High Tide Aquatics

Oceanic 40gallon Sps tank.

Kensington Reefer said:
Nice cabinet!
IMHO...not a fan of rainbird
And, yes, get the electronics off the floor!
That’s where “loose” water goes
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Rainbird? Not sure of the reference.

Unless you mean the ink bird. Hydros should have a temperature sensor. Not sure I would fully trust it right off. Without using the controller for a while. Biggest thing is I can see my tanks temps at a glance while feeding or walking by the tanks. So I love the large digtal display if nothing else.

Not sure though it will stay on the tank long term. Yet it works for now.
 
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Alexander1312 said:
More democracy in my house :).
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Same in ours mostly, lol new flooring gives me more voice to have a 210gallon tank and 40 gallon in living room. So more about keeping the wife happy in general lol. So if things look nice she won't object. If it looks like it belongs in the basement it garage she will not want it in the house.

But I would love to see what you come up with for yours. So please take pictures of your progress. If people seen my garage frag tank wiring lol i would get reported to someone lol. so need to do something Simplified with it. It’s all just on the floor.
 
MichaelB said:
Rainbird? Not sure of the reference.

Unless you mean the ink bird. Hydros should have a temperature sensor. Not sure I would fully trust it right off. Without using the controller for a while. Biggest thing is I can see my tanks temps at a glance while feeding or walking by the tanks. So I love the large digtal display if nothing else.

Not sure though it will stay on the tank long term. Yet it works for now.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the controller correction
I do agree, I like the large display too
May it perform as expected
 
MichaelB said:
Rainbird? Not sure of the reference.

Unless you mean the ink bird. Hydros should have a temperature sensor. Not sure I would fully trust it right off. Without using the controller for a while. Biggest thing is I can see my tanks temps at a glance while feeding or walking by the tanks. So I love the large digtal display if nothing else.

Not sure though it will stay on the tank long term. Yet it works for now.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I have been thinking about this too, i.e., if I have to see via display what is happening in my tank. Both the inkbird and the Hydros provide an audio signal if temps are out of range and I do rely on this, including backup. I prefer to have at least two temp sources in my tank, ideally two which alert me via app or audio. However, the inkbird seems to fall more frequently out of calibration than the Hydros temp. Also, the Hydros temp can trigger a routine to turn off the heater automatically if above target which the inkbird cannot.
 
Inkbird 306A WiFi version is my preference. Dual probes for more accuracy, dare I say precision. Alarms (app notifications and audible) when there is a large enough difference between the two probes. Alarms if either of the two probes go bad. And it has 2 outlets for dual heaters if you want. Solid unit IMO. Combined with a controller for further redundancy or protection is even better. I have tried them with larger wattage heaters that have built in thermostats, and they work great that way too. The calibration issue, I have found issues with the cheaper single probe versions. I have only ever had one go completely bad on me, and it was the cheaper non-wifi 308 version last year.

I do check all my heater controllers regularly against a lab grade thermometer they are all within 0.2°. I also have pH pens with thermometers that I use for quick comparisons too.
 
ReyDeFarts said:
Inkbird 306A WiFi version is my preference. Dual probes for more accuracy, dare I say precision. Alarms (app notifications and audible) when there is a large enough difference between the two probes. Alarms if either of the two probes go bad. And it has 2 outlets for dual heaters if you want. Solid unit IMO. Combined with a controller for further redundancy or protection is even better. I have tried them with larger wattage heaters that have built in thermostats, and they work great that way too. The calibration issue, I have found issues with the cheaper single probe versions. I have only ever had one go completely bad on me, and it was the cheaper non-wifi 308 version last year.

I do check all my heater controllers regularly against a lab grade thermometer they are all within 0.2°. I also have pH pens with thermometers that I use for quick comparisons too.
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I did not know you get an alert when either ofther the two probes goes bad - good to know. Also, re my calibration comment - I was referring to around 0.2/0.3 F deviation every 4 weeks or so max, so not a huge deal (but the hydros seems to be more stable).
 
Alexander1312 said:
I did not know you get an alert when either ofther the two probes goes bad - good to know.
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Technically, if one fails you will get the temp difference alarm. So it's the same alarm if one of the probes gets yanked out of the water for some reason.
Alexander1312 said:
I was referring to around 0.2/0.3 F deviation every 4 weeks or so max
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You are doing a calibration every 4 weeks?! :oops:

I do not calibrate if I see a 0.2 deviation. I ignore it. It would need to see at least a 1° difference for me to act. Are you taking the temperature from the same spot as the probe to determine the deviation?
 
Alexander1312 said:
Interesting. I have been thinking about this too, i.e., if I have to see via display what is happening in my tank. Both the inkbird and the Hydros provide an audio signal if temps are out of range and I do rely on this, including backup. I prefer to have at least two temp sources in my tank, ideally two which alert me via app or audio. However, the inkbird seems to fall more frequently out of calibration than the Hydros temp. Also, the Hydros temp can trigger a routine to turn off the heater automatically if above target which the inkbird cannot.
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I run wifi model om two tanks

+1 to @ReyDeFarts comments as well.

I don't not trust hydros just don't know what I'm doing with it yet. So i will give it a little time to become familiar with it before changing anything major like inkbird.

I'm more likey to accidentally turn something off in the app than it is for inkbird to fail at this point lol
 
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Controller cabinet update part 2.

20250518_185747.jpg
20250518_185809.jpg


Hydros Launch controller installed.
Hydros ato sensor/pump
Skimmer cup sensor
Ph probe
Temperature probe

App was installed on my phone and my I pad ( I will try to figure out how to maybe use the ipad as a permit display/digtal controller inter face

The power strip was also swapped out with another one and mounted to the side of the tank.) Mp10 controllers were also mounted to the side of the tank.

Huge shoot out to @MarcosD who kindly showed up like both santa clause (with mp10 mounts) and the geek squad(with the know how to get things up and running for me.) We had great conversation, a fun to me diy project, and we ended things with a breif lfs visit to aqua plus.

20250518_185758.jpg
20250518_185817.jpg

Latest tank and sump shot.

20250518_191009.jpg

Bonus picture of two of the cats taking over my tanks splash catcher rug.

Next no urgent project for this tank will be a diy shelf on the left ledge of the tank to set stuff on while working on the tank and cover(protect) the power cords from potential water drops.
 
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MichaelB said:
Controller cabinet update part 2.

View attachment 69436View attachment 69437

Hydros Launch controller installed.
Hydros ato sensor/pump
Skimmer cup sensor
Ph probe
Temperature probe

App was installed on my phone and my I pad ( I will try to figure out how to maybe use the ipad as a permit display/digtal controller inter face

The power strip was also swapped out with another one and mounted to the side of the tank.) Mp10 controllers were also mounted to the side of the tank.

Huge shoot out to @MarcosD who kindly showed up like both santa clause (with mp10 mounts) and the geek squad(with the know how to get things up and running for me.) We had great conversation, and a fun to me at least diy project, and ended things with a breif lfs visit to aqua plus.

View attachment 69438View attachment 69439
Latest tank and sump shot.

View attachment 69440
Bonus picture of two of the cats taking over my tanks splash catcher rug.

Next no urgent project for this tank will be a diy shelf on the left ledge of the tank to set stuff on while working on the tank and cover(project) the power cords from potential water drops.
Click to expand...
The cats are so cute. I wish the setup the best of luck - hoping the tank matures well :)
 
Turkeysammich said:
Man. You’ve come a long way since your first aquarium a few years ago. Great job.
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Feeling good at least I now have one tank I can sit back and enjoy the ride on (waiting for it to grow out) besides adding more sps not much else to be done on this one. It Will be fun when the other tank projects are completed as well.
 
MichaelB said:
Controller cabinet update part 2.

View attachment 69436View attachment 69437

Hydros Launch controller installed.
Hydros ato sensor/pump
Skimmer cup sensor
Ph probe
Temperature probe

App was installed on my phone and my I pad ( I will try to figure out how to maybe use the ipad as a permit display/digtal controller inter face

The power strip was also swapped out with another one and mounted to the side of the tank.) Mp10 controllers were also mounted to the side of the tank.

Huge shoot out to @MarcosD who kindly showed up like both santa clause (with mp10 mounts) and the geek squad(with the know how to get things up and running for me.) We had great conversation, a fun to me diy project, and we ended things with a breif lfs visit to aqua plus.

View attachment 69438View attachment 69439
Latest tank and sump shot.

View attachment 69440
Bonus picture of two of the cats taking over my tanks splash catcher rug.

Next no urgent project for this tank will be a diy shelf on the left ledge of the tank to set stuff on while working on the tank and cover(protect) the power cords from potential water drops.
Click to expand...
Cabinet looks great! If possible, consider moving the power strip and electronics onto the cabinet. The most likely water spill is over the edge of an aquarium and onto the stand. Once on that stand it then will waterfall off the edges.

If the electronics are on the edges, they then get water on them and quickly a spill becomes a multi hundred dollar replacement rush job, and a "oh God I got lucky" when seeing power strips with scorch marks or plug and outlets with corrosion on them.

I wish I could say this only happened to me once...

One time that's how I also learned that MP power head's dry sides have zero water protection and water dripping on them quickly roasts them.
 
richiev said:
Cabinet looks great! If possible, consider moving the power strip and electronics onto the cabinet. The most likely water spill is over the edge of an aquarium and onto the stand. Once on that stand it then will waterfall off the edges.

If the electronics are on the edges, they then get water on them and quickly a spill becomes a multi hundred dollar replacement rush job, and a "oh God I got lucky" when seeing power strips with scorch marks or plug and outlets with corrosion on them.

I wish I could say this only happened to me once...

One time that's how I also learned that MP power head's dry sides have zero water protection and water dripping on them quickly roasts them.
Click to expand...
Definitely, I have a shelf planned to cover the gap over the outlets. Just need to cut and paint it.
 
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