Add Dosing Regimen Schedule

A Dosing Regimen allows you to specify when a Simple Dosing pump should run. It will enable setting how much volume to add to your aquarium, when to add it, and how often.  

HYDROS offers two different types of Dosing regimens:

1. Simple Dosing: HYDROS can dose the same amount regardless of inputs or outputs.
2. Dynamic Dosing: The HYDROS can adjust the dosing volume based on an input reading.

Step 1: Create a Dosing Regimen

• From the main menu, tap on “SCHEDULES.”
• Tap on the + symbol at the bottom right and enter your Presets name.
• Tap Create

Step 2: Configure the Dosing Regimen

• Type: Select “Dose Regimen”
• Dynamic Dosing: The HYDROS can adjust the dosing volume based on an input reading.
  
  WARNING: HYDROS Dosing Regimen is completely INDEPENDENT of your Alkatronic/Focustronic testing schedule. You must manually adjust the dosing regimen to follow your testing schedule. For example, if your Alkatronic tests every four hours at 00:00, 04:00, 08:00… 20:00, you MUST set your dosing regimen to run at 00:30, 04:30, 08:30… 20:30. It will ensure that ANY dosing adjustments are made AFTER a new measurement is obtained.
  • Input: It is the input you want to base your dosing volume on. Here, you can select Focustronic inputs and other available inputs such as temperature, pH, ORP, and more.
  • Input Low Point: This is the bottom of the input range. 
    
    EXAMPLE: If you want your Alkalinity to go no lower than 7.5, this is where you set it.
  • Input High Point: This is the top of the input range.
    
    EXAMPLE: If you want your Alkalinity to go no higher than 8, this is where you set it.
  • Total Dose per Pump at Input Low Point: Here, you define how much you want the HYDROS to dose when the input reading matches or dips below the Low Point.
    
    WARNING: This is the TOTAL daily volume per entire regimen. This volume is divided by your “Dose Count” number.
  • Total Dose per Pump at Input High Point: Here, you define how much you want the HYDROS to dose when the input reading matches or exceeds the High Point.
    
    WARNING: This is the TOTAL daily volume per entire regimen. This volume is divided by your “Dose Count” number.
  • Total Dose per Pump if Input Invalid/Stale: This is your fallback dosing volume when an input reading is “Unavailable,” or in the case of Focustronic, the reading becomes “Stale.”
    
    WARNING: This is the TOTAL daily volume per entire regimen. This volume is divided by your “Dose Count” number.

The HYDROS will automatically adjust the dosing volume based on your “Total Dose per Pump at Input High Point” and “Total Dose per Pump at Input Low Point” based on the “High Point” and “Low Point” defined.

• Total Dose per Pump (dynamic dosing disabled): This option allows you to tell the HYDROS the total dosing volume PER dosing pump. 
  
  WARNING: This is the TOTAL daily volume per entire regimen. This volume is divided by your “Dose Count” number.
• Dose Count (dynamic dosing disabled): This number divides the “Total Dose per Pump” field evenly. If your Total Dose per Pump field is set to 100ml and your Dose Count is 10, the HYDROS will split the 100ml into ten individual dosings of 10ml each.  
  
  TIP: To specify the start and end time range for the HYDROS to evenly split the dosing, refer to the Start/End Time fields below.
• Dose Count (dynamic dosing enabled): This number divides the “Total Dose per Pump at Input Low/High/Invalid/Stale” field. 
• Doser Count: This option allows you to select multiple Dosing Pumps you want to attach to this schedule.  
• Doser #: This option allows you to select the Simple Doser to follow this scheduled dosing regimen.  
  
  WARNING: ONLY Dosing Pumps selected here will run this schedule.
• Delay Between Dosers (minutes): If your Doser Count exceeds 1, this option will become available. It allows you to “stagger” multiple pumps not to dispense chemicals into the tank simultaneously. 
  • Set it to -1: All pumps will run at the same time.
  • Set it to 0: It makes the pumps run sequentially.  
    
    EXAMPLE: Pump 2 will start as soon as Pump 1 ends. Pump 3 will start immediately after Pump 2 ends.
  • Set it to x > 0: It runs the following pump X number of minutes after the previous pump finished dosing.
    
    EXAMPLE: Pump 2 will start X minutes after Pump 1 ends.
     
• Active in Modes: It allows you to select which modes this dosing regimen will be run. If the mode is not specified, then the dosing regiment will be “Inactive” when the HYDROS is in that mode.   
• Start Time: This is when the controller triggers the first dosing of the regimen. If you only have 1 “Dose Count,” then this is the time when that dosing starts.
• End Time: This establishes the end of the time range for the Dose Count. If you only have one “Dose Count,” this field becomes irrelevant. If you have multiple Dose Counts, the system will take the starting and ending time range and divide it equally by the Dose Counts’ number.  
  
  TIP: If you want the regimen to span the entire 24 hours, then set both Start/End Times to 00:00:00
• Run Every N Days: This feature allows you to start the Dose Regiment every X number of days.  
  
  TIP: If you want the Dosing  Regimen to run every day, leave this set to One. Two means every other day. Three means every three days. Ten means every ten days. As soon as you slide to select a number, the app will show you the STARTING date of the interval.
• Run on Days of Week: This feature allows you to select which specific days of the week you want the Dosing Regimen Schedule to run.
  
  TIP: Blue circle means the day IS selected.
• Depends On: This feature allows you to turn the REGIMEN off based on the status of another output. To enable, select from the list of available outputs.  
  • Dependency Mode: This allows you to either turn the schedule ON or OFF based on the other output.
    • OFF if OFF: Will turn the schedule OFF if the output it depends on is OFF
    • OFF if ON: Will turn the schedule OFF when the output it depends on is ON
    • ON if OFF: Will turn the schedule ON when the output it depends on is OFF
    • ON if ON: Will turn the schedule ON when the output it depends on is ON

Step 3: Save your changes

• Tap on the yellow band at the bottom to upload your changes.

Appendix A: Dynamic Dosing Examples

Real-life Example #1

You want to keep your Alkalinity between 7 and 7.5 dKH. Over time, you have determined that to maintain Alkalinity fairly close to 7dKH, you must add alkaline solution at a rate of 400mL per day.

With the data at hand, you configure the following:

• Low Point: 7dKH
• High Point: 7.5dKH
• Total Dose per Pump at Input Low Point: 400mL
• Total Dose per Pump at Input High Point: 0mL
• Total Dose Per Pump if Input Invalid of Stale: 100mL
• Dose Count: 4

When your Alkalinity Reading is 7, the HYDROS will dose 100mL:  

• The reading is at or below the Low Point.  
• The “Total Dose per Pump at Input Low Point” is 400mL, but your dose count is 4.

As your Alkalinity reading returns higher, the HYDROS will adjust and decrease your base volume.

Four hours later, your Alkalinity comes back at 7.25dKH, and the HYDROS will dose 50mL:

• The reading is halfway between 7 and 7.5.
• The”Total Dose per Pump at Input High Point” is 400mL, but your “Dose Count” is four which divides the total dose to 100mL, and since the Alkalinity reading is halfway between 7 and 7.5, the HYDROS automatically adjusts the volume to be 50mL.

Four hours later, your Alkalinity comes back at 7.5dKH, and the HYDROS will dose 0mL:

• The reading is at or above the High Point.
• The “Total Dose per Pump at Input High Point” is 0mL.

Four hours later, your Alkalinity comes back at 6.95dKH, and the HYDROS will dose 100mL:

• The reading is at or below the Low Point.  
• The “Total Dose per Pump at Input High Point” is 400mL, but your dose count is 4.

As Alkalinity fluctuates throughout the day, keeping it at a static number is nearly impossible. The “goal” is to keep it within the range of 7-7.5dKH. If the reading constantly comes back below 7dKH, it tells you that 100mL is no longer enough to keep up with the demand, and you must increase your “Total Dose per Pump at Input Low Point.” If the dKH reading constantly comes back higher than 7.5dKH, you must decrease it.

Real-life Example #2

You are using Lanthanum to maintain your phosphates low. You have determined that to bring your PO4 down by 0.5, you must add 20mL of Lanthanum.

With the data at hand, you configure the following:

• Low Point: 0.04
• High Point: 0.54
  
  WARNING: The difference between Low and High is 0.5, the maximum dip recommended when using Lanthanum. It ensures that a no point in time my PO4 will drop more than the safe limit of 0.5
• Total Dose per Pump at Input Low Point: 0mL
• Total Dose per Pump at Input High Point: 20mL
• Total Dose per Pump if Input Invalid or Stale: 0mL
• Dose Count: 1

If your PO4 reading comes back at 0.04, HYDROS will add 0mL:

• The reading is at or below the Low Point.

If, instead, your PO4 measurement comes back at 0.54 or higher, the HYDROS will add 20mL:

• The reading is at or above the High Point.
• The “Total Dose Per Pump if Input High Point” is set to 20mL
• It ensures that the aquarium’s PO4 reading can only drop a max of 0.5 within the safe range.

If, instead, your PO4 reading comes back at 0.29, the HYDROS will add 10mL:

• The reading is halfway between .04 and .54
• The”Total Dose per Pump at Input High Point” is 20mL and the PO4 reading is halfway between .04 and .54. Therefore, the HYDROS automatically adjusts the volume to 10mL.

If your PO4 reading comes back at 0.16, the HYDROS will add 5mL:

• The reading is one-quarter the way between .04 and .54
• The”Total Dose per Pump at Input High Point” is 20mL and the PO4 reading is a one-quarter way between .04 and .54. Therefore, the HYDROS automatically adjusts the volume to 5mL.