Wave2K reliabilty...who has one?

[Anonymous]

How long have you had it? Does it still work? Any major problems?


I was considering building an experimental surge device similar to the surge machine at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, until I found out about this thing. Sounds very interesting, but I fear the motors may not be reliable.

 

[liquid]

A little off-topic but what does the Monterey Bay Aquarium's look like?

FWIW, I've heard some good things about the Wave2K but have no real experience w/ it.

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

Here's a pic:
http://www.mbayaq.org/popups/qtvr.asp?name=rooftop2.mov

The thing is huge, probably goes up and down 8 feet or so. It makes their entire 3 story kelp forest tank sway like the ocean. I'm guessing the tank is in the 100-300,000 gallon range.

 

[kwyjibo]

I have also been keen on the idea of getting one of these.
However, the people on reefcentral who are most vocal about it are the ones who are having problems with some rubber belt.
One of them also happens to be Eric Borneman(spelling?) and he claims that his unit's belts kept on breaking so he got a hefty kevlar belt and installed it. When he came back from his trip, he found that his wave2k had somehow sustained major damage as a result of the kevlar belt.
The designers of the wave2k have been gracious enough to handle all of his repairs w/o grumbling.
Dr. B finally stated that the wave2k people recommended changing the belts on a regular basis.
If you do get one, write back on your experience after 3 months.

 

[Anonymous]

Eh, as far as I know, Eric ain't a PhD yet!

Anyway,
I read the thread on RC about Eric's wave2K, and talked with the owners about said thread. Apparently they replaced it and he hasn't had problems since. The owner told me he's gotten "much better" at producing them, and I take his word for it. I think it's pretty much unanimous that their customer service is top notch, that's why I went ahead and bought one.

BTW, very cool login name...
Definition: A large, hairy, fat, N. American ape....

 

[PeeJ]

hey what is that a photo of?? i dotn understand

 

[Anonymous]

PeeJ, it's a gigantic piston that moves slowly up and down, about once every 6 seconds or so. It makes the water surge in the tank just like the ocean.

 

[PeeJ]

ok so the photo is of the wavemaker. the way the question for the photo was worded, i thought this was the 300,000 gallon aquarium and it confused me