Hi all,
It's been a while since I last posted here. (Admin, could you reset the p/w on my account, please? I lost my email and I can't log in to my account. Thank you! *audioactive08*)
I've postponed my reef tank ever since I stopped being a bum and became a full-time dad to a ever-so-adorable 3 month old baby boy. But I'll be starting up a new system and this time it will be for keeps.
(The plan would be some high output LED's for lighting, Sicce, hydor pumps or hopefully vortechs for circulation and the old skimmer I have for filtration... but it's still on the planning stage and I'm not about to start the tank again unless I have all the requisites above.)
Anyways,
Here's a plan for making an external pump from old RC motors or small brushless motors. I'm planning to use this for a pico tank.
Why make them:
-I have lots of motors lying around in the house, from old fans and RC's.
-It's easy to make
-Thermal management I want to eliminate most of the heat sources, one of the biggest challenges in keeping reef tanks is how to stabilize temperature. Since pumps/powerheads give off a lot of heat, having an external pump will be a very good idea.
-Cheap
-I'm getting tired of pumps conking out and crashing my tank and/or electrecuting the crap out of me (if ever this pump breaks, it's not IN my tank)
-A part of a contigency plan in case of power outages, aside from battery operated airpumps
The downsides:
-Range and direction/angle of flow is LIMITED
-Can be unsightly and bulky, depending on the parts you are going to use
Here's a crappy illustration, hopefully it makes some sense:
A prototype of the plan:
I found a 110v, 17w motor from the junk I have.
The propeller is made out of a tin sheet. The motor is very strong anyway so I'm not worried about propeller pitch and balance. I just want to see how much water current this baby can produce.
Questions:
What type of motor would be the best to use and where can I buy one specifically? I'm planning to use a low voltage motor that can be controlled. 12-24v would be nice.
Any ideas where to buy boat propellers? Went to SM megamall before, wala daw sila ng 1.75 na dumas o octura props. (If you guys can remember the stream/maxijet mods posted here you'd get the idea)
Inputs and suggestions regarding this project is very much appreciated. TIA.