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Thread: Coordinating Wave and Splash

  1. #1
    Frequent Visitor herring_fish's Avatar
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    Coordinating Wave and Splash

    I have a plan to control my wave action in the display tank but I don’t know if it is the best way to go.

    My dump bucket style Algal Turf Scrubber (ATS) is above the tank. It creates a nice splash because it dumps 2 gallons that drops a foot about every 30 seconds. I love the powerful look of the splash and the soothing sound that it makes as well.

    DumpBucket.JPG

    This splash is primarily used for cosmetic reasons and the output is positioned at the left end of the tank where I plan to locate corals that like high flow and turbulence. I adjusted the power of the splash by lifting and lowering the ATS until I found the best balance between power and the level of the splash sound. The frequency of the splash is tuned by turning the speed of an inexpensive dedicated pump up or down. The problem that I have is that 2 gallons doesn’t affect water flow very much. The turbulence of the splash is strong but very localized. For this reason, I want to add strong water flow that goes from left to right across the tank. The splash can blast into or through the water stream depending on how powerful the flow stream is.

    Now want I want to do is vary the speed of the water flow, much like a wave maker does with a graduated ramp up and back down like what I have see in the ocean. Doing a reverse flow would be nice but not completely necessary. If incorporated; it would probably be much weaker.

    Finally, I want to sink the splash to occur at the peak of the flow cycle. I want the flow to build and build until the splash hits and then have the flow slowly subside. While the current cycle looks best to me at 30 seconds long, this new flow pattern may need to be much longer.

    It would normally be very difficult to sink the splash with the peak of the flow. The feed pump changes its output do to partial clogging from critters and just normal slowing as it goes through its cleaning cycle. This means that the cycle can change slightly. With a fixed flow cycle and a variable splash cycle, the two, over time be way off. I could trigger the dumping action mechanically but that would be a pain to manage.

    I could control a good DC pump with the Apex to solve most of the ramping problem. I think that I can do the sinking by putting one of my Apex optical sensors in the side of the dump bucket tray. As the water is pumped into it, the water level would come up until it gets to a certain point in the tray where the sensor is and the cycle could start. Then the splash should be near the peak every time.

    Again, most of this is just to add cosmetic interest. Hopefully, the splash would not cut through the flow stream because it would be at its peak. Instead it would modify and enrich the flow pattern but be incorporated into the stream at the right time to look very natural. …Maybe…

    I know that this sounds a bit like a Rube Goldberg set up but most of it is already done and has work for many years with little maintenance. Can you think of a better or simpler way to do this?

  2. #2
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    I love a Rube Goldberg setup!

    Ok, you already concede your plan to some unknown influences up front so that makes proposing some options easier.

    My first though it to use a combination of floats (or opticals) and a tip sensor (garage door sensor) on the wave box. My thinking is to have floats/opticals at the minimum (probably not empty), mid point (volume, not depth) and top/full. You would then setup various ramp type profiles on your power head...you will need 0-10vdc powerheads such as Tunze Streams for this. You would then build pump profiles for min flow, max flow, ramp up and ramp down. These profiles would then be triggered by the activation of your switches.


    1. Tip Sensor activates Max Flow Profile
    2. Empty/Low Sensor activates the Ramp Down Profile
    3. Mid Sensor activates Min Flow Profile
    4. Full/High Sensor activates the Ramp Up Profile
    5. For the heck of it, include a one more high/overflow sensor for pump shutoff and alarm


    For the ramp profiles, you will have to play with the ramp times to see what works. If you are ideally working with 30 second fill times, then assume each profile will run for 7.5 seconds and then adjust from there. Also, for the floats, i would recommend you attach them via nylon threaded rods so that you can adjust these and fine tune them as well.

    As far as changing the flows to match the return pump, there are two options. One would be to setup 2 sets of Ramp profiles for normal ramp up and normal ramp down and then slow ramp up and slow ramp down, or maybe 3 sets of profiles for normal, low and high. The other option would be leave the ramp profiles alone and just no that if you slow the return pump down, the power head will run at the min flow and max flow longer, but the ramp times will still be 7.5 seconds. I don't think either approach is better or wrong. Just depends how many profiles you want to throw at this.

    Lastly, you may want to add some language to debug a stuck tip pan or off return pump scenario. This way if the pan gets stuck or the return pump shuts off, the power head can either remain at max flow or continue its cycling by itself. Just make sure the failsafe cycle time is LONGER than the time required to fill your tip bucket at the lowest setting you would run your return pump.

    As a final note, just remember that if you take this approach and you don't get the timing on the profiles correct, the floats will force the cycling on the profiles anyway. Just getting it all tweaked will give you a smoother operation.

  3. #3
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    Btw, all the components I propose will connect to the Apex via a Break-Out Box using the mini-din port on the Base unit or any PM-1/PM-2 module. If you chose opticals over floats, you will have to use the more expensive FMM modules and you won't be able to adjust them as *I think* they have to be drilled in. The garage tilt sensor is used in home control systems and/or alarms and gets wired in as a normally closed device just like a float switch. This goes outside the tip tray and is best located at the fulcrum. Depending on the range of motion, you may have to put the tilt sensor slightly tipped to ensure you exceed the 'open' threshold. You may want to take some other provisions to protect it from salt creep/spray. Mine requires a battery, so spraying the internal circuit board with spray urethane may be good enough. if you can find a non-powered one, even better.

  4. #4
    Frequent Visitor herring_fish's Avatar
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    Thanks,

    I am in the middle of some work so I can't explore this fully now but I have read this twice already. I will have to read this a few more times to suck all the juice out of your posts.

    I really like the tip switch idea. Yes, it could go on the outside of the tray near the fulcrum. Yes, my bucket does stay in the down position when it is full of algae and ready for harvesting so I need one or more bypass modes, I have two FMM's already and don't mind getting another if needed. I can have an optical sensor mounted with a pinching action so that I can attach and adjust it on the same vertical side wall as the tip sensor.

    My first thought about changing my plan is that I could have the tip sensor start the ramp down profile. This is the time to start the playground of programming and exploration. I just have to decide what I really want. You have opened my mind to several new possibilities.

    Thanks again

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