In efforts to improve the habitats for captive livestock, and to replicate similar flow patterns found in natural systems, various "wavemakers" have been developed, marketed for the aquarium hobby. Some are rather simple. These generally have a low pressure high flow compared to the typical powerhead pumps which have high pressure and low flow.
Natural systems tend to have much higher flows and at a gentle pressure, so the first type of flow(high flow/low pressure) is ideal for our purposes. Current breaks up boundary layers they reduce nutrient and CO2 uptake in submersed plants. Additionally, good pulsed current has been demonstrated to remove up to 40-80% of epiphytes that colonize submersed leaves( Koch 1993;Hopson and Zimba, 1997; Munteanu and Manly 1981; ).
A good book web format is here:
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en...e&q=Current effects on algal epiphyte&f=false
Some discussion of light use efficacy and epiphyte modeling are discussed here:
http://wap.aslo.org/lo/toc/vol_48/issue_1_part_2/0456.pdf
It seems reasonable to me, that reduced epiphytes will obviously enhance the lower light PAR we typically provide and allow us to get the most/highest yield from the least energy from light, not to mention the aesthetics of clean leaves.
Put another way, why try and squeak out every last PAR/PUR from a light system, when some good cleaning current might offer 10-20% more growth for the same wattage you now have?
You have cleaner better growing plants, better light use, and let's not forget the main reason most of us are in this hobby: fish. Fish get much more O2 and exercise with good gentle current to swim against, they feed better, detritus is also removed and brought up into the water column where filters can remove it.
Low pressure pumps also use much less energy than high pressure systems, so the total energy required is much less than with most filters. We lack not filtration in most planted systems(the plants do a fair job of that), rather, the current is dramatically reduced through time as the plant beds form and fill in, get over grown when we often forget to prune and garden routinely.
Mixing CO2 to all regions of the tank is also much easier to accomplish. Many aquarist have used spray bars and plumbing hoses to direct current to specific spots to help achieve better mixing. These can be unsightly and complex and are still high pressure/low flow.
A good solution is available from the reef hobby using wave powerheads and timers. These cost a lot to ....relatively inexpensive. Plants and corals tend to do better with pulsed flows that are wide and low pressure, this also does not knock the fish or plants around as much.
We desire moderate even wide spread pulsed flows throughout the aquarium, not a torrent nor stagnation. Higher grade timers and more advanced systems do cost more, but offer nicer aesthetics and control variables and generally are more quiet switch on/off.
Here are some products I've been using for some time:
For smaller tanks: Rio powerheads running a long distance before hitting any plants can work rather well. A cheap strip wave timer can be used, or, if you have a advanced controller, you can use those to cycle the flow/start times, alogn with your lighting etc. Neptune, Reefkeeper etc make various controllers that have many timers built in. If you are into tech, these are likely what you might like.
Powerheads also have modification kits that convert the high pressure low flow, to high flow, low pressure:
http://www.marinedepot.com/Algae_Fr...ree_Sure_Flow_Sure_Grip-AF1551-FIPHAC-vi.html
These work quite well.
Recently, I've started using these:
http://ecotechmarine.com/
I really like these units, they cost a fair amount.
The minimal equipment inside the aquarium is attractive, no cords etc inside the aquarium, easy to use and adjust flow controller, randomizer is a nice feature.
Due to the size and design, these can be hidden easily!
The CO2 can be well mixed and get away from a mist cloudy effect, plants will pearl more vs continuous current also due to pulsed flows.
I think this, good CO2, careful even spread of light using T5's/T8's etc will really help many folks that have CO2 issues and improve fish health, reduced fish stress.
Regards,
Tom Barr
Natural systems tend to have much higher flows and at a gentle pressure, so the first type of flow(high flow/low pressure) is ideal for our purposes. Current breaks up boundary layers they reduce nutrient and CO2 uptake in submersed plants. Additionally, good pulsed current has been demonstrated to remove up to 40-80% of epiphytes that colonize submersed leaves( Koch 1993;Hopson and Zimba, 1997; Munteanu and Manly 1981; ).
A good book web format is here:
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en...e&q=Current effects on algal epiphyte&f=false
Some discussion of light use efficacy and epiphyte modeling are discussed here:
http://wap.aslo.org/lo/toc/vol_48/issue_1_part_2/0456.pdf
It seems reasonable to me, that reduced epiphytes will obviously enhance the lower light PAR we typically provide and allow us to get the most/highest yield from the least energy from light, not to mention the aesthetics of clean leaves.
Put another way, why try and squeak out every last PAR/PUR from a light system, when some good cleaning current might offer 10-20% more growth for the same wattage you now have?
You have cleaner better growing plants, better light use, and let's not forget the main reason most of us are in this hobby: fish. Fish get much more O2 and exercise with good gentle current to swim against, they feed better, detritus is also removed and brought up into the water column where filters can remove it.
Low pressure pumps also use much less energy than high pressure systems, so the total energy required is much less than with most filters. We lack not filtration in most planted systems(the plants do a fair job of that), rather, the current is dramatically reduced through time as the plant beds form and fill in, get over grown when we often forget to prune and garden routinely.
Mixing CO2 to all regions of the tank is also much easier to accomplish. Many aquarist have used spray bars and plumbing hoses to direct current to specific spots to help achieve better mixing. These can be unsightly and complex and are still high pressure/low flow.
A good solution is available from the reef hobby using wave powerheads and timers. These cost a lot to ....relatively inexpensive. Plants and corals tend to do better with pulsed flows that are wide and low pressure, this also does not knock the fish or plants around as much.
We desire moderate even wide spread pulsed flows throughout the aquarium, not a torrent nor stagnation. Higher grade timers and more advanced systems do cost more, but offer nicer aesthetics and control variables and generally are more quiet switch on/off.
Here are some products I've been using for some time:
For smaller tanks: Rio powerheads running a long distance before hitting any plants can work rather well. A cheap strip wave timer can be used, or, if you have a advanced controller, you can use those to cycle the flow/start times, alogn with your lighting etc. Neptune, Reefkeeper etc make various controllers that have many timers built in. If you are into tech, these are likely what you might like.
Powerheads also have modification kits that convert the high pressure low flow, to high flow, low pressure:
http://www.marinedepot.com/Algae_Fr...ree_Sure_Flow_Sure_Grip-AF1551-FIPHAC-vi.html
These work quite well.
Recently, I've started using these:
http://ecotechmarine.com/
I really like these units, they cost a fair amount.
The minimal equipment inside the aquarium is attractive, no cords etc inside the aquarium, easy to use and adjust flow controller, randomizer is a nice feature.
Due to the size and design, these can be hidden easily!
The CO2 can be well mixed and get away from a mist cloudy effect, plants will pearl more vs continuous current also due to pulsed flows.
I think this, good CO2, careful even spread of light using T5's/T8's etc will really help many folks that have CO2 issues and improve fish health, reduced fish stress.
Regards,
Tom Barr
That's 50% more than the US price