Disappointed in the Hydor Koralia Smart Wave Controller- Click, Click, Click!

dastowers

New member
:mad:

Have been listening to the clicking noise for the last few hours of my new Smart Wave Pump controller as it "controls" my two new Koralia Circulation and Wave Pumps - 1500 gph each.
Ugg..it is awful. My very friendly and outgoing yellow tang is ready to jump out of the tank every time it switches on. Not happy. Have read all the posts about the old pumps or non-Koralia pumps having issues- well these are brand new from Amazon. New stock and new design.

I LOVE the Pumps but the Wavemaker turning them on causes the pumps to click. Don't let anyone kid you- they are noisy even over my 150g sump. If you have a PH controller for CO2- yea exactly the same sound. Click on, Click on...

Going to return it.
 
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I'd give it a few days to see if it gets any quieter. It may or it may not, but it might be worth a try. Others will probably chime in and let you know how their's sound.
 
Thanks Craig. :) Good to meet you. I have three other newer (less than 3 months) Koralia pumps I LOVE. No issues and when they are on quiet. Connected them to the Controller- same noise. Just the start up clicks- will give it a day but I am not sure if my Tang will be happy.
 
Yea, I. Can't stand stuff like that. I can't run my vortechs in "wave" mode because of the repetitive ramping up sound.
 
Those powerheads are not designed to be used on wave controllers at all. They outta be sued for even allowing people to think they are imho. They will never quiet down. .. ever! Even the tunze non controllable powerheads aren't meant to be run in controllers. You need a pump that ramps up and down imho. Take those off controllers before they start to run backwards.
 
Yes, agreed. They market them together and are designed to work together but a very bad design when together!

http://www.amazon.com/Hydor-Smart-C...hannel/dp/B005TJCU0U/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036S1ETY/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 -Product Description
Size: 1400/1500 gph
Circulation pump for freshwater and marine aquariums. Designed for use with timers and wavemaker systems. Includes magnet-suction cup mounting system for free positioning in aqaurium.
 
That is probably good advice from Drae. True controllable powerheads are mechanically and electronically quite different from non-controllable powerheads. There are ways to attempt to control a non-controllable PH, but unfortunately none of them are very good in the long run.

This will probably be slim consolation... but in my experience controllability is a very 'nice' feature for powerheads to have. It makes placement a lot easier and will usually allow for a much cleaner tank with less fuss. But, and this is my main point, it's nice but not at all necessary. If you keep them constantly on (disconnected from controller) and play around with the positioning so that their streams intersect, you can often get flow that is almost as good. So controllability is nice to have but not totally necessary.
 
I couldn't listen to it anymore. Rearranged the 5 I have, along with the sump return and made a pretty good swaying path. Funny thing is - I don't mind tank noise. In my office have two very big tanks with sumps. At least 4 computers running at any time on my work bench. 3 other smaller tanks with Freshwater shrimp - Orange Eye Blue Tigers, Crystals, Yellow, Red etc - with air pumps so I am not being a fuss bucket. The sound is like nails on a chalk board. I understand it is the function of the pumps that is causing it but geesh.. redesign something or don't call them wave pumps.
 
:mad:

Have been listening to the clicking noise for the last few hours of my new Smart Wave Pump controller as it "controls" my two new Koralia Circulation and Wave Pumps - 1500 gph each.
Ugg..it is awful. My very friendly and outgoing yellow tang is ready to jump out of the tank every time it switches on. Not happy. Have read all the posts about the old pumps or non-Koralia pumps having issues- well these are brand new from Amazon. New stock and new design.

I LOVE the Pumps but the Wavemaker turning them on causes the pumps to click. Don't let anyone kid you- they are noisy even over my 150g sump. If you have a PH controller for CO2- yea exactly the same sound. Click on, Click on...

Going to return it.

For some reason my right side evo 1050 is quiet when it turns on, cant hear it. But my other one clicks when it turns on and scares my kole tang sometimes.
 
also the bumpers tend to break off and the pump will start backwards. I had to call hydor for new covers. It took about 1 year for the covers to break, I will continue to use them since I cant afford the better ones.
 
This is a interesting thread. First, sorry to hear about the noise issue. It would drive me nuts as well. On that note I just installed a Hydor circulation wave pump (425 model) in my nano based on it saying it was "timer" compatible. I have it set on my Reef Angel to turn on and off randomly between 60 and 300 seconds.

All I hear to be honest is is the relay kick on and off and nothing else. In fact, I was thinking about buying a second one and alternating between the two. I would rather have a vortex mp10 but it is a bit too expensive for me right now so need to wait a bit.

So far this is working and not making any noise. The only down side is that I had to move my Split Tail Blenny to my sons tank because he thought it made for a good home when it was off :( I didn't want him / her to turn into sushi so moved him. I'm also running into a issue whereas my Strombus snails enter it and if they are in there, and it kicks on, then they get spun around for a few minutes until it turns off and they escape or I hear it and turn it off for them...

I guess in the end in regards to power heads or water movement pumps you get what you pay for huh? Just wish the mp10's are more affordable :)
 
Yes, I am seriously considering just buying ONE Vortech to try. Think I would be spoiled then. :-0 In a good way.
 
Jeabo wp40 work like vortech look like tunze I got mine in and love it. Selling my old powerheads now.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
 
I have 2 hydros couple of weeks old a 750 and 1050 on a wave maker and I can barley hear any noise unless I am near tank low clicking noise I think I am taking mine off the wave maker also too much bad news Vortech def not in the near future rather buy LED
I would call hydro I am sure they will send you new pump I always (almost always) have good luck calling MFG
GOOD LUCK
 
Those are AC drive pumps and most AC driven pumps will have that issue.

If you have a corded drill and a rechargable drill at home you can kinda see what I am talking about. With both drills gently pull the trigger. You'll notice the corded wants to start abruptly, while the battery operated drill will slowly creep up as you pull the trigger.

That abrupt start up is universal in AC driven motors. That abrupt start up is also a big factor in that click sound you hear.

Korilia does sell DC driven pumps with a DC controller, but they are much more expensive.
 
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I have mine set to three hours and My old pump clicks but my new 1050 does not.
Works well for me. I also use a Coralife Super Skimmer and I know what kind of rap that thing gets on here. I guess I'm lucky in some ways and unlucky in others as most things in my tank die (but all my equipment is flawless)
 
...

That abrupt start up is universal in AC driven motors. That abrupt start up is also a big factor in that click sound you hear....

The clicking you hear is mostly due to the impeller/propeller starting up running backwards and hitting itself into something solid to get it spinning back the other (correct) direction. It's a problem that all AC powerheads have. Some handle it more quietly and elegantly than others.

Due to the way AC powerheads are made, you can't control which direction the impeller starts. You've got a 50/50 chance the thing will start up in the correct direction. That's why you might not hear the noise every time it starts up, because sometimes it gets it right.

Powerhead manufacturers have to design a way for the impeller to reverse itself if it starts up the wrong way. Most of them do this by allowing the impeller to float up or down on the shaft or in the housing. If its going the wrong way, it'll "float" itself into something solid which will cause the impeller to stall and hopefully get started back in the right direction. If it doesn't it just bashes into the solid thing again (and again) until it finally gets going in the right direction. That's why sometimes the noise will be louder and longer than other times.

All AC powerheads run like this, so running them on rapid on/off cycles causes the same stresses to that anti-reverse design.
 
The clicking is only the beginning of your problems. The impeller's magnets will also swell sooner or later and you'll have to replace those too. You'll also be replacing the front covers very often because your impeller start/stop action is going to blow a hole right through the middle. Definitely one of the worst powerheads on the market. Even without the controller, you'll still have to switch your pumps on and off repeatedly just to get them flowing in the right direction.
 
hydor makes great pumps.. I used them for many years before I went to tunze. Hydor has 2 different types of "controllable" pumps. 1 is the smart wave which is simple on/off and very normal to click on. The 2nd is the "wavemaker" system which works like a tunze / vortech.. Ramping up and down smoothly with low voltage. you will be happy with any of the tunze, vortech or hydor wavemaker
 
hydor makes great pumps.. I used them for many years before I went to tunze. ...

I went to Tunze after a few years also, but not because I thought Hydor made great pumps. The old ones seemed good - never had any issues. But these new "Evos"... not so good. I've had two of the mid sized ones that would run backwards 20-30% of the time. Even after sending one back to Hydor and having them "fix" it, when I put it in a bucket right out of the box it started up backwards! Then there's the two nano Evos that failed the same way - with the epoxy potting flaking apart and exposing the coils (and 120V) to saltwater. Luckily I caught the first one in time and I only lost one coral. The second one I noticed because I ended up grounding myself with my hand in the water, at which point my arm tingled pretty good and my GFCI tripped!

I used to think these pumps were good, but having two pumps fail over the course of 2-3 years in the same manner tells me there's a problem. Won't see any Hydor products in my tank ever again.
 
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