MAXI JET 600

thinhthan

i just got two maxi jets 600 and i was wondering if the upgrade thing they have for it a good thing to do? i got a 55 gallon

conger

I haven't actually acquired the upgrade kit or seen it in person, but from reading reviews and such about it, it sounds like the upgrade makes it fairly bulky or large. I'd suggest that you try to get a good feel for the exact dimensions of the unit + upgrade, and then decide if its something you wouldn't mind have hanging on the walls of your tank.

As far as functionality, if it works as-advertised, then I'd say it is a decent buy as it substantially increases the water flow, and also (I think) produces more of a cone-shaped column of flow similar to the Koralia powerheads as opposed to the more beam-like output of the un-altered MJ powerheads. Again, thats only from a functionality perspective, and assuming it works as advertised. Hope this helps!

thinhthan

ok i think ill give them a shot. how would i know if they are better?

conger

well, in my mind "better" means a couple of things: (1) much higher flow rate, the MJ600 normally provides 160 gph, whereas the modified version supposedly provides 1400 gph (a huge difference!), and (2) instead of having a thin column or beam of intense flow, as is the case with the unmodified MJ powerheads, the upgrade provides a much wider and "gentle" flow, which is less likely to irritate corals or stress fish if its positioned poorly.

The wider, more gentle flow is more natural than a thin, intense beam. You could always point an unmodified MJ upwards towards the surface, or off to the side to deflect the flow off of the glass, but you still would only be getting 160 gph. I guess the main improvement which makes the upgraded MJ better is the substantial increase is flow from 160 gph to 1400 gph (almost 9 times more!).

thinhthan

so do you think its a good idea i should try this or do you thing its just a waste of money? do you think it will work?

conger

ah, see I'm hesitant to tell you straight up whether or not you should do
it, since I haven't personally ever seen or used the upgrade. Assuming it
works as-advertised, then I would definitely say its worth the money, I
think its only around $20 and gives you a very significant increase in flow
rate, which is a good thing. But also like I said earlier, I've read some
people say that it is kinda bulky and unattractive, thus my suggestion to
try and get a feel for how big it actually is just by looking at product
pages and finding dimensions, and then decide whether or not you think it
will be unattractive in your tank.

I'll do a brief search for a review page where people who have bought
and used it give their reviews of it. I'd suggest reading those reviews,
then decide for yourself. I'm just trying to protect myself (and you!) from
giving you bad advice :) Here, check out these pages (note that one is
for MJ900 or 1200 only, the other is for MJ400-900.. also, it appears that
more than one company make mod kits for the MJ):

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...551~tab~4.html
http://www.petstore.com/ps_viewitem-...111-tab-4.html

definitely read through all the reviews, some are good and some are bad.
But, ultimately you'll have to decide for yourself, unless someone else
chimes in here who has actually had them. Sorry I can't give you a direct
recommendation! But again, since I haven't personally used it, all I can
do is comment on whether or not it "seems" like a good thing based on
the product claims.

Maybe one idea would be to purchase one upgrade kit and try it out...
that way, if it doesn't turn out like you had hoped, you're only out a few
bucks.

thinhthan

ok well ima buy one and try it out how can i tell if there is more movement?

conger

you should be able to tell just by watching the tank. Try to get a feel for what the water movement is like with the unmodified powerhead, and then once you apply the upgrade and put it back in the tank, you should notice significant more water movement.

Even if the water is very clean and clear, you should still be able to tell based on movement of fish, increased waving of any corals or algae, maybe even the sand on the bottom blowing around a little bit. Even in tanks with very clear water, if you have ANY visible things floating in the water (even if they are just tiny microbubbles or other stuff), just watch that.

Alternately, if you use supplements like PurpleUp or some other liquid calcium, or really any non-clear supplements (or food even!), watching how quickly it gets blown around when added to the tank is another good way.

For me personally, I initially had two MaxiJet 1200s in my 90 gal. When I added a single Koralia #4 powerhead, it was very obvious to me the increase in flow in the tank, based on all of the things I listed above. I don't know of any way to get exact measurements, but again, adding several hundred GPH of movement in the tank should be very obvious in a number of ways. Let us know what you think once you get the upgrade running, you may be the first on this site to try it out!

thinhthan

do you think i should get the upgrade or just get 2 more maxi jet 600? i was thinking about just getting two more and having each one facing fourward.