Should I get a wavemaker?
- Thread starter dirtyBit
- Start date
johandagentile
New member
yes i def. recommended one. the "Polario" I have one on the back of my center overflow and its great.
its looks cool as hell. it makes great waves. and its not to expensive. def. look into one.
its looks cool as hell. it makes great waves. and its not to expensive. def. look into one.
lil_man72
New member
yeah, they work great. i don't like the cheap ones though.
the jbj and hydor units that just shut off one pump and then turn it back on can be loud and hard on the pumps.
i have one of the older hydor wavemakers that lets you adjust how strong each side is during on and off periods. what this means is you don't shut the pumps off you just change which side is pushing more water.
the jbj and hydor units that just shut off one pump and then turn it back on can be loud and hard on the pumps.
i have one of the older hydor wavemakers that lets you adjust how strong each side is during on and off periods. what this means is you don't shut the pumps off you just change which side is pushing more water.
dirtyBit
Member
johandagentile, never heard of the Polario. I just looked into it and it is interesting. How big is your tank and what size Polario do you have?
At this point I'm open to wavemakers or waveboxes or anything else really that will make my SPS happy but wont send me to the poor house.
At this point I'm open to wavemakers or waveboxes or anything else really that will make my SPS happy but wont send me to the poor house.
Ron Reefman
Active member
My old 75g had 3 MJ powerheads and a RedSea wavemaker. Yes, it just turned pumps off and on, but did what I wanted, more random flow and less issues with trapped detritus and cyano. In fact, after I installed it I never had any cyano again. I liked it so much that I have an OM4 with revolution heads on a CL and a SCWD on my sump return to my current 180g tank. And in 2 years I've had no cyano issues in a wll fed, well populated tank. It's just my opinion, but I think the more random you can make the flow, the better the tank does.
Koralia has 2 wave makers, a 2 outlet and a 4. I have the 2 outlet model. They do exactly what I needed them to do. I used to have red sea model and has a alternating mode which is also very nice, but after it broke I wanted to try a different model. I have not been unhappy with koralia. Make sure your pumps are controllable.
wildman926
Active member
You money would be best spent on providing flow on your tank, but turned off/on with progressive lighting.
I have 3 timer settings controller the lights and flow in the tank. As the lights gradually turn on, those sources of flow are fully on. It provides a nice smooth transition to ensure the tank gets proper flow everywhere.
johandagentile
New member
i have a 135 custom saphire with the center overflow
i got the polario 22ML whatever that means.
now its not a tunze wavebox but it def. makes my water do the wave thing and brings kaos to my water. i love it. i got it for only 100 dollars and when it broke i sent it to the developer and they sent me a new one. good spent money!!
dirtyBit
Member
Took me a min. to google this but of all the water movement gadgets I've seen this seems to produce the most realistic movement. Granted I've never been diving but I live near the beach and waves come and go every few seconds not 5 times a sec. like I see with most "wave makers". Unfortunately, it seems like the owner is currently out with some illness and I'm not sure if he'll continue to work on these or not. Plus I'd have to re-plumb my tank. It wouldn't be all bad as I'll have an excuse to try out one of those Herbie overflows as I don't think I'll need the current return if I go this route. I Youtubed OM and I saw one with the revolution heads on it but I couldn't tell what it was doing. The OM directs flow through different pipes but when it gets to the revolution head what does it do?
I was looking into Koralias as I already have 2 of them. Do you have the "SmartWave" or the other more pricey one?
I've looked into a Tunze which I think has a photosensor. I was thinking about a wavebox but have decided against it. The waves created are scary as it looks like it's going to overflow.
my personal recommendation would be to add a vortech to your system. Increased flow (instead of intermittently decreased flow) with built in programmable wavemaking
Yeah that's what I keep hearing. I've seen them and they really do look great but I just can't justify spending $900+ on these things. Maybe if my tank makes it through another year I'll buy it a birthday present. :celeb3:
Thanks this is still something I'm considering it's just that that controller it comes with looks like something out of the late 70's. :bum:
dirtyBit
Member
Ok I've decided to cheap out and get a SmartWave and two more 1400's. At this point in my tanks development it just seems like the most logical choice. For $170 I'll get 5600gph of "random" flow. The biggest complaints people have with these is the clicking sound when they start up. I think I can live with that as the tank is in my hallway. Thanks to everyone for chiming in. I really like the Polario and OM4 ideas and will probably incorporate those in the future.
Kluver
New member
Just got my Vortech mp40 the other day and love it. One mp40 replaces two mod maxi jet 900 and reduced my temp 2 degrees! I have a 65gal and one pump is all you need.
Big E
Premium Member
You don't need to spend heavy cash by buying anything listed above. Just get a digital timer ($15 at home depot) most have six/seven settings. Space the times out however you want.
Get a smaller Koreliea evo to start out on the timer & see how you like it. You can later decide if you want to more pumps or put an existing pump on another timer.
Trust me on this, I've run closed loops with Sea Swirls & Tunze pumps on thier controllers in the past. I've sold all this equipment & the corals could care less.
Right now I'm running with no timed pumps & all my acros that I've had for 10+ years grow just as well. A few stragecially placed pumps that run 3-4 hours on or off is all you need to kick out any dead spots or detritus.
This hobby has been brainwashed into thinking you need to spend big money on all those expensive pumps & controllers & the fact is they aren't needed with all the other options available now.
Get a smaller Koreliea evo to start out on the timer & see how you like it. You can later decide if you want to more pumps or put an existing pump on another timer.
Trust me on this, I've run closed loops with Sea Swirls & Tunze pumps on thier controllers in the past. I've sold all this equipment & the corals could care less.
Right now I'm running with no timed pumps & all my acros that I've had for 10+ years grow just as well. A few stragecially placed pumps that run 3-4 hours on or off is all you need to kick out any dead spots or detritus.
This hobby has been brainwashed into thinking you need to spend big money on all those expensive pumps & controllers & the fact is they aren't needed with all the other options available now.
