by Dieter Hoberg.

Published in August 1991 issue of Nautilus, newsletter of the Marine Aquarium Society of Victoria.

The wave generator delivers water by two alternating water inlets at flow rates far in excess of the pump capacity. (For a short time only.) A constant flow, as delivered by a pump, it not a natural condition, in fact it is more like an exception in nature. The wave generator, I designed, collects water from the pump over a time of say 30 seconds, and delivers it to the aquarium in about 5 seconds, reaching flowrates of up to 1,400 l/h during this short time. A flap inside the wave generator switches over and the next delivery goes to the other side of the aquarium, changing direction of the water flow every time.

Wave generator layout.

How does it work?

Stage 1

The water delivered by the pump enters segment 2 of the WG, the water level is rising fast. Some water leaks into segment 1 where the water level is rising slowly.

Stage 1 of wave generator operation.

Stage 2

In segment 2 the water level has reached the overflow, the overflowing water started the siphon. Segment 1 is now about ¼ filled with water.

Stage 2 of wave generator operation.

Stage 3

The siphon has emptied segment 2, then it stops siphoning. Segment 1 is ¼ filled with water. The pressure of this water pushes the flap into the other position. Water is now running into segment 1 – repeating the process as described above.

Stage 3 of wave generator operation.

Notes

There are certainly a few little problems to get the system running. One of those are the dimensions of the siphon pipes in relation to the water intake. I did many test to find the limits of the system, outside these limits the system will not work!

Here is the date for a working system:

• Min water into WG - 500 l/h
• Max water into WG - 1,000 l/h
• Max flow out for ~5 sec - 1,600 l/h
• Diameter of siphon pipe - 20 mm
• Siphon height - 320 mm
• Pump Dupla 3A - 900 l/h
  (at 1.2m hight with 2m plastic hose and one 90o bend)

General Rules

1. a thicker siphon pipe supplies more water, but needs more water intake to start and is harder to start.
2. a longer siphon pip is easier to start and needs less water intake to start.
3. refer technical data for your pump. The water flow at pumping height is important! Some loss is also to be expected by back-pressure caused by the water-hose and by 90o elbow-bends-nozzles-etc. The flow at 0m level has no significance.

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