Wavemaker - A very cheap option....

melev

melev

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[Have y'all seen this new gizmo? It has been causing quite a stir on a number of message boards:

SCWD wavemaker

Here's the discussion from ReefCentral.

This little non-electric device runs about $43. I saw it on Ebay last night for $39 plus $4.50 shipping, and the guy was selling 72 of them in one auction. They have 3/4" inlet and outlets, and you just plumb your pump to it.

To be honest, I think you could make a real simple closed loop setup with this thing, and make some interesting alternating currents. It isn't designed for bigger tanks, but if you had two or three on a setup, I think it would be probably be decent. The company is testing 1" units, but I've got no idea when they will become available.

Flow rate: 50 gph minimum, 1400 gph maximum.]
 
[I ordered two of these yesterday. One guy was selling one for $40, and two for $75. So I thought two is a better deal. I'm going to connect SCWD to a MAG-9.5 and see how it works.]
 
[@peterlin wrote:
I ordered two of these yesterday. One guy was selling one for $40 said:
I'm a little leary of that guy that's offering them on RC, since he's got no obvious history (4 posts total!), with a mostly empty profile. I hope you don't get burned by the guy.

I'm going to order one as well, from a source that should back up the product if I run into problems for some reason.

I was trying to read the instructions that are listed on the mfg's site, but it is really hard to see. It looks like they suggest starting it up with 1/2 the flow of water going to it, then opening the valve 100%.

That is fine the first time, but what if you turn off your sump once a day, as part of your feeding routine? I'd like to know how the unit would do in those circustances. I'd also like to know if it has a built in checkvalve to keep the water primed, or if it drains back out of the unit and down to the pump/sump again.

What size tank are you going to use them on? I'm trying to figure out what would be good for my 29gal right now. That system uses a Mag 5, which pushed 300gph at 5 feet of head pressure. I'd like to see what type of flow that puts out on each side of my tank as it cycles. It would be nice to remove some powerheads.]
Click to expand...
 
[There have been so many lousy wave makers marketed over the years that I usually wait for people to see if they work or not for any length of time before I join in. So please keep us up to date on your experience with these squids!]
 
[I got a reply from this guy that he is shipping yesterday. $75 for two SCWD so I took a chance. I'll let y'all know when they arrive and how it performs.

SCWD will be used on my 150 g 'clam' tank. It has 2 (3/4")return lines from the sump. So my idea is to hook up Mag 9.5 to SCWD - which has two ports - one to each return line. This way every 10 sec the water current will pump through the return line. I think SCWD is mechanical - so it should not be affected by power on and off during feeding - or to look at clams.

I also am getting two Sea Swirl. Yeah, I read many bad wavemaker - and I do not want unsightly power head. So I think the Sea Swirl will keep the surface water moved...and if all goes well, SCWD will pump the water under the surface. I am keeping a small # of SPS - so I'm working on improving water movement.]
 
[I picked up a SCWD today at our meeting (WOOHOO!!), so I'll be hooking mine up pretty soon, maybe this weekend. Planet Pet had one in stock, so I decided to nab it.

I'm still trying to determine how I'll hook up the unit. I'm looking at some type of closed loop system that I can hang off the back of the 29 gal.

I may just have one outlet on each back corner, about 4 inches below the surface to pulse straight toward the front glass. Maybe I'll just run them across the tank, facing each other from one end to the other, so they'll blow across the sps's. I also thought about an "X" type frame, where opposite corners would flow, then switch to the other opposite corners.

It's really cool playing with the options.]
 
[I know, I know... I'm dragging my feet on this one. LOL I have to alter my existing plumbing, and I'm not too excited to do that. I'll do it today, okay? ;)]
 
[Peter,

Did you get yours yet? I've not had a chance to plumb mine in quite yet. I simply don't have room to add another pump in my display tank, and I'm afraid the overflow won't be able to keep up with 2 pumps sucking from the sump. So I'll change the way the pump is running by splitting it with the SCWD as soon as I have time to get behind that tank again.]
 
[You know, it's almost 1 AM and I'm up. Why you ask? Because I just put in 2 Sea Swirl. I could not wait to see how they work. So far so good. I'm impressed, very quiet. I got 2 Sea Swirls 3/4 inch - hook up to a Mag 12.

The two SCWD I ordered is scheduled for tomorrow's delivery. UPS ground took forever. I'm going to hook one up to Mag 12. My 150g tank has 2 returns - so SCWD will make each return 'pulse'.

Marc - I have been reading good comment on these SCWD from RC. I will report here when I get this installed.

I cannot believe the time I spent on my tank. My hose flipped from the mixed tank when I was watching Joe Millionaire on TV - and I flooded 15 gallon of water - my rug soaked up most of it...sheesh.]
 
[15 gallons is nothing. Bet you didn't even get a high tide mark on the dry wall. :p

Thanks for the update and looking forward to hearing about the squids!]
 
[I finally got mine yesterday. As a post in RC said "they come w/ just the unit. no barbes, hose clamps, or hose. just the black unit w/ one inlet and 2 outlets."

So, now I need to find the "softest tubing" I can. it will conform more to the scwd when tighten it.

what a hassel - another trip to Lowes

But we are almost there.
:p]
 
[:D I finally got it installed this evening. Works fine in my opinion. However, my Mag5 doesn't tax this system at all. It just comes from another direction about every 7 to 10 seconds, and this is at 5' head pressure. So I'm probably moving close to 300 gph.

I would love to try out a faster pump, but I worry my DIY overflow box might not keep up with the added speed. I'm currently using a 1" bulkhead to drain the overflow box.

All the plumbing connections to the scwd are 3/4", so maybe that is why things look calmer than others. Matter of fact, I used thinwall pipes, which really have 7/8" ID....

This is how I plumbed it:

scwd_plumbing.jpg
alt="">]
 
[Here is my setup with SCWD - I am using Mag-12 pump. It seems to work well, alternating water from each port. With all this plumbing, I'm loosing alot head pressure here - so I did not exactly see SPS gets blasked. The output is submerged. I'm using 2 sea swirl to help with moving surface water.

scwdsetup_small.JPG
alt="">

Here you can see water coming out on the left side of SCWD. In case you wonder what is that bright neon green thing in the upper right corner. That is the warning label on seaswirl. I have took it off the unit after this picture is taken.

water_left_scwd.JPG
alt="">]
 
[Thanks for the update Marc and Peter,

Since I have Netscape, I can't see what you wrote in the second post Peter because the picts overlay the text. But, addressing the pump size issue, is it creating any chaotic water movement that you can see? I have paddle on my softie tank that makes a back and forth motion and creates a kinetic wave through the tank to move the corals continuously. Do you get any residual water movement like that from this switcher?]
 
[Brad,

The latest version of Netscape displays the text fine. You need to download the upgrade.

Barry]
 
[Barry -
Not sure about chaotic water movement, but more of pulse alternating from the two output. Since output is submerged, so I think the surge did blast the SPS right in front of the two output ports.]
 
[Peter,

Can't wait to see it in action. I just ordered the TUNZE stream pump set for a client, and while I was at it, one for myself. Can't wait to try it on the old sps tank.

Barry,

Thanks for the reminder. :p]
 
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