WAVE2K!!!!

[Anonymous]

I finally set this up on my 125 gallon:

www.wave2k.com

The flow is amazing! It took quite a bit of tinkering and adjusting to finally get the thing working, but it is well worth it. The flow at the top actually hits the "roof" of my acrylic tank when it surges, and the water is coming out 2" below the water surface. The creator estimates a flow rate of 4000gph. Along with 2 sump pumps rated for 1500gph each, there's quite a bit of flow in there (around 40-50X tank volume??). Too bad it's a FOLR. It's only been running an hour so far, so I'll update this thread with any future happenings.

Has anyone had one of these for awhile?

 

[taikonaut]

It is too much flow for your 12.5 gall nano tank, Matt. Take it out before it blew your tank top off!

Oh, sorry, my monitor is a bit dusty...

 

[Money Pit]

How would you attach one of those to a glass tank with a lip around the top?

 

[Anonymous]

It's actually a lot easier with a glass tank. I had to drill 7 holes in the top of my tank to accomodate the wave2k. There's probably about 2" between the back of the unit and the motor, so it depends on how thick your lip is.

 

[liquid]

We want pics!

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

I thought I'd show off my crazy mad camera skills anyway, so here goes. These two are the macine itself, and the effect it has on the water surface.

 

[Anonymous]

Two more. The effect the machine has on the crushed coral and SD sand on the bottom, especially on the sides of the machine! There are no dead spots in my tank.

The other is a little mod I put on my Durso standpipe I thought I'd share. The flow was going over the hole, blocking the air hole. Air tubing was too small to accomodate all the air, so I just glued a piece of 1" PVC pipe over the top to block the water.

 

[PeeJ]

Wow...does that sand situation get on your nerves?

 

[Anonymous]

Well, they're sending me baffles for free to direct the flow upwards. So no.

Once I have more LR in there to break up the flow it shouldn't be much of a problem anyway.

 

[PeeJ]

Good to hear. I know when my sand blows away, I get real agitated. What type of lighting do you have?

 

[Anonymous]

Well it's a FO, so I only have two 13W PC actinics. It's meant to simulate a deep fore reef--low, blue light, with intense water movement.

 

[PeeJ]

I'd like to see the crazy ripple that thing would make with some halides.

 

[Money Pit]

Why did you have to drill 7 holes, or did I misread? Also do you know of any links to a picture of their corner units? I have a center overflow.

 

[reefland]

The other is a little mod I put on my Durso standpipe I thought I'd share. The flow was going over the hole, blocking the air hole. Air tubing was too small to accomodate all the air, so I just glued a piece of 1" PVC pipe over the top to block the water.

Thanks for the pictures. Neat looking machine. Been watching it progress for a few years now. The belt drive on top looks like trouble waiting to happen. Seems it needs a cover or something.

As to the air hole, did you make the modification for a reason? Did you see a negative effect? I would think once it couldn't get air it would go full siphon and drain the overflow faster (which you want). Only draw back I can think of is that you might get a terrible noise when the siphon breaks -- like a kid trying to slurp up the last bit of soda with a straw.

 

[PeeJ]

Did you check the site? I thought they had pics of the corner units on there. They have the dimensions, I know that.

 

[Money Pit]

I emailed them and they are going to send me some pictures of the unit and instructions on installation. My biggest concern is drilling a glass tank that has water in it. Anyone have any experience drilling glass tanks want to tell me about the risks?

 

[Money Pit]

Matt,
You mentioned having to drill 7 holes. Can you show us where and tell us why so many holes. I'm really interested in purchasing one of these things but the thought of that much drilling scares me.

 

[Anonymous]

MP,
You DO NOT have to drill a glass tank. All the holes are located under the pulley in the "ceiling" of the acrylic tank. There are several holes for screws, and for the main shaft itself. The screws connect the machine itself to the little plate that the pulleys are sitting on. There are also two screws that need to be adjusted at first to allow some play with the plate inside the machine.

Rich,
They provide a cover to prevent anything from stopping the belt. I just didn't have it on when I took the pic. I've *heard* that the belt is one of the big problems though. Apparently they just break after a few months, which is understandable with all the friction and tension. The cool thing is that they send you new ones free, and it's a matter of simply putting it on and it's ready to go again.

For the standpipe, my problem was that the water that was coming through the teeth was going over the top of the endcap and blocking air from getting into the airhole. FWIW it's not one of the rounded endcaps, it's a flat one. So basically the hole was slurping in water and making a terrible racket. When I tried adding some airline their was apparently not enough air getting in; the water level in the overflow dropped down to the bottom of the elbow and did the slurping you described. It reacted the same way as if you were to block the airhole completely. This was noisy as well. If I could have found a larger diameter airline tubing (say 1/2" or so) it would have worked also, but this solution just seemed much simpler.

FWIW, the PVC pipe in the standpipe is 1.25". The bulkhead at the bottom is 1". There are reducers on both sides of the bulkhead. The piping draining into the sump is also 1.25". IIRC this is identical to yours. My airhole is 1/4". The return pumps are rated for 1500 gph each, and there are two overflows. The water level in each overflow is only about 1/2" lower than the top of the endcap. It doesn't drain fast enough, I guess, but it's still quiet.

 

[skylsdale]

Did they send a few more belts along with it? I've heard various long-term problems with those...they're often too loose or too tight, and after every few weeks/months they seem to need replacing. Eric Borneman had a thread running over in the Coral Forum of RC about his testing of the unit--you might want to check that out for anything you might want to keep in mind. If I remember correctly, running the belt too tightly can damage some of the internal parts...you might want to do a search just to be sure.

Hey Matt! Nice to see this tank up and running! Do you have any more specifics on it yet! I rarely make it onto the boards as of late (school, work, new tank for someone else, etc.) so I haven't heard anything regarding this little project.

 

[Anonymous]

Sky, they did send a few extra belts. I read Eric's thread over at RC, and it seemed his problem was specific to his machine. In any case, they fixed the unit free of charge. They are always available on the phone to help you with troubleshooting as well, which is nice.

The new tank should be pretty cool. I have 120# LR coming from www.harboraquatics.com tomorrow. Along with the rock already in there and the rock from my 6, it should be around 150 total. I'm going to put all the corals from my 6 into the 40 gallon refugium. Fish plans are changing all the time but at this point it's:
Lined Fairy wrasse, Cirrhilabrus lineatus 1 or 2
Ornate angel,Genicanthus bellus, pair
Fathead anthias, Serranocirhitus latus, 1
Chalk Basslet, Serranus tortugarus, 3-4
Curious wormfish, Gunnelichthys curiosus, 1
Yellow assessor, Assessor flavissimus, 3
yasha goby
red firefish

I want some more interesting, peaceful midwater fish. I was thinking a Midas or Canary Fang blenny...