2PM AUG 5 DIY Workshop - RSVP Here
- Thread starter Clown-N-Around
- Start date
miwoodar
Likey the bikey
It was good to see everyone again today - also good to put faces to some of the folks I hadn't met yet.
larryl, thanks for the compliments, but I'm just parroting a few great things others have posted here on RC. I'll collect the links to the pertinant threads and post them for people to to use.
If anyone has problems with his/her MJ Mod - be sure to post so we can address your concerns. I've had two DIY versions for more than a year and I've been extremely impressed with their function and reliability. The official MJ Mod versions should be even more reliable.
Cheers! I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
larryl, thanks for the compliments, but I'm just parroting a few great things others have posted here on RC. I'll collect the links to the pertinant threads and post them for people to to use.
If anyone has problems with his/her MJ Mod - be sure to post so we can address your concerns. I've had two DIY versions for more than a year and I've been extremely impressed with their function and reliability. The official MJ Mod versions should be even more reliable.
Cheers! I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
I stuck my mod into my 55 and it was like a hurricane! Swept up detritus and scared the fish silly. I ran it for a few minutes and turned it off. I'm going to mod an old maxijet with the lower-flow prop kit I bought at the DIY today and see if it works a little better for everyone.
Thanks again. It was great to meet everybody today.
Christina, I look forward to following the development of your new humongous tank!
Thanks again. It was great to meet everybody today.
Christina, I look forward to following the development of your new humongous tank!
68RUSTANG
New member
Christina,
Thanks for hosting, sorry about the water fountain in the bathroom. Good thing reefers are used to a little water on the floor and sometimes the TV, DVD player, and the stereo (i'll share the story with you at the next meeting).
Mike,
Thanks for leading the DIY. We need the next one to involve a table saw, router, and a MIG welder.
Argh.................
Thanks for hosting, sorry about the water fountain in the bathroom. Good thing reefers are used to a little water on the floor and sometimes the TV, DVD player, and the stereo (i'll share the story with you at the next meeting).
Mike,
Thanks for leading the DIY. We need the next one to involve a table saw, router, and a MIG welder.
Argh.................
miwoodar
Likey the bikey
Too bad the MJ Mods took as long as they did to assemble. We didn't get to talk about much else and Rustang didn't get to do a proper eductor demonstration (maybe we can have you bring this to the next meeting?).
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Battery Backup:
We discussed it for a little bit after you left. It's nothing too complicated but please do take your time and get familiar with everything before doing it. I made mine simpler by not adding the alarm or the switch. This is playing with electricity so be careful. I can't take responsibility should something go wrong.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64918
Also look here:
http://jean.yen.tripod.com/id75.htm
Here is my order from all electronics:
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Swirler Stein:
I keep bumping this thing but people haven't been running with it lately. It's a really good piece of equipment for $30.
The one I made is most like Hmott's shown on April 13th. I didn't bother adding the switch though.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/printthread.php?s=&threadid=799971&perpage=324
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Skimmer:
The design is similar to the ER RC135. I used the Sedra 5000 NW pump and made the funnel out of softened acrylic (softened in the oven). The following two resources were used to support the design and construction:
http://www.randystacye.com/diy_needle_wheel_skimmer.htm
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1114351&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
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Hopefully the club members find these opportunities interesting. If you have any questions let me know. If we get enough interest maybe we can add on later as a demo or a hands on meeing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Battery Backup:
We discussed it for a little bit after you left. It's nothing too complicated but please do take your time and get familiar with everything before doing it. I made mine simpler by not adding the alarm or the switch. This is playing with electricity so be careful. I can't take responsibility should something go wrong.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64918
Also look here:
http://jean.yen.tripod.com/id75.htm
Here is my order from all electronics:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Swirler Stein:
I keep bumping this thing but people haven't been running with it lately. It's a really good piece of equipment for $30.
The one I made is most like Hmott's shown on April 13th. I didn't bother adding the switch though.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/printthread.php?s=&threadid=799971&perpage=324
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skimmer:
The design is similar to the ER RC135. I used the Sedra 5000 NW pump and made the funnel out of softened acrylic (softened in the oven). The following two resources were used to support the design and construction:
http://www.randystacye.com/diy_needle_wheel_skimmer.htm
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1114351&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
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Hopefully the club members find these opportunities interesting. If you have any questions let me know. If we get enough interest maybe we can add on later as a demo or a hands on meeing.
miwoodar
Likey the bikey
FYI --- for those interested about learning more about your MJ Mods, the props are as follows:
The white prop is a Dumas 3004. Many people on RC believe it puts out ~2500 gph.
The other prop is an Octura 1435. This one puts out ~1600 gph and is a little more reliable (easier to run consistently). If you have difficulties running the Dumas, switch to this one instead.
Call ahead before driving all the way across town to a hobby store. These props ARE common but not every store carries them. Dozens of other options (brands/sizes) have been toyed with the in the MJ Mods thread - not all were as successful as the two mentioned above.
The white prop is a Dumas 3004. Many people on RC believe it puts out ~2500 gph.
The other prop is an Octura 1435. This one puts out ~1600 gph and is a little more reliable (easier to run consistently). If you have difficulties running the Dumas, switch to this one instead.
Call ahead before driving all the way across town to a hobby store. These props ARE common but not every store carries them. Dozens of other options (brands/sizes) have been toyed with the in the MJ Mods thread - not all were as successful as the two mentioned above.
68RUSTANG
New member
Colpar Hobbies on Havana has the carbon fiber rods, but no props. After running mine and noticing a severe vibration, I found the carbon fiber rod that came with the kit to be out of round considerably. Colpar has some that are darn near perfect! To bad I ruined the prop tryng to get it off. The other white prop kit, came with a good rod and works great. Colpar also has a wide selection of glues at reasonable prices.
This project will be on hold till I fix the tranny and brakes on the new arrival (1969 Cougar XR7).
This project will be on hold till I fix the tranny and brakes on the new arrival (1969 Cougar XR7).
hoylecurtis
New member
Great meeting
Great meeting
Thanks to all in the club for conducting a great meeting. It was a pleasure to be around folks who actually like to talk about this stuff ;-)
My MJmod works wonderfully, but this is a frighting flow of water. Great clouds of stuff, anemones doing odd curls, fish hiding. I think I will try taping up some of the inlets to drop the flow. If not I try a smaller prop, or grinding down the white one.
Great fun.
Hoyle
Great meeting
Thanks to all in the club for conducting a great meeting. It was a pleasure to be around folks who actually like to talk about this stuff ;-)
My MJmod works wonderfully, but this is a frighting flow of water. Great clouds of stuff, anemones doing odd curls, fish hiding. I think I will try taping up some of the inlets to drop the flow. If not I try a smaller prop, or grinding down the white one.
Great fun.
Hoyle
hoylecurtis
New member
MJmod still working, but sometimes runs backwards at start up. Makes a lot of noise then. I'll have to check the stud that supposed to prevent wrong direction.
No sand got moved and the fish are getting a lot more exercise. The tape (two thirds of the intake covered). After everyone got used to it I took off half the tape (one third covered) and everything is still surviving.
I have noticed some of the soft corals are looking healther, while some of the green star polyps don't seem to want to come out with the flow on high.
OK, I'll bite, Mike, What is a swirl stein?
Hoyle
No sand got moved and the fish are getting a lot more exercise. The tape (two thirds of the intake covered). After everyone got used to it I took off half the tape (one third covered) and everything is still surviving.
I have noticed some of the soft corals are looking healther, while some of the green star polyps don't seem to want to come out with the flow on high.
OK, I'll bite, Mike, What is a swirl stein?
Hoyle
miwoodar
Likey the bikey
Does the MJ Mod make noise only as it is starting? That is normal. Does the prop always end up spinning the right direction after it stops kicking?
The swirler stein is a simple project box with a $4 motor, a set of turnbuckles from a remote control car, a few dollars of wiring and a few dollars of PVC/acrylic. The motor in the thread runs at 3 RPM pushing/pulling on the turnbuckles. The result: it ocillates your MJ Mod back and forth like a desk fan. Tools: all you need is a cheap dremel and some superglue. A drill would make it easier (to cut the cross shape).
Look at April 13th on the swirler stein thread for more pics. The parts list was also posted somewhere right around then (maybe a few days before).
The swirler stein is a simple project box with a $4 motor, a set of turnbuckles from a remote control car, a few dollars of wiring and a few dollars of PVC/acrylic. The motor in the thread runs at 3 RPM pushing/pulling on the turnbuckles. The result: it ocillates your MJ Mod back and forth like a desk fan. Tools: all you need is a cheap dremel and some superglue. A drill would make it easier (to cut the cross shape).
Look at April 13th on the swirler stein thread for more pics. The parts list was also posted somewhere right around then (maybe a few days before).
hoylecurtis
New member
Get the idea. You had this at the meeting, but I didn't get the full story.
The MJmod seems to make the turn on noise and then part of the time actually continue running backwards pushing water out through the intake grid. I've been turning it on and off by hand a few times a day to see how the tank reacts and noticed.
When running in the correct direction there very little noise.
Hoyle
The MJmod seems to make the turn on noise and then part of the time actually continue running backwards pushing water out through the intake grid. I've been turning it on and off by hand a few times a day to see how the tank reacts and noticed.
When running in the correct direction there very little noise.
Hoyle
miwoodar
Likey the bikey
Having the slits covered could definitely make it start eratically. The prop might not be able to jump out far enough to effectively hit the stopper every time.
How close is the stopper to the end of the shroud? Do you have a picture? Also take a good pic of the impellor (you did the NEW style, right?).
If you PM me your address I will mail you an extra Octura 1435 prop I have laying around. You might not have to cover the slits when using the Octura prop. I will also send a tiny prop that will reduce the flow to ~500 gph in case you ever need it.
How close is the stopper to the end of the shroud? Do you have a picture? Also take a good pic of the impellor (you did the NEW style, right?).
If you PM me your address I will mail you an extra Octura 1435 prop I have laying around. You might not have to cover the slits when using the Octura prop. I will also send a tiny prop that will reduce the flow to ~500 gph in case you ever need it.
miwoodar
Likey the bikey
BTW - we forgot to get the 'standard' meeting photo. I snapped this one from the stairs though. I find it kind of ironic that we are all packed in like sardines at a reef club meeting. Sorry for those who were lined up around the corner - I didn't realize we would forget to take the comprehensive photo.
Clown-N-Around
New member
Yeah, it was a tough call - crowded in the living room or too hot in the garage with no A/C.
