The "Hitchhiker's Guide" to the Maxi-Stream mod

[elmexotics]

WOW!! What a diiference in flow. getting ready to do my other one. I did the 600's and can't wait to do the 900's now.

[Rick2203]

Originally posted by kookerson
I remember reading in his original thread that Bulldozer tried glueing the original triple suction cup holder (the one that comes with the maxijet) directly to the back of the powerhead....anyone ever hear if it worked out or not?

this is what i did, i just crazy glued it to the maxi get and let it dry overnight and have no problems with it it holds pretty good

[surfjeepzx]

Originally posted by kookerson
Alright.....I finally completed the assembly..... and it works great, even though I only used one prop, I didnt want too much flow. But it seems that no matter what I do, i cant get rid of that rattling noise, everything is as centered as I can get it......so is there anything else that it could be?

I've done several of these mods now and have experienced several of the vibration issues. My mods were done using the carbon fiber rod and tubing I purchased at a local hobby store.

When you install the carbon fiber or rigid tubing through the magnet there are 2 things to look for which will cause vibration. The first is the rod must spin freely in the tube with absolutely no friction or bumps. You'll notice that when you remove the plastic piece from the magnet the hole in the manet is oblong. When you insert the rod through the magnet, if it's a tight fit it will make the tubing pinch. That in turn will oblong the inside diameter of the tubing.

In my case that happens each time I install the carbon fiber tube through the magnet. With the magnet installed on the tube I use a drill bit of the same size as the inside of the tube and slowly run it up through the tube past the magnet.

This rounds out the hole in the tubing and stops the vibration.

The other thing that causes vibration is mounting the magnet too far up the tube. Look at the plastic piece you removed from the magnet and compare that to the length of tubing exitting the magnet. There should only be about 1/4" or less. Make sure that the tubing is cut square also and is not at an angle.

I modded a 900 this morning for a friend that owns/operates an aquarium store and he was blown away by the flow a 900 produced with the 1435 prop. He now has asked me to build several more 1200 versions for some of his customers show tanks. What have I gotten myself into?

So take your pump apart and recheck that the shaft spins freely, that the rod lentgh exiting the magnet is 1/4" or slightly less, and that the tubing is cut squarely and smooth.

[chirocato]

Is there a page on DIYing the vortex guards? Any ideas where? Thanks.

[coyoteseven]

OK, after reading this thread since the very first one (4 splits and 15 pages ago), I'm going to attempt to mod a couple of MJ900s I have... wish me luck.

[foshizzle]

Originally posted by dhnguyen
By the way for all intents and purposes, the original build method of using the flex airline tubing to connect the magnet to the propeller still works just as well as the new "tube in magnet" build. Just be sure to remember to use the black airline tube that came with the original Maxijet instead of the clear airline tubing and you should be fine. With the original build, it is the clear flex airline that eventually stretched, gave way, and failed whereas if you're using the black tube this won't happen.

I'm trying to dig up some of the black tube. Is this the glossy stuff?

[dpieroni]

Hello I have made with similar maxijet 1200 pumps and using octura 3004 and the flow are great.
I have mode also a 450gph pump and there seem no diference with the 280gph models.
One pump uses 13w and the biger pump use 26w.
Is there a bigger propeller to use in bigger pumps? perhaps a 2 inch pump?
Anybody know where to buy?
thanks
diego

[ellisz]

Been awhile since I have been on this thread but I have a question ...

I have a MJ1200 with a high flow kit from MJmods. It has the Dumas 3004 prop. I was working pretty good in my PH but then I noticed the piece that keeps the rod from sliding to the backside of the Maxijet was gone. It was causing the propeller assembly to sit too far bck and come out of the centering cap.

I tried a different MJ1200 and it keeps reversing itself. I put a stopper in the housing but it just causes the prop to comes loose from the shaft. I have tried trimming the prop a bit but it keeps doing it.

Do you think I could just keep trimming the prop until it stops or should i get a new MJ1200?

[dhnguyen]

Originally posted by foshizzle
I'm trying to dig up some of the black tube. Is this the glossy stuff?

yes

[dhnguyen]

Originally posted by ellisz
Been awhile since I have been on this thread but I have a question ...

I have a MJ1200 with a high flow kit from MJmods. It has the Dumas 3004 prop. I was working pretty good in my PH but then I noticed the piece that keeps the rod from sliding to the backside of the Maxijet was gone. It was causing the propeller assembly to sit too far bck and come out of the centering cap.

I tried a different MJ1200 and it keeps reversing itself. I put a stopper in the housing but it just causes the prop to comes loose from the shaft. I have tried trimming the prop a bit but it keeps doing it.

Do you think I could just keep trimming the prop until it stops or should i get a new MJ1200?

I am having a tough time visualizing what the actual problem is from your description. Any pics?


D.

[dhnguyen]

Originally posted by dpieroni
Hello I have made with similar maxijet 1200 pumps and using octura 3004 and the flow are great.
I have mode also a 450gph pump and there seem no diference with the 280gph models.
One pump uses 13w and the biger pump use 26w.
Is there a bigger propeller to use in bigger pumps? perhaps a 2 inch pump?
Anybody know where to buy?
thanks
diego

This is the only place I know that makes large plastic propellers.

Octura Models, Inc.
7351 North Hamlin Ave.
Skokie, Illinios 60076
(847) 674-7351

You have to mail or call them for a catalog and all ordering are done via phone or regular mail as well. I am pretty sure they also ship outside the US.


D.

[ellisz]

If you pull off the little plate on the top of the MJ, you will see a round piece. I now have one where this piece is gone and you can see all the through to the bottom of the MJ. When you put the impeller assembly in the MJ, the black/red cap on the SS shaft actually sticks through to the other side. Make sense? I am not sure if this is even fixable...

I just pulled the impeller assembly & shroud with the Dumas prop and put it in a different MJ1200. It has trouble spinning the correct way though. It starts good but when I come back later, it is sucking water instead of pushing water. I added the acrylic stopper but it just causes the prop to be knocked loose. I would like to use the kit without buying a new MJ.

Thanks

[ellisz]

I took the prop out and put it in a drill and ran it over some sand paper. The prop is still reversing direction on its own. Can I try and shae off some more of the prop or would moving the prop down more on the shaft help?

I love the flow but the hammer coral right underneath hates it when it switches!

[dpieroni]

Thanks, I have the catalog, the problem is that there are two many props and do not know which can be usefull.
I can see that the octura are same in diameter but bigger on the high of the propeller.
Can someone tell which propeller can be used?
thanks
diego

[ellisz]

I took the sand paper to it again and it is finally staying in the same direction! Very nice flow ...

[Joshsmit56001]

I ordered my mjmods high flow kit and can't wait to do this mod, my corals will love it!

[Joshsmit56001]

I modded my MJ 1200's with the highflow kits from mjmods.com and I am having a lot of vibrational noise from both pumps. I tried everything I could to minimize the noise but it is still really annoying. The prop spins freely on both powerheads but just has a vibration to both. Is there something I can do to fix this issue?

[dhnguyen]

how much play is there between the rigid tubing and the stainless steel shaft? If there is too much it will cause excessive vibration. You may need to find yourself a rigid tube with a smaller inside diameter.

D.

[RichConley]

How is the pump attached? When I tried to use suction cups/etc, it made a bit of noise. When hard mounted to magnets, they were dead quiet.

[Joshsmit56001]

Whatg magnets did you use? My glass is at least 1/2", closer to 5/8". It is a 150 gallon.

[Wett Hands]

Well I modded 2 mj1200's thursday and put them in my tank last night...

One using black fiber tube, one with clear rigid tube. I knew right away that the fiber tube would out perform the clear because the shaft spun smoother and got more revolutions when I spun it with my finger. The shafts were a hair long and caused the shroud's cap to come off: Easy fix, A few seconds with a dremel and problem resolved. Once assembled I had a problem with the shroud popping off from the force of the prop hitting the stopper. One small drop of superglue fixed that. After that I turned them on and...

HOLY @#$!#! The flow these things put out is awsome! I'm not sure my juvie clown liked being sent across the tank into the glass.

One 1200 is using a bracket to hang on tank. Some noise/vibration issues. It was too close to water level, even with the guard in place I got a pair of funnels on each side that would occasionally pull air into the shroud. I had to get them 3 1/2 - 4 inches below the surface to prevent this. that normal?

The other 1200 is attached with magnets. They are homemade and not as secure as I'd like it to be but infinately quieter. I will get stronger magnets later.

The surface of the water is pretty turbulant, almost too much so. I tried to lower the power heads a bit but then it kicks up sand. I still have a cloud/some haze that dosent seem to have settled. Hopefully when I get home from work the water will be clear again. Think I should use my canister filter if it's not?

I'm wondering if 2 1200's are too much for my 75 gal...

TIA in advance for suggestions everyone!

[dngspot]

After spending some time working on the shroud I have finished two AC-70 stream mods. They are putting out pretty close to 3000 gph, as per a bag test. The two are facing each other and about six inched below the water, every now and then they will create a 2 inch deep whirl pool in the center of the tank. My tank is 6 feet wide.
I took Ball's advice and used wildcat 1.5x1.5 props. The shaft is made from a pen, that has a key way cut into it for the impeller magnet. On the other end I installed ro tubing, then nylon screw and prop.
It does start backward some times but this is fine, it is correctible when the power is turned off then on.

[Wett Hands]

Originally posted by dngspot
...They are putting out pretty close to 3000 gph, as per a bag test...

Whats the 'bag test' ?

[RichConley]

Just a tip for you guys:

Take the stainless/carbon shaft, and feed it into a dremel like a bit. Tighten up the collet, and slip the shaft inside the airline/carbon tube, and turn the dremel one for a minute or two. It'll smooth everything out, and make them run much quieter.

[dngspot]

Originally posted by Wett Hands
Whats the 'bag test' ?

I used a 2.5 gallon plastic bag and put it over the outlet of the pump. I then turned the pump on and watched how long it took to fill the bag. It took 3 seconds.
Divide the seconds into 60, take that total and multiply the size of your bag, take that total and multiply it by 60 and you will have total gph.
My example was 60 divided by 3 seconds to fill the bag =20. 20X2.5 gallon bag=50 gallons. 50X60 minuets=3000 gph.
Hope this helps and does not confuse.
David