DIY Wavebox! (With modded MJ)

quangtam7's stop works. When the pump starts the wrong way the impeller start to hop out like any other mod. The tabs on the base of the impeller hit the bottom of that white bracket and the pump reverses .

Much better that the original mod stop but not perfect because it still a mechnical stop... something is still hitting something and that will wear out too.


Just out of curiousity smcnally before we all go and reinvent the wheel I was wondering if you've got your new box done yet?

It would be nice to fire it up and see how long the prop last as is.
 
if we got a stronger stop and a more secure way to secure the prop to the shaft (actually like a key or yoke or whatever you would call it ) it would probably drastically cut down on the wear.. still the clicking will be there alot.. my mod seems to take a while to reverse and by the time it got going in the right direction here it would be turned off already :)

are the brass props harmful to an aquarium??? i dont understand why we arent using those.. as long as they arent exposed to air after under water, corrosion shouldnt happen correct?? for rust to accumilate you need oxygen so as long as the prop stays submerged at least most of the time it should be fine correct??

i have a brass prop on my rc boat and i run it in saltwater all the time.. after wards i give it a rinse and put it away.. no rust and its been over a year of running..

is the reason for not using the bronze because we would need a much sturdier stop, then it would be ALOT louder???

Is there any aquarium pumps that arent magnetic drive?? all the ones i have seen are..

i think we could use a dc motor but to use it under water (90 degree fittings or flex shaft may be imparctical here??) in a water proof casing may not be as easy or effective as it sounds.. to do that on the outdrive or shaft of the motor we are going to need an o-ring around that.. will cause friction and in turn rob the motor of power and speed.. also to have the motor completly dry its going to have to be completely sealed... then we have heat issues unless it will be in a metal or alluminum casing which is what i think we are trying to avoid??..


ahhh maybe i should just through my trolling motor for my boat on here and pop it in and out of gear with a servo a bunch of times...

if we could do that on a smaller scale (like an outboards gearcase) it would work great!!!! just have the motor running constantly and then pop it in and out of gear.. probably a bit of wear and tear there but possible..

or like what was suggested in the beginning.. a clutch type deal. where a servo could release and depress the clutch to engage and disengage the prop.. again possible but alot of DIY


lol lets do like mentioned above and just see if it holds up how it is now :) :) :) :)
 
Covey, I have the new box made and the new mods installed, but I haven't decided what to use for a timer yet.

rsxs1212, brass is bad for a reef tank. It is composed of Zinc and Copper.
 
What about mounting the box externally, make the box a lot taller, 3 floats: top float when activated would shut pump off, middle float would start pump, bottom float would shut pump off. Use a MJ mod, not worrying about a stopper, just allowing the water to be pulled into the box above the tank height, and once it hits the top float shuts the pump off, sort of like a surge bucket, then once it gets back to regular tank height, if the propellor goes backwards, it just repeats but if it goes forward acts like a regular wavebox.

I understand the possablility of floading, but you'd probably want to make a over flow pipe built into the box to drain back to the tank/sump incase it stuck on.
 
I have no idea how your idea would work badbu68...

It seems you would need at least two pumps for this to get the water above tank height in the "wavebox"

You'd need at least one pump to pump the water above tank height and use the MJmod as a "wavebox" like pump. You'd also need at least one more float switch for the second pump as well.

So, please explain in more detail how your setup might work?

Peace,
John
 
Just my idea that if the maximod spins backwords sucking in water instead of expelling it, it would work, but then again these propellors I assume are pretty worthless going backwords?

Also the floats would have to be on a timer setup where if the top one tripped it would negate the middle float set at water level for x amount of seconds.

Maybe it was a worthless post, I'm just thinking out loud here.
 
I know that the consensus is that a ‘DIY Maxistream Wave Box’ would be more convenient to tune with a timer.

If one were to make a wave box using float switches, it may be beneficial to mount them in a manor that allows you to easily adjust the height of at least the top switch. Out of curiosity … what if it was not tuned perfectly? What would the result be? Would you be just as well off with a Maxistream set with a timer and NO BOX at all?

Here’s just a drawing of an external wave box with some float switches. Just the same as an internal box.

wavebox1.jpg
 
I don't think float switches are the best solution, they are very unreliable, and I personally wouldn't want to tie two of them togather with a maxijet and a wall socket, just my opinion
 
Just curious! I noticed that you placed two float switches in the wave box. Have you ever considered just one switch with a float of some sort activating the on/off of the switch? The perfect example would be the switching system on a sump pump. Just an idea :confused:
 
the arm would have to be fairly long with your idea sentinal to get enough water in and out of the box to make a significant wave.. although this is not a bad idea we still have to figure out how to keep wear down on the mod
 
This is the first time I've read this thread, and really the first time I've considered a wavemaker. So this thought may be totally retarded (dee de deeee) but figured I'd throw it out there.

I'll try to describe.....

Windshield Wiper motor mounted to top of tank with instead of wiper blade..... get this..... mounted to it, there will be a piece of pretty hefty plexi glass. Width to be determined upon experimentation. Thickness would need be somewhere round 1/4"min and increase with the length and width.

So wiper motor is connected to a..... get this..... a wiper control switch like in a car. Preferably one with the precise varible control settings for delay. I'm pretty sure you can set the motor to only swing a certain distance so that would need to be greatly reduced from it's window covering distance in the car.

Wiper control is then connected to dc power supply. I'll have to let the Sparkies figure this one out. There's gotta be something better than a battery. Right?

So anyways here's a sketch of what I'm trying to say.

I've noticed that when I'm scraping the glass in my aquarium that my arm movement produces a very gentle effective 'wave' throughout the tank. so this is kinda based on that principle.

Whadda you guys think? I call it the Rusty Wavemaker 5000! hehehe, now available at your local LFS for $1500

wave.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8937114#post8937114 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fload
I don't think float switches are the best solution, they are very unreliable, and I personally wouldn't want to tie two of them togather with a maxijet and a wall socket, just my opinion
Click to expand...

Oh it will work … it looks like that’s how this one was done:
http://ealex.aqua-web.org/kuvat/videot/wb.avi


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8937153#post8937153 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sentinal
Just curious! I noticed that you placed two float switches in the wave box. Have you ever considered just one switch with a float of some sort activating the on/off of the switch? The perfect example would be the switching system on a sump pump. Just an idea :confused:
Click to expand...

It wouldn’t work with just one. I’m not an electrition, but I was told that it would take some relays or something to make it kick on … off … on … off etc…
 
Float switches... Many are not very reliable, but at the same time, it's not so much the level in the wavebox that really matters.

Basically the pump should be pushing until the wave hits the far side of the tank, off until it hits the near side. I suppose with significant adjustment one could in time get that right with in box floats - but it's not ideal.

Cheaper timer - what about that intermatic/timex timer wavemaker mod? May not be quite right.

I wonder how the new tunze nanos (which are pretty cheap) would do on a wavemaker...
 
RandyStacyE the top switch would have to have an adjustable level to it. Your not tuning the water level in the box. The length of the tank on these type of wavemaker detrimine cycle time. When you match the the timing of the tank wave each repeating wave builds off the last to settle in at the max wave height.

If its off yes its basically a rapidly pulsing prop mod.

I'd still prefer the timer but and adjustable float switch would work.

As far as the switch failing the box would only fill up and spill back over into the tank.
 
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