A Great Meeting.

[nIx_tank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8348948#post8348948 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pwhitby
EBHD, your mod.... we ran it....looked a little less than the ones we made, but I think the propeller in yours is a little smaller. We also noticed that one or the other (either carbon fiber or steel) (cant remember which) shaft worked a little better than the other, so it looks like there is a fair amount to be learned on this.

Also......... Nick (Nix Tank) can you elaborate on your eforts to buy parts locally.

Thanks,

P.

I believe that it is the steel that worked slightly better, with less noise.

In regards to finding the parts locally, I found some, but ran into snags on other parts.

The 'shield' that goes around the new impeller, I found at Lowe's (or Home Depot) is a 1 1/2" PVC Coupler.

Cost - $.69

The rigid tubing can be found at Petsmart, I think for a couple dollars. I had some laying around, so I didn't actually go out and buy any. I know that Tim talked about this, about how it could be found at Petsmart.

Cost ~ 2-3 dollars

The steel rod is one of the parts that I think will be tricky to find. The best I could find was a normal steel rod, not stainless or medical grade. Granted, I only did most of my searching up in the Stillwater area, and I think that I might be able to find something better here in OKC. I am going to continue to search.

Cost of regular 3/32" 3' steel rod - $1.03 (Obviously, this price will go up with stainless steel, medical grade)

Propeller was another item in which I was unable to attain. I found one, but it was bronze, along with being ~$16. I do think that there are a couple R/C hobby shops here in OKC that I am going to contact to see if I can track something down.

Carbon fiber is also something that I am going to contact the R/C stores about.

Honestly, I think that if I can find places here locally in which carry the steel (or carbon fiber) and propeller, I know that this mod can be made cheaper.

BUT, if you do not have the tools to cut and shape the plastic, much less the time, then I would say buying the kit is the way to go.

The biggest problem that I ran into, was trying to get the plastic impeller crosspiece (The black 'spoke' cover on the mjmods from Sat. night) built and centered correctly.

If this piece is not centered correctly, it will cause the impeller to 'chatter' as the magnets are not properly aligned.

I will keep searching though for the items locally, as I would like to be able to supply everyone with the locations for the parts if anyone is interested in a DIY project.


EDIT: I cna't selpl.

 

[captbunzo]

Btw, please welcome Extreme Corals as our newest sponsor by visiting their website (which is just a google search away AND really easy to find) and buying some corals.

Coordinate your purchase with a meeting that I will be attending and I can do local pickup for you. That means no shipping for ANY amount orderd AND a 20% discount at their site.

They have some nice stuff and an amazing setup...

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Yes, the Steel shaft did seem to do better than the Carbon Fiber with a little less noise. But the point is moot. It seemed to do about 100-200 gph less than the steel rod, but if you're in a bind, what's 2000 gph for steel and 1800 gph for carbon fiber? It still beats the 295 gph of a regular MJ1200. I'll post more pictures and details later. I have video clips of the mods in action.

 

[Dtking]

eddy, pm sent

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Okay. I finally got everything loaded up. First, here is the set up. We have a 10g tank on the left with a MJ1200 running in it so you can see the difference in the other pumps. In the 20g tank on the right, we have a Seio, a Tunze, and an EcoTech pump attached to the glass. We dropped the MJMod pump in later. We left the MJ1200 on in the left tank and alternated what pump we wanted on in the right tank.

Here is the setup

The Seio is on the left, the EcoTech is in the middle, and the Tunze is on the right.

Now, here are the video clips that everyone was waiting for. They are all approximately 15 Seconds each at about 33KB. The quality isn't the best because it is uploaded to Photobucket, but I'm trying to find a way to put up some high quality clips.

MJ 1200 (~295 gph)


Seio (~1500 gph)


Tunze (~2250 gph)


EcoTech (~3500 gph)


MaxiJet Stream Mod (~2000 gph)


***I don't recall the model of the Seio, it could be a bigger one.

 

[ouspeedbump]

Amazing meeting! I had a blast! Going to Louie's afterwards was fun too.... Recovering OK, Paul? ;-) Look forward to attending many more!

-Sheri

 

[pwhitby]

Seio 1500....which by the way is coated with sparkles....as is my tunze. Ive cleaned them and still they find glitter to shoot around.

Paul.

 

[pwhitby]

Sheri,
Im doing "just Peachey" thanks for asking.

Im glad you enjoyed your first meeting and hope you will be a regular face at meetings and on the forum.

Paul.

 

[captbunzo]

Sheri - enjoyed running into you at both Wet Pets and the meeting. Thanks for coming! I am glad you had a good time...

 

[Russ Braaten]

About the stainless steel pump parts. I was at a Westlake Ace Hardware store today and they had stainless steel rods that were as small as 1//16th inch. I did not know what size you need so I checked how small they go. I think this would be a good place to look. I don't know if tubing would be more stable but they had that in stainless too. It was in standing displays for specialty metal boxes, tubes, flat material etc.

 

[Russ Braaten]

It is hard to tell by the video. Is the mod moving nearly as much water as the other pumps? Did it do a good job scattering the water rather than making a jet stream?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Russ, the steel found at places like that isn't the high quality grade that is needed. That steel will rust quickly. The steel that you need for the MJ Mods is 316 Stainless Steel. I don't believe that hardware stores typically carry that grade of steel. Also, sorry about the quality of the videos. Photobucket really did a number on degredation. I'm working to see if we can find a host for the original videos. They're about 18.75 MB a piece. That's pretty hefty for a 15 second clip. FWIW, the MJ Stream Mod definitely was a heavy contender. Personally, I felt it out performed the Seio, and was quite comparable to the Tunze. Of course, it didn't touch the EcoTech. But the EcoTech was pushing out 3,500 gph

 

[eddybabyhd]

ecotechs have a limited aiming capability though. That would be i think their only vice, I love my tunzes, for that reason

 

[pwhitby]

EBHD, thanks for the loan of your unit. It was good to make the comparison between the differnt modifications.

P.

 

[eddybabyhd]

No problem, anytime

after seeing the mod kits at MACNA, like the ones you gusy built. My mod kit didnt even come close to those propellor mods. I think i might order some of those when i get a frag system set up. They push alot of water for not very much $$$$$

 

[pwhitby]

Early next year we could get a bunch in and have another "make your own" night. Having everyone making at the same time would help those who are less "diy" proficient.....

Does this sound like a good idea?

P.

 

[captbunzo]

I think that sounds like an excellent idea...

 

[eddybabyhd]

I think that sounds like a great idea. I think we should do it at your house, and have 40 people with dremel tools going right there in your dining room by the tank/

only kidding, but it does sound good

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

I like the idea as well. More or less, could it be focused around many different modification and DIY Projects? A little acrylic work, a little DIY Rock, a little Bio Ball Mod, a little MJ Mod, etc. There could be station for people to go to to try it all out. It'll be a BYOD: Bring your own Dremel

 

[pwhitby]

Travis.........why is it, when someone proposes something you pick it up run with it to the point of making it impossible.

the idea here is to allow groups to build MJ mods. Not to teach acrylic working nor make concrete rocks. That can all be done some other time.

Let it lie as stated...a DIY MJ MOD evening. This would be feb-march time....unless people have already built them by then.

Paul.