Wave goodbye to waves in your tank?

[jda]

You still need flow pumps to move stuff around. I use a wavebox with Tunze 6100 (still going strong) and a pair of 6105s in my 240ish gallon tank. I just like how it gently washes the water back and forth into every nook and cranny of every coral and rock.

I mostly see old-tank as the common denominator in these instances. A stand that is off level by even 1mm will stress even more than this. The weight of leaning into a tank to work is many pounds of force. I totally understand staying away from risk that you are not comfortable with (why I don't use Apex or the like) and that those lists are different from person to person, but this is not a risk to me.

It is hard to get a wave in a short tank or cube. 4' waves are not that much. You can get an awesome, slow, peaceful wave in a 6' or longer tank.

 

[BlennyTime]

I’ve noticed my torches and hammer/octospawn especially like the random movement of the water. The rest don’t seem to care too much one way or another.

I have 2 MP40’s that provide it

 

[PicassoClown04]

I need that shimmer effect on my wall! That’s the whole reason I placed the tank and mounted a light like that!!!

 

[rygh]

How well does your overflow work with these waves?
Even small waves cause huge variations in the amount of water that goes over the edge on mine,
with subsequently tons of noise.

 

[ReefGeezer]

In my mind, a "wave" is a localized and temporary increase in water column height that progresses along the surface of the water. I voted that it doesn't matter because the "wave" itself does nothing other than maybe scatter some light. Now if we are talking "surge" or "random current" in the water column, I'd change my response. I used two MP40's to create somewhat random current in my 90. Sometimes they create a little wave... if you look really close.

 

[kenchilada]

For $40 I got a Tunze 8015 Wavebox in an eBay auction for a bunch of random stuff. I have not used it yet, but I am planning to try it out on the 215G system I am building. I also have three MP40QDs for this tank.

I think seeing what the wave action looks like is helpful...


I'm not worried about stress on the tank. From what I read it might shorten the life by 10%. That sounds like a made-up number. I may feel differently if my tank were rimless but even that is anecdotal.

 

[Smarkow]

Somewhat important - it is certainly one way to decrease the diffusion barrier thickness around coral, but not the only way. I think the advantages in terms of low energy cost and aesthetics are very appealing.

 

[T-J]

For $40 I got a Tunze 8015 Wavebox in an eBay auction for a bunch of random stuff. I have not used it yet, but I am planning to try it out on the 215G system I am building. I also have three MP40QDs for this tank.

I think seeing what the wave action looks like is helpful...


I'm not worried about stress on the tank. From what I read it might shorten the life by 10%. That sounds like a made-up number. I may feel differently if my tank were rimless but even that is anecdotal.

Watching that make me dislike it even more. I'd get nauseous watching that! And the frequency seems too short (fast). In all of my diving, I don't recall anything being that quick of a "back and forth" motion.

 

[jlandis33]

I guess i think of a wave with the back and forth of the corals. Maybe I have a random flow. I have 2 eflux 2100gph set on opposite sides of the tank set at 30%. One kicks on the other is off. I dont get water sloushing around.
I'm not sure if this is a true wave or not.

How big is your tank out of curiosity... I have same thing but I have the 1080s on each end of a 75 gallon 4 foot... trying to decide if it is enough flow

 

[Reef Tripp]

Ecotech NTM.

 

[kenchilada]

Watching that make me dislike it even more. I'd get nauseous watching that! And the frequency seems too short (fast). In all of my diving, I don't recall anything being that quick of a "back and forth" motion.

Right, from what I've read, you need to have a long tank so you can dial it to a slow gentle wave. I saw one on an 8' tank years ago and it was pretty nice the way they had it set. We'll see how it goes on my 6' tank.

 

[sfin52]

How big is your tank out of curiosity... I have same thing but I have the 1080s on each end of a 75 gallon 4 foot... trying to decide if it is enough flow

My tank is the same footprint just a little taller at 90g. Each pump is set to pulse .5 secs on .5sec off and 30% power or 610 gallon gph it should be enough. I have mine programed to run opposite each other.

 

[jlandis33]

My tank is the same footprint just a little taller at 90g. Each pump is set to pulse .5 secs on .5sec off and 30% power or 610 gallon gph it should be enough. I have mine programed to run opposite each other.

Thank you soo much!

 

[ca1ore]

Is this a DUD of a topic today? HAHA!

I actually think its an interesting question. Most people think of it as flow/surge more than 'waves' though. Maybe because its actually not possible to replicate natural wave action in a tank ... the box is too small and wave propagation theory says you cannot do it. Sure, you can have short, rapid back and forth waves, but that just looks lame.

 

[ca1ore]

Has anybody actually seen or heard of a bonafide tank failure because of a real wave box? I have seen some mentions in passers by, but nothing that could be substantiated. Are we sure that failures are not just an internet propagated reefing myth?

Heck, tanks fail for all kinds of reasons. Are we sure that tank failures with MP40s on the glass were not caused by the magnets? Kidding... but you get the point.

I agree! Correlation is not causation. Every reef tank that has failed had some kind of lighting system so clearly the lighting caused the tank to fail.

 

[lapin]

I use 3 sea swirls as returns. While they dont make waves they do generate a lot of random flow when they are all pointing at each other.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

I agree! Correlation is not causation. Every reef tank that has failed had some kind of lighting system so clearly the lighting caused the tank to fail.

True but manufacturers don't warn against lighting over a tank...

 

[DJMCB]

I go for flow, as opposed to waves. Programming devices, to achieve what we hope will be conditions that mimic nature, is fun but there are loads of variables. I look for what my fish and corals are telling me and then try to not chase after my own urges to tweak. (had to check that to make sure I hadn't typed "my own urges to twerk")

 

[sfin52]

Thank you soo much!

your welcome.
If you need anything else just let me know.

 

[Billldg]

Are we talking waves, or just turbulence. If we are talking actual waves then I don't feel they are important at all as we have pumps turning over the water underneath. If we are talking turbulence then I fell its very important as it helps with oxygen exchange, it helps release built up C02 in the tank, and evaporation thus helping keep the tank temp stable.