DIY 3D Printed accessories thread

[jinsheng_yip]

Felt like some stuff for my reef tank can be way cheaper if I 3D modeled and printed it myself, and so will be documenting them here  
 

Details:

3D Printer - Creality Ender3 v2
Filament - Currently using white PETG
Modeling software - Blender3D
Slicer - Ultimaker Cura 5.4.0

Edited August 8, 2023 by jinsheng_yip

[jinsheng_yip]

Tool Rack

Made an accessory holder for my tools! needed something that can fit my turkey baster, pipettes and tweezers. thought that the hexagonal pattern was cool and used it for the slots. the big screw knob is pretty secure for 3D printed plastic! haha

Edited August 8, 2023 by jinsheng_yip

[Desmondchua]

very nice, how much for the setup ?

[jinsheng_yip]

Random Flow Generator

of course, a random flow generator was a must. My previous outflow from sump was just a normal outlet, and the flow was pretty simple and constant. Definitely felt the difference after attaching the RFG onto it, flow was much more turbulent and had a "whirlwind" pattern.
One downside I noticed was that it restricted a little bit of flow from my pump, possibly from the reduced outlet diameter, and now my DT water level is a little lower. A small trade-off for better looking flow in my tank

 

unfortunately I do not have a before/after video of this, but Koji Wada demonstrates it really nicely in this video: 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by jinsheng_yip

[jinsheng_yip]

Softie Pod

Saw on thingiverse a hexogonal planter that was stackable, and thought that it would be perfect for soft corals. I had a small frag of xenia leftover from my previous tank move-crash, and learning from my previous tank, this pod would be perfect for isolating it before it grows rampant. 

 

I finished off the top and inside with abit of a sand coating, but it didnt really provide any benefit hahaha will not do it again for future prints. filled it a lil with rubble, and placed the xenia in,

but I acquired some sea grapes and now it is the perfect macroalgae holder for my Tomini Tang. He loves to munch on them and the pod keeps *most* of the algae inside and not floating around. 

Edited August 8, 2023 by jinsheng_yip

[jinsheng_yip]

Mushroom Cage

 

Designed a little mushroom cage with lid for my Ricordea. Wanted to try letting it split on to coral rubble in a controlled area while still having it in the display. Seen a few proprietary products on the market, but not a big fan of the form, felt like it didnt fit well into the tank. I designed mine to be hexagonal, allowing them to be tiled next to each other. The middle hole also allows a standard frag plug to fit in, allowing for use on egg crates for mushroom propagation in frag tanks - maybe in the future  

Decided not to use the lid since it was already attached on a piece of rubble, abd the coral was too good looking to cover it up!

[SubzeroLT]

Very nice!! Following this thread.

[jinsheng_yip]

Thank you @SubzeroLT!! looking forward to your next project as well 

[jinsheng_yip]

Glueless Frag Plugs / Sand Plugs

Happy Sunday! Modeled and printed some plugs this weekend for my Nephthea frags, and potentially SPS frags as well. These were inspired by VCA's Coral grippers: https://vividcreativeaquatics.com/shop/frag-gripper-by-reef-stew/ , but I made it into a plug by itself, and also a version for placing on the sand bed instead of VCA's attachment version. No more rubber bands or praying my Nephthea will attach to rubble anymore hahaha 

The hollow interior allowed me to fill in with some coarse sand to weight it down a little more. I hollowed out the plug all the way through so I dont have to worry too much about sand compaction and all the detritus collecting inside the plug.

Frag Plug 


Sand Plug

Edited August 13, 2023 by jinsheng_yip

[jinsheng_yip]

Black Recycled Filament!

Made the switch to black recycled filament. According to manufacturer, this filament was made with recycled PET plastic, so i feel abit better using plastics in my aquarium haha

Also printed a few Random Flow Nozzles for fellow reefers with the new filament!