Maxi Jet Mod

[drgabe]

I hear that several members have beeing interested in these mods of the maxi jet. Well here are mine. Simple. Easy. Very effective.

Of course no pictures were taken during the assembly (why that would be too useful), but I'll get the pump out of the tank in a day or so and take some pictures of the assembly and the propellar.

These are both 400's in a 55 gallon tank. There is some serious water movement going on now! I'll try to get a good picture of the surface water agitation as well, you'll be amazed of what these guys can do.

So far, I have two of them running 24 hours/day for the last 5 days, with no issues. The long nosed hawkfish will even nip at stuff stuck on the intake slits with no harm caused to either party.

For those interested I copied the template from the guys in the DIY forum (look under the maxi-jet mod). Tons of thanks goes out to them!

I'll talk to the bosses and get this added to the DIY section of the webpage, if they find up to thier high standards.

 

[Nanook]

Interesting mod for a nano tank

 

[trottman]

i am in the process of making one that does about 6000 gph. it uses a 2 inch prop. i will post pics when done.

this is not a MJ pump

 

[rams]

trottie do you still believe a Maxi-Jet 1200 Power Head puts out 1200 gph? :lol:

 

[MayoBoy]

I did the other mod (cut the nozzles off and drill additional holes) for my tank. I've been having circulation issues because of the way the tank's situated. I tried several different closed loops with a Mag 9.5 and still couldn't get any good movement.

I've always liked the MaxiJets becuase of their small size but couldn't get them to stay put. Finally I mounted the suction to rigid PVC (2 per pipe) and hung the assembly from the center brace. It works like a charm. I'm ordering 4 more and a Red Sea Wavemaker Pro. I'll run 6 modded MaxiJet 1200's and a Seio 1100 off the wavemaker and should finally have the movement that I need.

The only thing that will be visible will be the Seio because everything else is hidden behind the tank trim.

:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:

 

[trottman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190785#post7190785 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ramtheory
trottie do you still believe a Maxi-Jet 1200 Power Head puts out 1200 gph? :lol:

i still have a modded MJ 1200 that puts out i dont know how much flow.... i will get those pics and plnas to you soon, since they are different than the ones in the DIY fourm.

 

[drgabe]

Mayoboy:
I think you have a case of over engineering (if you dont mind me saying). Having 5! MJ1200's in the tank plus a seio is a bit much for the eyes and the power bill (yeah its minor, but that is alot of plugs) even if it is hidden. With two or three of these type mods (or any for that matter) and with good placement, you should be able to have lots of random flow patterns.
Mounting was easy. I just glued (cyano type super glue) the hand on rim to the pump, and that sucker ain't coming off and I dont have suction cups to worry about.

Trottie:
Good luck with a 2" prop! You'll need some large pvc to fit that in and then mounting to the pump will require some serious mod'ing. Got a link to the plans that you are using?

FWISW: I used the 1.25" Dumas props from towerhobbies. All of the material cost around $35 and I have plenty left over (even a few props). The cool thing is that the mod will easily fit on any other maxi-jet. I tried it on a 1200 and blasted the heck out of the reef for about 15 seconds. It was bit too much for me and the fish!

Nonook:
One of these on a nano would be awesome!

 

[trottman]

you have some props left over for a MJ 1200??? i would be interested, because i am trying to mod most of my MJ's and cannot find good props anywhere anymore.

i am modding an old mag. i dont know how much it is, but i think that it is rated for 900 gph. i am justing doing the same thing with it as i did with the MJ. the only difference is that i am using a quartz rod, and i am expoxying it to the magnet.

Nanook- it the mag thing works it will probabky end up with you, since have a tank that needs that kind of flow when it is set up!

 

[MayoBoy]

From the prototype, it looks like I'll finally be happy with the flow. The tank is 24" tall so a lot of the flow is dispersed by the time it finally reaches to the bottom. Here's a full tank shot (with the partially finished canopy):

Everything has to come off the back wall and the back of the tank is very crowded with overflows, Seio, return, etc. This will eliminate dead spots and hopefully, the horrible cyano problem that I've been dealing with.

When you cut the nozzle off to expose the impeller, it allows a very large area for flow. When hooked to a wavemaker, the MaxiJet reverses direction each time it starts, making the flow area even larger.

I like your mod but I just don't have the space with my tank being viewable on 3 sides.

p.s. The total power draw is only about 141 watts for almost 2900 gallons per hour. It's very easy on the eyes - all the Maxi's will be hidden by the tank trim and the power cords are hidden by the canopy.

p.p.s. sorry to hijack your thread Dr. Have you looked at mounting an eductor to the MaxiJet?

 

[Shooter7]

Looks nice Steve!

 

[drgabe]

lol Mayboy, I started this thread to promote discussion... its all good. You have a great looking tank with a sweet set up.

If you want around 3000 gph, consider doing a MJ 1200 mod with a 1.75" prop. The guys are claming to get around that, with one pump. Its a little tricky since you need to get a larger PVC but it would work.

Also cutting down the nozel works fine, however still using an impellar is very ineffecient compared to using a propellar to move water. By making a simple change you increase the effiency of the motor tremendously.

Trottie... let me see how many props I have left and if Nanook wants one for his cube of air. We'll work something out. I ordered mine online, its going to be hard to buy one in town since Hobby Town doesn't carry Dumas props.

 

[trottman]

i just need one prop and one rod for a small MJ 1200 mod for a lil extra flow.

hobby town only has RC boat props which work well, but you have to change the design of the magnet prop set up.

Nook- for the record, i saw a guy mod a mag 9 and it was making a 3 lb piece of lr float around in a tank! (i just want to do it since it is an old not used pump, i will never use that kind of power!)

 

[MayoBoy]

Dr Gabe,

You didn't hang on to the strainer/nozzle piece did you? If so, do you want to sell it? I sawed most of mine off and now want to play around with some eductors.


EDIT

Nevermind - I see now that it was a 400 - I need a 1200

 

[drgabe]

I think they are the same size MayoBoy... I'll check with my spare 1200 and make sure. But it's yours if you want it.

 

[JxMetal]

I think the only thing different with the maxi jets are the propellers. All attachments are the same size.