Wavebox "guts" in Side Chamber

[Sassafras]

I am impressed with what the Wavebox does-looks like the closest thing to real reef water motion available. The look of the box in the tank, however, goes against what I am always striving to achieve-nothing "non-natural" visible in the tank.

Can the pump, controller and other "guts" of the wavebox be mounted in a side chamber in back of a false side wall of the tank with an appropriate sized hole and be made to function? My idea is to build a wood/fiberglass/resin construction tank to stand up to the wave action and incorporate a false side on one or both ends of the tank to serve as a "built-in" wavebox. All that would be seen from the viewing area would be the face of the pump in an opening in the false wall.

I have been toying with this general idea of a hidden side chamber housing a wave generator but I haven't worked out any of my piston, expanding bladder or paddle ideas. The wavebox may be my answer.

 

[rvitko]

The best way to approach this would be to build an acrylic box approximately the size of the wavebox into the tank and then buy a 6200 Stream and a 6091 Controller and make your own. It would cost more and the boz would have to be roughly the same size. Maybe you could partition off the false wall so one part is the wavebox and the rest is housing some pumps.

 

[Sassafras]

Thanks Roger. So the size of the box is critical to it's working properly? The easiest thing to do might be to just size the chamber to house a wavebox unit and hide the whole thing behind the false side. I wasn't looking to build my own, just trying to have an equipment-free viewable area. I didn't know the size of the box was such a key to its operation.

 

[rvitko]

It could be a little deeper or wider but it shouldn't vary much. You could just hide a wavebox but it is critical that it be able to get air at the top and that water can rush in when the pump is off.

 

[Sassafras]

Shouldn't be a problem with what I had in mind. The side chamber would be open at the top and the business end of the wavebox wouldn't be modified and would be open to the tank. If the tank is 11 feet long by 30 in. x 30 in. it would take an extension wouldn't it. Pardon my "entry level" questions, but is an extension a separate box, extended in length, width, or how is it configured?

I am thinking that a properly constructed aquarium of the type construction planned (wood framed fiberglass/resin) would stand up better to the rigors of constact wave action better than a standard glass tank with silicone seams. What do you think?

 

[rvitko]

I don't know how the aquarium would stand up. I would think it would probably be better.

It would take an extension which is just a wvaebox with no controller. It attaches via the slave cable on the controller so they are synchronized.

 

[Sassafras]

Gotcha! Thanks much for your helpful information, Roger.