6215 wavebox on 500gal aquarium?

[BradR]

Was interested in trying a wavebox on an aquarium that's 7'x4'x30(tall)" but didn't like my tank builder not being sure if the stresses would be okay long term. What kind of motion would occur if I used a box w/o the extension to keep the loads low. Would there be so little discernable motion it would be a total waste?

 

[rvitko]

Any sort of surge or wave stresses the seams and shortens tank life, however, if the tank is well made and on a good level stand and the wave is within reason (1.5" max) you essentially shorten a 20 year tank life to about 17 and my experience is that after 10-12 years a tank looks pretty cruddy (scratched, silicon stained and damaged, etc.) so you would typically replace a tank before you are pushing the limits. Given the width I don't see one wavebox being effective, but wave height is adjustable with one and an extension. You simply reduce the power of the pumps.

 

[BradR]

Great info. Thanks Roger!