The Red Sea ReefWave Pumps are just a small part of the aquarium ecosystem that Red Sea has been putting together over the past few years. This customizable and easily controllable gyre powerhead comes in both a 25 size capable of producing a maximum of 1,980 gallons per hour of flow and a 45 size that taps out at 3,960 GPH. Flow is an essential element in all reef tanks and being able to customize its intensity, wave pattern, and schedule allows for hobbyists to create the perfect environment for their corals.

Shop Red Sea ReefWave pumps

What’s In The Box?

  • The Pump
  • Power Cable
  • Pump Extension Cable
  • Controller
  • Power Adapter
  • Spare Parts

Package contents

Getting Your Pump Installed

  1. Remove the magnet from the back of your pump and place it in the tank. Secure it with the magnet, but don’t worry about your placement for now. We recommend eventually positioning the pump based on the flow needs of your system.
  2. Plugin both your power supply and the pump into the controller. You can easily mount the power supply and controller wherever you please, but keep in mind that your pump will need to be occasionally removed for cleaning.
  3. Explore the flow options and get your pump running.

Finding The Perfect Flow

You have two options when it comes to controlling the flow coming from the ReefWave pumps. One of these choices includes running the pump right out of the box with the included controller. This display allows you to choose from five different flow modes, adjust the intensity, and conduct a feed mode. The controller is very easy to use by just pressing the button of your desired flow mode and spinning the wheel to increase or decrease the intensity.

The other controllability option you have with the ReefWave is using the ReefBeat smartphone application. The app will provide you with maximum controllability and we recommend using it even if you plan on only using the pre-set modes. One great feature of the app is that it will alert you if your pump loses connectivity for any reason.

ReefBeat App Quick Functions

Basic ReefBeat Functions

Once you download the ReefBeat app, you will be prompted to provide your tanks information, and then you can add your pumps by simply following the instructions on the screen. On the main screen, you will see a selection of “Quick Actions” that will help you perform different tasks.

  • The first button is a feed mode that will shut off your powerhead for 20 minutes and it will start back up where it left off once time expires or the button is pressed again.
  • There is an emergency stop icon that will turn all accessories programmed through the ReefBeat app completely OFF.
  • The wrench icon will turn off the selected pumps for you to conduct maintenance and they will remain off until the button is pressed again.

In order to customize these quick actions, you can select the three dots in the top right corner of the app’s home screen and select edit quick actions and you can then make your adjustments. The ReefBeat app also provides the opportunity to create a custom schedule.

Creating a flow schedule

Creating Your Own Flow Pattern

To create a schedule with different flow patterns throughout the day, click the schedule button on the settings page. Then, you can begin adding your own customized waves to your schedule by selecting the plus button. You will be prompted to select the start time and a template wave type from Red Sea’s library. There are five unique wave types that can be set in a forward, reverse, or alternate direction.

  • Regular Flow: This wave provides constant flow at a set intensity.
  • Uniform Wave: The uniform wave pulses consistently at your set intensity.
  • Step Wave: This wave has a uniform frequency, but it can increase in intensity for up to 10 straight pulses.
  • Random Wave: These waves generate pulses of varying lengths and intensities to imitate a natural reef.
  • Surface Wave: This mode creates short uniform pulses that can be set to create a constant wave pattern on the surface of the water.

Once you select one of the wave types you can choose its duration, direction, max flow, and click “Add” to paste it to your schedule. You can add up to ten customized wave types to your schedule in addition to a no-wave section that can correspond with your feeding time. When you are all done programming you can click “Apply” and your pump will take care of the rest.

Euphyllia coral in flow

Flow Suggestions

For high flow demanding SPS systems, we like to recommend using the Random Wave mode with high intensity. Alternatively, for softy and LPS reef tanks, we suggest using either Random, Step Wave, or a combination of the two at low to medium intensities.

Additional Considerations

  • We usually use the forward flow direction, but these pumps provide the options of both reverse or alternate flow directions.
  • If you select the alternate mode, you can customize the time in which you want your pump to run in each direction.
  • For more advanced customizability, the wave pre-sets can have both their pulse time and flow intensity adjusted.
  • At the bottom of the schedule page, you will see the pump settings for systems with multiple pumps. You can individually adjust flow intensities and directions there.
  • By default, using multiple pumps on your system will have them synced, but turning off the “synced” button on your selected pump will allow you to program each pump independently.
  • After customizing a wave, you select the “Save As” button and it will be added to your wave library.