Are tunze waveboxes still relevant?

[Jakepen]

Hello all, I have a waterbox 105.4 dimensions are 48”x24”x16”, currently running one MP40 and one MP10. Tank is young, mix between lps and sps, will eventually go mostly sps. I can’t find good spots for the pumps, I’ve moved them all over the tank, it’s either too much for the lps or not enough for the sps. Tunze Wavebox seems very appealing to me, however I don’t see them being used much in the hobby. Any reason why they are fading out?

 

[RobMcC]

Hello all, I have a waterbox 105.4 dimensions are 48”x24”x16”, currently running one MP40 and one MP10. Tank is young, mix between lps and sps, will eventually go mostly sps. I can’t find good spots for the pumps, I’ve moved them all over the tank, it’s either too much for the lps or not enough for the sps. Tunze Wavebox seems very appealing to me, however I don’t see them being used much in the hobby. Any reason why they are fading out?

I don’t think they were ever popular due to the amount of space they take up, making them hard to hide. That said, nothing else provides the same flow that penetrates all parts of the tank and rock work. I use two of the smaller ones on a 75 gallon hooked up two a 24v 150Ah battery via a safety connector. At only 10w each they provide fantastic flow.

 

[infinite0180]

Do they put more stress on tanks than say a Vortech?

 

[Jakepen]

Do they put more stress on tanks than say a Vortech?

I’ve heard this as well, not sure if it’s actually true or not.

 

[Jakepen]

I really wish they showed up on the market, I want to try one out but not sure I want to buy one brand new.

 

[Dr. Jim]

I had 2 of the large ones, side-by-side many years ago on a 500 gal tank (44" in depth). There was a nice, slow back-and-forth motion in every cubic inch of the tank! They are great! But you still need circulation pumps to move "new" water by them.

I recently put a small one on my R.S. Reefer 170 (cube). It works but it is not as dramatic as on a larger tank. The water moves up and down on the sides just fine, but the fulcrum is in the middle of the tank where most of the corals are so they don't get the best benefit. I don't regret buying it because it will get moved to a tank in the "future build" I am planning.

For any tank 4' or longer, I would bet that you would be surprisingly happy with one. The larger the tank, the slower the back-and-forth interval (unlike in my present cube).

 

[92Miata]

They're a plastic box with a pump set to pulse. There's no reason you couldn't duplicate the effect with any dc wave pump at this point.


That being said, the effect isn't all that different from a pump with a pulse tuned to the proper length.

 

[Dr. Jim]

I'm quite sure that a pulse-pump WITHOUT the box would not work the same as the Wavebox. The box itself fills and empties which has a lot to do with the "wave" production and final effect.

 

[92Miata]

I'm quite sure that a pulse-pump WITHOUT the box would not work the same as the Wavebox. The box itself fills and empties which has a lot to do with the "wave" production and final effect.

It's really not that different from two dc wave pumps with a short pulse time and set to anti-sync.


You don't see them anymore because we have cheap,reliable, efficient controllable dc pumps now.


The wave effect is reproducible without the box - which means it's not screwing with your sump level and your ato.

 

[Hydrored]

They're a plastic box with a pump set to pulse. There's no reason you couldn't duplicate the effect with any dc wave pump at this point.


That being said, the effect isn't all that different from a pump with a pulse tuned to the proper length.

With that statement it’s clear you’ve never used a wave box and are making a general statement.

I use a wave box in my 8’ and you can not replicate that movement, especially in anything over 4’

I still run 2 MP60’s and 4 MP40’s along with the wave box

 

[Hydrored]

I had 2 of the large ones, side-by-side many years ago on a 500 gal tank (44" in depth). There was a nice, slow back-and-forth motion in every cubic inch of the tank! They are great! But you still need circulation pumps to move "new" water by them.

I recently put a small one on my R.S. Reefer 170 (cube). It works but it is not as dramatic as on a larger tank. The water moves up and down on the sides just fine, but the fulcrum is in the middle of the tank where most of the corals are so they don't get the best benefit. I don't regret buying it because it will get moved to a tank in the "future build" I am planning.

For any tank 4' or longer, I would bet that you would be surprisingly happy with one. The larger the tank, the slower the back-and-forth interval (unlike in my present cube).

This is spot on

 

[92Miata]

With that statement it’s clear you’ve never used a wave box and are making a general statement.

I use a wave box in my 8’ and you can not replicate that movement, especially in anything over 4’

I still run 2 MP60’s and 4 MP40’s along with the wave box

I own one. You absolutely can reproduce the effect. And it's easier in bigger tanks - you just need to pulse slower.


The effect is because of resonant frequencies. There's no magic here, despite your fanboy zeal.

 

[Hydrored]

I own one. You absolutely can reproduce the effect. And it's easier in bigger tanks - you just need to pulse slower.


The effect is because of resonant frequencies. There's no magic here, despite your fanboy zeal.

You own a wave box for your 40 gallon tank?

Either way, have a Merry Christmas

To the OP: Wave boxes work but do take up a ton of space, @Dr. Jim is spot on with his advice

 

[red02]

i have 3 wave boxes and use to run them on my tanks you can't beat the flow of the tunze wave boxes if you dont mind looking at them in you tank

 

[hart24601]

Just FYI I spoke to the owner of miracles custom tanks and he said any standing wave produces much more stress on the silicone. If he knows a customer is going to use a wave (via wavebox or other means) he will use thicker glass or put on a euro brace. No experience myself, just what he told me and he knows his tanks.

If you want a wave without a box the tunze stream 3 or nano stream that you can point at the surface make a very nice wave.

 

[malacoda]

I used a tunze nano stream to create a resonant wave in my 24g ... as described in the NanoStream's instruction manual. Corals seemed to love it. My fang blenny and yellow assessor, on the other hand, did not.

The poor fang blenny was no longer able to keep himself firmly nestled along the vertical seams of the tank to sleep. Kept getting rocked up and down. After a few days the it looked aggitated and exhausted, so I set the pump back to a random pulse action.

 

[Superlightman]

I own one. You absolutely can reproduce the effect. And it's easier in bigger tanks - you just need to pulse slower.


The effect is because of resonant frequencies. There's no magic here, despite your fanboy zeal.

I would see that ,I have one,try to replicated with different pumps because I not like the box and the noise ,but I failed. A friend also show me the wave mode from the ecotech mp60, yes it make a wave but not the harmonic movement you can get from the wave box.if you find a way please tell us how and eventually post a video