Tank designed with built-in wavebox

[kaserpick]

Here's a design I'm working with for when I build my next tank:

Does this seem like it would work? I'm thinking that I'll use an MP10w in the box to drive it. The volume of the box is greater than that of Tunze Nano Stream, and the MP10w should be able to evacuate the water in the box within just over a second. Please let me know what you think and if I'm missing something. :thumbsup:

 

[kaserpick]

The glass for the 2 long panes and front small one will be 3/4" starphire, and the back wall will be 3/4" high-iron glass. The overflow glass will be 1/2", while the wave box glass will be 3/8" (cannot be any thicker because of the MP10w).

 

[Amp2020]

Can you share the model in sketchup? That way I can look at it from different angles and get a better idea.

I'm not saying its a bad idea to use different size panes of glass, but it just seems weird to me. The glass shop might charge you more for labor if you ask for several different sizes, because they have to work with different sheets rather than just one. I have no idea how they charge for glass so I could be wrong about that.

 

[kaserpick]

Yeah, I can definitely understand that, but I'm stuck since the MP10w won't work on glass thicker than 3/8". At the same time, I can't have 3/8" for the starphire glass.

Also, how do I share Sketchup files on RC?

 

[Greg 45]

I built a similar design using 4 x 4 fence post cut to fit tank.
Used a tunze pump much stronger biger surge.

 

[BigReef]

^
Got any pics?|

 

[XSiVE]

The idea seems like a great one. For some reason Im thinking that you would want the top of the wavebox that meets up with the display a little higher than the overflow edge into the display, but still lower than the tank sides. That way water can flow back in through the hole that the mp10 is in, if it flows back in through the top Im not sure you're going to get an actual wave.

 

[kaserpick]

The idea seems like a great one. For some reason Im thinking that you would want the top of the wavebox that meets up with the display a little higher than the overflow edge into the display, but still lower than the tank sides. That way water can flow back in through the hole that the mp10 is in, if it flows back in through the top Im not sure you're going to get an actual wave.

Thank you very much for the advice! That's definitely a great idea; while I still think it would create a wave, it would be much more efficient if none of the water could spill over the top. Thanks again! :thumbsup:

Also, I didn't mention that I'll be using a piece of black acrylic to cover the entire back wall. With that in place, the overflow and wavebox will be hidden.

Here's another question for everyone: Should I still with the MP10w or a Tunze Stream on a controller? I believe the MP10w will have plenty of flow to evacuate the water in the box.

 

[Bio-nut]

IT will work a friend of mine has done this before in a 200 gallon tank you just need to get the perfect timing on the pump otherwise you will create a wave that will run over the top! If you would like i can try to get him to shoot a vedio of it!

 

[kaserpick]

IT will work a friend of mine has done this before in a 200 gallon tank you just need to get the perfect timing on the pump otherwise you will create a wave that will run over the top! If you would like i can try to get him to shoot a vedio of it!

Sure! That'd be great. I figured that I could use the control on the MP10w (ES model) to dial in the frequency (on a low flow setting), and then once I set the timing on the control, I could use the knob to up the flow (or decrease) to get the proper wave height. Thanks for the input! :thumbsup:

The tank will be rimless; I think they're clean looking tanks, and also, I'd like to be able to see the wave. Due to the lack of bracing, I'm planning on using 3/4" thick glass with a double pane bottom to insure maximum strength. I know the wave motion will add some extra stress on the tank; I'm hoping this will help counteract that stress.

 

[Amp2020]

First step to sharing SketchUp designs, is to setup a google account. Once you have an account be sure to log on to the 3D warehouse and it should ask you to set up a nickname. Then go back to your drawing in SketchUp. Click on the "File" option at the top left hand corner and select "3D Warehouse" option from the drop down menu. Then select the "share" option. It will ask you to give it a description name, brief description, and some tags for searching purposes and you're done. Here's an example of what I just made.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=f025defd76c56132949a9bc1877a8ac4&prevstart=0

Or just go to the 3D Warehouse and look up "kaserpick demo tank with external overflow box", and then download it into SketchUp for viewing.

 

[kaserpick]

Thanks Amp2020!

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=8f63ed102ab7aacf7cba3e0be42e6622&prevstart=0