Natural Wave wavemaker strip
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This review will be brief, as there is not much to say about the "Natural Wave" wave timer by Aquarium Systems except that it works as advertised. The Natural Wave is a six-outlet strip, with 3 outlets functioning as normal outlets, and the other 3 on a timer. There’s nothing fancy about it. The three timed outlets have a fixed pattern, the repetitive frequency of the pattern being adjustable. Outlet one and two are on opposed timing and outlet three spans the entire cycle as described below:
O1…..ON…...OFF…..ON…..OFF
O2…..OFF…..ON…...OFF….ON
O3…..OFF…..OFF…..ON…..ON
The duration of the cycle is adjustable from 20 seconds to 3 minutes for outlets one and two which result in outlet three being from 40 seconds to 6 minutes.
I have found the pattern to be satisfactory for what I want to do, which is to simply provide alternating current. Those who are more demanding should look elsewhere.
On the technical side each outlet can handle up to 100 watts which should be enough for almost all pumps. The Natural Wave does not have "soft start", a feature which would prevent some pumps from chattering upon startup. Since Maxi Jet pumps don’t seem to require this feature, they are the recommended pumps for use with the Natural Wave. They are also distributed by Aquarium Systems, how convenient. I’ve talked to folks who have used Hagen and the like without problems and after all, even some of the most expensive controllers don’t have a soft start feature.
That being said, if you don’t want to spend a fortune for a wavemaker and can get along with the fixed pattern, then the Natural Wave along with it’s $60 price tag is a good investment.