Koralia EVOs on a wavemaker... my first impressions

Reefposer · 03/18/2010, 04:23 PM

So... with all the talk of the new Koralia EVOs being wavemaker friendly I figured I'd try them out. I grabbed a Chauvet SF-4005 timer and soldered in a new capacitor so the chase timer swithes the outlets back and forth from 5 sec to 30 sec. For 29.00 shipped plus a 1.49 capacitor from radioshack... I'm impressed considering it is rebadged by an aquarium company, sold for $80 and has a less than useful timer range without the different capacitor.

Now on to the pumps. I originally had too little flow in my 40BR so I grabbed two EVO 1050gph models. The new suction mount with vibration reducing blah blah... I never had any issues with the old pumps and vibes or noise but cool. I'll take the new mount as an "upgrade". The big selling point on these pumps is they can be run on a wavemaker and they indeed can be but... Maybe I'm too picky or expecting too much out of a $35 powerhead but they are not in any way silent. There is no chatter on start-up like the old Koralia but there is a very audible noise, a click or thud almost, on start and stop of the motors. Running they are silent but so were my old ones. Not a huge deal but when the pumps switch back and forth every 5 seconds it gets kind of old. Anyone else notice this?

Overall for $100 after discount codes for the powerheads and a wavemaker I can't say I'm totally let down. Maybe I expected too much in terms of silent operation of the pumps. Maybe I should have spent more. Either way the pumps are nice and the amount of crap kicked up with the new pumps will certainly help keep things cleaner.

kimber45 · 03/18/2010, 09:13 PM

thanks for the heads up.

i've been looking at these.

think im going for a mp40 on my 50br.

reefrick.M · 03/19/2010, 07:07 AM

I've had my 2 Evo 1400s now since Monday. They are both on a Red Sea WaveMaster Pro. At the 3 day mark one of them quit. I took it out and pulled the cover,nothing stuck in it and reassembled. It's back to working now but it makes a humming noise which I noticed before it quit. If your tank is in the living room and doesn't make a whole lot of noise you will here these things clack every time they start up. It makes me wonder now how wave friendly they are.

asonitez · 03/20/2010, 09:41 AM

I hear the click myself. I'm thinking that they need to slime up a bit before You don't hear anything at all.

I have 4X Koralia 3's on a Red Sea Wavemaker and 2 Additional Koralia 4's in a 125g Tank.

NYCBOB · 03/20/2010, 12:08 PM

i hv the koralia evo 1050 and 1400 running under the redsea wavemaker for 3 weeks now. so far, i am satisfied with it. only time will tell whether the pumps would hold up.

03/18/2010, 04:23 PM	#1
Reefposer Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 77	Koralia EVOs on a wavemaker... my first impressions So... with all the talk of the new Koralia EVOs being wavemaker friendly I figured I'd try them out. I grabbed a Chauvet SF-4005 timer and soldered in a new capacitor so the chase timer swithes the outlets back and forth from 5 sec to 30 sec. For 29.00 shipped plus a 1.49 capacitor from radioshack... I'm impressed considering it is rebadged by an aquarium company, sold for $80 and has a less than useful timer range without the different capacitor. Now on to the pumps. I originally had too little flow in my 40BR so I grabbed two EVO 1050gph models. The new suction mount with vibration reducing blah blah... I never had any issues with the old pumps and vibes or noise but cool. I'll take the new mount as an "upgrade". The big selling point on these pumps is they can be run on a wavemaker and they indeed can be but... Maybe I'm too picky or expecting too much out of a $35 powerhead but they are not in any way silent. There is no chatter on start-up like the old Koralia but there is a very audible noise, a click or thud almost, on start and stop of the motors. Running they are silent but so were my old ones. Not a huge deal but when the pumps switch back and forth every 5 seconds it gets kind of old. Anyone else notice this? Overall for $100 after discount codes for the powerheads and a wavemaker I can't say I'm totally let down. Maybe I expected too much in terms of silent operation of the pumps. Maybe I should have spent more. Either way the pumps are nice and the amount of crap kicked up with the new pumps will certainly help keep things cleaner.

03/18/2010, 09:13 PM	#2
kimber45 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: michigan Posts: 455	thanks for the heads up. i've been looking at these. think im going for a mp40 on my 50br.

03/19/2010, 07:07 AM	#3
reefrick.M Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: MA. Posts: 193	I've had my 2 Evo 1400s now since Monday. They are both on a Red Sea WaveMaster Pro. At the 3 day mark one of them quit. I took it out and pulled the cover,nothing stuck in it and reassembled. It's back to working now but it makes a humming noise which I noticed before it quit. If your tank is in the living room and doesn't make a whole lot of noise you will here these things clack every time they start up. It makes me wonder now how wave friendly they are.

03/20/2010, 09:41 AM	#4
asonitez Floodicus Maximus Flooris Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 1,643	I hear the click myself. I'm thinking that they need to slime up a bit before You don't hear anything at all. I have 4X Koralia 3's on a Red Sea Wavemaker and 2 Additional Koralia 4's in a 125g Tank.

03/20/2010, 12:08 PM	#5
NYCBOB Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NYC Posts: 1,768	i hv the koralia evo 1050 and 1400 running under the redsea wavemaker for 3 weeks now. so far, i am satisfied with it. only time will tell whether the pumps would hold up.