一年多以前，Neptune Systems首次宣布了WAV泵。经过长时间的开发孵化，海王星终于开始运送这个有趣的新泵。尽管等待了，WAV仍具有一些相当令人兴奋和有希望的功能，可以帮助它在拥挤的螺旋桨泵市场中脱颖而出，以获得礁石水族馆的水流。
大部分水族水泵是用来插入to the wall first, with controllability features added on after. With the WaV pump, both the power and the control have been streamlined into a single cord coming from the 1Link power module for the Neptune Systems Apex controller. The WaV is unique in that it is the only device of its kind on the market, and certainly the only pump ever made thatrequiresa full blow controller to operate.
在这方面，WAV在DOS蠕动剂量系统的脚步中遵循，仅在Apex Controller及其相关模块和附件的生态系统中工作。该策略是否适合Neptune Systems和WAV都超出了本文的范围，但是与此同时，我们希望严格地强调我们的第一印象，与WAV泵和1link Controller的硬件，以及它们如何纯粹从一个水运动的角度。
我们收到了WAV入门套件进行审查，其中包括两个WAV泵，1link模块，100瓦电源和一根串行电缆，可将1Link连接到顶端头部单元。WAV泵使用专有电缆插入1link模块中，以便它可以only插入1link，最多可以将三个WAV泵插入相同的1link模块中。
1链接模块包含两个额外的动力ccessory ports which may be used in the future to drive small DC devices such as a top off pump or small LED light, but this has yet to be implemented by Neptune Systems. One cool new addition to the Neptune Systems modules is a quick-disconnect attachment fitting molded right into the back plate of the 1Link making installation onto a surface and removal for servicing and maintenance easier than ever.
甚至在插入WAV泵之前，我们都被WAV螺旋桨泵的出色构建质量击中。The high quality finish of the WaV pumps is a far cry from the multitude of cheap prop pumps available on the market today, and the fit and finish of the WaV pumps shows that there’s been an incredible attention to detail in the construction of these new controllable DC Propeller pumps.
Connecting the WaV pumps to the 1Link module was a breeze and both WaV devices were immediately recognized by the Apex controller. The drop down menu of options for the WaV pump includes lots of programming modes that will be familiar to advanced propeller pump users, with constant, pulsing, mirror and many other modes to make the pump change flow patterns throughout the day.
One of the biggest differences between the WaV and the Vortech pumps is that Neptune’s propeller pump isn’t ‘live-controlled’, and instead must beprogrammedeach time you want to adjust or change the flow pattern. The programming required to make the WaV do its water flow dance will be no problem for 99% of the time that you want the WaV running a particular program, but it is in stark contrast to how adjustments of the Vortech in Ecosmart Live can be performed in real time.
一旦WAV泵启动并运行，WAV泵产生的巨大流速将令人印象深刻。海王星系统以每小时4,000加仑的速度评价，虽然我们无法直接验证该值，但我们可以保证水流的羽流总体上体积with what we’ve come to expect coming out of the Sicce Voyager HP10 and the Vortech MP40.
The overall volume of water being pushed by the WaV pump is comparable to competing pumps in the marine aquarium market, but the WaV has a distinctly more focused plume of water flow. The WaV pump is much more like a wide喷射与SICCE Voyager HP10或Vortech MP40相比，水流进一步渗透到水箱中，但总体上的“大型水运动”少。
The difference in the WaV’s characteristic water flow is neither better or worse for reef tanks, it all depends on what kind of tank you have, how much rockwork is in your aquarium display, and how you operate and position your pumps. That being said, the WaV will probably find a more suitable applications in busy reef tanks with a lot of rockwork and little open water space, as the narrow plume of water that it creates can more easily pass between tightly aquascaped reef structures.
Neptunes’ WaV will shine the most when the reefer decides to place their pumps deep within the rockwork, or if there is a need to angle the beam of flow to point in a particular way. Vortech’s can’t stray anywhere away from the glass and Sicce Voyagers are particularly large and blocky water pumps that no one wants to have front and center.
Neptune has hit a real sweet spot with the type and amount of water flow produced by the WaV, you could reasonably compare it to a Vortech pump in that regard. But in terms of noise produced, the WaV pump falls just short of the QuietDrive technology found in the Vortech pump. The WaV pump is “silent” by 2010 standards, running extremely quietly for the amount of flow that it produces, but you can hear it come on and go off, and in pulse mode. That being said, the sound of the WaV will probably not phase anyone who is used to running standard powerheads and even high quality DC propeller pumps – there’s just only so much that smooth bearings, noise-cancelling and vibration reducing tank mounts can do to quiet the sound of the motor.
Judging from the marketing material that Neptune Systems has released, it is clear that Neptune is trying to position its WaV as a worthy alternative to the Vortech pump. We are somewhat dismayed that Neptune Systems has chosen to sandbox the WaV only within the confines of the Apex controller system, the WaV could be a great controllable DC propeller pump for the ‘open’ market. The opinion aside, the company has managed to create a unique product that is sure to create the kind of flow that modern reef keepers demand, with a wide range of controlling features to be found within the Fusion control environment that will please the diehard reefkeeping Control Freaks.
