AW Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I was thinking the same thing too, check the site below. This guy built his own DIY wavebox, I believe the Tunze is pretty much the same. http://ealex.aqua-web.org/wavebox/index.htm He had original a reed float switch located in the box but took it off as it wasn't required. The pump simple is controlled on/off with timer. Too simple! I believe Wave height is set by the pump output. The pump keeps the wave going replacing the lost energy through a whole host of physical aspects / fluid dynamics of which i have no idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 the additional energy every cycle would mean water would eventually slosh over the side of the tank? It would if the energy wasn't being lost. That much water moving back and forth, up and down through the rocks, against the glass, etc. The pump is only what? 18 watts? I'm impressed that little manages to get a 1-2" high wave bouncing back and forth. I think on the same tank to double the wave height you'd probably have to quadruple the energy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I think on the same tank to double the wave height you'd probably have to quadruple the energy. Not at resonance. If the energy input is less than the energy lost (overdamped system), then the wave will decay down to zero. In english, no wave action. But if the energy input is slightly more than the energy lost, then the system will be underdamped and oscillate to infinity. In English, you'll get water spillage. What the Tunze system has to do is balance the two exactly. The energy it has to provide has to equal the energy lost during each wave cycle (critically damped system), this means the wave (once it has reached a certain size) will not grow any larger and spill water. Surely the only way to de this is to sense the wave height some how? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted March 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 The pump is only what? 18 watts? The wave box has a 6200 stream in it, 65w. 24v. pumps 20000L. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnB Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I have several large sheets of glass in my hallway, just walking past makes them creek at the moment. would like to see a wave box running myself to get a feel for the stresses, from the promo video they look high, from my experience diving, this kind of motion is very powerfull. I have knocked skin off kuckles due to wave motion. Is it an acrylic tank in the video? my acrylic has rounded corners and 100mm of overlapped welded seams. I would be happier using this then a glass one, simply because of the size of the joins and the strengths of a weld vs silicone. Acrylic will also bend further before it reaches its breaking point. AW - to be honest my stand is probably weaker then my tank, i am sure it was never designed to cope with a wave motion. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I think the water movement in the video looks too false and even. IMO It Doesnt look natural, its too rhythmical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnB Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 the cycle looks VERY SHORT, possibly because at resonance it probably would be quite quick due to the limited length of the tank. when diving it generally feels more like a 2-3 second surge having said that, if diving in shallow water say 15 ft with waves breaking across the top, you can get a very regular short surge... this may match reef fringes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AW Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Hopefully I'll have a 4 foot set up in the very near future with a wavebox on it. RnB, your quite right, The shorter the tank, the shorter the frequency, this is my only concern in setting up the tank. There has being talk of tanks longer than 2m odd able to set up with 2 waves. I like the fact that it effectively moves all the water in the tank, and in theory eliminate dead spots better. Also love the effect it has on the sand bed (if you got one of course) http://www.recifduvendredi.org/images/wavebox_1.jpg http://www.recifduvendredi.org/images/wavebox_2.jpg http://www.recifduvendredi.org/images/wavebox_3.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 I'm just wondering how effective a standing wave would really be in a tank. I think you would be better off with more streams personally. They would be far more effective in removing waste and providing food for corals, than the standing wave the wavebox sets up. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 It's not a standing wave though. It bounces back and forth across the tank which would shift water over most of the tank. It wouldn't create as intense a current as a stream, but the lesser current it creates would be practically everywhere in the tank. I'd consider one if it was cheaper. Maybe around the price of a Wave2k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 If it's tuned to resonance, then it is a standing wave. There may be a small elliptical shape to the water particles movement but the net displacement of a water particle after a cycle is going to be pretty close to zero. That is going to be nowhere near as effective as a stream in doing what you need done. Effectively the water is going in a short orbit, rather than bouncing off the other side of the tank. The wave is bouncing, not the water. Say for example you put a drop of ink in the middle of a tank running a wavebox, and then in a separate tank running a stream. The tank with the stream will mix the ink much faster than the wave box. The stream relies on physical mixing, where as the wavebox relies mainly on diffusion. The stream will be much faster. Surely the same would apply to coral waste? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AW Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Iduncan Your reasoning is spot on. Wave boxes, in effect, move the whole body of water back and forth, so a piece of 'what ever' sitting in the tank will pretty much stay in the same spot moving back and forth also. Waveboxes are meant to be used in conjunction with a stream (pump) or.... the diffusion device is to be used in conjunction with a mixing device. The wave box is effective at lifting detrius up into the water column, once in the water column, power heads then blow it hopefully into a outlet to the filtration system. http://ealex.aqua-web.org/index.html Have a look at the video clip of the wavebox on this site and notice how even the anemone/heliofungia? is affected by the standing wave even situated between two piles of reef structure. Cheers Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 I'll agree with Layton here. (Yes, there is a first time for everything!) Recently had the priveledge of going in that glass bottomed boat at Goat Island. One thing was quite noticeable when we went over areas of flexible type growth, was the wave action. Even in 20 or 30 feet of water, you would see them all get pushed one way by a powerful but gentle current for maybe 15 seconds or so, then it would stop and then they would all get pushed some other way for a similar period of time. You're just not going to get that same effect with a system that pulse at resonance in a 4 foot tank. But IMHO, with streams, you could mimick it quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.