[abcha0s]

I’m not sure what triggered it, but at some point I became obsessed with having a wave in my tank. It would seem to be the ultimate in energy efficiency vs. total water movement and in my opinion provides a very natural look to the tank. However, waves come at a price. In particular, they place added strain on the tank and stand that needs to be considered as part of the design and directly translates to increased construction costs.

After considerable research to identify the pros and cons of the Tunze Wavebox vs. the Vortex power heads, I concluded that for pure wave generation the Tunze had several advantages. Most importantly it is thought to be somewhat quieter.

Tunze publishes the following warnings:

TUNZE® Nano Wavebox and Wavebox is not a conventional flow-producing device for aquariums. Misuse or faulty operation may cause a hazard for the aquarium. Under certain circumstances, Nano Wavebox and Wavebox may constitute a risk for unsuitable tanks and may lead to water damage.

Please observe the following warnings:

Nano Wavebox and Wavebox operate according to the resonance principle and produce large water movements at a very low energy consumption (1).


For such low electric power, the water circulation produced should never be underestimated! The aquarium should be high enough to hold the water variations (2)!


The glass bonding adhesive should be especially strong and stable. The load on the bonding adhesive of the aquarium panes and on the aquarium pane itself is higher than without wave operation (3).


The aquarium has to be produced on the basis of the Timoshenko formula (see <Tunze provides a dead link>) (4).


Most aquariums are produced according to this formula (glass thickness and bonding adhesion).

The cabinet or the aquarium furniture, if and when applicable, should be especially stable and should be able to withstand dynamic weights. Risk of breakage in case of weak constructions!

I took these cautions to heart. Everyone I talked with had their own opinion of how these considerations related to the tank design, but no one could offer anything more than an opinion. If all you have to rely on is the opinion of various non experts, then at the end of the day you have to do the research and come up with the answers that you are comfortable with. If no one can tell you definitively what the implications are, then overbuild.

No one I spoke with about the design even considered the stand as being impacted by the wave motion.