how to use wavemaker

[TWycoff15]

i bought a biocube 28 gallon and it came with a oceanic pulse wavemaker. I dont know how to use it or what to hook it up too. can someone tell me

 

[Opus]

I assume you mean the JBJ Ocean Pulse Wavemaker. It is made for alternating on/off between 2 powerheads. The dial is used to set the time interval between switching powerheads. There is also an always on for both powerheads.

 

[Wes]

best powerhead to use with them is the maxijet, you can make koralias work but they can be noisy

 

[TWycoff15]

@Wes wrote:

On the hqi it has 2 returns and i was going to use it with thoughs but only one of the pumps will work when plugged in to the wavemaker. Do you think this is a defect?

 

[Wes]

wavemakers are for in tank flow, not you return. if you have 2 returns then you just split your return to both and you can put a scwd on it or simply leave them both going

 

[Opus]

Are you saying there are 2 returns, each with its own pump? I'm wondering if the person was using the wavemaker to switch the pumps which in turn would switch the returns. If each pump is sufficient for the return then I see no reason why that setup wouldn't work. You can turn the wavemaker to run both pumps all the time but then that wouldn't be any different than pluging the pumps into a powerstrip.

 

[TWycoff15]

@Opus wrote:

yA IT WOULD WORK CAUSE I CAN RUN ONLY ONE PUMP AND IT STILL WORKS . THAT IS HOW THE TANK COMES I BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW, tHEY MEANT FOR YOU TO USE IT ON THE PUMPS.

 

[Wes]

ok...i took a look at this further and yes, to use this as designed simply put the two accela pumps on the wavemaker at around 30 second intervals and you should be good to go depending on what you want to keep. for a mixed lps/softy tank you should be fine with this but i would bet there would still be some dead spots which will require some additional in tank flow. i would use a koralia n/1 for this personally where its needed and not worry about putting it on any type of wavemaker. normally returns shouldnt be used in this manner but for this all in one i guess they wanted to keep it clean and simple, so just run with it and try it. more than likely if you had both returns on at the same time there would be too much flow through the skimmer and filtration sections and the overflow into the return area would create micro bubbles.

here is a pic for others reference, maybe they have a better recommendation. basically the water overflow is in the center (red), it splits between the two sides (red), and flows into a single large return pump area where the two pumps are to return the water (black).

 

[TWycoff15]

@Wes wrote:

tHANKS MY ONLY PROBLEM NOW IS SOMETHING WEIRD. i HOOKED UP BOTH PUMPS TO A REGULAR POWER STRIP-tHEY BOTH WORK,THEN I MOVE THEM TO THE WAVEMAKER- THEN ONLY ONE WORKS. tHE ONE THAT DOSENT WORK HAS SOME, WHAT LOOKS LIKE MELTED PLASTIC ON THE PLUG IN (BUT NOT BY THE METAL). I WOULD NORMALLY SAY ITS BECAUSE I HAVE A DEFECTED PUMP OR WAVEMAKER, BUT THE PUMP WORKS ON A REGULLAR POWER STRIP AND WHEN I HOOKED UP TWO KORALIAS TO THE WAVEMAKER IT WORKED SO I KN0W THW WAVEMAKER WORKS. sO I CALLED MY LFS AND HE SAID BRING THE WAVEMAKER DOWN THEYER BUT I DONT REALLY WANT TOO BECAUSE I DONT THINK THEYER IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE WAVEMAKER BECAUSE IT WORKED ON THE KORALIAS. sO I GUESS I COULD GET THE PUMP OUT OF THEYER AND THE WAVEMAKER AND BRING IT DOWN THEYER AND WAIT A FEW WEEKS TO GET IT BACK BUT I REALLY DONT WANT TO. sO IM THINKING ABOUT JUST BUYING A NEW PUMP AND TRYING IT.

 

[Wes]

swap which plug the pumps are plugged into. if the good pump stops working and the 'melted' pump starts working, then its the wavemaker but if there is no change then its the pump. can you get a pump out? you should be able to for cleaning purposes, so id just do that and exchange the pump.