Wavebox Arrival?

[rvitko]

I'm trying my best Sean. I need 101 to fill every current order and they said they would do their best. Hehe, kind of funny to say 101 to a guy with a dalmation avatar. I know for sure I will get more though before the years end so I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[SeanT]

Not worried at all.
I really dont NEED one yet...still dont have all the rock back in my tank.

 

[DT's_Reef]

The wavebox is next to my desk at work as I type....

 

[SeanT]

Bite me.

 

[DT's_Reef]

Hey, it was stressful enough when Marine Depot called me this morning to say "Your wavebox is here", and I had to tell them I didn't want it because I already had one.

I was tempted to get the second for "SPS favors".

 

[SeanT]

lol.
Those would have to be favors cashed in on quick though.

 

[DT's_Reef]

Well, I installed it. So far works great because several minutes after it began, I smelled a bad stink. Apparently this was all the "funk" getting moved out of the nooks and crannies. I basically have a barebottom tank with a little sand here and there.

The motor goes on and off as expected, and is louder than a regular stream pump.

My Acropora Subulata *majorly* extended its polyps like never before, 10 minutes after starting the wavebox.

I'll have to see how the tank runs over the short term before giving the wavebox the "Shiznit Seal of Approval". However, I expect this is going to be at least as popular as the Streams.

 

[LowCel]

DT's, about how big of a wave does it make? Does it become an eyesore, in other words, is it as big as it looks in the video?

 

[DT's_Reef]

The maximum wave possible is primarily determined by how long your tank is. Mine's 4 feet so I get a smaller wave, about 3/4" or so.

But I must say that I'm not sure I'd want a bigger wave as when you look very closely, you can actually see your tank slightly jiggle during each wave. Kind of unsettling when you have a glass tank and live in an upstairs condominium <g>. My tank's a new Lee-Mar, eurobraced with 1/2" glass, so hopefully it's really sturdy....hopefully.

Whether or not it's an eyesore will depend on how much good I feel it does my tank <g>. I have it on the same end of my tank as the Stream, so it hides the Stream when viewing the tank from the front, which is nice. I took my other Stream out from the other end of my tank so now I only have one, which has improved the apperance. Kind of a trade-off.

I honestly don't feel it looks ugly in the tank, as it's a pretty fascinating item. People who've never seen one will likely say "wow" when seeing it the first time.

I'll guess it probably won't look as big to you as it does in the video because my reaction was that it wasn't as big as I thought it'd be.

 

[mhurley]

I got mine in last night. My tank is 330 gallons and 8' long. I'm shocked and impressed that the wave is as big as it is on this tank because the specs say the limit is a 317 gallon tank for a single wavebox. You can defintely control the frequency of the wave which impacts the size of it. I had it as low as a little light rocking like this:

http://home.comcast.net/~michael.hurley/little.AVI 1.5 MB

To rocking and rolling (which is where I left it):

http://home.comcast.net/~michael.hurley/big.AVI 2.2 MB

Those vids are of the back side of my tank.

Here's a pic of the right front side of my tank with the box in the corner.

Enjoy!

 

[curthendrix]

Thanks for the video. Anyway we could talk you into a video from the front of the tank showing the effect of the wave motion on your coral and fish? Do you think the one box is sufficient for your tank?

 

[rvitko]

Darin,

I take it youget a click, click noise every time it turns on. That will soften over the next couple weeks, it still does make a noise but not quite the pistol shrimp kinda noise it makes when new.

 

[Frisco]

I got mine running last night just to check it out but need to move it to the real location (hanging off of my overflow - rear right of the pic) and also secure it better. One of support fittings has a hole drilled too big so I can't get the backing screw to stay in - I'm going to use one from one of my streams and get it running tomorrow and will take some more pics. This thing is way too cool!!

 

[mhurley]

Thanks for the video. Anyway we could talk you into a video from the front of the tank showing the effect of the wave motion on your coral and fish? Do you think the one box is sufficient for your tank?

Well, so far I think one is plenty. But I'm still fine tuning it so we'll see.

Here's a vid of my GSP's which are dead center in my tank sitting on the sandy bottom....Incidentally, for those with concerns about DSB's and Southdown...I can tell you that I have 750 pounds of Southdown in this tank and this hasn't stirred that up at all. Another great benefit I see is in the back of the tank in areas that are totally dead and devoid of water flow (rock piles etc..) and with gunk growing, suddenly it's all blowing around and the "gunk" is breaking up.

http://home.comcast.net/~michael.hurley/gsp.AVI 3.7 meg

 

[curthendrix]

Absolutely cooooooool. Thanks. How does your rockwork effect the action of the underwater wave?

 

[rvitko]

Cool! We have an untested belief that this device may actually increase sand bed and rock denitrating capacity because the pressure changes should push water further into the sand and rock but we have no tests to prove this, just something people are currently looking into.

I am happy to see though that even on a large tank with a short wave height the effect is preserved.

 

[rvitko]

Also, be careful to watch redox levels Mike, that detritus break up is great in the long run but can be dangerous short term. Keep the skimmer running and in bad situations you may want to run some Ozone.

 

[mhurley]

Yep...skimmer and ozone are going well.

I would say that the rock work doesn't impact it too much...at least not that I can tell. The best way I can describe the water flow is if you and a buddy stood on either side of your tank and lifted it up, then tipped it back and forth. It's as if the entire water column is shifting. It's a different flow than a Stream, which is different from a typical powerhead.

 

[DT's_Reef]

Darin,

I take it youget a click, click noise every time it turns on. That will soften over the next couple weeks, it still does make a noise but not quite the pistol shrimp kinda noise it makes when new.

Yep, that's the noise. It goes "click-nnnrrrrrrr.....click-nnnrrrrrrr....click-nnnrrrrrr".

The magnet holder works fantastically well.

Has anyone noticed a stink in their tank after starting up the wavebox?

The stink was gone this morning, but I noticed my pH was slightly depressed from the usual morning reading. My guess is crud is stirred up in the water.

The polyps on my A. Subulata and Mille. continue to be massively expanded.

 

[mhurley]

Ya know what?....I did notice a little odor last night/this morning and I suspect you are right.

I love the magnet holder too. Except for the tips of my two fingers that got pinched in them when I let the magnets snap together. Oh crud that hurt.