# Wave Maker !



## PM (2 Aug 2008)

Anyone ever used a small wave maker in a planted aquarium?

It would increase flow, and move the surface more.  And look nice I reckon 

I might try one but a very small one though...

What do *you* think!


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## LondonDragon (2 Aug 2008)

Some surface agitation is good, but a wave maker might be a little over kill  a couple of pumps for circulation would be enough  thats what I have done in my tank, creates a nice ripple effect at the water surface.


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## ceg4048 (2 Aug 2008)

Hi PM,
          Why add more junk inside the aquarium? These are just essentially power heads and you are paying hard earned cash for some Hollywood timer to turn the pumps on and off? Why not just get a bigger (or second) filter if cabinet space allows? If no space is available then ordinary powerheads will be just as effective for a fraction of the price I reckon.

Cheers,


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## PM (2 Aug 2008)

Yeah, I agree with the 'more junk' thing, I was just thinking it would be nice to have some surface movement that isn't just a flat kind of circle that moves round, like when the light goes through slightly 'choppy' water, it makes the tank look far more dramatic!

Like using a hairdryer of fan in the photoshoot etc...

Just a thought though, I probably won't bother to get one though, too many other things that I need to buy and can't really afford anyway!


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## ty_phan (11 Aug 2008)

Bought an Aquaclear 802 powerhead for Â£36 in a LFS. It worked fine but noticed it made a lot of noises and vibrations in the tank. At night time the noise properly hears louder than daytime. Anyone has a powerhead and is it a good one? I don't like it in there as it makes the tank look less impressive.


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## aaronnorth (11 Aug 2008)

wavemakers make pretty big waves though dont they? The plants will get washed all over.


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## ty_phan (12 Aug 2008)

Decided not to use powerhead any more today. I don't see any sign of algae free after 2 weeks. In fact the plants were washed out and algaes are growing over the plants everywhere. I think the powerhead i've got last week made water circulation very strong hence there is no CO2 remained in the tank.


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## aaronnorth (12 Aug 2008)

as long as there were no surface agitation then the powerhead wouldnt cause loss of CO2


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## beeky (20 Aug 2008)

I've been thinking of getting something called the Hydor Flo. It attached to the filters output and rotates, deflecting water round the tank. There was an article that mentioned it in PFK a couple of months ago. As it uses the existing water force to rotate there's no energy consumption. It's possible that there might be a small drop in total flow but I wouldn't have thought it would be that noticeable. I reckon it would give a nice sway to reed type plants like vallis or C.helferi.


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## PM (20 Aug 2008)

beeky said:
			
		

> I've been thinking of getting something called the Hydor Flo. It attached to the filters output and rotates, deflecting water round the tank. There was an article that mentioned it in PFK a couple of months ago. As it uses the existing water force to rotate there's no energy consumption. It's possible that there might be a small drop in total flow but I wouldn't have thought it would be that noticeable. I reckon it would give a nice sway to reed type plants like vallis or C.helferi.



You got a link to this thing?


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## beeky (20 Aug 2008)

Here one: http://www.fish4aquatics.com/en-gb/dept_146.html

Scroll down and look for "Hydor Flo Water Mover". A google search brings up a few hits and there's some on good 'ol ebay.


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## PM (20 Aug 2008)

Hmm, not sure how that could attach to my lily pipe    or how it would look


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## beeky (20 Aug 2008)

Hmm. Lily pipes could be a problem. Still, nothing a role of masking tape wouldn't sort!


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## ty_phan (21 Aug 2008)

any thing made by Hydor Flo i would not recommend to you as they are noisy.


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## ty_phan (21 Aug 2008)

well not quite true what i said. i've ordered one external heater which was made by Hydor and it worked fine. other than that i would not buy a thing from Hydor.


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## ty_phan (21 Aug 2008)

don't know how that Hydor Flo work/help to make a circulation. If you already have it then let us know.


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## GreenNeedle (25 Aug 2008)

I think that use of a powerhead is to 'help' the filter with circulation.  Therefore if you are already at 10x+ then there should be no need for a powerhead as well.

I use a small Maxijet MP400 (400lph as the name suggests) to add to the 700lph (probs 3-400 after allowing for reduced flow) in my 125 Ltr.  I have it positioned so that it continues the flow that the filter is creating meaning that the filter points from the rear right along the back then the powerhead points from the rear left along the left side to the front.

I think if there is 1 flow from the left and 1 from the right there will be too much turbulence and it won't distribute the nutrient CO2 etc it would get to the middle and stay there as this would be where the 2 flows meet.

On the noise front the MP400 is noticeable but only at night.  When there is people/TV/other noise then its unnoticeable.

AC


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## beeky (28 Aug 2008)

ty_phan said:
			
		

> don't know how that Hydor Flo work/help to make a circulation. If you already have it then let us know.



As it redirects the flow constantly it should help to avoid any 'dead' spots which you might get if the filter flow is only in one direction. It's been developed for the marine market, but could be useful in planted tanks and would also make an attractive wafting movement of the plants. Never tried it though, so it's all hypothetical. And of course, it's another piece of ugly black plastic to put inside the tank.....


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