With so much more controllability to our reef aquarium water pumps there’s much less of a need to look towards gadgets like the SCWD to provide alternating water flow in our reef tanks but it’s fun to take a trip down memory lane and realize how far the hobby has progressed in the 20 years since the SCWD first hit the reefing hobby. Despite these improvements users often had more issues with the one inch version of the SCWD, often just gutting the internals to turn it into a glorified plumbing T but about one in ten SCWD of the 3/4″ model would last up to a couple years before succumbing to mechanical wear and tear. The 3/4″ version of the SCWD is completely sealed so servicing the machine was next to impossible but a follow up 1″ version had a removable cap so users could (theoretically) clean and or replace internal components. This means that for most users of the SCWD on reef tanks of the late 90s and early 2000s the device worked perfectly for about one or two months before it invariably failed to alternate the water flow as it once did. In a clean-room reef tank the SCWD is an awesome device that fully lives up to its design and expectations, but our reef tanks are the diametrical opposite of a clean room with dozens of different groups of animals are competing to grow on every surface that is exposed to ‘live’ reef aquarium water. The speed of the switching was directly proportional to the water flow rate so the faster the flow, the faster the SCWD would switch which outlet it directed water out of. The SCWD is the total embodiment of this period of time with a clever water-powered mechanism that automatically alternated water flow from one side of the tank to the other. Before we had all the digital bells and wireless whistle on every type of reef aquarium equipment, manufacturers had to get a little more steampunk with the clever mechanisms they employed to enhance what our equipment could actually do. With its efficient new design, the 1" SCWD allows the hobbyist to switch out drive assemblies and diverters to customize the output flow and switching duration to meet their specific water movement needs.If you’ve never heard of the Switching Current Water Director, aka the SCWD (pronounced ‘squid’), congratulations because you’ve been a reef hobbyist in in a very different era or reef keeping. The 1" SCWD comes preassembled with the standard drive assembly installed. A longer interval between switching cycles means better water movement penetration to the extreme areas of larger aquariums, providing your corals, invertebrates, and plants with longer periods of time between shifting currents. Besides the obvious physical differences, the design of the 1" SCWD is targeted toward higher water volume output, with a substantially increased switching duration. With the new drive design, the 1" SCWD will run with pump applications from 500 GPH to 3500 GPH. The cap is removable, which allows for easy maintenance. ![]() With its 1" standard threaded inlet and outlets, the device can be hard plumbed with PVC fittings, or soft plumbed using barbed fittings. ![]() ![]() Designed with large aquarium and pond applications in mind, this device will provide increased water movement at higher volume rates. The 1" SCWD from 3iQ Ventures was designed and built to the highest standards of Quality and Reliability.
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