New build, planning on ditching Apex for Hydros looking for feedback on ATO unit

[Gut Pile]

Apex/Aperture/Brs's current financial issues.

Got any more details on that one? I always figured the end game would be to suck these companies dry and then discard the dead bankrupted husks. Sad - but fascinating to see it play out. Everything about brs and neptune feels enshitified based on my experiences and interactions with them.

 

[littlebigreef]

Got any more details on that one? I always figured the end game would be to suck these companies dry and then discard the dead bankrupted husks. Sad - but fascinating to see it play out. Everything about brs and neptune feels enshitified based on my experiences and interactions with them. i

Nothing in particular beyond same rumors and such. Idk, they bought out Marine Depo and got a monopoly on distribution, then they buy Neptune, drop the competitor (hydros) and then announce discontinuation of Neptune products like Skye.

Even though I have 2 apex units I don’t use their brand dosers, ato, and even though I use their temp probe I run an Inkbird for redundancy. So rather than buying a Jabeo doser, a Tunze ato I’m ready to give hydros as try. With Neptune products I’ve heard and read such mixed to poor reviews and feedback over the years I feel like I can’t trust it, and who knows what support may look like over time.


So rather than pay for a premium an Apex probe/sensor/feature… and then paying again for the corresponding module (disingenuous sales tactic at best) I’m going to start with a Hydros x2 bundle and ato combo. I’ll look to add an X8 down the road as necessary.

I appreciate everyone taking time to share their experiences as well as some of the technical ‘gotchas’ they’ve experienced along the way.

Thanks!

 

[2Plus2]

You have to be careful with the guest network since some routers will limit intercommunications between guest devices and this will cause issues with the wifi communications. I have a ASUS RT-AX58U which has both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz channels name the same. I have had no issues with the wifi devices. I have 4 power strips and a wifi feeder. I do not use it in the AiMesh mode. I did have an issue once but ut was not just the Hydros devices. The Hydros devices were showing a no internet connection on their lights breathing green-yellow. All upload changes would fail. I finally tracked it down to a wifi camera once that was powered down the network started working correctly including the Hydros controllers. The camera was very hot so I am assuming the wifi RF output was on continuously causing issues with the other devices trying to communicate with the router. I have never had an issue with any of the inputs due to a power outage. I have had power backup for the last year on the controllers. I bought my first one right after they came out with them. So it now has been a few years. O MESH type wifi networks it is best to get an access point and wire it to your router instead of using wifi. Then set it up with a different login credentials and on a different unused channel. This will eliminate the MESH causing an issue since the access point is hard wired to the router and not communicating via the router wifi. It provides a separate wifi channel specific to the Hydros or any other device that might have issues with a MESH network. I have used a router setup as an access point to do this since I usually do have previous routers that I can use for this. I did not originally setup my Hydros system on the current router. When replacing the old router I setup the credentials the same as the old one and everything switched over to the new router without any issues.

Fully agree with ya, default on my router is 10, I can bump up if need be.
This network is strictly for the Hydros so it still works out perfectly, since the Ipad is strictly for the Hydros as well.

 

[2Plus2]

Most don't have issues but not all routers are the same and sometimes those differences will cause issues with some devices and not others. Unfortunately there are too many routers and settings on each for anything to be tested under every circumstance so sometimes things just do not work as planned. Usually there is a workaround for most instances. In this case it could be as simple as adding a access point with it's own wifi channel that is connected to the router with a CAT 5 cable so as far as the router is concerned is is a local wired connection and not wifi so it treats it differently than a device connected using wifi. Most routers consider wired connections as safe and do not give them the same security checks as something on wifi. A access point can also be setup with only 2.4ghz in most cases and this helps with some devices also. So it is a matter of case by case most of the time when connection issues show up. Also since wifi is RF signals other RF signals can interfere with them such as a neighbors wifi. Interference can come from other sources other than other wifi devices also. So the RF environment where the wifi is located also plays a big part into whether there are issues or not.

To touch on this more, I see where the issue can arise.

By default our phones and tablets are design to always connect to the better band, it will switch between the 2.4/5 throughout the day as you move around the house, it will favor the 5ghz most of the time.

The controller will always favor the strongest signal and that's technically our choice because we automatically select the most bars when setting up our controllers, in return the controller will never switch around to other channels/ bands.

So if your on a different band/channel while the controller is still stuck on what it was assigned at set up, you can then see where some issues might arise.

I just shared my set up, I kinda like everything in its own nest. Now If i didn't have a stand alone tablet for my controllers I would then not be setting it up how i have it.

 

[n2585722]

To touch on this more, I see where the issue can arise.

By default our phones and tablets are design to always connect to the better band, it will switch between the 2.4/5 throughout the day as you move around the house, it will favor the 5ghz most of the time.

The controller will always favor the strongest signal and that's technically our choice because we automatically select the most bars when setting up our controllers, in return the controller will never switch around to other channels/ bands.

So if your on a different band/channel while the controller is still stuck on what it was assigned at set up, you can then see where some issues might arise.

I just shared my set up, I kinda like everything in its own nest. Now If i didn't have a stand alone tablet for my controllers I would then not be setting it up how i have it.

I can access my controllers with my iPad on the 5ghz channel. The Hydros controllers will never go to 5ghz since they are 2.4ghz only. The connection between the app and controller goes through the cloud. The wifi power strips can connect to 5ghz and if they do the controllers cannot communicate with them since that communication is done locally and does not involve the cloud once the are paired. This can be an issue, but I have never had an issue connecting to the controllers with my iPad. I can be in a different city and still connect with my controllers in the app. The only time you need to be local and on the same wifi is if you are adding a new controller or wifi device to the system.

 

[2Plus2]

I can access my controllers with my iPad on the 5ghz channel. The Hydros controllers will never go to 5ghz since they are 2.4ghz only. The connection between the app and controller goes through the cloud. The wifi power strips can connect to 5ghz and if they do the controllers cannot communicate with them since that communication is done locally and does not involve the cloud once the are paired. This can be an issue, but I have never had an issue connecting to the controllers with my iPad. I can be in a different city and still connect with my controllers in the app. The only time you need to be local and on the same wifi is if you are adding a new controller or wifi device to the system.

Yeap, just trying to figure out why some have stated connection issues and I did see a post where everything looks good, but then when configuring to the user on initial set up it just hangs. Once they get on the same channel on 2.4Ghz it works.

Then Hydros recommends a stand alone 2.4Ghz channel.

Iono, either way it goes the controller seems to be dang good, and I'm impressed so far.

 

[littlebigreef]

Just following up. I bought the X2 bundle and ato package. App is pretty intuitive and straight forward. For ~$300 w/tax I’ve got a controller for 4 outlets, temp reading via the app and an ato unit. I did need to purchase an extension for the ato pump but $10 is really reasonable and shipping was fast.

I like the modularity as I’ll eventually add the X8 power bar. Connectivity was not an issue.

The ato sensor is similar to the new Tunze ato ‘3’ (replacing the 3155). I’ve read poor reviews on that unit, have high hopes for hydros and know now I can add an additional sensor for redundancy. The pump appears to be pretty generic. The tunze are workhorses, my first one lasted almost 7 years, so, we’ll see.

With the controller in place and leak testing done I closed the stand up, salted the water and now I’m just dialing in the salinity.

Tank is a 155 AGA rr bow front.
Sump is a trigger systems 39 emerald with ato water chamber.
Skimmer is a reef octopus.
Lighting (not mounted) is a hybrid 5’ ati 4 bulb t5 unit and a 6’ xho reefbrite blue (to start).

I’m replacing a 70 gal show that held misc stuff in my fish room.