Jump to content
Pod Your Reef

Aquaclear 110(500) Fuge For Eclipse 12 Project


EPICTANKHERE

Recommended Posts

EPICTANKHERE

After reading the wonderful threads on this site regarding the DIY aquaclear filter to fuge conversion, esp. the ac300 or 500 thread, i decided to document the project for an eclipse 12 tank with AC500. I went for the 500 because i felt the more water volume the better and it seems that with the use of the surface skimmer the flow would be adequate to maintain the fuge. but beware, this thing barely fits back there, so if you put anything else back there it won't fit! I know ther are some Eclipse users out there so this ones for you! Here are a list of supplies i bought to do this project.

 

So Far:

aquaclear 110 (formally the 500)

aquauclear surface skimmer

visi-therm 50w heater

chemi-pure 5oz

red sea deco art vaselight

bag of chaeto - thanks tigerboy!

scrap peice of acrylic

velcro

 

Still need:

some LR & LS

Link to comment
  • Replies 61
  • Created
  • Last Reply
EPICTANKHERE

so the first problem I incountered was that the plastic bar that goes through the center of the tank on the top blocked fuges water return ramp. this bar was made to support the stock filter which is removed so I cut a section out to make space for the ramp. i would had removed the whole thing but i use it to hold a moon light. luckily it can still support the moonlight without being connected to both the front and back of the tank.....post-11640-1129062826_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
EPICTANKHERE

Next i cut the back of the hood to fit around the filter. the demensions of the cut are 13.5 inch by 2.3 inch. When i look at my tank from the front i want it to still look like a stock eclipse tank. This is some serious pimp my tank action!

post-11640-1129063489_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
EPICTANKHERE

I used a dremil to do the cuting and sanding. I am no pro at cutting anything except the cheese so there are probably better tools to use. it kind of cut/melted but i sanded it out and it turned out perfect!

post-11640-1129063565_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
EPICTANKHERE

Here's the hood on with the filter (still unmodified) fits like a glove! I am going to dremil out an oval hole to perfectly fit where the light will go so i can keep the cover on the fuge and it will look pro!

post-11640-1129063603_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
EPICTANKHERE

i cut the acrylic scrap to fit and glued it inside the fuge tank to create a baffle, this is to keep the sand in the fuge from getting in the pump, i am hoping it slows down the flow into the fuge area as well. on the other side im putting the heater and the chemi-pure.

post-11640-1129063648_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
EPICTANKHERE

The filter comes with a media basket to hold the sponge, carbon, etc. I cut it to fit the overflow ramp so that the cheato does't get out to the main tank and curious fish wont jump into the fuge! I used goop household glue for this and the baffle as recommended by many people from this site. thats all i have done for now. Got to wait for the glue to cure. Will post the the finish soon.

post-11640-1129063708_thumb.jpg

Link to comment

I did the same thing with the AC300. It just barely fit to one side of the support bar. I also used the media basket just like you're doing. Handy little devices, those AquaClears. Keep posting, I'd like to see more of your work.

Link to comment

I just got the AC500 and will be setting it up soon. How are you attaching the red sea light? Could you post a picture of the side?

 

Thanks.

Link to comment

wow. great job. i bought the AC300 yesterday and was wondering about the strap in the middle. does your hood still fit? i was worried that if I cut it the tank might deform. I don't know how much load if any it takes.

 

Be careful with the flow rate on that thing. putting the baffle in will keep the flow from screwing with any sand you have in it but it shouldn't reduce the flow rate at all. the pump is still going to pump the same amount of water in and therefore out. alog of people have had problems with too much flow. especially if you want the diatoms (little bugs) to propigate. i don't think you want a whole lot of flow. if you have too much you can shave down the impeller blades.

 

what did you do with your stock light? I took mine apart last night and i'm going to mout it on the feeder panel. should add some lighting to the back of my tank. I'll post pics on my thread when i finish.

 

what's that light your using? where did you get it? why do people put heaters in there? isn't the tank heater enough? or are you replacing the tank heater?

Link to comment

I put my heater in the AC300 for the same reason a lot of people do... one less item in the main display. Nothing other than that really.

Link to comment

hey guys thought you might like this. I took a aqua clear 150 and turned it into a 2.5 gallon fuge. This mod took some time, but it was worth it. If you would like I will try to post some pictures of it.

Link to comment

I know it. I can not get my pics small enough at a good resolution. I guess I just don't know what I am doing. Any suggestions?

Link to comment

When I take my digital pics to post on the site, I usually just edit them to be 25% of the original size. That brings it down to be a reasonable posting size and not too terribly big. Give it a try, post one, if it sucks then you can experiment more. Hope that helps some.

Link to comment

thank you, That is a little gem I remove about 2 oz of scum every day. Took about 10 minutes to make it. If you want simple directions I will post them.

Link to comment
EPICTANKHERE

WOW people actually checked it out! rad. I finished it up last night but was too beat to take pics will post those tomorrow. The light is a 7 watt pc by red sea. i know that doesnt sound like alot but come on, its just cheato! it looks like more than enough for that + i dont want too much light spillage. plus it looks very pimp how i mounted it. everything is very flush and streamlined i will post pics sorry! Yeah i just have one heater in the fuge and its keeping the whole tank perfect at 79 all night. I did have one upseting thing to overcome. the surface skimmer just wont fit with the ac500 in the eclipse! i think you could do it but i have a powerhead back there too so just wont work. Too much flow you say! I say no way!!!!! i removed this plastic ring thats at the bottom of the intake tube by the pump and when the flow is adjusted to its lowest it barely flows! i actually turned it up a bit! serious you don't need the surface skimmer it is really big and bulky.

Link to comment
EPICTANKHERE

The light is a red sea art deco vaselight from big al's aquarium online i ordered everything i used from them. the light was like 12 bucks or so. I mounted it on the side of the tank using industrial strength velcro! I cut a perfect sized oval in the filter cover just big enough for the light, looks very good and works perfect and i can remove it when servicing or if i want to wave it around my main tank at night to see the kreepy crawlers! I LOVE THIS THING IT WORKS PERFECT!!!!

Link to comment
EPICTANKHERE
Originally posted by wfrancis76

wow.  great job.  i bought the AC300 yesterday and was wondering about the strap in the middle.  does your hood still fit?  i was worried that if I cut it the tank might deform.  I don't know how much load if any it takes.  

 

 

the strap did'nt make any difference to the tank shape, i thing the outer plastic gaurd is enough for sure. after cutting most of the back of the hood out it is a little flimsy but still fits perfectly. i just take more care when removing it. you will have no problems with the 300.

Link to comment

thanks for the info. i went ahead and mounted the 300. i had to cut the strap to get it to fit. i haven't had any time to turn it into a fuge. i'll do that next week. right now i'm just unsing the filter and carbon. I also had to remove my fan. i'm going to remount it tommorrow. I did mount the stock light on the feeder hood thinging. it's really cool. does a great job of getting light to the back of the tank. i just cut the ballast out of the original fixture and put it behind my dresser and ran wire to the light. i'll take pics when i have time. so with the 96 watt powerquad, and 13 watt pc that's 109 watts. :)

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions


×
×
  • Create New...