OceansMotions vs SeaSwirls

[mogurnda]

I thought this might be interesting enough to have its own thread.  For tubulence in the 90, Michael had suggested a couple of SeaSwirls, which seemed pretty good.  Then someone over at Reef Central turned me on to OceansMotions wavemakers as an alternative to SeaSwirls.  For less than the price of two SeaSwirls I can get a four way, and for a little more, an 8-way.  

 

From what I could find, it's more effort to bolt it down and plumb, and the motor generates heat.  Anybody here using one?

[michaelg]

I would enquire over on RC as to how long people have had them running.  another viable option for water movement is a wave2K unit.  Less than the cost of 2 sea swirls, and I think the issues of the belts and reliability have been worked out.  From what eric told me, he liked this the best- though was always having problems with the belts.

[mogurnda]

I feel like my plan changes every few minutes.  Good thing I haven't bought anything yet.  The wave2k unit looks great, and would eliminate the need for the closed loop.

 

The belt issue worries me a bit.  Time to do a little more searching, I guess.

[michaelg]

That is the right way to do it?  You could also write to the company and express your concerns and see what they have to say.  Also check if there is a waranty.  While more work, good to see more and more options are coming out for circulation.  Long overdue for this critical aspect of husbandry.  Maybe when you are all done with your research, you can write up a summary that we can archive for future reference?

 

Michael

[mogurnda]

I'd be happy to do a little writeup, although I'll only really know the system I finally go with.  So many posters, so little information.  Whether it's live rock or wavemakers, the most rare and useful info is long-term success.  Lots of "I bought this last week and it's great."

[michaelg]

Yeah, that is the difficulty finding long term info.  You could try posting specifically for long term responses.  Sometimes the direct route is more productive than hours hunting

[Lee Stearns]

OK for my two cents- I just used the natural wave- Power Strip that has timed and random cycles- and plugged in 4 maxi jet 1200's and placed them all behind my rockwork- Relatively inexpesive solution. Requires you to clean the intake covers occasionally- but it has been pretty much fire and forget- and I believe I have enough flow in my 150 high that is fairly random and mixing. Only downside is you can't keep BTA's they love powerhead when they go out for a stoll, so I am looking for a LTA that will put its foot down in the sand and stay put.

[mogurnda]

Well, I posted.  We'll see.  Based on my searches, few people respond to these kinds of questions about wave2k.

 

Lee,

I am trying to avoid powerheads for the moment.  Both aesthetic and heat considerations.

[ireland]

I bought a wave 2k, but decided to sell it rather than use it.  The tank I saw it in, it worked great (180), but I wanted to put it in a 90 gallon.  For me, the W2K took up way too much room in the tank.  You might want to check their website and try to get product dimensions.  IMO, if you don't like powerheads in the tank, you won't be able to stand how big the W2K is.

 

 

"Not a sermon, just a thought"

[mogurnda]

I saw that the dimensions were 16X16X2.5, which is definitely substantial.  The pump is external, though, so heat is less of a problem.  

 

Another problem is the overflow in the 90, which may block the output of the wave2k on one side.

[krish]

I made my own Sea Swirl look alike. It will cost about say $30-40 in materials.

Of course there is the time invested in DIY and not to mention the tools that

one would need.

 

I have tested it for a week with water. It has 1" plumbing. I have it plumbed to

a pump that has a 1/2" output. Will need to plumb it to a larger pump and test

it beginning this weekend.

I am going to go the DIY route, given the cost of each unit and the number of tanks

i plan to set up down the road

 

For what it is worth, i would lean with the sea swirl. The continuous 90 degree motion

is unmatchable. The corals will love it. I already have a 1/2" unit running on my tank.

 

-krish

[Guest Kimo]

Ok - I had to change my post.  The oceanCurrents looks VERY nice and reminds me of what people have done with motorized ball valves.  It has potential, but as michael said reliability may be a problem.

 

Sea swirls are proven technology.  I would recommend some modifications tho - adding unions to the inlet, etc.  I use 2 1" models on my 180.

 

HTH

 

Jamie

[mogurnda]

Well, after quite a bit of hunting, I have yet to find anyone who will admit to using a wave2k for any length of time.  I did find Eric B's review of the thing, and it wasn't exactly stellar.  I get the impression I would be beta testing a large plastic object with suction cups that is fiddly and potentially noisy.

 

On the other hand, there is a decent crowd of people trying out the OceansMotions.  Not for very long yet, but it may be a viable alternative to the SeaSwirl.  Time to think a bit more....