Which Wavebox? (Or Vortech)

[mike31154]

Yes, 1140 is a big hit all at once. I had a little difficulty justifying the purchase of an item that cost more than my entire used tank set up set me back. You must have some other devices currently providing flow? Even one of them will provide plenty of flow but in the long term your tank will benefit from two of them. Why not try it with one and get another later to spread out the pain a little?

One thing I should mention is that the VorTech will make some noise at full speed, so if that's going to be an issue, keep it in mind. If you hide the dry side in a box inside the tank, that would eliminate the noise.

With respect to the surface wave, as mentioned at 4 inches below the surface the VorTech creates good agitation at the surface meaning good gas exchange/oxygenation, but no signifcant surface wave. This will cause less of an issue with your overflow than the surge of a wavebox.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Thanks again Mike.

I think I will really have to think about it all.

The advantage to me of the Wavebox is that it will give exactly the flow I want to add and its in the tank (not half in half out).

The advantage of the Vortech's is that they are smaller.

Actually the only reason I am even still considering the Vortechs is because I think the Wavbox would be ugly but then again the vortechs may even look worse

[digital-audiophile]

If the vortechs are close to the surface you only have a short distance for the cord to go up into your hood (perhaps with some modification?)

If you go with a wave box and don't care for the wave action down the road you are somewhat stuck with it. With the vortechs aside from wave action they have the other modes - Reef Crest, Lagoon that are really good for flow.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by digital-audiophile

If the vortechs are close to the surface you only have a short distance for the cord to go up into your hood (perhaps with some modification?)

If you go with a wave box and don't care for the wave action down the road you are somewhat stuck with it. With the vortechs aside from wave action they have the other modes - Reef Crest, Lagoon that are really good for flow.

Yeah I figured I could get the cords into my canopy quickly but its still going to look pretty bad because that end of the tank is in the middle of my living room. If the tank were against a wall, it wouldn't matter to me.

I agree too that the Vortechs are so versatile and that is a huge advantage.

The big disadvantage of them to me is the price and "loudness". I have heard them at full speed and as said above, its ridiculous how loud they are. To me anyways...I have built this system to be dead quiet.

Just seems to me that maybe my original idea of the wavebox is actually the best option or I should say compromise. Either way I have to put something "ugly" in that end of the tank...I think that maybe as long as its IN the tank, it will be fine.

This thread has been very helpful though in getting me to really think about this whole thing instead of running out and buying one of them right away.

[Delphinus]

It might not look so bad once IN your tank and has a chance to get a little coraline on it... I dunno. I hear ya though.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

It might not look so bad once IN your tank and has a chance to get a little coraline on it... I dunno. I hear ya though.

I think your right.

The plan is to have nice enough fish and corals that you would never even notice the thing. I think I have bigger problems if you look at the tank and notice a black box before the livestock

I have decided to go with the 6212 Wavebox. Thanks everyone and I will post pics once I get it running!

[Whatigot]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

It might not look so bad once IN your tank and has a chance to get a little coraline on it... I dunno. I hear ya though.

+1

wavebox really fades into the reef setting once it gets a little dirty....

[Canadian]

I haven't read the whole thread but considering you're concerned about noise I thought I would mention:

There's a distinct possibility that regardless of whether you choose a Vortech or Wave Box you may run into the problem of noise from your overflow box surging a bit as the wave height crests over the overflow.

I have a Vortech but haven't used a Wave Box so I can't comment the propensity for creating a surging sound in the overflow. I'm not a huge fan of Tunze in general though considering I've had to replace 3 Tunze 6025s in the last year (and the brackets several times) and over the weekend I just found that one of the magnet holders had a leak in the epoxy coating leading to the magnet swelling and rusting for God only knows how long. At this point I'm confident saying I will never buy another Tunze product.