Wave goodbye to waves in your tank?

How important is it to recreate waves in your reef aquarium?

  • Very Important

    Votes: 142 24.4%
  • Somewhat Important

    Votes: 201 34.6%
  • Not Too Important

    Votes: 135 23.2%
  • Not Important At All

    Votes: 100 17.2%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 3 0.5%

  • Total voters
    581

Lasse

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I do not know but for me it is very important with standing waves - I do not use a wavebox but have placed my RW-8 in that way that it create a standing wave. I´m not worried a second for my seams. The reason is very good described here

a 1" wave on a 180 is 3.74 gallons of water, with a wave about every second that is 13464 gph of flow and done with next to no energy use and heat input.


On the other hand, that also means roughly 25 pounds of shifting weight, so yes, it does stress the seams
It is not the weight that's matter - is the pressure on the windows that matter. In a normal aquarium where the panels are glued to each other waves will not "tire" out the seems. My aquarium is build for 49 cm (490 mm) water level. My normal level is 480 mm and the wave amplitude is 10 mm. This mean that the pressure on the panels will vary with around 1 mbar every second in my case - its nothing and should not tire out any seems. The air pressure varies considerably more than that during a day.

True but manufacturers don't warn against lighting over a tank...
Do you mean that there is manufactures in the US that warns about silicon glued aquariums or any glued aquarium and wave boxes? Here in Europe - i have never ever seen any manufacturer that warns for this.

But - there is a type of aquarium windows there waves can affect the fitting of the windows . It is tanks there the windows not are clued together but just placed in openings of the aquarium construction. Mostly this is large public aquariums. The windows is not clued against the sides of the opening - they are just attached with a sealant and the water pressure tightening things up. But on the other hand - you are not allowed to lower the water level either without fixing the window against the walls.

My Reef - Notice my Cardinals movement in the water







Sincerely Lasse
 

sullyman

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Depends on what type of tank, a softy tank, Lps tank, mixed tank a wavy flow works well. If you want your sticks to grow and fast, you need Turbid water flow. I ran 2 tunze 6100's on wavy seas and the Acros loved it when the streams crossed. I had them growing fast great color and polyp extension. I also had a 6100 in a tunze rock aimed at the front wall and ran a Barracuda return pump almost full bore. I know I must look like a noobie but I've been doing this for 37 years, just new to this site.
 

Dr. Jim

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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.
I agree. My 500 gal (6.5L x 3'W x 4'deep) didn't have those rapid directional changes. I'd say they were about half as frequent. Very nice. I've seen wave action in certain spots while diving somewhat similar to what I'm describing (not like in the video).
 

725196

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IDK if this is even necessary... to each their own. I prefer the random flow that my MP40s make. I also refer a much less aggressive flow in my tank.
 

rvitko

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I’m using two Stream 3 to make a roughly 1/2” wave. My lights are in night setting (blue) so pardon the yellow hue from the polyplab lens
 

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kenchilada

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From 2005, this is the oldest mention I could find regarding a wavebox “stressing tank seams”. It seems like this originated from Tunze disclaimers and became urban legend. I’d be curious if anyone ever had a tank failure they could attribute to a wavebox or surge bucket and how long it took. Probably about as common as two ghost tangs in the same tank.

 

jda

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I forgot to mention earlier that a wavebox is a great way to move 100% of your tank water all the time without your fish being all worn out and skinny. I find that fish that are not swimming for their lives all the time are much healthier.
 

trmiv

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I like a minor wave combined with gyre flow in my tank because it allows me to get movement on my Goniopora like this.

 

Brew12

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Wave makers are basically water surge devices that are used in aquariums to produce waves that are similar to that of seas and oceans.

Tunze Wavebox 6208
6208.000.jpg


One thing I don't see as much lately as I used to see in the hobby are people who using wave makers and power heads to create actual waves in their tank. It was all the rage back in the day! :p Is it just me or was that a trend that is no longer popular? Let's talk about it!

1. How important is it to recreate waves in your reef aquarium?

2. What are some of the pros of having more natural wave action in your reef aquarium?

If you have any wave videos from your tank please share!


Nope, not for me. I found a study on coral growth that was done in the tropics. Coral were placed in an outdoor, sloped trench/chute. They pumped water up to the top and let it run down the chute past the coral. No waves, nothing random, just night linear and high velocity flow. The growth they got was crazy.
Call me a fan of gyre flows after that!
 

Rhoads238

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I used to run a wave in my cube, I loved the movement it gave my LPS especially my hammers and torch corals. I don't personally think that there is a functional benefit and better nutrient export can be achieved with other flow patterns. I just love the look. Also one of my favorite tanks of all time runs a pretty chaotic wave, with a setup like this you can probably achieve the best of both worlds

 

Lasse

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From 2005, this is the oldest mention I could find regarding a wavebox “stressing tank seams”. It seems like this originated from Tunze disclaimers and became urban legend. I’d be curious if anyone ever had a tank failure they could attribute to a wavebox or surge bucket and how long it took. Probably about as common as two ghost tangs in the same tank.

@rvitko - you are in the thread - any opinions now - 15 years from your first post of this'?

Sincerely Lasse
 

sp1187

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why would I want waves in my tank?
in all my scuba dives I only experienced "waves" below forty feet once.
it was a rough day on the surface.
flow, be it tides or currents, is what's going on in nature. unless of course your tank inhabitants are from an in shore reef getting pounded by surf.
:cool:
 

rvitko

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@rvitko - you are in the thread - any opinions now - 15 years from your first post of this'?

Sincerely Lasse
We would still hold to this, it is from our manuals. It has to be, several pounds/kilos of weight are being moved against the seams and causing flexing and stretching. It definitely shortens a tanks life. If you buy a high end aquarium from a competent builder and it is on a level stand, you won't have a problem, but trying to produce a surge or wave in an older used tank or an economy brand or anything with a knock down stand would be asking for problems. Timoshenko's formula is used to dictate glass thickness for a volume based on seam stress, the problem is a lot of economy builders look at only the structural integrity of the glass against that weight, when glass thickness also sets seam thickness and bonding strength. There is also a lot of very low quality Chinese made glass on the market, this isn't 20 years ago where most US glass came from LOF, for example Oceanic was strategically located on the same rail line as the LOF factory in Waxahachie, they always had good glass and it was oversized. This is not to say that there are not quality glass from China, but I have seen poorly made tanks that the glass is soft, easily scratched and will literally craze like acrylic and finally fail catastrophically and this is with no wave or surge at all. In any case, I would never try to save money on the glass in this hobby. If you buy a really top end aquarium, install it properly, it will last at least 20 years structurally, but I can say almost with certainty, after less time (15 years) it will be due for replacement from stains, scratches, scuffing, damaged silicon, while only cosmetic, most of the point of a reef tank is cosmetic, if you simply buy quality and replace it when your eyes say it is time, you probably will not have problems.
 

josephxsxn

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Never used the WaveBox or other type of wave outside of maybe pulsing mode with some old powerheads. Now a days I just use 100% random random on my gyres and call it a day, I think there could be some improvements to this but when it comes to seems to just work, random has done me well.
 

Suesea

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I remember seeing more wave makers like that a long time ago now that you mention it. I guess I hadn’t even realized they’ve disappeared! Seam stress would turn me away too.
Ok, I'll bite what the heck is seam stress? And I hope I never get it. :oops:
 

Epic Aquaculture

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Ok, I'll bite what the heck is seam stress? And I hope I never get it. :oops:
Water motion placing additional stress on the silicone seams of the tank.

or

giphy.gif
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 44 48.4%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 49 53.8%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 21 23.1%
  • None.

    Votes: 23 25.3%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 9.9%
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