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Unread 03/14/2004, 09:16 PM   #101
niko5
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Will still having a problem getting it going the right way... If i pull the poerhead out of the water the prop spins correctly and i can drop it back in and it spins great... So here are a couple pics.

In tank
http://www.nicksreef.com/images/diy/...0in%20tank.JPG
The bracket I made
http://www.nicksreef.com/images/diy/...%20bracket.JPG


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Unread 03/14/2004, 10:45 PM   #102
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Nicely done, Nick!


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Unread 03/14/2004, 10:57 PM   #103
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My only problem is it makes it a bit hard to feed the food is blown around so much I really want the ability to turn them on and off hehe and if I put one on the other side of the tank it will be impossable to feed haha It would be a pain to have to pull it out of the water each time i restart it :P...

and thanks


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Unread 03/14/2004, 11:09 PM   #104
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Don't worry about that. Your reef will figure out how to catch the fast moving food. I used to stop my Tunze (700 gph) but now I let my fat fish get some exercise at meal times.


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Unread 03/14/2004, 11:18 PM   #105
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Hehe good point
Also wanted to mention on my joining of the 3/16" acrylic tube to the magnet portion of the impeller both my super glue and hot melt failed. I finely went with taking the push button portion of a pen out that happen to slip snuggly over the 3/16" tube put superglue under it slid it down over the tube and the magnetic portion of the impeller like a collar and glued both sides of it with super glue and now its really strong. Hope that makes since haha


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Unread 03/14/2004, 11:24 PM   #106
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You might have better success with Super Glue Gel.


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Unread 03/14/2004, 11:31 PM   #107
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Yea thats what I used when I made the connection with the plastic collar.

Is the gel totaly different than the normal super glue? Thats alittle off subject but just curious..


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Unread 03/14/2004, 11:55 PM   #108
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We use it to mount frags and it holds nicely. I figured it might work well for your project too, but I'm only guessing.


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Unread 03/15/2004, 12:49 AM   #109
SaltwaterSensei
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I just started making one of these after reading this thread!

now I can spend my "tunze Stream Fund" on something else!!! that is if mine works...lol

Great thread guys keep the pics coming


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Unread 03/15/2004, 12:54 AM   #110
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SaltwaterSensei, Hey since you can spend that fund on somethin else you can finely get that 5000 gal starfire tank you have been looking at haha :P

Hope yours works out Ied like to see pictures of other peoples also

Mine is still running away in my tank been in there.. .about 3 hours and havent broken yet woohoo


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Unread 03/15/2004, 02:19 AM   #111
SaltwaterSensei
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HAHAHAH serious those streams are so expensive! I think I can finally buy some big chunks of sps...


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Unread 03/15/2004, 11:15 PM   #112
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Anyone else coming along with one of these?

I think iv noticed a problem.. The shaft seemed to be wobbling more than last night (was a very slight wobble) so i took it out and looked at it and the whole I drilled in the cover that normally holds the impeller in where the 3/16" tube came out has gotten bigger... When I first drilled the hole it was very close.. not snug but very close.. now you can see all the way around it so its like we need some kind of bearing or something in there to protect the seemingly soft plastic of the maxi jets.


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Unread 03/16/2004, 09:26 AM   #113
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Niko5,

What propeller did you use? I think this is going to be my weekend project.

Later
JimC.


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Unread 03/16/2004, 10:30 AM   #114
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I used alittle red all plastic one from the hobby shop i beleve made by traxis... its the only one ithout any metal in it.


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Unread 03/16/2004, 10:56 AM   #115
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Yea mine bounces around to. Actually you probably don't even need the end cap. Another powerhead that I got (one of those silly back and forth jobs) - is such that there is no endcap. So the shaft and propeller just stick out from the body. I keep the endcap on mine just cause, but now that I think about it - I wonder if it's doing any good anyway?

I bought every propeller I could find in the hobby shop (hey when you drive from podunk little town to the Big City - and they cost like $1.00 each - so what?). I had to end up savaging the larger ones real good so that the thing would spin underwater.

Since the only things that move around my little tank are fish and shrimp – I haven’t yet put an anti-shredding device on it. It’s kinds cool to see a chunk of blender mush drift … drift … poof … shredded blender mush! Of course someday I’ll get something that moves around the tank without a brain – and will want to prevent shredding brainless creatures when I do


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Unread 03/16/2004, 11:11 AM   #116
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Oh yea - from what I've seen soft tissue - like blender mush - doesn't really need to hit the blades to get shredded. The water pressure alone can rip things apart. So my future anti-shredding device will have to be large enough to prevent that from happening.

Example: Coming home and finding the tatters of what was once a cucumber skin fluttering against the anti-shredding cage is not what I have in mind!

Or: Watching an anemone drift around . . . drift around . . . get too close the blades but not actually in contact . . . Hummmm guess I'd better start the water changes now.




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Unread 03/16/2004, 11:12 AM   #117
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DonJasper, why dont you make the guard like I did with 1 1/2" pipe with slits cut in it. The slits are still plenty big for small snails and blinder mush to be sucked in just saves your fish and shrimp

Also I think the maxi jets are to loose inside if i ran it without that cover the whole shaft would shoot out if it spon backwards or it would wobble to much to move.


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Unread 03/16/2004, 11:13 AM   #118
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Oh and also I need to come up to your hobby shop. Im paying 4 and 5 bucks each for my props


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Unread 03/16/2004, 03:44 PM   #119
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Do these props come in different pitches?


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Unread 03/16/2004, 04:02 PM   #120
niko5
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As far as i know they dont come in spacific pitches. Theres the one like I got for your basic cheap rc boat and then there is the precision racing props but most of those have brass inserts in them to lock to the shaft.


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Unread 03/16/2004, 04:26 PM   #121
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I hate you guys!!! another thing for me to dream about building and wrecking the entire living room with :/.

hehe j/k this is a good idea and simple I might try this one for the heck of it this weekend.


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Unread 03/16/2004, 04:37 PM   #122
ejmeier
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Quote:
Originally posted by niko5
I think iv noticed a problem.. The shaft seemed to be wobbling more than last night (was a very slight wobble) so i took it out and looked at it and the whole I drilled in the cover that normally holds the impeller in where the 3/16" tube came out has gotten bigger... When I first drilled the hole it was very close.. not snug but very close.. now you can see all the way around it so its like we need some kind of bearing or something in there to protect the seemingly soft plastic of the maxi jets.
This is what I have been having trouble with too.

I actually did a slightly different mod, but only by accident. What I did was not glue the magnet to the shaft, I just let the shaft stabilize the magnet, and glued the 3/16" airline tubing into the magnet.

I used the regular maxi-jet cover (with a hole slightly bigger than 3/16" to accommodate the propeller shaft) and it ran for a few days. I took it apart and found the exact opposite of you niko - in my case the maxi-jet cover was wearing through the rigid airline tubing. It was almost all the way through, so I had to come up with a new way to stabilize the shaft.

What I did was first got rid of the maxi-jet cover, and used a ~1" length of vinyl tubing with an ID slightly bigger than 3/16", and an OD of 1/4". I then slid this piece of tubing inside another piece of tubing with a ID of 1/4" and OD of 3/8" of thereabouts. Anyway, from there I slid this into the opening of the maxi-jet to form a makeshift "bushing" that would fit snugly into the maxi-jet body, and also stabilize the shaft. (This way, it was not one specific point contacting and wearing away the shaft, but a 1" length of tubing.

Anyway, now that you mention it, my MJ1200 mod is getting louder each day. I am guessing that something is wearing away in the bushing I made, as it seems to vibrate much more than usual.


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Unread 03/16/2004, 04:53 PM   #123
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can you get some pics of that? sounds like a good idea... but waht about using a 1" piece of teflon tube rather than acrylic tube like you did.. the teflon would give it a nice smooth something to rub on... maybe.. .im sure usplastic will have soemthin ill check that later


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Unread 03/16/2004, 05:09 PM   #124
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Sorry, my "thing" is mounted in my tank with the guard epoxied in place, so no pictures of the bushing. Anyway, I think the point is moot as it is not holding up long term.

That is what I think is key here: long term reliability. This project is turning into a complete jury-rig.

Anyway, teflon tube??? What are you taking about? Also, I didn't use an acrylic tube, it was just the soft vinyl tubing that you get at hardware stores.


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Unread 03/16/2004, 05:16 PM   #125
niko5
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All i can find is Teflon Rod but that would work just drill the 3/16" hole down the center..
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pro...=Teflon%AE+Rod
The teflon wont ware down and it will make a very smooth bushing

Anyone else think this might work before I try it? hehe


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