MJmods, is it worth it?

[firerock]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has mod the mj with kits from mjmods.com. Does the kit really work? Can it really push that much water as they claims (2,000 gph for MJ1200)? Just exactly how does it work?

http://mjmods.com/

Any inputs and if possible, photos, will be highly appreciated. TIA

 

[seattlerob]

It works! IMO, very much worth the cost. mjmods.com is where I ordered mine, and I modded 2 MJ1200's.

It works by replacing the original impeller with a toy boat propeller. The propeller simply moves more water. I have not done any validation tests, but I believe the 2000 gph. I have 2 seio 1100's and 2 maximod1200's in my 90g, and the hand test says the maximods are moving more water.

Also, I came across www.oceanflo.com as well. Much more expensive than mjmods.com, but it looks like a more finished product, comes plug&play (no assembly), with a nice looking mount, and with a warranty. I have no experience with this company, but thought I'd throw it out there.

Just keep in mind that the parts come unassembled from mjmods.com. Not that it's a difficult mod, but individual results will vary

hth,
rob

 

[firerock]

Does the finished look looks "homemade"? Do you have photos that shows how the final product looks like? Was the assembly difficult?

Do you think the oceanflo worth the additional cost?

TIA

 

[azmorpheus]

Here is a picture of mine that I made using the parts that they offer. I cut my own shroud so his will probably look better but the pipe he uses for it is the same.

 

[seattlerob]

firerock: sorry, I don't have any pictures handy. I believe the shrouds that come from mjmods.com are a little darker that the pic above...a closer match in color to the maxijet. IMO, the finished product is a bit 'homemade' looking. A lot of it depends on how careful you are when putting it together. I have my 2 hidden behind some rockwork, so appearance was less of an issue for me. If they were right out in the open, then perhaps the homemade look would be a bigger deal...

The assembly wasn't difficult, but I did end up doing it a couple of times. Luckily, the kits from mjmods.com include enough extra SS rod, acryllic stopper, and tubing so if you screw up, you can start over. Those items you have to cut to fit, so it can be a hit or miss type deal. For instance, when I did my first one, the position of the prop versus the distance to the prop stopper wasn't quite right, so there was some rubbing going on. Overall, I'd say if you're comfortable measuring, cutting & gluing, the mod isn't that hard to do.

Is the oceanflo worth the extra cost? Hard for me to say since I don't have 1st hand experience with their product. However, if you're the type of person that is willing to pay a bit more for a finished product (plug & play, no building required, looks like a retail product, etc), and like the warranty aspect, then it is probably worth it. With mjmods.com, there are no guarantees it will work, or how long it will work for. You are your own warranty support With one of my maximods, I've had to replace the acryllic stopper 2 times already, because it broke off from the impact of the prop hitting it on startup. The other pump I have not had this issue. Again, the mjmods.com kit had enough extra acryllic rod, so I already had the parts handy.

If you are considering the oceanflo.com product, I would then also consider a seio pump. The only reason I mention that is because once you add up the cost of a MJ and the oceanflo.com product, it's going to cost as much, if not more, than a seio pump. The seio 2600, for instance, would be a comparitive pump as far as flow and price (I think the seio pumps will be bigger in size). One other thing I'll mention is IME the seio pumps require more frequent cleanings than the mj or mjmods. I get calcium build up on the seio impellers a lot quicker than on the mjmods. I think this is due to the fact the seio impeller spins around a plastic rod and is a pretty tight fit.

Anyways, hth...good luck on your decision!
rob

 

[Bebo77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8377069#post8377069 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seattlerob
It works! IMO, very much worth the cost. mjmods.com is where I ordered mine, and I modded 2 MJ1200's.

It works by replacing the original impeller with a toy boat propeller. The propeller simply moves more water. I have not done any validation tests, but I believe the 2000 gph. I have 2 seio 1100's and 2 maximod1200's in my 90g, and the hand test says the maximods are moving more water.

Also, I came across www.oceanflo.com as well. Much more expensive than mjmods.com, but it looks like a more finished product, comes plug&play (no assembly), with a nice looking mount, and with a warranty. I have no experience with this company, but thought I'd throw it out there.

Just keep in mind that the parts come unassembled from mjmods.com. Not that it's a difficult mod, but individual results will vary

hth,
rob

thats the one thing i do not like about diy stuff it looks diy but those ocean flow kits look good too... but man they are not cheap.

 

[seminolecpa]

The MJ mod is in the bottom right corner. Tunze 6100 is also in the picture and can provide some perspective.

The mod isn't that difficult took me about 45 mins. I ordered the entire kit vs. just individual parts. Their shroud looks far better then anything I could make and the cap is nice as well. This it was about 50-60 bucks shipped with a new MJ 1200.

The thing moves a ton of water well worth it in my opinion. It looks clean not crappy and most will be covered with coraline soon anyway.

 

[rscott76]

i love them. i did the mj1200 with the grey shroud and the second to the most aggressive propeller. I have had zero issues. each one took about 10 minutes to put together.

 

[glaudds]

I put together two mods from mjmods.com a few weeks ago, haven't had time to mount them in the tank yet...

Here's a couple of shots of the final product, took me about 15 minutes total assembly time.

My afternoon project is to get them mounted.

Seminolecpa, did you use a magnet mount?

 

[Bebo77]

ok whats a better mod?

this one... http://www.reefdom.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MAXIMODKIT

or this one? http://mjmods.com/

Mjmods costs $25

Reefdom costs $60

thats a HUGE difference...

 

[seminolecpa]

Yep. I took a Algae Free sure grip 50 I had from a powerhead I was running in my tank and modified it so I could change directions of the flow as I wanted. The thing moves a ton of water. Appears nearly as much as my Tunze 6100 at 1/5 of the price and less power output.

I think they are essentially the same thing as to performance it depends on how much you want to pay vs the look. Me I am not that concerned about the difference considering it is likely going to be masked either by rockwork or eventually by coralline. Now if the other performed 50% better sure I would pony up 2x the price.

 

[firerock]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8378558#post8378558 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seattlerob
If you are considering the oceanflo.com product, I would then also consider a seio pump. The only reason I mention that is because once you add up the cost of a MJ and the oceanflo.com product, it's going to cost as much, if not more, than a seio pump. The seio 2600, for instance, would be a comparitive pump as far as flow and price (I think the seio pumps will be bigger in size).

I totally agree with your comments. :smokin:

 

[firerock]

I think the MJmod looks pertty well made, not that much DIY look to it. I'll be very interested in trying it soon. I thought it was $20 when I checked a few days ago? Oh well.....

Thanks for all the inputs. :thumbsup:

 

[HenryTran]

i will have some extra parts if anyone is interested in doing the mod. the only thing you will need is the shroud.

 

[orlenz]

those kits are pricy, I did two 1200's for under $20. and about 2 hours time.

seems theres always someone greedy trying to cash in.

 

[golfish]

I have two of the Reefdom mods....seeing how I'm older then dirt and I've got a box of reef crap in the garage bigger then my tank I already had the powerheads. So it cost me 140.00 to convert two MJ 1200 PH's into something that works just as good as Tunze 6080 and is smaller and more reliable...Plus, if the motor goes out the cost is next to nothing. The hard part is making the impeller housing look cool. IMO, the Reefdom is sweet looking, once you have that your set, its not like its going to burn up, break, or stop working.

 

[seattlerob]

golfish: cool, thanks for the info. You're the first person I've run across that is actually using the reefdom/oceanflo mod. Sounds like they are as good as they look.

Can you tell me, is the stopper constructed similar to the mjmods.com? I ask because the acryllic rod that came with my mjmods.com kit has broken 2 times already on 1 of my 2 modded maxijets. Just wondering if the reefdom/oceanflo unit is doing it a different way.

Also, wondering if you're using them on a wavemaker? I noticed that they warranty their mod even when used with a wavemaker, versus the mjmods.com I believe they recommend against using it with wavemakers.

TIA,
rob

 

[golfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8383594#post8383594 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seattlerob
golfish: cool, thanks for the info. You're the first person I've run across that is actually using the reefdom/oceanflo mod. Sounds like they are as good as they look.

Can you tell me, is the stopper constructed similar to the mjmods.com? I ask because the acryllic rod that came with my mjmods.com kit has broken 2 times already on 1 of my 2 modded maxijets. Just wondering if the reefdom/oceanflo unit is doing it a different way.

Also, wondering if you're using them on a wavemaker? I noticed that they warranty their mod even when used with a wavemaker, versus the mjmods.com I believe they recommend against using it with wavemakers.

TIA,
rob

Rob,
They are very well built and don't look like the DIY units you've seen. The impellers are easy to make, its the intake\ impllers housings that need to look and work good. Not sure what you mean by the "stopper" but I can say that I've has zero problems with em.

No wave maker. I have both mounted to 1" Sea Swirls.

Let me know what you mean by "stopper"