DIY Power head Mod

[Achilles Tang]

I finally got around to a DIY project that is long over due. As we all know there have been scores of ideas on how to make our power heads less aggressive and more just about water movement. Here is my idea and it actually works much better than expected. My maxi jets are transformed from a strong single stream to a gentle large water movement. And it only cost me about $1.

[Achilles Tang]

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[Achilles Tang]

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[evhwolfgang]

That's sweet...can u detail the parts used and how you made the connections?

Greg

[otolith]

Care to explain what you just did?

[Achilles Tang]

Really a very simple project. Parts list consists of:
1 – 1 ½” PVC cap
a piece of scrap acrylic
and a ¼”X20 thumb screw

Cut or sand the open end of the cap to get a rough surface.
Glue it to a piece of scrap acrylic.
Router off the excess acrylic with a pattern bit.
Made four cuts with a sawsall blade across the face of the cap.
I drilled a ¼” hole through the cap face and the acrylic.
Widened the acrylic side with a 1/2” drill bit.
Then glued the tube that the maxi jet diverter is attached to on to the acrylic over the hole I drilled (again sanding the tube to get a rough surface.
Screwed a ¼”X20 thumb screw into the 1/4” hole in the cap so the stream would have to go around it to my cuts before exiting.
Cap was like 29 cents Don’t remember how much thumb screws were exactly but it was like 25 cents Here’s a side profile to see how it went together.

[Soltaker]

Looks nice

[Energy]

Here is a picture of my favorite MJ1200 Modification. I found this on Reef central and tried it. What a difference it made. It ki8nd of turned my powerhead into a Tunze!. I also found out if you put it on a wavemaker which turns it off and on it will switch the flow by 45 degrees evertime it goes back on! This is the before picture. This is the before picture- a standard mj 1200.

[Energy]

This is a picture of it on the chopping block. A simple cut-off saw or whatever you have to remove the end or outspout down to the base.

[Energy]

This is what it should look like when your done. By removing the outspout you eliminate the jet like stream without compromising any flow! This creates a wide gentle stream!

[Achilles Tang]

Energy,
Interesting.. The stream must be cone like? Still strong by powerhead but feathering out much quicker. What causes the shift in direction?

[Energy]

I think the impeller spins because of a magnet inside the powerhead. Each time the powerhead starts up the magnet of the impeller can start spinning either direction dependent on resistance. For some reason it seems to switch direction each time it starts up.

[Jive Turkey]

I have two of these modified 1200s on a Red Sea wavemaker.

It was said on RC that the flow would alternate 45 degrees very time the PH was turned off/on. I seems more like 30 d to me, and it doesn't alternate regularly(75%), but it still is a great mod and I plan to keep them when the closed loop is added.

Very easy to slice the tube off. I used a mounted jigsaw the first time, and in a vice with a new hacksaw the second time.


Joe