DIY Wavebox

[Krish]

Welcome to RF Scott!

 

[dhnguyen]

The durability of the MJ mod depends much on how the impeller/propeller attachment was built as well as the material used for the stopper IME.

I have found that by using a softer material for a stopper (rubber bolt or weed wacker wire), there is no damage to the propeller at all. The MJ motors certainly can handle the constant on/off switching. Actually it's about the only AC pump I know that CAN take that kind of punishment and still work. The trick here to make this wave box work is the timer controller.

 

[morgan]

boremans has a surge tank layout in his bopok on coral husbandry ive been looking at it for awhile but not sure how well it would run a tank as the sole water mover cause imo if i bought a tunze wave box i would want it to be able to be the only pump i need to run my reef

 

[Ed Hahn]

Todd,
I am going to bring you up the acrylic to make one of these. You have too much time on your hands. lol.
Ed

 

[NanoReefWannaBe]

the other thing i didnt like about this design, is how low the water level drops in the tank...it is a very cool idea though..

i guess the only way to address the water level is to build your canopy a little lower so you dont see the drop..

other then that i love it..the timer as mentioned is the key it its success though..i seem to remember reading through this months ago and the guy had to do some modifications to an existing timer to get it to turn on and off in 15 and 8 second intervals respectively..

making it external would only require a 1.5" bulkhead and a person who knows how to silicone...

 

[Tigger240]

making this external and the stopper issues are easily solved via a very long main shaft, like the kolin's. external, internal, no big problems with either. the problem is the on/off action (or soft start) and the timing circuit. Don you out there...? have any ideas?

 

[DonW]

making this external and the stopper issues are easily solved via a very long main shaft, like the kolin's. external, internal, no big problems with either. the problem is the on/off action (or soft start) and the timing circuit. Don you out there...? have any ideas?

The electrical timing portion of this is very simple. A universal module programmed to what ever interval you may want is all that is needed.
It could be 5 sec on and 20 sec off what ever happened to work. You can add periods for example you didnt want it to run at nightt the all night off cycle just gets added in. Pretty flexible to whatever timing need you may have.

Don

 

[DonW]

Tell me if this sound right. All this thing does is turn on a pump to empty the box? The box refills by overflowing right back into the box? If thats the case then no timing is needed at all. It would just need to be set-up like a anti tds creep ato container.

Don

 

[Tigger240]

yes i think what you stated sounded correct. i will look through your anti tds setup, problem is there is a very precise timing that is required, in the fractions of a second. The box starts with a set volume, the pump is turned on for a precise time, empties a portion of the box volume in the tank, then shuts off for a precise time (exactly for how long its on im assuming) and then water refills the box, and then when the time is up (fractions of a second) the pump kicks back on.

how long do you expect a pump in a constant on off, to last?

 

[DonW]

Not long. Basicly when the box is full you want the pump to turn on until its low then turn off untill its full again. That easy with a latching set-up. Then you dont have to play with getting the timing right. It will always be correct even if the pump decided to start running slower. Definatly cheap and easy.

Don

 

[Tigger240]

would there be a way to make it last longer, lets say a dc powerhead that went from low throttle (letting water into the box) to full throttle (pushing water out of the box)?

-OR-

A different way to turn on and off the ac powerhead for longivity?

its not that simple of oh the box is full now lets empty it until its low and turn the power head, and al la wave box.

there is very precise timing involved, to achieve a wave in the display tank, that is different for everyones tank. the timing isnt for the water in the maxijet box iteself. it doesnt matter where the level is and how much is going up or down, its all about timing for the wave in the main tank.

 

[Tigger240]

i know you can move the floats around to achieve the different timing intervals needed for your tank, but it seems like a heck of a lot of work, espically if you could just turn a dial. the orginal maker of it said there was a substantial difference between 9/10ths of a second and 1 second on off intervals.

 

[DonW]

would there be a way to make it last longer, lets say a dc powerhead that went from low throttle (letting water into the box) to full throttle (pushing water out of the box)?

-OR-

A different way to turn on and off the ac powerhead for longivity?

its not that simple of oh the box is full now lets empty it until its low and turn the power head, and al la wave box.

there is very precise timing involved, to achieve a wave in the display tank, that is different for everyones tank. the timing isnt for the water in the maxijet box iteself. it doesnt matter where the level is and how much is going up or down, its all about timing for the wave in the main tank.

It is just that simple. The space between the two sensors determines the wave. Two opticals or floats and a ssr will power the mj nicely. The problem is the fast cycles is going to trash the mj. I see it lasting not long at all. What does tunze use for their box? Theirs dose not pulse nearly that fast.

Don

 

[DonW]

Forgot. If the timer is the only option I checked and my universal modules will go down to 1/10 of a second so you could get any timing you want. I could program it with a few different options like 1 sec on 9/10 off and a few different ones. This way each time you pushed a switch it would toggle to the next interval.

Don

 

[RandyStacyE]

Don ... do you foresee user adjustable timers?

 

[Tigger240]

tunzes are dc power heads and they ramp up the voltage, and ramp it back down, thus never turning the unit off, and no cycling. the power head doesnt have to stop spinning to let water back in the box, just slower than the incoming waters velocity. a dc powerhead suppodly starts the right way every time, thus ending the need for any type of stopper, korlin or not, but even my dc tunze has a one way locker in it.

is this the universal module that your speaking of?
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/ezstore123/DTProductZoom.asp?productID=666

 

[DonW]

Don ... do you foresee user adjustable timers?

Randy,
They will be out with full program ability. I just sold the patent to a manufacturer that will be my supplier. You will be able to buy as many modules as you want. Control your entire system if desired and use one programmer to program them individually. Right now the programmer is an additional $40 but you only need one for many timers.

Don

 

[DonW]

is this the universal module that your speaking of?
http://www.homesecuritystore.com/ezstore123/DTProductZoom.asp?productID=666

:lol: No it a Reefwerks only poduct. It is a timer that is programmed via a pc. it uses a crystal oscilator so is very accurate. Just hook it up and it runs.

Don

 

[daddavis1]

I'm not sure if this type of design would be required. Using an external brushless DC motor driving a long shaft with a prop on it may be the way to go instead. That is if DC RC motors can handle continuous duty.