Aqamai KPS Powerhead

[JLynn]

A couple quick caveats, before I dive in: my first and only other powerhead before this was a good old Hydor Koralia Nano 425, so in some ways, this is going to be a comparison of the two, simply because I have no other frame of reference. Also, I have literally only had this pump for about an hour, so what I'm writing here is my initial impressions. In probably a month or so I'll come back with any updates to my opinion about the pump. That way I'll have had time to really familiarize myself with the all the different controls and settings.

 

So, what's my initial impression? I'm very pleased. The KPS is definitely the best controllable pump on the market for nano reefs.

 

Price:

The price of the KPS is $125 - this includes the pump, as well as the wireless hub that lets you program and control the pump through the app, which is free. That's substantially more expensive than it's non-controllable cousins, the Koralia Nano 425 and the Koralia Nano 240, both of which are about $25, but it's also substantially cheaper than it's controllable competition, the Vortech MP10 ($285+) and the Maxspect Gyre XF230 ($290), both of which are overkill on most nano tanks, anyways (especially soft-coral dominated ones, like mine). 

 

Size/Shape:

As promised, the KPS is quite petite. Here's a side by side comparison with the Koralia Nano 425:

 

It isn't a ton smaller than the Koralia, but when you consider that it is capable of pumping up to 1000gph, it's small size becomes more impressive. It also just looks a lot sleeker - there's none of the boxiness in the KPS that the Koralia has.

 

The other excellent thing about the KPS is that it's design gives you a lot of freedom to direct the current where you want it to go. I can't think of any other pump that matches it in this respect. For comparison, the Koralia pointed as far to one side as it will go, next to the KPS pointed as far to one side as it will stay (for the record, it can be pointed directly perpendicular to it's mount, but the magnetism isn't quite strong enough to keep it there):

  

 

As you can see, the KPS soundly trounces the Koralia in that respect. I'm particularly glad about that, because one of my chief complaints about the Koralia was that it can't point as far as I wanted it too. And it's controllable competition, the MP10 and the Gyre, can't be pointed anywhere at all, so that's another point in the KPS's favor.

 

Safety:

There are only a couple things to mention here. Firstly, the design of the KPS system allows for two drip loops - one between the pump and the wifi hub, and another between the wifi hub and the plug. The illustration included in the package shows that very nicely: 

 

The second thing shown on that diagram (marked: attention) is the other, more minor, safety feature. Basically, the connections to and from the wifi hub are threaded - one side has a movable rubber ring that screws down onto the connecting wire (also rubber). One nice this about this is that in the unlikely event that water spills onto those cords (maybe you get sloppy during a water change or something), those connections are very, very well protected. The other nice thing is that you can't accidentally pull out one of the connections (nor can your kids or pets). However, while one of those connections was very easy to screw in, the other one was extremely difficult - I eventually managed to screw it in to the point that the connection was made, but it's still only about 2/3rds of the way screwed on. I'm not sure why it is that one was so easy and the other was nearly impossible, but be warned: you might have trouble screwing these wires together. 

 

App/Controllability:

The app is free, as I mentioned, and available for both Android and iPhone. When you first open the app, you have three options: create an account, login with your Google account, or login with your Facebook account. I chose Facebook, because it was the most convenient option for me. Then, (at least for iPhones) you need to go to you wifi settings and choose the network called Aqamai_KPS_random_string_of_letters_and_numbers. It will ask you for a password. The password is 12345678. That's in the instructions, but it's very easy to miss, so I thought I ought to include it here, too. The instructions call it the default password, which implies that you could change it. I'm not sure how you would go about that, though. I didn't see anything about that in the settings on the app.

 

Anyways, the set-up process is very easy. Definitely a lot easier and quicker than setting up Bluefish for a Nano Box Reef light. Once you are into the app, there are six different settings for the pump: Constant, Smooth, Night, Feed, Wave, and Random. I'd be interested to know what exactly Night mode does, and how it's any different from the others. Anyways, within each of those settings you can go in and set the flow rate. For smooth, wave, and (presumably) random, you pick both a maximum and a minimum flow rate that the pump oscillates between. This pump can do anything from 370gph to 1050 gph, so you have a wide range to choose from. 

 

One of the best features is that you can program a full 24 hour cycle. If you feed at the same times every day, this will be particularly nice for you - you won't have to bother going into the app and changing into feed mode manually, and then waiting 30 minutes and changing back to another mode, you can just program it to do that for you. Your fish will probably also pick up on that pattern quickly and learn to anticipate that when Feed mode changes the current a certain way, food will soon follow. The 24 hour cycle is broken down into 30 minute chunks, which may be annoying if you don't want to leave Feed mode on for 30 whole minutes, but otherwise is probably a bit more precise than you need it to be. I suppose it would be better if you could choose the intervals yourself, but that would also make things more complicated for people uninterested in that level of control. And before you worry that you have to individual set each chunk of time, the app has a feature like Excel, where you can drag a certain setting down for as many of the time periods as you want. My one complaint about it is that while you can drag it down, you can't drag it back up, so if you go a bit too far down the list, you'll have to individually change all the accidentally set time slots to what you want. One other minor complaint about the app is that while it comes with pre-made programs for SPS and LPS, it doesn't have one for soft corals.

 

Lastly, a weird thing about connecting to the device: instead of connecting to it as a device on your phone, you connect to it as a network. So you have to switch between your internet wifi and the device's network to be able to change settings on the app, and then switch back to normal wifi to use the internet. Presumably this also means that you have to be in the house to change the settings; you couldn't change them from work (though I don't see why you'd want to...). 

 

Performance: 

It's performed very well for me in the extremely short amount of time I've had it. So far I've only used the wave/pulse mode. I'll definitely update this section later with details on all the various modes, once I've had time to experiment with all the different combinations of settings and flow rates. It's very quiet, which is nice. Again, I don't have much to say about this yet, since I've only just gotten my KPS. 

 

All things said and done, while there are a couple minor issues with the app and I had a lot of trouble with connecting one of those wires, this really is a great powerhead, at a great price. With a flow range of 370-1050 gph, it's much better suited to nano reefs than any other controllable powerhead I know of. And if you upgrade from a nano to a larger tank, you could just buy one or two more of these, which would be a lot cheaper than buying multiple Vortechs. I don't think there's any way to link multiple KPSs together, which would be a bit annoying, but you'd save hundreds of dollars, so I think that evens out. Still, making a way to link up multiple KPS pumps for people with larger tanks would be a good thing for Aqamai to do in future iterations of this powerhead.

[Reef-RC]

Thanks for the post.  Following.  Would be curious too about the night mode.  What does this entail?  1/2 speed?  pluse? etc.

 

Seems beyond the install instructions and the app there is little less help/instructions available what these settings entail.  Granted I have not installed the app in case the details are on the help menu.

[JcSH2o]

Anything new to add? I'm also curious and researching this same item for a new 12 gallon long...

[JLynn]

6 hours ago, JcSH2o said:

Anything new to add? I'm also curious and researching this same item for a new 12 gallon long...

I have had my reef in boarding for the past couple weeks while I went on vacation; I'll be setting it back up at the end of this week, and I should have more to say after that. However, Marine Depot has posted a new Youtube video about the KPS, so while I'm sure it's all good things about the KPS (they are selling it.) that may give more information about it. A better bet for more info is TJ_Burton, a Nano-Reef member who set his reef up with the KPS for an ad about it. I think he used the pump for a while before filming the ad, so I would PM him and ask him about his experience with it. 

 

Sorry I can't be more help! Hope everything goes well with your new tank.

[JcSH2o]

@JLynn Thanks so much! ??

[LVReefer]

I've had one on my 25g lagoon for a little while now. It's hard to compare it to the other pumps on the market. The closest thing that I can compare it to would be a Vortec controlled by a controller like an APEX. My reasoning for this is the flexibility of 48 settings per day which also includes changing the type of flow as well (wave, constant flow, feed, night, etc.). The only feature that I liked on the Vortec, that the Aqamai doesn't, is the auto-wave setting.

 

Other than that, this little guy has been awesome!

[DemiseAngel]

I just bought one for my lagoon 50 gallon, great little pump, on pulse mode.  Always used mp10s and mp40s, but this one is worth a look.

[Clown79]

I'm interested in this pump.

 

Any updates?

[JcSH2o]

My current experience with this pump is utter frustration. I mean on one hand it's small, extremely quiet, and looks and acts like a quality pump.

 

On the other side, the app is a total frustration to work with. Couple that with the fact that it's the ONLY way to actually control what this pump does... Well... I currently want to take it outside and throw it as far as I can and let a random neighbor ponder it's use as they find it tangled amongst their rhododendrons.

 

To attempt a clearer explanation... The app is clean and simple, and in no time at all I was happily tinkering with my own custom name and set. The problem is the link between the device your app is on (my Samsung Galaxy S8+) and the controller attached to the pump. I find myself stuck in an endless battle-loop of trying to sync... The controller requires its own "network" to communicate and link but I've found you can't do this manually; you must let the app switch over on its own... And to make matters worse you must be on your actual wifi to sign in and sync which is opposite. The result is a back and forth between the Aqamai network and your own WiFi and boom... A broken loop that never allows you to actually change your settings. 

 

I've had this pump for several months. I accidentally managed a default setting of "LPS/Softies 200l" shortly after installing. Since I was cycling my 12gallon Mr Aqua (definitely NOT 200 liters) I was content leaving it be. But now, as I am cycled and researching my next step, I find myself endlessly frustrated at my inability to change, alter, reset, or otherwise manipulate this pump. If I reset it then it's stuck on a constant low flow, if I sign in it reverts back to the 200l set and refuses to change even to a different preset. 

 

I've called Hydor, and was directed by robot to send an email for "faster response", of which none has come for the past 4 days. I'm ready to rip it out and install the pump that came with my Current Orbit IC, and I'll daydream of the day I can utilize THAT product with it's app and controller. 

 

Unless anyone out there in Nano-Reef land has more experience and can point me in a better direction. At the moment I feel like I've wasted 120$.... 

[Dillonsreeftank]

On 10/27/2017 at 11:16 PM, JcSH2o said:

My current experience with this pump is utter frustration. I mean on one hand it's small, extremely quiet, and looks and acts like a quality pump.

 

On the other side, the app is a total frustration to work with. Couple that with the fact that it's the ONLY way to actually control what this pump does... Well... I currently want to take it outside and throw it as far as I can and let a random neighbor ponder it's use as they find it tangled amongst their rhododendrons.

 

To attempt a clearer explanation... The app is clean and simple, and in no time at all I was happily tinkering with my own custom name and set. The problem is the link between the device your app is on (my Samsung Galaxy S8+) and the controller attached to the pump. I find myself stuck in an endless battle-loop of trying to sync... The controller requires its own "network" to communicate and link but I've found you can't do this manually; you must let the app switch over on its own... And to make matters worse you must be on your actual wifi to sign in and sync which is opposite. The result is a back and forth between the Aqamai network and your own WiFi and boom... A broken loop that never allows you to actually change your settings. 

 

I've had this pump for several months. I accidentally managed a default setting of "LPS/Softies 200l" shortly after installing. Since I was cycling my 12gallon Mr Aqua (definitely NOT 200 liters) I was content leaving it be. But now, as I am cycled and researching my next step, I find myself endlessly frustrated at my inability to change, alter, reset, or otherwise manipulate this pump. If I reset it then it's stuck on a constant low flow, if I sign in it reverts back to the 200l set and refuses to change even to a different preset. 

 

I've called Hydor, and was directed by robot to send an email for "faster response", of which none has come for the past 4 days. I'm ready to rip it out and install the pump that came with my Current Orbit IC, and I'll daydream of the day I can utilize THAT product with it's app and controller. 

 

Unless anyone out there in Nano-Reef land has more experience and can point me in a better direction. At the moment I feel like I've wasted 120$.... 

I couldn’t agree more with exactly everything you just said hahahah. Has anyone made anymore progress with this pump?

[Clown79]

16 minutes ago, Dillonsreeftank said:

I couldn’t agree more with exactly everything you just said hahahah. Has anyone made anymore progress with this pump?

I've had absolutely no issues with it. Syncs easily, use is easy. Set up my schedule and haven't touched it since other than to change a few settings.

 

I have only Samsung phones and have had no issues with the app/connecting.

 

 Love it actually. Wish they were all controlled with this much customization.

[JcSH2o]

I did in fact get it up and running my own preset... Although I can't describe nor replicate what I did to get it going. After #@$&ing with it for a couple days it just randomly synced up. 

It has run flawlessly for me for several months. So well in fact that I was considering purchasing a second one to replace my LOOP pump. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I got serious about a 2nd one, the first one came up with an "update" and since then I have had a different problem. Now, it runs my previous schedule (as determined by the flashing LEDs) but the app no longer saves or controls the pump. When I sync my phone, ALSO A SAMSUNG S9+, the pump information is lost and displays as off even though the pump eventually resumes the old schedule. 

 

So now if I wish to feed the tank, I have to unscrew the connection to turn off the pump. Which I guess isn't that bad, unless I ever want to change the schedule or intensity.... 

 

Aside from that, when it works it is an AMAZING pump and very customizable. I love it more than I hate it. And also even when it worked; turning off the pump via app is on some hidden timer and the pump WILL turn back on even though the app is switched off still. So any long term work done on the tank I always had to unscrew said connector or risk dry running it or even worse splashing out of a half filled tank. 

 

@Clown79 I would love some help with this if you ever were so inclined. Cheers!

[JcSH2o]

On 3/27/2018 at 2:56 PM, Dillonsreeftank said:

I couldn’t agree more with exactly everything you just said hahahah. Has anyone made anymore progress with this pump?

Okay I think I have figured it out, and wanted to share in hopes that it might help anyone experiencing the frustrations I've been having. 

I believe the source of my issue to be in the way the pump communicates with my app device, in this case (and the previous case) I used a Samsung S9+ and S8+ respectively. In tinkering around with it today I realized that while loading a preset or custom set, my phone would go bananas back and forth between the wifi I normally use and the wifi the pump uses. The reason for this, is that my phone desires actual internet service that obviously the Aqamai does not offer, so it scitters back and forth between trying to connect to the pump like the app is requesting; and trying to connect to actual service like my phone is requesting. 

Probing deeper into my phone's connection settings, I discovered that long pressing my every day wifi name brought up a mini settings tab. In that tab is an option to disable auto-reconnect. Since my router has 2 channels (2.4 and 5.0) I needed to disable the auto connect feature on both. Once I did this, I was able to let my phone connect, uninterrupted, with the Aqamai KPS and configure everything I wanted... 

Once configured, I then manually opened the phone connection settings and chose my usual wifi. Once I was back on that, I went back into the app and selected sync and BOOM! Problem solved. Names, settings, all of that was saved and the switch read as on like it should. 

I wonder if this has anything to do with the pump turning back on when I switch it off during maintenance. Regarding this I am not sure; and I am not sure about why my previous phone was able to eventually adapt to the auto reconnect issue. My only guess is that the newer updates regarding this wifi reconnect are more aggressive than before, or maybe even compared to other operating systems.

I will add this though. That within the app there are actually suggestions to both turn off "mobile data" and to disable "smart switch" or "intelligent switch" on your mobile device. Turning off data never did anything for me, and I've searched both of my phones for smart switch within settings and found nothing but the program used when transferring phones. I believe this may be the issue they're mentioning.

 

Step 1. Settings

Step 2. Connections

Step 3. Wifi

Step 4. Long press wifi name

Step 5. Select "manage network settings"

Step 6. Unselect "auto-reconnect"

Step 7. Repeat for each network

Step 8. Set up Aqamai

Step 9. Manually connect to home wifi

Step 10. Sync your app

 

I really hope this helps! I've included pics for reference. Cheers and happy reefing!

[Clown79]

On 27/03/2018 at 6:32 PM, JcSH2o said:

I did in fact get it up and running my own preset... Although I can't describe nor replicate what I did to get it going. After #@$&ing with it for a couple days it just randomly synced up. 

It has run flawlessly for me for several months. So well in fact that I was considering purchasing a second one to replace my LOOP pump. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I got serious about a 2nd one, the first one came up with an "update" and since then I have had a different problem. Now, it runs my previous schedule (as determined by the flashing LEDs) but the app no longer saves or controls the pump. When I sync my phone, ALSO A SAMSUNG S9+, the pump information is lost and displays as off even though the pump eventually resumes the old schedule. 

 

So now if I wish to feed the tank, I have to unscrew the connection to turn off the pump. Which I guess isn't that bad, unless I ever want to change the schedule or intensity.... 

 

Aside from that, when it works it is an AMAZING pump and very customizable. I love it more than I hate it. And also even when it worked; turning off the pump via app is on some hidden timer and the pump WILL turn back on even though the app is switched off still. So any long term work done on the tank I always had to unscrew said connector or risk dry running it or even worse splashing out of a half filled tank. 

 

@Clown79 I would love some help with this if you ever were so inclined. Cheers!

Lol. I wish I could help.

 

My hubby set it up and has not had any issues with the app. I'm not tech savvy, pretty sure he figured I'd mess it all up. Lol. I would!

 

I don't use the feeding timer. I don't always feed at the same time.

 

 I unplug mine for water changes. I don't turn the pump off via app. 

As soon as it's plugged back in, it's back to working on the personalized setting.

 

Hubby actually went into app today to change my settings. We had no issues.

 

Now my Ai Prime has issues since we unplugged it for our upgrade.

[Clown79]

12 minutes ago, JcSH2o said:

Okay I think I have figured it out, and wanted to share in hopes that it might help anyone experiencing the frustrations I've been having. 

I believe the source of my issue to be in the way the pump communicates with my app device, in this case (and the previous case) I used a Samsung S9+ and S8+ respectively. In tinkering around with it today I realized that while loading a preset or custom set, my phone would go bananas back and forth between the wifi I normally use and the wifi the pump uses. The reason for this, is that my phone desires actual internet service that obviously the Aqamai does not offer, so it scitters back and forth between trying to connect to the pump like the app is requesting; and trying to connect to actual service like my phone is requesting. 

Probing deeper into my phone's connection settings, I discovered that long pressing my every day wifi name brought up a mini settings tab. In that tab is an option to disable auto-reconnect. Since my router has 2 channels (2.4 and 5.0) I needed to disable the auto connect feature on both. Once I did this, I was able to let my phone connect, uninterrupted, with the Aqamai KPS and configure everything I wanted... 

Once configured, I then manually opened the phone connection settings and chose my usual wifi. Once I was back on that, I went back into the app and selected sync and BOOM! Problem solved. Names, settings, all of that was saved and the switch read as on like it should. 

I wonder if this has anything to do with the pump turning back on when I switch it off during maintenance. Regarding this I am not sure; and I am not sure about why my previous phone was able to eventually adapt to the auto reconnect issue. My only guess is that the newer updates regarding this wifi reconnect are more aggressive than before, or maybe even compared to other operating systems.

I will add this though. That within the app there are actually suggestions to both turn off "mobile data" and to disable "smart switch" or "intelligent switch" on your mobile device. Turning off data never did anything for me, and I've searched both of my phones for smart switch within settings and found nothing but the program used when transferring phones. I believe this may be the issue they're mentioning.

 

Step 1. Settings

Step 2. Connections

Step 3. Wifi

Step 4. Long press wifi name

Step 5. Select "manage network settings"

Step 6. Unselect "auto-reconnect"

Step 7. Repeat for each network

Step 8. Set up Aqamai

Step 9. Manually connect to home wifi

Step 10. Sync your app

 

I really hope this helps! I've included pics for reference. Cheers and happy reefing!

Glad you figured it out. 

 

It is the one frustrating aspect of wifi controlled equipment.

[JcSH2o]

Just now, Clown79 said:

Glad you figured it out. 

 

It is the one frustrating aspect of wifi controlled equipment.

Thanks! I also am not tech savvy with regards to these sorts of things. My write up was an attempt to help others who may be experiencing my same issue. It really is a great pump. I wish they had made the directions a bit more clear!  

[Clown79]

Ya, the directions were lacking.

 

Another thing would be a better explanation of the flow types and which is better for what type of coral.

[A Little Blue]

On 3/29/2018 at 1:59 AM, JcSH2o said:

Thanks! I also am not tech savvy with regards to these sorts of things. My write up was an attempt to help others who may be experiencing my same issue. It really is a great pump. I wish they had made the directions a bit more clear!  

Helpful info. Thanks from another KPS user. I have my pump set on 100l LPS lagoon reef (or something like that) and could not be happier. Small, near silent (compared to my older MP10), great flow for my 30g long. 

[JcSH2o]

3 hours ago, A Little Blue said:

Helpful info. Thanks from another KPS user. I have my pump set on 100l LPS lagoon reef (or something like that) and could not be happier. Small, near silent (compared to my older MP10), great flow for my 30g long. 

Awesome! Glad I could help! 

[Lugmos12]

I just got mine today and I have to say my very dissappointed with the directions and the difficulty of the setup. I had heard really nice things about the pump; was using a Jaebo SW2 which failed within 3 months of use.

 

The KPS is really difficult to control via the phone - it seems the connection from phone to pump is not steady. I was able to upgrade the firmware via the phone but it won't let me sink. I have it running on the sample mode (using waves).

[A Little Blue]

Remove your pump from equipment list in the app.

Remove KPS network (forget network) from your network list. Turn off “connect automatically” on your home main network only. 

 

go back to app, search devices,

 

go back to network available list, pick KPS from network list, put in the password 12345578, connect.

Go back to app, sync the network, it should find new device by then.

Go to equipment (manage) you KPS pump should be on the list. You should be able to add new mode on your pump settings from the second row menu. (Under your KPS pump bar. There should be a “+” or add button, don’t remember) 

 

 

 

[Lugmos12]

I did that but when I try so sync the network all it says is "Activate network!"

[A Little Blue]

Just now, Lugmos12 said:

I did that but when I try so sync the network all it says is "Activate network!"

You need to kinda start fresh. Remove KPS network. Remove pump from equipment list. Find and log in KPS network again (it should ask you for password). Then go back to app and sync. Let me know if that worked. Also if your main wireless. Network in on auto connect, do turn that feature OFF. 

[A Little Blue]

It’s frustrating at first but easy once you figure it out. 

He explained this procedure in this post:

 

[MSunkin23]

Hey Guys,

I just booted up my KPS. Quick question-

 

Is there any difference with Night Mode and Constant flow? - From what I am reading there is no difference, just a color in the app?

 

Also curious what ranges people are using and the size of their tanks-

 

As others said, this powerhead is perfect for what I need. Just wish the app was a little easier to work with. Also the plastic housing seems a bit flimsy compared to the Koralia 425. But this thing is fantastic!