I have the Koralia (sp) powerheads in my tank. I want a multicontroler but do i need to get the Korollia wavemaker and a controller? Or can I just get the multicontroller and use that?
Sorry but you will need to buy a power head designed to use a wave maker. The standard ones will burn up in a short period of time.
Tom verdict_in
i think u get problem on a regular wavemaker. i think u need the controllable ks and wavemaker.
… redundant topics merged …
CD is using a reefkeeper to control his Koralia(s), I think …
I am using a ReefKeeper 2 to control 3 Koralias. The RK2 comes with a “soft start” function for the wavemaker that uses less juice at the very start of the cycle to reduce clicking and burn out of the power heads. I couldn’t be happier with the results I am getting.
90% of the time I don’t hear any clicking at all on start up.
I have stood in front of Craig’s tank and it is silent till he opens the closet door where the sump is housed.
[quote=“Cdangel0, post:6, topic:1430”]
I am using a ReefKeeper 2 to control 3 Koralias. The RK2 comes with a “soft start” function for the wavemaker that uses less juice at the very start of the cycle to reduce clicking and burn out of the power heads. I couldn’t be happier with the results I am getting.
90% of the time I don’t hear any clicking at all on start up.[/quote]
I’d still love to know HOW the RK2 does that…if your feeling curious, can you put a multimeter on there Craig? See if the voltage ramps up. It’s not as easy to-do over AC power.
I’ve been clicking my non-controllable powerhead on/off every 15 mins for a about 4 months now and it still works ok. It def clicks and it’s only been 4 months so it may be burning up. Def better off w/ DC controllable powerheads.
The RK 2 is out of production. Does the RK lite do the same thing?
[quote=“IanH, post:8, topic:1430”]
I’d still love to know HOW the RK2 does that…if your feeling curious, can you put a multimeter on there Craig? See if the voltage ramps up. It’s not as easy to-do over AC power.[/quote]
Not sure how the RK2 does it, but a reduced voltage start is simple to implement. Just drop a (properly sized and rated) resistor (or reactor) in series with the motor for a second or so during startup.
Or, you could build your own PWM drive. Use a volts-per-hertz start-up profile. But that’s not for the faint of heart.
[quote=“rawdawg05, post:9, topic:1430”]
The RK 2 is out of production. Does the RK lite do the same thing?[/quote]
I am looking for a definitive answer but if memory serves me correctly yes it does do the same thing.
[quote=“ronert, post:10, topic:1430”]
[quote=“IanH, post:8, topic:1430”]
I’d still love to know HOW the RK2 does that…if your feeling curious, can you put a multimeter on there Craig? See if the voltage ramps up. It’s not as easy to-do over AC power.[/quote]
Not sure how the RK2 does it, but a reduced voltage start is simple to implement. Just drop a (properly sized and rated) resistor (or reactor) in series with the motor for a second or so during startup.
Or, you could build your own PWM drive. Use a volts-per-hertz start-up profile. But that’s not for the faint of heart.[/quote]
I’ll setup a robot to put in a resistor then switch it to full power everytime the power head kicks on 
[quote=“IanH, post:12, topic:1430”]
I’ll setup a robot to put in a resistor then switch it to full power everytime the power head kicks on :)[/quote]
SSR will do it
How do you suggest I put in a resistor on the output of the solid state relay only during start up?
Two SSR’s. One to energize the circuit (i.e. on/off) and one (normally open) in parallel to the resistor. Energize that SSR about 1 second after the other, effictively shorting the start-up resistor out of the circuit.
QED
I had thought about doing that but I’m out another ssr and digital output. And not sure of the speed of the switch. That should work. But you got me thinking of another idea w the pwm and ssr.
If you’re concerned with the speed of your SSR switching in terms of seconds (or tenths of seconds), how are you going to get a 2kHz switching frequency for the PWM?