. The KH Carer is a new device for automated testing for alkalinity. It will now interface with the Hydros. The Hydros can get the test results from the Kamoer cloud once you setup the inputs in the Hydros. There is a code you can get using the Kamoer app that you enter on the input you are setting up on the Hydros. This allows the Hydros to access the information. The others are screenshot from my hydros controller. All controllers have a learning curve to them so If you have not used the Hydros it probably does not make as much sense as it would if you use the system.
n2585722
Well-known member
I got some Fauna Marin reference solution to check my testing equipment with. Below is a chart with the results. The Hanna Alkalinity tester shows no difference between it and what the referecne is suppose to be for Alkalinity. The Hanna calcium was off 1.18%, Hanna nitrate was off by 8%, Milwaukee phosphate was off by 15%, Red Sea Mag Pro was off by 2.66% and my refractometer was off by 2.86%. The phosphate meter is the oldest meter which is avout 14 years old.I did notice the last batch of reagent Igot was a lower reading than my previous reaget so it could be a variance in the reagent I still have a couple of packets so I might retest using one of them, but I am ok with 15% on phosphate. The Hanna HR Nitrate also was a 8% difference but for that 8% is ok for me. The others were close to the reference that I checked. It is only a 100ml bottle and most test use 10ml at a time so It won't last too long if you have a lot of test meters or kits to check. I used near 50% of it testing the ones I did. I figured I would post if anyone else is interested in checking their test equipment against a reference. I will probably do this on occasion of if I have a reason to think one of the testers or test kits is off.
n2585722
Well-known member
I got some photos with the digital camera instead of the iPad. Here is 10 of them. I had to crop some of them to get them below the size limit. I got all the fish and the emerald crab. I got the crab to get the bubble algae under control. It appears to have some in it's sights in one of the photos. It does seem to be reducing the amount of it slowly. So far it has not messed with the coral or fish.
Very nice
n2585722
Well-known member
thank you.
n2585722
Well-known member
thank you.
n2585722
Well-known member
There were some features added to the Hydros recently. The first was they added a float switch that hooks to the sense ports so they also added that as a sense port input type. I was already using float switches on the sensport but was setting them up as a optical sensor. That was working but since they added the float switch I went back and changed those outputs to the dloat switch type instead of optical. Below are 2 screenshots of the status pages where float switches were in use but were setup as optical sensors.
Now to changing them. Below is a series of screenshots changing the port mode to float switch for one of the inputs. The first of the three is the settings before changing them. Notice the sense mode is optical water level which will still work with a float switch but I figured I would switch it now while it was on my mind. This input is one of 10 I changed to float switch mode. The second screenshot is the popup menu when the down arrow was clicked for sense mode. There is also a new one for the new triple water level sensor. That is basically a list of things that can be connected to a sense port at this time. The third screenshot is after change the sense mode. All that is now needed is to click the upload changes banner at the bottom to save the changes made.
The two screenshots below are the same status pages that were in the first 2 screenshots after changing the inputs to float switches. It also changed the icons.
That is it for the sense ports for now. I will do the other features in another post or two if it does not all fit in one. There is quite a bit of screenshots for it.
Now to changing them. Below is a series of screenshots changing the port mode to float switch for one of the inputs. The first of the three is the settings before changing them. Notice the sense mode is optical water level which will still work with a float switch but I figured I would switch it now while it was on my mind. This input is one of 10 I changed to float switch mode. The second screenshot is the popup menu when the down arrow was clicked for sense mode. There is also a new one for the new triple water level sensor. That is basically a list of things that can be connected to a sense port at this time. The third screenshot is after change the sense mode. All that is now needed is to click the upload changes banner at the bottom to save the changes made.
The two screenshots below are the same status pages that were in the first 2 screenshots after changing the inputs to float switches. It also changed the icons.
That is it for the sense ports for now. I will do the other features in another post or two if it does not all fit in one. There is quite a bit of screenshots for it.
Similar threads
