opinions on the SCWD—Squid—Wavemaker

[oceanview85]

does an one have one of these. does it work well i am going to put a water pump that flows about 1017 gph. well hit me up if you have one.

[MissT]

SCWD's are an inexpensive alternative to like an Ocean's Motion and some of the other current directors out there. They are relatively simple in construction, which means less stuff to break and are a great little addition if you are just looking to get some variance in water movement. The only real downside would be that they are not programmable. The water only comes out the left side, then right alternatively, so if you have 2 of them, it's only 1, 3 then 2, 4 rather than like the Ocean's Motion which can be 1, 3 & 2, 4 OR 1, 4, 2, 3 and other sequential patterns. All in all though, the SCWD's are good bang for buck.

[JimD]

Ive been using SCWD's for years, I really like them, they work well for me. The trick is to use some type of pre-filter to reduce the ammount of debris that would normaly enter the unit and clog it up, I use round sponge filters and they seem to work well.

[GeoB]

I used two of them on a 75. They worked fine once I gave up the idea of having an end to end back and forth motion across the four foot length of the tank. Since the switching rate increases with flow, I found that they only pushed water about a distance of 2 feet or so whether I was using a pump at the high end of their gph range or the low end. Also, using 1" flex plumbing between the pump and the squids and between the squids and the outlets really helped offset the flow loss that these are notorious for. Send me a pm if you would be interested in a couple of used ones.

[KyleV]

I use one from my return which is about the same GPH and it works great.

[cpreefguy]

I have not used one, but for the price (and countless great reviews) you cant really go wrong trying one out :)

[txstateunivreefer]

i had one and enjoyed it as well

[Ross]

Ive used several and there awesome

[tomanero]

My new 110g w/ two SQWD's running off a Sequence Dart.
I ran the hoses one to each side so sometimes I get flow from two returns on one side, then alternating sides.
Hoping it will be random enough (and enough flow with the Mag 5 sump/fuge return added.
Water added Monday for testing.
Will see how it goes.
Here's a pic of the back of the tank.

[Joseph]

Mine lasted about a year before it stoped switching

[ismvel]

My new 110g w/ two SQWD's running off a Sequence Dart.
I ran the hoses one to each side so sometimes I get flow from two returns on one side, then alternating sides.
Hoping it will be random enough (and enough flow with the Mag 5 sump/fuge return added.
Water added Monday for testing.
Will see how it goes.
Here's a pic of the back of the tank.
Tomanero, I didn't realize that...I know you mentioned it, but it didn't click....let me know how it goes...because if I am not mistaken, a SCWD can only handle what??....1100 gph? And although you are splitting it up into two SCWD, that dart pushes out 3600 gph...

[prof]

I have been running them for a long time. They are great. Pumping some vinegar/water through them will clean them up and get them switching again. If you keep the intake water clean the sqwd won't clog for a long time.

They make for great flow in smaller tanks (<90g) running off 500-1000gph.

[d3rryc]

Sorry to be a wet blanket, but to steal liberally from Scott Adams, I've just spent the afternoon in SCWD Heck. I've got two SCWDs that have been running off of a Snapper since about April of last year. One of them stopped switching about 6 wks ago. The second one stopped yesteray. I pulled both of them off in an attempt to clear them out and get them working again. The first one was simply broken - the internal mechanism was rattling around in the casing. The second one started switching after running some hot water through it for a while. However, after buying a new one to replace the broken one and reinstalling everything, the second one stopped switching again. After hot water failed to get it going again, I tapped it against the side of the sink, hoping to jar loose whatever was stuck in there. Just tapping it against the sink caused the internals to break apart. Being the curious type, I tried to crack it open to see how it worked. It took several two-handed swings WITH A FRAMING HAMMER to break into the casing. So they build a device that I can run over with my truck and not harm the casing, but the mechanism inside breaks apart with some gentle tapping? Whaaa.....?!?!?!

Long story short - in my experience, they're great when they work, but you won't get anywhere NEAR the 53,000 hrs touted on the 3iqVentures web site. When they break, don't count on being able to get them working again.

Been a frustrating day...

[JimD]

Finally had one fail after over six years of usage, a thirty minute soaking in a dillited solution of Muriatic acid and all is well again now for two days running. They dont just break for no reason, something has to get in the gear mesh or abstruct the dam motion to cause failure.