Guard for jebao slw-10

lolmatt · Apr 18, 2020

Hey everyone,
I just found my perfectly healthy clown fish sucked onto the back of my new slw-10. I got a pair of these powerheads about two weeks ago. The fish is still alive right now but not sure if he'll make it long term.

I found a 3d printed guard for a slw-20 online and contacted the seller but he was hesitant to try a smaller size without having the powerhead there.

Does anyone know of someone selling fish guitars for the slw-10? Or someone that would be willing to try printing a smaller one if I can give you some measurements with a pair of calipers?

TIA.

Here's a pic, you can see the lines where he was getting sucked in. He was on there for around an hour or two, I'm guessing.

Dierks · Apr 18, 2020

Shoot me a PM and I can help you out. PM me with the measurements and I can get it on the printer most likely tomorrow for Monday shipping.

lolmatt · Apr 18, 2020

Dierks said:
Shoot me a PM and I can help you out. PM me with the measurements and I can get it on the printer most likely tomorrow for Monday shipping.

Thank you so much. What dimensions do you want to know? I presume outside diameter plus distance from the rim to the glass? Will PM you tomorrow.

Dierks · Apr 18, 2020

You got it... Also how far the Wire is from the glass so I can make the cutout for that.

Crushadin · May 28, 2020

Hey guys, I was wondering if this project ever took off. Im in need of a guard for my Jebao SLW-10 as well. After some searching on the internet I cant seem to find any other resources or sellers that make a guard. This would be a massive help to me. Earlier today when I was at work I had a brand new anemone get sucked up into the pump and that was the last it was seen

. Thanks in advance

Dierks · May 30, 2020

We did just finish it! I just finished my prints for @lolmatt and will be sending them off tomorrow. So we dont have confirmation on the fit but we do have the design nailed down we think!

lolmatt · May 30, 2020

Nice! I'll take a few pics once I get them and post them here.

Thanks for the hard work on that @Dierks !

lolmatt · Jun 1, 2020

Holy cow that was the fastest usps shipping I've ever seen. I got the guards and installed them earlier this evening. Please don't make fun of my dirty tank, it's been running on return pump flow only for a few weeks.

Overall they turned out fantastic. Better than I imagined. The cutout for the cord is perfect and they extend all the way to the glass.

I did have to sand the inside slightly of both guards, just to clear up some of the printer artifacts, in order to get them to slide all the way on. A single pass with like 80 grit (I tore off a piece and just used my hand) did a great job and they fit super snug. I would not recommend scaling the print up at all, but maybe manually smoothing out the inside slightly with the next batch you print, they've gotta be like under by like 0.1mm or less in areas, I love the snug fit. Post-sand they're literally perfect.

Having the guards actually makes the slw-10 magnet mechanism feel more sturdy since there's a whole piece to stabilize the pump rather than just a rubber lip.

@Dierks for the next print you could even consider less infill, idk what % you did but they're super sturdy and definitely overkill (NOT a complaint lol just could potentially save you some filament).

@Crushadin I highly recommend getting these.

Thank you so much!!!

Dierks · Jun 2, 2020

Yes!! Super happy you like them!! Glad they worked out as well, thank you so much for the feedback and I will try to clean up the prints a little bit before sending any more of these out in the future if anyone else orders them. Thanks again for measuring everything and getting me the information to allow me to make these for you. Was a fun project, and always like to push my modeling skills. Round model with round holes!

gotem86 · Jul 24, 2020

I am also in the market for one of these guards. What percentage of flow would you say this reduced? I'm actually wanting to block some flow, as well as protect my BTA's. I have a little 7 gallon and this is a lot of pump, even on its lowest setting

lolmatt · Jul 24, 2020

gotem86 said:
I am also in the market for one of these guards. What percentage of flow would you say this reduced? I'm actually wanting to block some flow, as well as protect my BTA's. I have a little 7 gallon and this is a lot of pump, even on its lowest setting

With the guards on these jebaos still managed to kill 2 additional fish. I have gotten rid of them. Cannot recommend them in good faith.

gotem86 · Jul 24, 2020

lolmatt said:
With the guards on these jebaos still managed to kill 2 additional fish. I have gotten rid of them. Cannot recommend them in good faith.

Thanks for the info, and sorry to hear about your losses.

Do you have any idea if it blocked much flow? I actually don't have any fish in the tank it's in, but still want to protect my BTA's and reduce the flow some.

lolmatt · Jul 24, 2020

gotem86 said:
Thanks for the info, and sorry to hear about your losses.

Do you have any idea if it blocked much flow? I actually don't have any fish in the tank it's in, but still want to protect my BTA's and reduce the flow some.

I don't think it really lowered the flow very much. For an anemone guard I suggest the mesh meant for vortechs. Or a different powerhead like a cheap koralia.

I've actually still got the guards if you want them. $20 shipped for the pair. Send me a DM if you want to go this route.

Dierks · Jul 26, 2020

Hey @lolmatt can I ask how they killed the fish? Did they get into the holes?

lolmatt · Jul 26, 2020

Dierks said:
Hey @lolmatt can I ask how they killed the fish? Did they get into the holes?

Same way as without the guards, the fish just got sucked onto the side of the guard instead of onto the pump directly.

I think these nero style powerheads (including the ai nero itself) are just fish killers. There are plenty of stories about this happening if you read around.

I don't think a different guard design nor a mesh around the pumps would prevent them from sucking in fish, it must be something due to the powerhead impeller design. Idk, very sad, but I want to be clear that in no way do I blame the guards (they just didn't prevent the problem like I had hoped, the powerhead killed a clown before I had them, and a 6mo old mandarin + small rainford goby after).