Anyone modified your AquaClear 110 into a HOB refugium?

[CyberGuy]

I just ordered the AquaClear 110 and was thinking of modifying it into a HOB refugium.

Has anyone modified it into a refugium but also modified it so that it can also do mechanical filtering? I think that there is enough space to do some mechanical filtering also instead of just using it only as a refugium.

[seaduck]

I used a moded aq110 on my 30 gal nano,,,I tried it on my 10 gal nano but was way to powerful. I cut off 3 of the 6 impeller blades and left a balanced 3 bladed impeller to help reduce the flow. It comes with 2 sponges that act as mech. filters that sit on the bottom of the basket. I cut one of the 2 in half and used it up top where the overflow is to further restrict flow and to keep my goodies inside the filter. I removed the other sponge from the bottom and filled the empty filter half full of live rock frags, used one side of the basket to keep stuff away from impeller. I filled the top part of the filter with caulerpa..the 1/2 sponge keeps the caulerpa from spilling out of the overflo and also acts as mech. filter. I then added a 9w pc up top for light. I works great and flow is perfect

[CyberGuy]

Seaduck,

Can you post some pictures of it?

[Agu]

Here you go,

Aquaclear refugium (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=601201&highlight=how+to+DIY+an)

[seaduck]

I copied the above design but used a ac110 instead of a ac70. U can't use impeller from a ac20 on a ac110 so thats why i cut 3 blades off mine as suggested by another member. I think its easier to cut one of the sponges in half, long ways, to use as an overflo guard than constructing one from the basket and glueing it in place. Using the millenium carbon pad as a divider for the impeller housing is a good idea but i just used one side of the basket provided so i didnt have to spend any money. I'll probably switch to the millenium as i like to run carbon. Try it 1st without cutting blades off the impeller as u may like more flow. My 30 gal high is 24" tall and i have the flow cut down all the way to low and removed 3 blades from impellor and flow is just perfect for my lps, shrooms and polyps.

[seaduck]

no pics avail as im not pic friendly yet...sorry

[seaduck]

oops, i forgot to mention that the 1/2 sponge on top of the overflow also helps reduce the flow. I have too much flow without the sponge in place. Also the sponge raises the water level in the filter up an inch or so giving u more volume/room.

[jessp]

i used a ac70, has worked very well so far on my 37 aga, used a clamp on shoplight, sand substrate, rock rubble and chaeto. have it running for two months now. The fuge has really exploded with pods in the past few weeks. they are crawling all over everything.

At first i was skeptical, most people said don't do it that it wouldn't work on my 37, but i'm pleased. the chaeto grows like crazy so it must be removing excess nutrients. i have to trim it every couple days because the filter is small.

I use a bulb from walmart that is a screw in pc spiral type bulb. I actually bought four bulbs for 10.00 today. they are on clearance a two pack for 5.00. They are rated at 6500k.

The only thing i did was gut it, and add above mentioned contents. The first day i had to clear out the impeller because some sand got caught in the pump. I cut the sponge that came with the filter to a minimum that was neccessary to keep sand out of the pump opening.

Although it is smaller than the 110, it is just as easy to do on the larger scale.

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[CyberGuy]

Agu, thanks for the link.

Seaduck, thanks for the info since I have the AquaClear 110 also. Wish you have some photos though.
My tank is a 42 gallon so I don't know if I should cut the impeller blades from 6 to 3. My worry is there may be a slight imbalance in my cutting. I will have to test the flow rate if I turn it down maximum. The reason that I bought the AC 110 is not because of the higher flow rate but because of the larger volume to make a larger refugium.

[Janina]

I also modded an AC for a refugium on my 30 long mantis tank. I have the AC 300 and I didn't reduce the impeller at all but keep it set to low flow. My biggest problem is that I get about 1/2 gallon evaporation as a result of the surface agitation. Do you guys have that same problem or have you found a way to reduce the evaporation?

[nam2212]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8154547#post8154547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CyberGuy
Agu, thanks for the link.

Seaduck, thanks for the info since I have the AquaClear 110 also. Wish you have some photos though.
My tank is a 42 gallon so I don't know if I should cut the impeller blades from 6 to 3. My worry is there may be a slight imbalance in my cutting. I will have to test the flow rate if I turn it down maximum. The reason that I bought the AC 110 is not because of the higher flow rate but because of the larger volume to make a larger refugium.

I purchased the AQ surface skimmer for my AQ110 and cut the flow to the lowest setting. It was sufficient for my 29G. I also added the baffle a few inches farther over and cut the sponge to fit in that space. It worked really well as a mechanical filter.

[wilvivas]

didn't read the threads., but i used an AC 110 on my 15 gallon. flow was a lot but i took out the sponge replaced it with lots of crushed coral and fine sand. with some tweaking i got it to not screw up the impeller then filled the hole thing up with some nicely packed macro! it was the best fuge i ever had better than my new 20 gallon fuge tank form my big tank. i had to throw it away though 'cause i had to move out of my house and had no time to lose, there were massive pods, i mean MASSIVE in there!:D