Koralia wavemaker fix

[pedromatic]

This fix was not my idea, somebody on RC suggested it. I tried it and it works. For anyone wanting to use Koralias with a wavemaker, adding a piece of airline tubing to the shaft as a spacer stops the prop from bouncing back and forth every time the pump starts up. In my case, I used a piece of silicon rubber airline tubing because it is more flexible. I chose to leave a small gap so that the prop is not impeded.

This pic shows the prop at rest (Koralia 2).

Here the prop is in motion. The pump started without prop chatter because the initial thrust did not cause the prop to travel all the way to the front of the shaft.

 

[invertigator]

That is great Pedro. I wish that secret was out when I had mine set up. I will try to sell my Wavemaker now that they can be used with Koralias. Thanks for the good news.

 

[scubasteve247]

wow, sweet. glad it works, someone was asking me about that at the swap too

 

[chinoxl3]

Thanks Pedro. Now I can watch my spanish novelas in silence...I mean my wife... .

 

[bckane]

Pedro....is this mod on the Koralia 2.?
Because I added the tubing spacer and the flow was coming out the back of the pump

 

[pedromatic]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12056312#post12056312 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bckane
Pedro....is this mod on the Koralia 2.?
Because I added the tubing spacer and the flow was coming out the back of the pump

In my case, K2 and K3.
After watching the pumps for a while and holding my hand in front, it appears that occasionally the prop starts up in reverse. OK so it's not a perfect fix, but I suppose it'll keep the pump cleaner
And at least it's quiet, right?

I'll experiment with different lengths of spacer to see if that makes any difference. Or maybe a stainless steel washer in between the prop and the spacer, if I can find one small enough. Or a rigid piece of plastic tubing. I'll try the Fish Net (fresh water fish store), they'll probably have some.

 

[bckane]

Ive have tried with different lengths I'm using plastic washers....I cant seem to get it to go one way for more then 5 times then water flow of the back of the pump......

 

[macawmagic]

the reason the pump makes noise when it turns on and off is because sometimes AC pumps start in the wrong direction(sucks instead of blows). the way the blades are on the propeller force the whole impeller to move forward and hit the front housing. on the back of the front housing is a little tab that the propeller hits which causes it not to be able to spin...(bumper or stopper) and then the propeller will turn the correct way(blowing water) and get sucked back in.
that's why all AC pumps make noise when you turn them on...off..on...off. DC pumps(tunze's) always start in a certain direction(blowing) and that's why they can be turned on...off without noise.(very little) there is a way to make a stopper out of fishing string, but i've only seen that on the maximods...not the koralia's.

aka...the reason it sometimes sucks is because it's not hitting the stopper to correct it's spin direction. not the worst thing in the world as you'll still have flow, it'll just be going the opposite way. only problem I see is that it could become a "fish trap" sucking those poor guys in.

good luck.

 

[bckane]

Pedro sorry to make your day...

 

[venom00viper]

Hey I did that same thing but now more often than not my pump goes the wrong direction. I tried with many different length of tubing. and ideas? I found that the shortest peice possible works best. It cushions the immpact and doesn't make as much noise. But I hate it bouncing back and forth like it does. Thoughts?


-ben

 

[zurc]

Should I return this thing? Lol, I just got the Koralia 3 yesterday for my 30g cube I am setting up.

 

[bckane]

zurc no Koralia's are great pumps Im running 3 2's in my 75...love the pumps easy to clean and great flow for the price. There coming out with a wavemaker for the pumps this year unless there already out

 

[bishoptaner]

can u add a washer between the tubing and the impellor?

 

[bishoptaner]

^ meant to say plastic washer

 

[pedromatic]

In my tests more often than not the Koralias start in the correct direction. Maybe that's because I'm using silicon rubber tubing which has similar properties to the black rubber stopper at the front of the shaft. An as for the "sucking fish in", when it does start in reverse, I've held my hand in front and not felt any suction. Maybe that's because the surface area at the front of the pump is so large. I'll try it with some black rubber tubing next... to be continued.

And don't cry for me, bc. I played hookie today; a day spent screwing around with my tank beats working.

 

[bishoptaner]

i appreciate your work, i wish i could help but i dont have a wavemaker. thanks

 

[macawmagic]

the problem is...in order for the pump to always "blow" you need to have the stopper. the stopper is the thing that makes the noise. well the propeller hitting the stopper is the thing that makes noise. without that noise (stopper) it'll go either forward or reverse on its own. there are ways to make silent stoppers but i've only seen them on maximods...not koralia's.

 

[scubasteve247]

i know someone was talking about making a diy seio wave timer that slow starts the pumps for around 30

 

[pedromatic]

The "stopper" is just a rubber grommet that holds the shaft in place. Why would that be any different from a piece of rubber tubing?

Maybe it's the action of the prop hitting the front of the housing as it's turning. The resistance of the water pressure against the prop starts it going in the right direction because of the shape of the prop. Then as the prop starts turning in the right direction, the water pressure slams it against the back of the pump body.

 

[macawmagic]

I just took apart my K1...we'll it doesn't have any sort of stopper mechanism...I don't know how it corrects itself. i figured it had something like the ecomod or the sureflow 1600. sorry bout that.