Skim
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2014
- Location
- Brantford, Ontario
So yesterday I noticed the Gyre 150 looks like it needs a good cleaning and not wanting to do it right away, I went digging and pulled out the Wavebox. I have not run it for about 3 years and even when first got it I only ran it for a day or 2 as I was so intrigued by the all New Gyre 150 and one was on its way and installed and Wavebox cleaned and shelved. Well I was not ready for what was awaiting me in the next few hours. I installed and set the Frequency of the wave and was impressed with the back and forth movement that the LPS was getting, Bubble started to inflate and tentacles started to extend from it, pom pom tentacles extend to further then I seen before. My fish were actually confused at first , what is this up and down and forwards and back movement, I believe my Yellow belly Hippo started to turn green and hid behind a rock. My Naso went back and forth a few times and then did something he has never done, he took position in between 2 branches of a large Tongo piece about 3/4's from bottom about 3 inches from surface and I proceeded to watch his color darken up and then he open his mouth and then he extend his Fin on his back straight up and he stayed like that for a few minutes, he did a small run around and straight back and did it all over again and has not stopped since. I sat back and said to myself what is going on, this all took place quickly it was maybe 30 min to 45 min and then noticed, the water looks cleaner I must be seeing things, looked into the sump and noticed skimmer was much more active and foaming away. All the fish then started to emerge and seemed to really enjoy this new up and down and forward and back thing that was going on. When I checked on Tank today SPS polyps extended and the few Zoa's that I have standing tall and opened wide and Glowing, I know it sounds strange but everything seems to be more colorful.
So last night like I said I thought I was just seeing things with the Skimmer and water seemed cleaner, so I did a little searching and I found this and was shocked when I readed the review and Conclusions.
I guess my Gyre has found a new home on the shelf.
You are here: Home › Volume IX › September 2010 › Feature Article: Tunze Wavebox, Turbelle Stream Pump, and Wave Controller
Conclusions
Judging the Turbelle pump strictly on its flow rate and power consumption would lead an aquarist to conclude its performance is less than impressive. After all, smaller much less expensive propeller pumps can produce higher flow rates while using less power.
The game changer is the controller. In my case, the rapid cycling produced waves of about 1.5 inches (38mm) in height. The oscillating wave action does indeed produce homogenous water movement. This motion sweeps the aquarium of settled detritus and sets in motion some interesting side effects.
After the Turbelle pump had been fine tuned, I noticed the protein skimmer (an ETSS model 800) was collecting an unusual amount of material. The foam in the skimmer's chimney - usually white - had assumed a tan coloration, and the skimmate was darker. After two days' operation, the bottom of the aquarium was almost completely scoured of detritus and the skimmer was collecting very little material. The skimmate had turned from a viscous brown to a weakly colored, almost clear, liquid. The aquarium itself, for want of a better word, sparkled and the water appeared a crisp blue-white. Tunze's advertising claim of a 'sweeping action' is correct.
It should come as no surprise that the power consumption remains unchanged when operating the pump in 'fast' or 'slow' mode. After all, the ratio of time on and off remains essentially the same. Though the pump's power usage is on the high side (when compared to smaller pumps producing the same or higher flow rate), the resonance effect makes 30-31 watts seem a bargain. Of all Tunze's claims, I was most skeptical of this pump/controller replicating 'precisely' the water motion in nature. I didn't expect to see the wind-induced rolling action of waves called Langmuir's cells, but I surely didn't think the velocity would approach that I've measured on sheltered reefs here in Hawaii. And I would be wrong. My water velocity meter (see Testing Protocols below) reported a water speed of up to 0.41 feet per second (4.92 inches per second, or ~12.5 cm/sec). Compare this to an average water velocity of ~6"/sec (15.2 cm/sec) I've measured on reefs here in Hawaii.
Incredibly, Tunze's claim is close enough (!). See Figure 6. Note: Water velocity can be much higher on a natural reef, especially during storm-induced surge, or 'rip-tides', where getting in the water to measure water velocity is much too dangerous.
So last night like I said I thought I was just seeing things with the Skimmer and water seemed cleaner, so I did a little searching and I found this and was shocked when I readed the review and Conclusions.
I guess my Gyre has found a new home on the shelf.
You are here: Home › Volume IX › September 2010 › Feature Article: Tunze Wavebox, Turbelle Stream Pump, and Wave Controller
Conclusions
Judging the Turbelle pump strictly on its flow rate and power consumption would lead an aquarist to conclude its performance is less than impressive. After all, smaller much less expensive propeller pumps can produce higher flow rates while using less power.
The game changer is the controller. In my case, the rapid cycling produced waves of about 1.5 inches (38mm) in height. The oscillating wave action does indeed produce homogenous water movement. This motion sweeps the aquarium of settled detritus and sets in motion some interesting side effects.
After the Turbelle pump had been fine tuned, I noticed the protein skimmer (an ETSS model 800) was collecting an unusual amount of material. The foam in the skimmer's chimney - usually white - had assumed a tan coloration, and the skimmate was darker. After two days' operation, the bottom of the aquarium was almost completely scoured of detritus and the skimmer was collecting very little material. The skimmate had turned from a viscous brown to a weakly colored, almost clear, liquid. The aquarium itself, for want of a better word, sparkled and the water appeared a crisp blue-white. Tunze's advertising claim of a 'sweeping action' is correct.
It should come as no surprise that the power consumption remains unchanged when operating the pump in 'fast' or 'slow' mode. After all, the ratio of time on and off remains essentially the same. Though the pump's power usage is on the high side (when compared to smaller pumps producing the same or higher flow rate), the resonance effect makes 30-31 watts seem a bargain. Of all Tunze's claims, I was most skeptical of this pump/controller replicating 'precisely' the water motion in nature. I didn't expect to see the wind-induced rolling action of waves called Langmuir's cells, but I surely didn't think the velocity would approach that I've measured on sheltered reefs here in Hawaii. And I would be wrong. My water velocity meter (see Testing Protocols below) reported a water speed of up to 0.41 feet per second (4.92 inches per second, or ~12.5 cm/sec). Compare this to an average water velocity of ~6"/sec (15.2 cm/sec) I've measured on reefs here in Hawaii.
Incredibly, Tunze's claim is close enough (!). See Figure 6. Note: Water velocity can be much higher on a natural reef, especially during storm-induced surge, or 'rip-tides', where getting in the water to measure water velocity is much too dangerous.
