Magnetic Wave Maker Tank

[cdness]

I was at a LFS named Oceans Paradise in Bismarck NDf for a Red River Valley Reefers (RRVR) club meeting. One thing really caught my eye and I wanted to share it here and see if anyone else has seen something like this.

The tank is a custom acrylic tank of an unknown to me source. By what I was told, the source is no longer making tanks of this design or tanks at all of any design. The drain for the tank is on the left hand side and all the return is on the right hand side. The wave mechanism is driven by water and magnetic pressures. The flap drops down and attaches with the embedded magnets. The return starts filling up the section to the right of the magnetic flap. When enough water pressure builds up, the flap opens and spills out the water into the tank creating a wave. The height of the wave is controlled by an adjustable baffle on the drain side of the tank which can move up and down, tightened by nylon thumbscrews...

Here is a pic of it building up pressure on the magnetic flap side:

Here it is open and releasing the water:

This is the adjustable baffle on the drain side:

Pros:
- 100% silent
- No extra power used for the wave portion
- Provides an easily adjustable wave
- Wave frequency controlled by rate of return
- Not a single powerhead in the tank
- Massive amount of flow when released

Cons:
- I hear the magnets wear out over time
- Scratches on the side of the tank (could be fixed with some slight design tweaks)
- Takes up the whole end of the tank
- Difficult to find the right size magnet compared to available water pressure


I am thinking of trying to build a smaller version of this in a 20L to see if I can figure out the engineering side of it. I am thinking it could work as a standalone box, inserted into the tank as well, like the existing wavemakers...

What are your thoughts on this design?

 

[puebloreefer]

seems cool but takes up so much room but neat thanks for sharing and good luck with you experiment

 

[eliramos]

great idea but not exactly aesthetically pleasing lol

 

[Velodog2]

Well that's my new idea for the day. Hadn't heard that one before. The implementation is kind of awkward it seems. The concept of a magnetically latching valve could easily be adapted to any number of configurations, such as a remote accumulation box that fed back to the tank via a large pipe. Seems hard to understand how the magnets would wear out.

 

[Swine]

Just some quick ideas I thought of to fix some cons to get the conversation started


Cons:
- I hear the magnets wear out over time: No idea unless you want to use electromagnets, probably not smart You would have to have them fully enclosed but you could also have them hold more pressure and release according to a timer.
- Scratches on the side of the tank (could be fixed with some slight design tweaks): Sounds like you have an idea but maybe making the panel that moves not as wide and the supports siliconed to the glass wider.
- Takes up the whole end of the tank: with stronger magnets you could make it taller not wider. Water pressure info(http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pflu.html)
- Difficult to find the right size magnet compared to available water pressure: Get over powered magnets and just increase the distance between the two

 

[christo203]

Ya I have seen a couple of these. There was a Coral Vendor at MACNA Des Moines that used this as their tank for the shows. It was actually a really cool design and caught a lot of peoples attention. I had heard of issue of fish going between the wall, but it was nice to watch the process. Unlike most tanks, you would see polyps on corals come to a pause right before the next wave.

 

[inurocker]

Very interesting concept. Keep us updated with the progress of your experiments.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Interesting!

 

[cdness]

Ya I have seen a couple of these. There was a Coral Vendor at MACNA Des Moines that used this as their tank for the shows. It was actually a really cool design and caught a lot of peoples attention. I had heard of issue of fish going between the wall, but it was nice to watch the process. Unlike most tanks, you would see polyps on corals come to a pause right before the next wave.

That was Oceans Paradise from Bismarck ND! This is the same tank By the way this tank may make the trip to Denver MACNA as well. I know Oceans Paradise has their booth reserved already.

It is truly a cool system to see and may be a better recreation of true waves in the ocean...