- Hey, it's Thomas here.
And today we're gonna be checking out
Aqamai's KPS Wavemaker Pump.
Here's the thing:
they've been around for a while,
but in my opinion,
they are one of the most
underutilized and underappreciated pumps,
especially for nano reefers.
These things have all the control.
They're tiny.
They are incredibly affordable.
I mean, what's not to love?
It's about time we take another look,
so let's dive into this.
Water circulation is super important
to our success as reef keepers.
Having copious amounts of beneficial flow in our reefs
helps bring food, nutrients, and needed elements
to our corals,
while removing by-products and waste.
Without proper flow,
our corals just can't thrive,
regardless of what kind of lighting
or perfect parameters we throw at them.
While there are lots of fantastic
wave pump options out there,
finding a compact, unobtrusive,
and affordable nano-sized pump
that can provide the same level of control and customization
as the larger mainstream wave pumps in our hobby
has always been a challenge.
Either we go for something that is larger, pricier,
and needs to be turned down considerably
but has all the features we want,
or we go for those much smaller,
inexpensive, and less obtrusive nano-rated AC pumps
that lack any kind of control,
but can get the job done.
And for sure, there have been a few small pumps
here and there that fall somewhere in the middle.
However, none of them quite embody
that perfect balance of price, performance, and features
quite as well as the KPS does.
Aqamai's KPS takes all of the best features
of the Koralia Gen 3 pumps
and then adds a DC motor, wifi-opt control
with six flow modes, 24 hour custom scheduling,
a low profile DMSS Mount
with lots of articulation and crams all of it
along with 1,050 gallons per hour of flow
into a pump the size of a chicken egg.
And it is for those reasons,
plus a few more, that it is in my humble opinion,
the most underrated flow pump for nano reef tanks
that is currently available.
Plus, it is shockingly affordable,
which just adds to my confusion
as to why more people aren't in love with this little pump.
So let's get it out of the box and dig into it a bit.
In the box, you'll find the KPS Wavemaker Pump,
the controller,
the power supply and power cable,
some cable management accessories,
and the user manual.
The Aqamai KP pumps are actually available in two sizes.
The KPS pushes 1050 gallons per hour
and is rated for tanks between 10 and 50 gallons.
While the larger KPM tops out at 2,700 gallons per hour
for tanks between 50 and 125 gallons.
They are both fantastic pumps for their price points,
but I'm going to be focusing on the smaller KPS
in this video,
as it's uniquely awesome for pico and nano tanks
that want an app controlled pump
with a ton of customization.
Plus, it's the most affordable wifi-controlled
wave pump out there from a reputable brand
that reapers have trusted for over a decade.
With that said, everything we talked about
regarding the KPS
is also going to apply to the KPM
say for the obvious,
like the dimensions,
the flow rating, and the magnet strength.
The KPS is tiny coming in at only 2.5 by 1.9 inches,
which is phenomenal for sneaking it
into smaller reef aquariums or tight spots.
It also means that it's easy to hide
and won't draw your eye away from your beautiful reef tank.
Aqamai took it a step further with their DMSS,
or Dual Magnet Support System,
using a flexible silicone suction cup
with an internal magnet to both cradle and hold the pump
to the mount,
as well as to hold the mount with the pump
to panels up to 0.59 inches thick.
The result is a very low profile mount
with a large range of positioning
for directing the flow to where you need it most,
regardless of where you'd like the pump to be mounted
in the tank.
Plus, the design is inherently vibration absorbing
which keeps this already super quiet pump
basically inaudible.
Sure, you'd probably be able to hear something
if everything in the room was off
and then everything on the tank was off,
other than just that pump
and the pump was turned all the way up
to a hundred percent intensity
and you were standing right beside the tank
on the side the pump was on,
but that would just be you trying to prove me wrong.
Which is actually cool
because you'd really just be helping me prove my point.
The flow pattern that the KPS delivers
is similar to other wide propeller style pumps,
like the Koralia Gen 3's for example,
a wide, gentle yet turbulent kona flow
that gets a lot of water moving without being overwhelming
to corals directly across from the pump.
With that said, the KPS does still have quite a bit of punch
and does a good job of getting flow
moving from one end to the other end
on a three foot tank,
like my 300 XL here.
More impressive however,
is the amount of actual control you get
over said flow pattern
when you hook the pump up to the Aqamai app.
The app gives you access to six different flow modes,
including constant, wave, smooth,
random, feed, and night modes
that can be individually customized.
It also gives you the ability
to create 24 hour schedules
that can switch between different modes every 30 minutes,
a slew of spiffy preset schedules to choose from
based on the size and type of reef that you have
so you don't have to create one yourself.
Plus, you can save your own custom presets
and copy them over to new pumps
rather than having to remake them from scratch,
which is something I can really appreciate.
The controller itself has an LED indicator light
that will match the color and pulse frequency
of the flow mode that is currently running
so you can always see what your pump is doing
at a quick glance without having to whip out your phone.
You can also trigger a 10-minute feed mode
that will stop the pump completely
by pressing the button down for two seconds.
You can also cancel that feed mode at any time
by pressing the button again.
So if you've been looking for a tiny, affordable,
yet powerful little DC wave pump
that has those top tier features
without the top dollar price tag,
you can pick up a KPS for yourself
by clicking right here.
I love this pump.
(funky music)