wavesmart controller vs. a bunch of timers... opinions please!?

[huricaneredbone]

So I just ordered 2 more koralias for my 40 breeder because the small one i have now just isnt cutting it. But I am debating whether I want to buy the smartwave or not. It seems to me that the smartwave is very limited in its functions. All you can do is set an interval of time and whether you want pumps to alternate or come on together. I feel like the point of powerheads is to keep flow as random as possible to imitate waves and weather changes. With timers I can set the pumps to sometimes be on together, sometimes by themselves, and just set a total random schedule for them. But the smartwave is just a repetitive cycle. What do you guys think? Theres bound to be people on here who use one or the other, or have tried both.

[C Dog]

timers will not be able to turn on/off fast like a controller would. Try the timers first to see if you like them. Alot cheaper

[huricaneredbone]

yea but i dont think corals benefit from short pulses of flow. i think its just aesthetics... we like to see them flowing in the current. right?

[Craig Borowski]

Aiming the powerheads so that their streams of water intersect will randomize the flow enough. Plus, you don't really want completely random flow as that is very unnatural. (Water motion in the ocean is very repetitive and predictable.) What you're trying to avoid is just a constant battering of flow from one direction only. I'd try putting the two powerheads in the two back corners and aiming them so that they both meet near the center of the front pane.

Another option would be to try for a gyre flow: have one pump pushing in one direction while the other is off. After six hours that pump turns off and the other one turns on and pushes in the opposite direction. This could easily be done with timers. But depending on the pumps and size of tank, this might be too drastic a reduction in flow, as with one always off, your flow would be cut in half.