andy

I called all the hobby shop in the PDX phonebook (okay... dexonline) and the only one that had RC boat props in stock was Tammies. I might have missed one, but shipping is cheap enough that it's really no big deal to order exactly what you want.

www.towerhobbies.com stocks Dumas props.

www.funrcboats.com stocks Octura props.

Tried them, they don't.

HD has a mediocre selection of nylon hardware. Parkrose Hardware has a much better selection, which is good because I need to buy some to fix the bloody Gen-X needlewheel pump I broke again. You get what you pay for...

I got my Octuras at Tammies in Beaverton, and last time I called them they didn't seem to have restocked. I haven't found another shop in Portland that stocks RC boat accessories. I think you'd have to mailorder.

Have you measured the flow? I'm working toward a predominantly LPS 55gal, and don't want a Kraken-infested whirlpool in the center of my tank. Kraken love frogspawn, I hear...

Which MJ are you pushing the dumas 1.75" with?

Octura 2035, but sanded down a bit -- the MJ600 couldn't drive it reliably 'stock'. I was trying to get a 1435, but since this MJMod combined with my Mag-5 return gives me a flow of 20x I'm satisfied.

Brute-force mounting using nylon nuts and bolt, and the MJ mounting plate. Works pretty well.

I'm jealous. Cutting the shrouds evenly on a table saw is a bugger.

Edit: Oh yeah, I measured the flow (the 1gal bag method) on my MJ600 w/ shaved Octura 2035 -- flowing 750 gph.

Well, I've finally got around to taking a few pics of my try at the mod. Here's what I managed:

I made the shroud out of schedule 80 PVC. I used my table saw for cutting the shroud to length, cutting the groove for the "grabbers" on the Maxijet, and cutting the slits.

The crossbrace is styrene and the shaft is carbon fiber rod. I'm currently using an Octura 2035 (which I had to shave down, it was too much prop for this particular Maxijet motor) but plan on replacing it with an Octura 1435 when I can lay my hands on one.

It's really quiet and pumps a LOT of water. I'm sure it'll give even more flow when I get the new prop.

Reefpedia is a pretty good start.

EDIT: Ironically, it seems that the inverts section of this site is kind'a undeveloped. Might still be worth a look, but...

I'm not an official member (yet), but would take one. Happy to pay in advance if you don't want to deplete the treasury.

Wow, very cool! It fires on all cylinders, tickling the aquarist, the gadget-freak, the nerd and the early-adopter in me ;-)

I've been wondering when something like this would come along. There have been huge advances in LED technology in the past few years, it's nice to see them find their way down.

I saw a posting at RC where someone had a similar problem -- their MH had melted through the brace. They replaced the brace with some metal cables bolted in place. I don't remember all the details, but in retrospect it seems like metal cables would really suffer from corrosion.

I'd probably try splitting the difference, and bolting a piece of acrylic in place (then covering the exposed bolt with nailpolish, or some other varnish). I'm not sure I'd trust a glue joint between two different types of plastic.

Andy

Wow, that's beautiful. You do very nice work, did you do the walnut inlays from scratch?