Which of these two materials should I use for mesh wheel mod?

CBehr · 12/17/2007, 04:48 PM

Which one of these would work better, the blue, or like 2-3 layers of the black? Or...is there a better alternative?

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mg426 · 12/17/2007, 05:07 PM

I think the Enkamet is the favorite choice now a days.

CBehr · 12/18/2007, 07:04 AM

any recomendation as to where I can get a little piece?

CBehr · 12/19/2007, 01:59 PM

anyone know where I can get a tiny piece?

kar93 · 12/19/2007, 02:03 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/Enkamat-P4-for-n...QQcmdZViewItem

CBehr · 12/19/2007, 03:11 PM

Isn't that super similar to the material i have pictured?

surfjeepzx · 12/19/2007, 03:41 PM

This is what I used in my modded pump. It's a piece of an abrasive disc used for sanding with a drill. I cut it down and shaped it to fir the impeller in my Cap 2100. It has been working flawlessly now for several months. Best part is you can find this at any hardware store. It's made by 3m and costs a few bucks.

Frick-n-Frags · 12/19/2007, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by surfjeepzx
This is what I used in my modded pump. It's a piece of an abrasive disc used for sanding with a drill. I cut it down and shaped it to fir the impeller in my Cap 2100. It has been working flawlessly now for several months. Best part is you can find this at any hardware store. It's made by 3m and costs a few bucks.

that looks cool. How much actual modification did you have to do to the impeller to implement that?

surfjeepzx · 12/19/2007, 05:45 PM

The paddlewheel impeller was narrowed with a small grinder. I turned the impeller slowly in one hand as I used a grinder to thin the blades. Then I used .020 stainless steel wire to tie the mesh to the blades. Then I trimmed around the mesh to make it tidy.

You will wear out a set of scissors working with this stuff. I had to cut it in half to make it thinner then shrink it by cutting around the edges, but it works great.

jrpdriver · 12/19/2007, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by surfjeepzx
The paddlewheel impeller was narrowed with a small grinder. I turned the impeller slowly in one hand as I used a grinder to thin the blades. Then I used .020 stainless steel wire to tie the mesh to the blades. Then I trimmed around the mesh to make it tidy.

You will wear out a set of scissors working with this stuff. I had to cut it in half to make it thinner then shrink it by cutting around the edges, but it works great.

I heard that even stainless steel will leach metal into saltwater, I realize that that little bit of wire probobly isn't enough to hurt anything, just something to keep an eye on

CBehr · 12/20/2007, 03:26 PM

anyone?

liquidlunch · 12/20/2007, 03:56 PM

I used Enkamat purchased on ebay. When you search for "mesh mod" on any board, 9 out of 10 times people used Enkamat. Many people use zip ties to secure it but I used 25lb test fishing line. The line is similar to the fibers of the Enkamat and has a lesser chance of hitting the pump housing.

12/17/2007, 04:48 PM	#1
CBehr Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ephrata, PA Posts: 588	Which of these two materials should I use for mesh wheel mod? Which one of these would work better, the blue, or like 2-3 layers of the black? Or...is there a better alternative? __________________ 1st time w/o a tank in 10+ years. Planning 65g..mainly fish, maybe a few LPS/Softies

12/17/2007, 05:07 PM	#2
mg426 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: maryland Posts: 6,923	I think the Enkamet is the favorite choice now a days. __________________ I found a way to make a small fortune running a reef tank. Start with a large fortune. Unofficial President of the SEACLONE haters club Current Tank Info: 125 mixed reef 110 lbs LR, 1x250watt XM 20K MH 2x175watt XM 20K MH on Magetics 2X96 watt actinic PC, 220 watt VHO actinic, 30 gallon refugium, closed loop system powered by Sequence Dart MSX 200 skimmer 38 gallon sump, Oceansmotions squirt

12/18/2007, 07:04 AM	#3
CBehr Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ephrata, PA Posts: 588	any recomendation as to where I can get a little piece? __________________ 1st time w/o a tank in 10+ years. Planning 65g..mainly fish, maybe a few LPS/Softies

12/19/2007, 01:59 PM	#4
CBehr Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ephrata, PA Posts: 588	anyone know where I can get a tiny piece? __________________ 1st time w/o a tank in 10+ years. Planning 65g..mainly fish, maybe a few LPS/Softies

12/19/2007, 03:11 PM	#6
CBehr Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ephrata, PA Posts: 588	Isn't that super similar to the material i have pictured? __________________ 1st time w/o a tank in 10+ years. Planning 65g..mainly fish, maybe a few LPS/Softies

12/19/2007, 02:03 PM	#5
kar93 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Lincoln Posts: 5,521	http://cgi.ebay.com/Enkamat-P4-for-n...QQcmdZViewItem

12/19/2007, 03:41 PM	#7
surfjeepzx Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Wilbur by the Sea, FL Posts: 842	This is what I used in my modded pump. It's a piece of an abrasive disc used for sanding with a drill. I cut it down and shaped it to fir the impeller in my Cap 2100. It has been working flawlessly now for several months. Best part is you can find this at any hardware store. It's made by 3m and costs a few bucks.

12/19/2007, 05:45 PM	#9
surfjeepzx Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Wilbur by the Sea, FL Posts: 842	The paddlewheel impeller was narrowed with a small grinder. I turned the impeller slowly in one hand as I used a grinder to thin the blades. Then I used .020 stainless steel wire to tie the mesh to the blades. Then I trimmed around the mesh to make it tidy. You will wear out a set of scissors working with this stuff. I had to cut it in half to make it thinner then shrink it by cutting around the edges, but it works great. __________________ << All that matters Current Tank Info: 135 Acrylic flatback hex. 30 gallon sump. Twin Coralvue 250w MH's w/ 14k Hamiltons, Icecap 660 VHO, 4 URI reflected 110 actinic's. Rio 17hf return & 2 mj1200's (mod'd) pwrhds in tank. All natural... seawater

12/20/2007, 03:26 PM	#11
CBehr Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ephrata, PA Posts: 588	anyone? __________________ 1st time w/o a tank in 10+ years. Planning 65g..mainly fish, maybe a few LPS/Softies

12/20/2007, 03:56 PM	#12
liquidlunch Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Neptune, NJ Posts: 503	I used Enkamat purchased on ebay. When you search for "mesh mod" on any board, 9 out of 10 times people used Enkamat. Many people use zip ties to secure it but I used 25lb test fishing line. The line is similar to the fibers of the Enkamat and has a lesser chance of hitting the pump housing.