Stay away from WAV, 1Link - pumps start to fail after 1 year.

Highgrade · Feb 11, 2019

Neptune replaced mine free of charge when they were 2-4 weeks out of warranty. Not sure if Neptune offers a discount like Ecotech does. Last non-warranty replacement I had through Ecotech they offered me a 35% discount on a new MP.

Highgrade · Feb 11, 2019

Richard baker said:
But the more I research these things have a very high fail rate after 12 months I hope it was just a fluke but google it and see for yourself. I’m hoping Neptune took notice and made some improvements

This is true about the failure rate. Not sure if they've made any improvements. I had an issue with my WAV pumps staying stuck on at 100%. This was with the replacements they sent me. My sand bed was everywhere. Only difference I could tell on the pumps was the impeller was a different color than the old units (grey vs beige). Neptune didn't have a fix and told me it was the Inverse/Mirror modes which will cause the pumps to get stuck at 100%. They said not to use those modes and they would hope to have this fixed in the next Firmware update.

Richard baker · Feb 11, 2019

I really love the pumps I just hope they fix the issues I’ll update as soon as I see how they make it right with the one in warranty

User1 · Feb 11, 2019

I've been looking at the product but not decided yet if I'm going this route. I have gyres now and while they move water they are cumbersome to clean and big. XF250's are nice but they come with a price and this whole deal with their new product and not backward compatible, well, really chaps my hide. I've read that the wav's do have a fall off but not like say Jaboe's in which case you need to clean monthly or you see a noticeable fall off. I thought about buying to try one but still on the fence.

I'm after a controllable product that is for the lazy reefer. One pump that doesn't need monthly cleanings plain and simple. Right now the only product on the market is the Sea Swirl. I have two. I may sell my XF's and get another pair and call it a day.

Richard baker · Feb 11, 2019

Befor this incident with mine I would have hands down recommended them. I’m hoping it was just a bad batch or something because the pumps are remarkable and extremely powerful.

User1 · Feb 11, 2019

Richard baker said:
Befor this incident with mine I would have hands down recommended them. I’m hoping it was just a bad batch or something because the pumps are remarkable and extremely powerful.

Do you mind if I ask you how often you cleaned them? Or was there a noticeable fall off?

Richard baker · Feb 11, 2019

I’m a bit of a weirdo I clean all my pumps anytime I notice any thing on them . As for fall off I never let them get dirty enough for that to be a issue . One thing I can say is they are way more powerful then a mp40 . I’ve read issues with Neptune products but I have to honestly say this is the only issue I have ever had everything from them if you follow a good maint schedule seems to work flawlessly I have the 2016 version apex and all the modules .so don’t rule out a wav pump as with anything sometimes you have issues and they get worked out everything else they make for me is second to none so I’m keeping the faith I just had a fluke

Javamahn · Feb 11, 2019

I have 2 right now that are offline. I bought 2 used Tunze 6105s to keep the tank flow going as it is sps dominant with only frags at the moment. Support call tomorrow.

Richard baker · Feb 11, 2019

Javamahn said:
I have 2 right now that are offline. I bought 2 used Tunze 6105s to keep the tank flow going as it is sps dominant with only frags at the moment. Support call tomorrow.

How old are yours

Javamahn · Feb 11, 2019

Richard baker said:
How old are yours

Honestly I don't remember. I bought the WSK used. Original owner purchased a new set while waiting for the replacements. These are the replacements that arrived 2/2018. The tiles show OK but they won't start even if I toggle the switch on which should run them at 100%

Richard baker · Feb 11, 2019

Just doing research I’m really curious of the reason they fail most pumps I’ve read about that fail are in impeccable condition I wander if maybe this was like a first manufacturer batch that did not seal correctly and it’s been corrected possibly why trident is taking so long so when it hits the market all the issues have been worked out

Javamahn · Feb 11, 2019

I do not believe my pumps have a water tight issue. I clean and inspect them every 2 months and did so only 2 weeks ago which is when this issue cropped up. My system sees them but cannot control them. There is no alarms or Missing showing on the tiles. Just 0 rpm. I have debated erasing all the programming and starting over by putting things back one at a time.

Richard baker · Feb 11, 2019

Mine showed the same thing I completely reset my apex from scratch and when I did that it would not even detect the wav . So I borrowed a friends thinking it was my power bar and his showed up and worked flawlessly so I know mine was the pump

Highgrade · Feb 11, 2019

Richard baker said:
Mine showed the same thing I completely reset my apex from scratch and when I did that it would not even detect the wav . So I borrowed a friends thinking it was my power bar and his showed up and worked flawlessly so I know mine was the pump

I had a similar issue. Had to remove the WAVs completely from the config. Reboot the APEX removing all power and connections. Once the Apex was back online the unit could detect the WAVs. You may want to try this. Also check all 3 of the 1Link ports. I had a bad/dead port on my original 1 link. Neptune quickly sent me a new 1 Link after determining my FW was up to date and that the WAVs worked on other ports but the one bad port.

Javamahn · Feb 11, 2019

Highgrade said:
I had a similar issue. Had to remove the WAVs completely from the config. Reboot the APEX removing all power and connections. Once the Apex was back online the unit could detect the WAVs. You may want to try this. Also check all 3 of the 1Link ports. I had a bad/dead port on my original 1 link. Neptune quickly sent me a new 1 Link after determining my FW was up to date and that the WAVs worked on other ports but the one bad port.

I tried that on my classic multiple times. Remove everything and then one at a time connect and upgrade the firmware. It all detects and loads just fine but no control ability. In the past I was able to get it all working but these last few times it's being stubborn.

Richard baker · Feb 11, 2019

So many issues hopefully Neptune looks into it and corrects it they have a extremely powerful pump with tons of potential if they can fix the issues

Javamahn · Feb 11, 2019

Agreed I really liked them and had a heck of a program running but in the end reliability is going to be the deciding factor and if these cant be relied upon 24/7/365 then I will have to sacrafice some of the features to know that it just works. 5-10 year old Tunzes still in operation are not uncommon. I hope the WAV team sets their competition on those manufacturers because right now Jebao is the closest competitor I have to my WAVs. I mean these pumps are based in Sicce so what's the problem.

Highgrade · Feb 11, 2019

Richard baker said:
So many issues hopefully Neptune looks into it and corrects it they have a extremely powerful pump with tons of potential if they can fix the issues

Hopefully they'll work out the kinks or at least extend the warranty if they don't put any more discovery work into why so many pumps fail around the year mark. Longevity vs Cost is my biggest issue. Both of my pumps were replaced about this time last year. If they fail soon and Neptune cant provide replacements or discounted replacements I'll be replacing with Ecotech pumps. Which I run Ecotech pumps on several tanks currently and have had no issues with their products or service. It would be too bad also since I'm building a new tank and was contemplating going with WAVs on the new build since I already purchased a new Apex for it. I love the WAVs power and controllability but the reliability may out weigh this.