Sump Cleaner

[Pedro]

I bought one of these and found it to be pretty weak at picking up the dirt, although what it did pick up was great. The best part about it is that the filter is cleanable. So an idea came up in my head and here's my DIY turbo charged sump cleaner.

You need one of these:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3895&N=2004+113164

And one of these:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...oductId=2049693&support=support&tab=techSpecs

The idea is to eliminate the need for batteries thus allowing you to work on the sump non-stop without discharging anything. At 6volts and requiring 4 aa batteries, i wasn't happy. But i knew it had potential. So i used one of my adapters that i had, similar to the one shown and cutoff the head leaving me with just 2 wires. The concept is that each battery terminal gets one wire, positive to positive and negative to negative. With this style it will be on whenever it's plugged in. I didn't want that. So i decided to use the built in switch for the unit. By splitting the positive wire across the switch, you now have a means to turn it on/off. I had to solder the wires in place.

With the variable voltage, you can change it to make the magnet spin faster and creating more suction which is what i wanted. Now it picks up anything in it's sight. I found 7.5v to be sufficient but you can go 9v if need be. After it picks up the dirt and detritus, just take off the filter and rinse off. Simple as that.

This sounds expensive, but keep in mind that i already had the adapter, so it's no big deal. ALSO this is simply meant to clean in between water changes, not to replace it! Did i make that clear?

Anyways, just sharing another diy project. Any questions feel free to ask.

 

[twinreef]

do u think by giving it more voltage it reduces the life of the motor? i might do this i seems pretty cool idea.

 

[Pedro]

Jorge, i don't think the increase is that much to cause any harm. I mean it's going from 6v to 7.5v. And you will only have it on for the sump cleaning, not for continous use. The propeller is magnetic and fits over a slot that provides the current to spin it, similar to a stirrer.

Think of pumps from europe, when you use them here they spin faster due to the frequency. It doesn't really have a major effect on them. It's when you really push the envelope that it can malfunction. But i am a guinea pig so i will see what (if any) issues arise.

 

[FRY]

you can find these at any 99 cent stores for $5.99

 

[Pedro]

Yeah Fry, that's cheaper. All you need is a 7.5vdc or so transformer, doesn't have to be brand name. I just used what i had available, albeit expensive.

Thanks for the pic.

 

[crox99]

I use to have one of those siphons but using batteries I never had good results with it so it went in the trash. You should've told me earlier to use a transformer.