This month’s featured installation showcases a truly custom concept, something called a wave box. I’ve written articles before about the merit and benefit of recreating a true wave water flow in the aquarium. This recreates a natural environment rather than the standard aquarium’s water flow, which is decidedly un-oceanic. The rocking of water back and forth stimulates corals and fish alike and helps greatly in keeping debris from settling, keeping it in the water column where it can be removed by filtration.
What makes this new aquarium unique is that rather than simply using wave generating pumps, we have taken the concept a step further. The left hand side of the aquarium has a false wall which contains the plumbing to send water to and from the filtration but also a wave box, or surge box. The wave generating pump is at the bottom of this surge box. The pump flips on and off in tandem with a second alternating pump. The idea of the wave box incorporates the gravity of water spilling over the false wall and into the box, which the pump then evacuates back into the aquarium, causing a greater and more powerful wave.
However, as lunar cycles change so do the oceans’ waves, and fish and coral aren’t always up for rockin’ and rollin’. These pumps and their controller feature an electric eye which notes when the aquarium lights dim, at which point the strength of the waves will decrease until, when the lights are completely off, the waves turn off altogether and leave just the natural flow of the aquarium filtration.
This is going to be a great aquarium, and we’re really looking forward to it! As you can see, it was just delivered at this point and sits on a metal support stand which is going to be clad in cabinetry that matches the adjacent bar. We’ll have more video and pictures of this aquarium up on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter after the installation is complete, so if you aren’t following us already, be sure to!
