This will be ongoing as I finish up the project, but here's what I started yesterday.
Your first step will be to remove the media basket and cut off the sides. Regular scissors worked fine. I then trimmed the two longer edges of the bottom portion to get rid of the ridge. Not necessary, but I did it anyway.
Next, apply a bead of Aquarium silicone to the two short edges of the grey mesh grid.
Place the grid on the inside edge of the main chamber of the filter. This will keep the chaeto or whatever macro you'll be using from spilling out into the tank.
Front shot. Yeah it's crooked. I don't really care.
My next step was to use the two sides of the media basket as a shelf to prop my Jali 13 watt light strip over the fuge. I cut them down and am going to use the upper portion.
Yesterday I used some silicone to attach them, but this morning, the hold wasn't what I'm happy with so I pulled them off and used some gorilla glue and reclamped them.
You can skip the light shelf thing if you are using a clamp on lamp. These are great for mini fuges -
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...032+2146963258
Next step is to cut a piece of acrylic to create a baffle. This will separate the main chamber from the intake and impeller area. I clamped a small piece of plexi to the side and marked where I need to cut.
Lowe's or Home Depot will have thin plexi along with the plexi cutter to score the plexi and then you can snap it. Easy to do.
The shape of the Aqua Clear isn't a perfect rectangle. There's a bit of an angle to one side. My first piece didn't fit - I cut it too small. Second try worked great. You'll have to round the lower corners of the plexi. Dremel works well for this.
This morning I siliconed the baffle in place.
Once that dries, I'll add some more to the thread.