Anyone know of any good aquaclear fuge threads?

[brian92]

I looked around on the DIY Thread but found that the threads were missing pics because they were real old.

 

Could someone post what you have to do to convert an aquaclear into a fuge?

 

Or a good aquaclear fuge thread?

 

Thanks

[Md's Finest]

look at el fabuloso's sexy pico post

[brian92]

look at el fabuloso's sexy pico post

Thanks I had to stare at it for a little while to understand and I finally figured out how the baffles works!!!

[HankB]

Thanks I had to stare at it for a little while to understand and I finally figured out how the baffles works!!!

 

What are the baffles supposed to do?

 

I'm thinking about adding a false wall to a 10g to make a chamber for pump, heater and fuge (and maybe sand.) I'm planning one baffle from the bottom about 2/3 or 3/4 up to separate pump and heater from the other stuff. Is there anything else I should be thinking about?

 

thanks,

hank

[bowlopho]

I just modded my AC70 for my 3g tank

 

I have a few things left to finish, and I was wondering if you can give some input

 

1) Should I use a AC20 or AC30 impeller?

 

2) How far should the extension tube be touching from the bottom? I don't want to cut it to short

 

3) will LR rumble be fine in the fuge, why or why not

[BibleSue]

I did a simple mod to an AC70 for my QT tank. I put in the basket for the filter media, put the chaeto in it, cut some egg crate to put over the overflow side & put poly filter media in front of it by the overflow. Simple & works well.

[owned162]

Here you go:

AC70 Mod Page

 

I know its on ReefCentral but its the best thread I found for modding the AC filters...

Cheers,

OwNeD

[SaltWaterNewb]

What are the baffles supposed to do?

 

For the AC fuge mod the baffle is more or less just to divert the water so that it flows in to the main chamber from the bottom giving the water maximum contact with your heater and macro.

 

 

 

3) will LR rumble be fine in the fuge, why or why not

 

Some say yes, some say no. I am a member of the NO camp. Reason is because with the AC fuge chances are it will not be prefiltered so that means all the gunk that the filter sucks in will get trapped in your rubble. So unless you want to pull out the macro and rubble a couple times per week to clean it, it will begin to muck up your water. Besides that, the small amount of extra rock you can fit in there is not going to add much if any benefit to your tank except maybe a place for pods to live. IMO if you want extra LR outside of the main tank then do a full size fuge.

[d0ughb0y]

I did a simple mod to an AC70 for my QT tank. I put in the basket for the filter media, put the chaeto in it, cut some egg crate to put over the overflow side & put poly filter media in front of it by the overflow. Simple & works well.

 

I hope you did not cut your filter basket yet, as any mod beyond what biblesue described is flawed, such as the link provided by owned162.

 

I do similar to biblesue. AC70, no mod to original filter basket, use filter floss at the bottom of the basket, add bag of chemipure, then top with chaeto. then add some kind of screen at the top to prevent chaeto from flowing back into the tank. As for amount of flow, just set it to minimum and the filter media will do the rest to slow down the flow of water. I put a small heater in there as well.

 

The water MUST flow from the intake DOWN to under the filter basket, then UP through the media then out back to the tank. The left side of the filter basket is fitted tightly against the curved piece of plastic where the intake tube meets the impeller. The reason it is curved down and butted against the filter basket wall is to force the water to go down below the filter basket. If the mod moves this wall away, then most of the water will take the path of least resistance which is up and out.

 

Also, note that the filter basket is "elevated" from the bottom, so putting anything directly on the bottom is flawed, like the one described in link provided by owned162. You will never get the desired filtering effect using that mod. It works differently on a full size fuge, because what it does not have in efficient water flow, is made up by the larger volume and size of the fuge. On a fuge as small as AC filter, you want to maximize the contact time between the water and the filter media to be highly effective.

[fiction101]

I just cut a side of the basket and put it on the open side (next to the intake tube) and then put filter floss on the side of the cut basket. You'll notice that water shoots up from the bottom but then it swirls around the intake tube so the filter floss ends up catching most of the stuff from the water. Also this way you have the whole filter open for your heater and rubble rock/cheato.

 

 

[fiction101]

I just modded my AC70 for my 3g tank

 

I have a few things left to finish, and I was wondering if you can give some input

 

1) Should I use a AC20 or AC30 impeller?

 

2) How far should the extension tube be touching from the bottom? I don't want to cut it to short

 

3) will LR rumble be fine in the fuge, why or why not

 

I would use the AC30 impeller.

 

Doesn't matter as long as it fits.

 

I use rubble rock, I guess it's not really needed though.