Needle wheel DIY modifications

ibnozn

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Mar 7, 2008
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I just did a MJ 1200 impeller. It's called a "mesh mod" by reefers if you want to do a search on the term. I poked 2 holes in each blade and tied on 2 layers of black gutter-guard mesh with fishing line. A sound dampening product called Enkamat seems to be the most preferred stuff to use for mesh. Probably just knots of fishing line added to your blades would work really well too.
 

mi5haha

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Oct 12, 2008
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use a real needle wheel pump in line with the canister as the two have the same power output.

For example, a 20W KING-2 needle wheel pump, in line (connected on the water out pipe of the canister filer) with a 20W canister filter. The pump can be placed outside the tank. The canister pump can rest when the needle wheel pump is running as Co2 is on, and the water is still running through the filter powered by the needle wheel pump.

The needle wheel pump can rest when Co2 is off, and let the canister filter work on its own power. So there is nothing seen in the tank for diffusion then.
 
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shoggoth43

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I have been told that running two pumps inline like this will shorten the life of both. It may be simpler to just stick a foam prefilter on the needlewheel unit so you can clean it regularly. Your tolerance for "stuff" in the tank may vary however.

-
S
 

mi5haha

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Oct 12, 2008
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shoggoth43;51633 said:
I have been told that running two pumps inline like this will shorten the life of both. It may be simpler to just stick a foam prefilter on the needle wheel unit so you can clean it regularly. Your tolerance for "stuff" in the tank may vary however.

-
S

only one unit is running, either the needle wheel pump, or the canister filter. the water output if two running together would be too strong.

use powerless prefilter with a needle wheel pump is a good idea. Power range must be carefully selected otherwise the needle wheel pump (if too small) may not be able to drive the skimmer.
 
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fjf888

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Oct 29, 2007
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Currently, I am running a RIO 800 rvt (I feed the CO2 right into the venturi) in my tank with impeller that is pictured below. My tank is 72G I'm not sure if I am getting a fine enough mist and I am wondering if this is efficient enough. It takes about 2 hours for the drop checking to turn a light shade of green from blue, which is just when I have the lights turn on. I turn the CO2 off about 4 hours before the end of the photoperiod, so I am running the CO2 for 6 hours total.

I was considering a rhinox 5000 diffusor and using the powerhead just for circulation. Does that make sense or would I just be wasting money. Here is the impeller, or should I mod my own impeller?

TA4523_99.jpg


Thanks
 

raay

Junior Poster
Apr 7, 2011
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My modified normal impeller
Main


I used two types of mod .at first made o circular disc .made a small hole in the centre andcut along the radius in only one side then i fixed it to the impeller with super glue,next i cut thin strips of plastic and stuck them with super glue

Untitled-1.jpg
 

Aces75 Planted

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I am using an internal DIY reactor (vortex type using a python gravel tube & powerhead), with the theory that it dissolves 95% of the Co2. I do see some very, very fine bubbles that pass thorough the coarse mesh in the bottom of the tube and escape into the water column. I am looking at getting a Koralia nano or maybe the Evo 550 or 750 to provide more flow (without the high pressure) and place it near the bottom of the gravel tube to distribute dissolved Co2 around the tank a little better. Am I understanding correctly that these powerhead "misting" solutions are more effective to distrubute Co2 than what I am using?

If not, thoughts on the correct size of Koralia for a 75G without making the tank a whirlpool? I'm not quite ready to take the wavemaker leap just yet. FYI- runnning a Eheim 2075 & Aquaclear 50 already (which I don't like because of the high pressure, but I like the quickfilter attachment, even though it's big and ugly it keeps my Eheim cleaner, and the water column near spotless)
 

Gerryd

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Sep 23, 2007
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Hi,

The needle wheels can chop up c02 to a much finer mist similar in some cases to a mazzei venturi. They have the added attraction of the flow can be directed somewhat and is ALL used for c02 dispersion.

Placing a small koralia I or II to help disperse the c02 outlet flow may prove useful...keep the c02 enriched water in the tank as long as possible....

The needle wheel can be used INSTEAD of a reactor....they can be either internal in the tank or external (sump, etc)
 

gsjmia

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I bought an 800 TAAM Rio powerhead to try to make a C02 chopper as described in this thread, but it made a very loud buzzing noise--could be heard 10 feet away.

6 months later, I tried again and bought another 800 and it made the same loud noise--both in the garbage.

I hunted down TAAM tech support and after about 20 calls, got a guy on the phone and asked him why the noise. He seemed surprised I was having noise--said they sold hundreds a day and no noise issues. I told him I wanted it for CO2 and he said I should try a RIO 600/venturi powerhead. I bought one on Amazon and it also made the same noise.

In case you are wondering, I tried all different ways to keep the air out--I even take the pumps apart and re-assemble in the tank to make sure no air is trapped in the impeller chamber.

One thing I noticed on the Rio 600 is that the ceramic shaft seemed to be a little bit smaller than the diameter of the hole in the impeller and there was a slight x-y axis looseness.

Next I bought a Rio 120, and it was finally quite--had a metal shaft-- but the impeller was a hard plastic and when I tried to cut the blades, chunks fell off.

What is going on with the Rio powerheads?

What is a good (quiet) alternative?

I have a 46 gal Bow Front with pressure C02.

Thanks
 

Tom Barr

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I suppose so, you want to increase the chop rate and the dwell time.

The Rio 1000 and the needle wheel impeller combo is a good choice, no DIY and good characters.
Taam sells the impeller direct, and you can get the powerheads anywhere etc.

This is the smallest as far as I know of, needle wheel modified brand name product.
 

GillesF

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Nov 1, 2010
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I want to use an Eheim 2311 on a 2.5g nano tank but that's about 30x the tank volume. I've read that Fluval use the same impellers for their filters but simply change the size of them. I'm thinking of cutting the impeller of the Eheim in half horizontally so it won't lose balance. I don't know how much the filter will reduce in GPH though.
 

HD Blazingwolf

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Mar 31, 2013
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so reading through this. is the co2 fed into the suction of the pump. or are you physically drilling into the impeller housing to add co2 there?
i feel like i've tried this multiple ways and my mist never gets as small as i'd like on my tank. the onyl way i reduce the size is reducethe maount of co2 i injecct which i can't do because my plants are stressed as it is, and live stock is almost to the gasping point

few details. 75 gallon. cpr wet/dry sump. about 500 gph flow rate. approx 100-110 PAR at the substrate which is Amazonia.
fish are clearly stressed. tank is kept meticulously clean and oxygen as has as can be kept. co2 drops ph abou 1.4-1.5 points.
PH meter isn't accurate enough to tell. plants are curling right below the new growth. happens only during the light cycle. im lost as to how to do this mod, i do feel it will help improve my overall growth
 

Gerryd

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Hi,

The c02 tube can be placed NEAR the inlet if you want. I used a rio pump for mine. This has a removable grate for the intake. It took 2 seconds to drill a small hole in it. The c02 tube then fits in there. Doesn't come loose and is directly into the impeller for all intents and purposes.

Note that 100-110 micromoles of PAR is very high light. I would lower it by 35-50% and do nothing else and see what happens. If fish are stressed by c02, then lowering the light will reduce the c02 need of the plants. Also, ensure you have some surface ripple to add 02 to the water, esp when c02 is ON.
 

HD Blazingwolf

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Mar 31, 2013
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thanks gerry, i do have more than sufficient surface ripple. and i have drilled a hole before. works quiet well actually!

indeed it is a lot of light. i was just hoping it was possible to keep going under those circumstances
 

Tom Barr

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Some run the Reactor post return pump, some run the reactor on a separate loop inside the sump area, but this requires another pump/powerhead(albeit a small one).
The sump area near the return pump then takes that CO2 rich water back to the main tank. This latter method seems to do best for removing the mist.
And with a smaller rate of flow, the mist is still produced, but you have more dwell time and less flow in the large reactors.
Larger gas bubbles burped out rise in the sump instead of the tank also.

There's a balance between too much flow through the reactor, (return pumps often have issues there), versus too little obviously(like ario 180 on a 200 gallon tank etc).
If you have a larger powerhead for the in sump design, then use a flow control valve, this is the best option IME.
Do you need a special needle wheel impeller?
No. Fraying the impeller dIY should be fine I think.
 

scoupland

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I have read through this thread and please help to see if I understand how I can applied the modified needle wheel idea to my situation. I have an 80 gal planted tank with a wet/dry sump for filtration. My return pump is a Sicce Syncra 2.0 with an adjustable return rate up to 568gph max is in my sump. My understanding is that I would not modify the needle wheel of my return pump and feed CO2 into it, but instead I could put a small pump with a modified needle wheel near my return pump and feed CO2 into it. The output of this small pump would be near the intake of the return pump. The small pumps I have on my shelf are a RIO 90 (85gph), Sicce Micra Plus (adjustable to 158gph), or a Maxijet 1200 (295gph). Would any of those work or do I need something more powerful? Am I understanding this correctly? Also, where is the best place to put my pH probe given this setup--in the sump, inline on the rerun line, or in the tank?