- [Thomas] Hey, it's Thomas here.
And today we're going to be taking a look
at Aqua Illuminations Nero pumps.
If you've been looking for a very compact,
feature rich, app controlled,
DC flow pump that is super user-friendly
and easily affordable, starting at 150 bucks
for 2000 gallons per hour of flow.
Then hang tight,
cause AI has got you covered
with these little water rockets.
It should come as no surprise that
water circulation plays a critical role
in the health of our reef aquariums.
It's responsible for gas exchange and oxygenation,
aides in filtration by keeping detritus suspended
in the water column, so it can move it through
the filtration system, and not only brings
nutrients and food to our corals but also
removes waste so they can thrive.
I think it's pretty safe to say,
that all reefers share a few desires
when it comes to picking out the perfect
circulation pump for our reef tanks.
First off make it as small
and unimposing as possible, so it's easy to hide.
Also make it as quiet as possible
so we don't have to hear it.
And give us as many control options as possible,
while keeping things affordable and easy to use.
I think AI's really nailed that wishlist
with their Nero pumps.
Not only are these puck style propeller pumps
ultra compact, but so is their controller.
They're very quiet,
provide lots of control and flow schedule options,
an easy to use app to set them up,
as well as onboard control for the basics.
And now include an optional guard
for small fish and inverts.
Plus they now come in a smaller model,
with the Nero 3 pump.
But before we get into all the details,
let's get this one out of the box.
In the box you'll find,
the Nero pump with a magnetic mount,
an inline controller with its own mount.
The small fish and invert guard,
the cable management accessories,
the power supply with universal adapters,
as well as the quick start guide.
The Nero pumps now come in two sizes.
The Nero 5, that I have here,
pushing up to 3000 gallons per hour
and the newer, smaller Nero 3,
pushing up to 2000 gallons per hour.
Both of these pumps are incredibly compact,
with the 5 coming in at, 2.8 inches in diameter,
and only 2.1 inches thick with the magnet.
And the 3, a tiny two and a quarter inches in diameter,
and only 1.4 inches thick, which is super impressive.
AI was able to achieve this form factor
with a very unique impeller design.
Rather than an impeller attached to the
end of a magnet, that sits inside of a well.
Nero's impeller blades are fixed to the outside
of a sealed magnetic ring that wraps around
the outside of the motor,
which makes for a much flatter pump
that is much easier to hide
and sneak into tight spaces.
AI also opted to use a thinner power cable,
which hides quite well in the tank
and is very easy to manage and keep tidy
which really adds to the height ability of these pumps.
And yes, height ability is a word,
I had to look it up.
When it comes to mounting these pumps
the dual magnetic mount system works really nicely
and the mounts attach to glass up to roughly
half an inch thick and the inner mount is concave
and cradles the back of the pump,
allowing for it to be pointed and aimed
up, down, left, right, or anywhere in between,
with up to roughly 15 degrees of angle.
It is important to note though,
that if you do use the optional small fish guard
the pump will need to be faced straight forward.
The controller or driver
for these Nero pumps is absolutely tiny.
It's actually the smallest that I've ever come across.
And that's going to be fantastic
for saving space on your controller board
or keeping things hidden and out of sight.
Even at it's minuscule size, there's a single button
with a halo indicator light for onboard control.
Right out of the box,
you can turn the pump on
or off by holding down the button for six seconds.
Click the button to cycle through six flow speeds from 1%,
all the way up to a 100%, in 20% increments.
And press and hold the button for two to five seconds
for a feed mode that will slow the pump down
to 1% for 10 minutes.
However, the fun really begins when you download
the My AI app to your smart device.
The Nero pumps are really easy to pair up.
It is super quick,
and you don't need to worry about wifi passwords
or anything like that.
I'm almost willing to say that it is the easiest,
device pairing that I've done to date,
for an app controlled aquarium pump.
The app provides three flow modes,
including constant flow, pulse, and random modes
with the ability to adjust the maximum flow,
the minimum flow, and the variance of each mode.
Max and min settings are pretty straightforward.
The variance setting, however,
is how frequently the pump will switch speeds.
For random mode,
a high variance will change to a random flow
within your minimum and maximum settings,
more frequently than a low variance setting.
You don't have to stick to
just a single flow setting though.
You can easily create a 24 hour flow schedule
simply by dragging and dropping the flow modes into place.
You can then drag the edges to the
times you'd like them to start and stop,
or click on them to fine tune the times,
as well as the max, min,
and variants of the mode for that part of the day.
You can even include feed mode into the schedule
so that it lines up with your automatic feeder settings
giving you the ability to really create a flow schedule
that not only works best for your particular fish,
corals, and Aqua scape, but also works in tandem
with the other gear on your tank.
The Nero pumps can also be run
in a parent and child configuration.
If you're using multiple pumps
with the child pump mirroring the parent's schedule,
the app allows you to set the phase of the child pump.
So, rather than having the option of being an exact mirror
of the parent, with a phase of zero degrees
or doing the exact opposite of the parent,
with the phase of 180 degrees.
You can actually set the child pump to chase the parent,
by setting the phase to 90 degrees,
providing a slight offset between the pumps
which can create some fantastic randomized flow patterns
within the tank.
The app also allows you to turn all of your Nero pumps
on or off all at once,
instead of unplugging pumps one at a time,
or turning each pump off individually on the controller,
one tap and they all turn off.
So you can take them out of the aquarium,
for a quick citric acid bath right there,
in a bucket next to the tank.
Which should be pretty easy to do
even while they're still plugged in,
thanks to that very generous, 10 foot cable
between the pump and the controller.
They're also very easy to disassemble
when you need to do a more thorough cleaning,
a quick twist of the cover and it comes right off
giving you access to the impeller.
Like I mentioned earlier,
AI now includes a fish guard to help keep those smaller
or slower moving fish and inverts safe
from finding their way into the back of the pump.
It's really easy to install and just sits between
the back of the pump and the magnet.
And has a small notch
to accommodate the power cord.
It doesn't click or snap on,
but rather is held comfortably in place
by that inner magnet.
I do highly recommend using the guard.
Even if you think your fish or inverts might be just fine,
it's always better to err on the side of caution.
And truly, at 150 bucks
for the 2000 gallon per hour, Nero 3,
and 200 bucks for the Nero 5.
These are one of the absolute best
bang for your buck flow pumps available,
which is just one more reason why they're so dang popular.
If these tiny little flow cannons match your evening mantra.
You can go ahead and pick one up for yourself
by clicking right here.
(upbeat music)