The Oscillate statement can be most simply thought of as a repeating ON and OFF. You can define an ON time and a OFF time and the oscillate will toggle your outlet ON/OFF based on that.

So why would you use the oscillate?
  • To setup a recurring dosing schedule
  • To drive Tunze pumps to make a wave
  • Any time you wanted a repeating ON/OFF cycle for an outlet


The oscillate statement has a precision of seconds so it's very useful for that reason alone - other statements like 'If Time' can only get down to minutes without some gymnastics.

The oscillate statement has 3 time components in two different versions - either OFF/ON/OFF (the most typical use) or ON/OFF/ON. In either case, the logic is identical. The time components are in the format of MMM:SS.

Why are there 3 time components - why not just 2? The addition of a third time gives you the ability to stagger multiple outlets (i.e. pumps) each running an oscillate and synchronize those together. For example:

outlet #1 OSC 000:00/001:00/001:00 Then ON
outlet #2 OSC 001:00/001:00/000:00 Then ON

Outlets 1 and 2 each run for 1 minute ON and 1 minute OFF but they do so opposite each other. If they were running pumps located on opposite ends of the tank, you've essentially created a wave.

When using the oscillate, it's important to understand that all the times are strung together and repeated. So if you use all three times, remember that the 2 OFF times will be added together. For example, OSC 025:00/001:00/004:00 would look like:

OFF/ON/OFF + OFF/ON/OFF + OFF/ON/OFF + OFF/ON/OFF etc....

OFF for 25 min, ON for 1 min, OFF for 4 min, OFF for 25 min, ON for 1 min, OFF for 4 min, OFF for 25 min, etc...
------------ First complete cycle ---------|-----------Second complete cycle -----------|---- Third complete cycle --->

There's more information on the Oscillate statement in Chapter 6 of the Reference Manual.