wave maker has slipped

[sh4n]

Hi guys, i got home from work and my wave maker had slipped and was starting to make a snowstorm in my tank, im not sure how long its been like ir orwhat I should be doing, I have only just done a water change so i have no ro water mixed up, its mixing at the moment. ive moved the wave maker (obviously) and uncovered a few corals, is there anything else I should be doing? how much wc shall i do? fish are all swimming around, 4 clowns, purple tang, blue tang, flame angel. bi colour blenny.. tank is 6x2.5x2.5 with 50gal sump.
should I be trying to move the sand back where it belongs or leave it all to settle?
ps - it looks worse in rl then the pic

 

[ibew41]

you might get a small cycle imo move the sand back and then do a 20% water change

 

[flower]

I hate when stuff like that happens...I never had a wave maker only power heads, don't they come with magnets? I remember tying my PHs up (suction cups never worked) and trying to angle them right. I was soooo happy to find a PH with magnets.

 

[sh4n]

ok thanks guys. some do come with magnets but mine didnt

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///t/391278/wavemaker-slipped#post_3469288
ok thanks guys. some do come with magnets but mine didnt
I used silicone and one of those magnets for maxijets and created my own before they came out with them. You might do the same for your wave maker.

 

[sh4n]

oh nice ill give it a go thanks

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///t/391278/wavemaker-slipped#post_3469449
oh nice ill give it a go thanks
It does work HOWEVER...treat it very carefully and try not to disturb it too much. The silicone does not stick to plastic very well and will pull off easy. Also be sure to allow time to dry, silicone is not safe for the critters until it completely dries...about 24 hours at least.

 

[sh4n]

ok im not very good at making things by myself! on safe side I will order a magnet wave maker. thanks!!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///t/391278/wavemaker-slipped#post_3469657
ok im not very good at making things by myself! on safe side I will order a magnet wave maker. thanks!!
LOL...me either, but when you can't afford the good stuff you have to find a way to keep everything healthy in the tank. I have used plastic hooks, zip ties, the silicone trick...you name it. Now I don't purchase a power head if it does not have a magnet. I never used a wave maker.

 

[sh4n]

whats the actual difference of a power head and a wave maker?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///t/391278/wavemaker-slipped#post_3469659
whats the actual difference of a power head and a wave maker?
A power head runs constantly, and a wave maker pulses. In the ocean you can feel the wave wash over you. A wave maker turns on and off at regular intervals to mimic that in your tank...making a wave. Any power head on a timer will do the same thing but I'm not sure about the life of the power head being on and off that often.
Were you calling a power head a wave maker? Not that it matters, you have to have water flow motion in the tank. A power head or fancy wave maker.

 

[2quills]

 

[tirtza]

Very interesting thread, I'm glad I read it. I was wondering what a wave maker actually did as well. Is a wave maker as effective at increasing flow as a power head? Can both be used?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tirtza http:///t/391278/wavemaker-slipped#post_3469673
Very interesting thread, I'm glad I read it. I was wondering what a wave maker actually did as well. Is a wave maker as effective at increasing flow as a power head? Can both be used?
I never had such a fancy gizmo, I know it supposed to mimic the surge of the ocean wave, and the more like the ocean things are, the better. I have heard of people having a flow too strong and land up with the water splashing over the top. After watching Cory's video I now fully understand why...LOL
Mostly you want to make sure that all areas of the tank has water flow, some areas stronger than others but at least something. Otherwise you land up with cyanobacteria (red slime) settling in the low flow area.

 

[sh4n]

I'm guessing its a wave maker
http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00FvJTVytsLbri/Wave-Maker-JVP-202-.jpg
what 2Quills posted, is that a wave maker or a power head?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///t/391278/wave-maker-has-slipped#post_3469689
I'm guessing its a wave maker
http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00FvJTVytsLbri/Wave-Maker-JVP-202-.jpg
what 2Quills posted, is that a wave maker or a power head?
First picture is a wave maker. I THINK the second on is a power head, I would have ot watch the video again. Power heads make the top of the tank look like it's boiling and the wave maker causes the water to slush back and forth from one side of the tank to the other....

 

[2quills]

Power Heads can be wave makers. The difference is that some are controllable via a controller and some are not. Most power heads just run at a constant speed and therefore are just considered power heads.
The ones in the video that I posted were Vortech powerheads. Which have several different modes of controlability. Wave maker mode is just one option that they can do.
Also, there are what are called Wave Boxes, that are specifically designed to do nothing more than make wave motion back and forth across the tank. I've seen them used in conjunction with regular power heads before.
Unless what you have came with some type of controller then I personally wouldn't call it a wave maker, even though it makes tiny ripples on the surface of the water you can see the difference compared to the video that I posted of what real wave makers can do.

 

[tirtza]

Quote:
The ones in the video that I posted were Vortech powerheads. Which have several different modes of controlability. Wave maker mode is just one option that they can do.
ah ha.... that explains why Vortech powerheads are so expensive. When I was researching power heads, I considered them until I saw how high the price is. I ended up just picking out a couple of Hydor Koralia's.
I still don't think I'd want an actual wave maker....I have enough problems plashing water all over the place when ever I'm working on my tank. I made a huge mess a couple of days ago when I was emptying water out of my QT. I turned the water pump off while I went to empty the bucket of water. When I got back to my carpet was SOAKED. I guess the water just kept coming out

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tirtza http:///t/391278/wave-maker-has-slipped#post_3469740
ah ha.... that explains why Vortech powerheads are so expensive. When I was researching power heads, I considered them until I saw how high the price is. I ended up just picking out a couple of Hydor Koralia's.
I still don't think I'd want an actual wave maker....I have enough problems plashing water all over the place when ever I'm working on my tank. I made a huge mess a couple of days ago when I was emptying water out of my QT. I turned the water pump off while I went to empty the bucket of water. When I got back to my carpet was SOAKED. I guess the water just kept coming out

lol yep. Sounds like like the water back siphoned out of the tank. It will do that if you don't break the siphon by introducing air into the line to let the water out of the line first.
If you have the Koralia Evo's they do make a controller for them called the Smart Wave, last I checked it was around $80.
I definitely would have no need for huge waves like you saw in the first part of the video. I think that's more to showcase their true capabilities. However in the same video when they showed the smaller tank you could see much more of a gentler wave, which to me seems a little more realistic. The idea is to try an mimic the forces found in nature. Too much One Way or Single Direction type of flow can actually do more harm then good in the long run to some corals. Plus I think it looks kinda cool seeing some of your corals waving gently back and forth. If you can't create wave action then it's best to try and create random/crashing type of flow so that corals can get flow from all types of directions throughout the course of the day. This is typically achieved very simply by place one power head on either side of the tank facing each other. The flow meets, crashes in the middle and scatters chaotically throughout the tank.
The Vortech's are nice, but def finitely not cheap. I'm still trying to talk myself into coughing up the cash for them.

 

[tirtza]

Quote:
Sounds like like the water back siphoned out of the tank. It will do that if you don't break the siphon by introducing air into the line to let the water out of the line first.
awww...I see, that makes sense. It took forever for my carpet to dry. There was so much water and I live in an apartment so I kept expecting someone to come and tell me that my neighbor downstairs noticed a water stain on her ceiling. Luckily the water doesn't seem to have reached downstairs.
I have my two power heads on opposite ends of the tank, and combined with the output nozzle, the flow in the tank seems pretty good. I have a feather duster that sits on a rock shelf, it attached itself to the wall behind it. The crown of feathers seems to really like being near the powerhead. I guess being a filter feeder, this is a good locations for maximum flow to cross by it. I've attached a picture below...