Nero 5 Aqua Illumination New Wavemaker

Harry H · October 22, 2018

This is a short review as further extensive tests are required. I got this as a replacement for the Nanostream Tunze 6040 (which is working fine). Before that, I have the iconic EcoTech MP10 which broke down 2 years ago and was beyond repair. Retail price for Nero 5 is SGD390.

The Good

It is small like a pluck.

The waves are powerful (google for the specs)

The control unit looks elegant.

It just works

It is silent.

Setting up various modes (random, constant, feed time) is a breeze.

It looks amazingly high tech in a tank.

Setup using Bluetooth is a walk in the park.

iPhone and Android controllable.

The Not So Good

Unlike the AI Prime light interface on your phone which is near perfection, there is room for improvement. For example I can’t manually dial the speed and I have written to AI for advice.

Unlike the Tunze 6040, i have no success in creating standing waves (yet).

Unlike the Vortex and Tunze, you can’t see the wavemaker doing pulse mode. As in- it comes to a near stop and then speeds up again to create waves. Perhaps it is the design of the Nero 5’s rotating fins and you can’t see it in action but it is actually doing it.

Although the physical control unit is beautiful, if Steve Jobs designs a wave maker and control unit, it will look like this (we all miss him), but the control using one button is a tad too minimalist. Press once for this , press a few seconds and hold and then see blinking light, red light, blue light and white light..., after a while you have no idea which is which.

The instructions in the box is too minimalist and i think trying too hard to be Apple-ish.

I think the software is still early and overtime it will improve. I like the flow as the corals are doing extremely well and to be fair, they were doing fine when I was using the Tunze.

One more thing. If they can have tiny grills at the back of the wave maker to prevent sucking in anemone, it would be great.

Summary

It definitely passes the feature tests (fantastic flow, WiFi connected, Bluetooth connected) and it looks like a piece of space tech equipment in your tank. However, further improvement is required in terms of the software. If I recall, EchoTech has acquired Aqua Illumination or they have a joint collaboration so they know how to make a great wavemaker.

The reason why I did not get the MP10 is that it juts out of the tank (I know -no heat inside the tank) and not easily controlled by smartphone unless you buy another expensive controller (I think). The Nero 5 is controllable by smartphone the moment you unbox.

Anyone who has similar experiences or differing views, please post and compare useability notes. I also need help creating standing waves (for visual only, I think the fishes and corals don’t care lol).

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fuzzlesc · October 22, 2018

Nice review written. Thank you for sharing

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SubzeroLT · October 22, 2018

Nice write up.

For standing waves, the formula is v = f x λ.

For 3ft tank its about 0.9s pulse & interval. 4ft is about 1.2s etc. Try starting with those number & increase or decrease bit by bit. The final number will be affected by your rock scape & flow contributed by other sources.

Harry H · October 23, 2018

Thanks for the maths! Mine is a 40cm by 40cm nanotank. Lol.

Some minor edits to the above review. I think the connection is via Bluetooth only and not WiFi. Unlike the AI Prime light. When I turned off the Bluetooth on my phone it alerted me to turn it on.

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SubzeroLT · October 23, 2018

For 40cm tank, try a short pulse in the 0.4 - 0.6s range.

Nero uses something called Bluetooth LE (low energy) so that the connection is almost instant.

MichelReef · October 23, 2018

Thanks for the review. I was considering getting a Nero 5 as the second wave maker.This helped.

Harry H · October 28, 2018

Thanks for all the advice. It is almost safe to say it is not a replacement of the MP10 but if you want smartphone connect without apex or the ecotech hub this is a good buy.

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