maxijet mod on an aquaclear???

[sir_dudeguy]

hey, i was shown a few mods that can be done to maxijets to improve flow..the one i'm interested in is the one where you saw off the outlet part of the maxijet...to make it like a sawed off shotgun for lack of better comparison lol.

my questin tho, can i do this same thing to an aquaclear 301? if so, that would save me quite a bit of money...i've already got 2 of them, and i need more flow, but dont really have money to get the seios i want..

anyways, would that be all that i have to do? just cut off the outlet part, and that alone gives more flow?

any other suggestions are great too.

thanks
mike

 

[sir_dudeguy]

anyone?

 

[Tat2demon]

I dont see any reason you couldnt do the mod to every kind of PH.

 

[tgunn]

Indeed you can! This is my 301 mod so far:

I used a Dumas 1 1/4" prop. I cut a piece of plastic coat hanger and sanded it to fit into the prop's hole. I also sanded the other end to fit snugly into a little chunk of RO/DI hose.

I have to remake the attachment for the prop so it's further away from the impeller, but here's the basic idea:

Finished; no shroud:

And wow does this thing kick out the flow!

The nice thing with the AquaClear powerheads is that the magnet self centers; you don't have to worry about the front brace like on the MaxiJets..

I haven't build a shroud yet that works; the first shroud I built didn't work out; it didn't provide enough water to the prop. I need to move the prop forward and make a new shroud still; summer has kept me busy though.

Tyler

 

[fallen4378]

wow thats cool man you rock

 

[sir_dudeguy]

does it cause lots of bubbles tho? i see in the pic it is, but that could be cuase its so close to the surface....and how much more does that push out than a regular one? i mean, does it make big enough difference for it to be worth the little bit of work and ruining a perfectly fine ac? lol.

also, do you have more pics on what you took off that powerhead? and is the rodi pipe the same as airline or wht?

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7742283#post7742283 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy
does it cause lots of bubbles tho? i see in the pic it is, but that could be cuase its so close to the surface....and how much more does that push out than a regular one? i mean, does it make big enough difference for it to be worth the little bit of work and ruining a perfectly fine ac? lol.

also, do you have more pics on what you took off that powerhead? and is the rodi pipe the same as airline or wht?

I held it close to the surface on purpose to cause the vortexing that is making the bubbles in the pic; it is normally 100% bubble free..

It pushes out quite a bit more than the powerhead could originally.. Definitely worth the effort to mod.. The powerhead normally puts out something like 170GPH in a sharp beam. The flow from the prop is quite diffuse and strong; I'd guess in around 400GPH of effective flow.

Make sure to incorporate a stopper of some kind in your design so that if the prop starts in reverse it will get corrected. For a stopper basically you just need a little nub of plastic a bit forward of the propellor in the shroud. The idea is that when the prop starts up in reverse the backwards push of water pulls the magnet out of the powerhead, causing the propellor to hit the stopper, stopping the prop, and thus allowing the pump to restart (presumably in the right direction).


Tyler

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ok thanks! i'm most likely gonna do this, but i think i still got more questions. First and probably not important...is that dangerous for the tank inhabitants at all?

also, i cant picture this stopper at all..do you have any more pics of when you were setting this up?

And how much does that propeller cost and where to get? looks just like a cheap little piece of plastic...would something like hobby town carry them? (dont know if you know what hobby town is...they carry a bunch of like, model cars, remote control cars/boats/airplanes...and all the parts for them and stuff like that.)

last, if you know of any link to where you found the idea that shows this step by step that would be awsome, or if you could just do a step by step "instructions" thing that woudl be really cool

Hopefully i can just do this instead of buying a more powerfull powerhead(s) i've got 2 of these and a fluval 304 for circulation in my 55 and its really not enough..

thanks
mike

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7742624#post7742624 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sir_dudeguy
ok thanks! i'm most likely gonna do this, but i think i still got more questions. First and probably not important...is that dangerous for the tank inhabitants at all?

also, i cant picture this stopper at all..do you have any more pics of when you were setting this up?

And how much does that propeller cost and where to get? looks just like a cheap little piece of plastic...would something like hobby town carry them? (dont know if you know what hobby town is...they carry a bunch of like, model cars, remote control cars/boats/airplanes...and all the parts for them and stuff like that.)

last, if you know of any link to where you found the idea that shows this step by step that would be awsome, or if you could just do a step by step "instructions" thing that woudl be really cool

Hopefully i can just do this instead of buying a more powerfull powerhead(s) i've got 2 of these and a fluval 304 for circulation in my 55 and its really not enough..

thanks
mike

The only danger would be if you don't build a shroud to cover the propellor; otherwise things could swim into a bare prop and get injured.

I bought my propellor from www.greathobbies.com in Canada (I'm in Canada). I imagine any other place that sells RC boat stuff should have plastic propellors. I just ordered a bunch so I could play around with different sizes. They were around $2 CDN each so I bought 5 different ones; figured I couldn't go wrong with that price.

As for a step by step; the pics I posted are actually as far as I've gotten. Summer crept up and I haven't had the time to finish this one off. I'm planning on building a new shroud for it though. The shroud is the hardest part because you have to cut slots or drill holes in a piece of pipe and some how figure out a way to adapt it to the power head.


For more info in the mods in general, I'd check out the
Hitchhiker's Guide thread for modding MAxiJets; there are some references to modding Aquaclear, and most of what you see for the MAxi applies here as well.

This should give you some extra flow for sure..

Tyler

 

[sir_dudeguy]

great thanks! i'll take a look at how im gonna do this later today, and i may run to the hobbytown and get a prop. What size is that, or does it matter even?

also, i was thinkin...you say you have to build a shroud around it...couldnt you just take like a pice of pvc (i'd use black pvc tho...or is that stuff safe to use in aquariums?) and drill a bunch of holes or slots in it, and then put it over the prop? It looks like there's a circle groove thing under the prop...is that right? i would think that the pvc would just attatch onto that..maybe use some silicone?

 

[madscientist]

If your prop is too big the pump may not spin. I ran into this doing the maxi jet mod. I grabbed an old mj400 not paying attention, and then was frustrated when it would only spin for about ten seconds and then quit. The holes or slits you make in the prop should be behind the prop so that the water is channeled through the slots, through the prop, and out the front. I am no pro, but this is what I have found on the ones I did.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ya thats what i was picturing..just make sure the prop is extended far enough out so i can put enough holes/gaps/whatever behind it
and you said you did ro/di hose...is that the same as airline tubing? i'm gonna try and get by w/buying nothin..besides the prop and maybe the pvc.

 

[MinibowMatt]

I would be worried using the silicone tubing on the impeller to hold the prop will cause undue wear on the impeller and quick burnout. the reason the maxijet mods have the front brace is to keep everything cenetered, and not allow the magnets to rub the sidewalls, causeing wear and chatter. You may want to consider using some type of rigid material so the prop stays centered. JMO...

 

[pheel]

tgunn,

have you succeeded to do make a stopper on the Aquaclear/Hagen ? It doesn't seem to work with my 802, it looks like the magnet is too heavy or something like that cause it doesn't come out. To make it worse, with Dumas 1.75" the pump starts always backward. With a 1.25" it seems to be 50/50. I'm about to give up and start the MJ mod.

pheel

 

[sir_dudeguy]

another question...does the mod where you just saw off the outlet thing really help? i know it prolly wouldnt be as good as the prop...but its gotta be better than they normally are.

 

[dhnguyen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7744294#post7744294 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pheel
tgunn,

have you succeeded to do make a stopper on the Aquaclear/Hagen ? It doesn't seem to work with my 802, it looks like the magnet is too heavy or something like that cause it doesn't come out. To make it worse, with Dumas 1.75" the pump starts always backward. With a 1.25" it seems to be 50/50. I'm about to give up and start the MJ mod.

pheel

The larger AC motors are the 4 pole type which makes the magnet to have a tendency to spin in one direction more than another. Unfortunately in the case of the AC, the direction is the reversed what we would expect. What you need is find yourself a right-handed 1.75" Dumas propeller and you should be fine. Most propellers are left-handed unless specfiied otherwise.

D.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

wait...why would it matter what direction the mag. spins? oh, nvrmind..would it be because it would suck water in instead of shoot it out? but then couldnt you just flip the prop around?

 

[dhnguyen]

propellers don't work like that. The curvature on the prop blade is precisely designed to push water in one direction only. If you flip the prop, that curve is still the same.


D.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

aww dang..lol i didnt even think about that..how if you flip it its still the same lol...oh wel...i get credit for trying!! But would the magnet spin one way or the other all the time? or is there a chance that it might fire one way, then the next time go the other? And my powerheads are constantly running too..i dont really turn them off very much, so if it DID change directions..couldnt i just try until i get it going the right way, and then leave it running?

 

[pheel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7744475#post7744475 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dhnguyen
The larger AC motors are the 4 pole type which makes the magnet to have a tendency to spin in one direction more than another. Unfortunately in the case of the AC, the direction is the reversed what we would expect. What you need is find yourself a right-handed 1.75" Dumas propeller and you should be fine. Most propellers are left-handed unless specfiied otherwise.

D.

thanks for the info,
I'm still wondering if someone has done any stopper for the 802...