Innovation is key for any industry to survive. As a product developer in the real world I can truly appreciate what it takes to bring a product to market. But as a 23 year hobbyist I have probably seen and purchased many products and have a hint of what worked and what did not for my reef system as our hobby evolved.As a disclaimer, I was given an opportunity to try out the latest controller that was recently announced, the Coral Vue Hydros, specifically the IC4 and IC2 controllers with a small kit of accessories. Since I just added a new tank to my now 500 gallon system recently I had a nice test bed to try this out. I was able to test this unobtrusively by running it in parallel with another controller I already had.I was not sure if it was a test but the kit provided to me did not come with any instructions but I was able to hook all the hardware up and have it connect to the Android version of the Hydros App, my wiFi, and setup the entire system after work one night. The test rig has been running on my tank for a few months and have not really needed to touch it since I set it up other than adding in new features as they became available.
I am clearly a gear nut and I like tinkering but won’t if I don’t need to. The out of the box experience was a breath of fresh air since many of my local reefer friends tend to stay away from controllers due to fear of complexity and cost of entry.From a design standpoint I can point out some key aspects that impressed me outside what is published in the product specification sheets. I won’t rehash that information since you can just read them yourselves on the vendor’s website.
The IC4 and IC2 controller hardware has a simple and functional human interface design which has color coded labeling and grouped plug types to avoid incorrect wire connections.
Standardized and robust wire connectors to help reduce design costs also makes is easily assimilated by the user but I wished they were spaced out a little more for my fat fingers.
Redundant communication methods for improved reliability:
Android/IOS Mobile App & Web Browser GUI,
Wifi & Bluetooth communication to the hardware so you can be independent from the cloud.
When controller modules are hardwired to each other they can act as redundant Wifi connection points for the system. Normally I would have preferred a hardwired network connection too for more stability but it has been fairly stable for the 4 months I’ve been running it.
GUI design is simple and can be switched between Tiles & Text for the device screen you are using.
Default common reef control parameters are predefined for each type of Input or Output which saves time and confusion when setting up equipment.
Backup and Restore function for all settings so you can restore a new module quickly if it gets corrupted or needed replacing.
In summary, any product that is designed to be easily used out of the box and reliable allows more people to adopt it if all other variables are equal. The Coral Vue Hydros appears to be another great option worth considering in the market. This is great news for an industry that is constantly under attack and would only stay viable if the hobby becomes more sustainable and grows a larger population of successful hobbyists because of the new technology that supports it.
Ellery is a mechanical systems engineer at a Fortune 500 technology company. He has automation experience in the automotive, appliance, printing and robotics industries as a product development professional but also has over 25 years of saltwater aquarium experience as a hobbyist. He currently maintains a 6 tank / 500 gallon SPS/LPS system.
I am clearly a gear nut and I like tinkering but won’t if I don’t need to. The out of the box experience was a breath of fresh air since many of my local reefer friends tend to stay away from controllers due to fear of complexity and cost of entry.From a design standpoint I can point out some key aspects that impressed me outside what is published in the product specification sheets. I won’t rehash that information since you can just read them yourselves on the vendor’s website.
