j0dy77 Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 I want to setup a 20 gallon tank. Would a Aquaclear 300 be a sufficient fuge or should i get the 500? Link to comment
Steve961 Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 I am in the process of setting up a 20 gallon also, and chose the Aquacear 500 for my fuge (see picture below). I added a 6" high baffle in the filter to separate the fuge area and reduce the flow into it. The area before the fuge I am going to use for the heater, carbon (when needed), and possibly a Piccollo skimmer in the future. The divider was very easy to cut out of acrylic, and I just glued it in place using GOOP. I tested everything the other day, and I think the flow is about prefect for a 20. I am using the AquaClear surface skimmer, so that may also have helped reduce the flow somewhat. I do think the surface skimmer will be a worthwhile feature, especially for its cost. Link to comment
Super novice Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 Alot of posts sugest the use of the 300 as you can put an impeller from a smaller AQ (say the 150) to reduce the flow as the 500 has a different size impeller from the rest. Other than this ability I see no problem with using the 500 IMO however I have not tried either so I have no experience. If you do a search I believe there are numerous threads with pros and cons of using different sized AQ as HOB fuges. Link to comment
j0dy77 Posted August 24, 2003 Author Share Posted August 24, 2003 Nice reply and pick Steve. How is the flow now that you have seperated the overflow area? I understand that a 300 has way too much power for a 20 gallon and needs to use the motor from the 150? What was you solution with the 500? Link to comment
Kingpin Posted August 24, 2003 Share Posted August 24, 2003 does the 500gph create enough water flow for the corals alone w/o power heads. i looking for one for my 10 gal i was also considering an ac300 with its 300gph Link to comment
blk_g20 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 in the AC500 pictured, did you modified anything else besides putting that piece of acrylic in there? Link to comment
ELGORDOINAVW Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 how wide did you cut your acyrlic piece i have one in my 500 but it's too small and only helps to deflect some of the flow. anyways i did put it on my 10 gal works well although at first it kicked around the sand. Link to comment
Steve961 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 Let me try and answer all of these questions. Regarding the flow, the AC500 has a built in method to reduce the flow rate by sliding the intake tube to the right. Adjusting the flow all the way down and using the AquaClear surface skimmer reduced the flow to what I consider appropriate for a 20 gallon tank. If I need to reduce the flow further I would probably drill a small hole in the black plastic collar to the left of the intake tube. That would allow me to rotate the collar to disable any flow reduction in the future. I still do not think I will have enough flow from the AC500 by itself. I plan to put two Minijet 606 pumps on each side of the tank facing each other. I will let you know how that works when I get them installed. The only modifications I made to the AC500 were the 6" high acrylic baffle and the addition of the AquaClear surface skimmer. I used one of the side walls of the media carrier as a template when cutting out the baffle. The baffle is completely sealed with GOOP, and only lets water flow over the top. I was surprised by how little turbulence there was in the refugium area. I will post the results (with pics) next weekend with everything setup and sand in the tank and refugium. Steve Link to comment
blk_g20 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 instead of this goop stuff, can't i just use superglue? do they sell the GOOP stuff at home depot? Link to comment
Steve961 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 I dont know if superglue would work as well to seal off the sections completely. GOOP is available at Home Depot, and is very easy to use. According to posts I read at reefcental, GOOP is safe to use except for a couple of varieties of it. Their Marine and Outdoor GOOP contains a UV protectant that may make it unsuitable for aquarium use. I just used the Household version which I already had. Link to comment
Steve961 Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 Here is my AquaClear 500 finally setup as a fuge. It has about 1" of Southdown in there along with some small fragments of live rock. I plan on putting some macro in there as soon as my tank finishes cycling. There was no problem whatsoever with too much flow in the tank. In fact, I switched it to full power today and I think it will work just fine. The 500 has not caused the Southdown in the tank to kick up, and the 6" baffle inside the 500 still keeps the flow very mild in the fuge area. While I would not mind a larger fuge for a 20 gallon, I can't complain for the cost - about $35 total ($45 w/ skimmer). Link to comment
qsails Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 How is your fuge working out for you? I am thinking of coping your Idea and also add a Picollo skimmer. How are you lighting your fuge? Link to comment
Steve961 Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 The AC500 fuge is working out great. The picture I attached shows the AC500 at full throttle. I think the flow is just about right for a 20, and I would even feel comfortable with it on a 10. You can see in the picture that my water level is high enough that it flows across the surface instead of dropping down into the tank. I think this is beneficial in several ways. Now it is also possible that the skimmer attachment might be slowing it down, so YMMV. BTW, the skimmer attachement works great - best $9 i've spent so far. I also have 2 Minijet 606 pumps on each side, and I have those alternate off and on during the day with a small amount of overlap. With the AC500 and both 606 pumps running at the same time, I still do not feel that the flow is too much. In regards to lighting on the fuge, I just got a bookworm today - $12 on sale at Menards. I only put in my spaghetti algae in yesterday, so I have not had the need for a light yet. I am going to try and make some type of rack/holder for the light in the next few days. You will have to excuse the crappy picture, I am still trying to get the hang of aquarium photography. Link to comment
WorldNation Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 wow, this answered a lot of my own qustions(was wondering about puttig one of my ac 500s on my 10g. i think i'll go for it. Link to comment
Siejuban Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Steve961, I am using Silicone Aquarium Sealant to seal the piece of Arcylic to to my AC 300, will it work the same way as COOP? It seemed the Sealant is not sticking to the plastic wall of the AC 300 tight, I can easy to scratch some out, anyone here can also tell me? Link to comment
Blownpony Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Originally posted by WorldNation wow, this answered a lot of my own qustions(was wondering about puttig one of my ac 500s on my 10g. i think i'll go for it. I have one on my 10 and the flow is way to much. I'm trying to figure out a way to slow it down a little. I'm turning mine into a fuge this weekend, also going to try the surface skimmer. Hopefully they will help slow the flow. Link to comment
Smokin-Reefer Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 wow, what a good thread! I know many people on this board, including myself, have been pondering the possibilities of the 500. Since you can change the impeller on the 300, that solved the flow issue. Since it appears to me your method works, I can get a bigger fuge to use on my 20h, which I am also starting on. good luck, thanks for the thread! Link to comment
Steve961 Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Siejuban: I would stick with the GOOP if I were you. I tried using Silicone sealant on some acrylic scraps, and it just did not adhere very well. The GOOP was easy to work with and made a strong and waterproof bond. You can get GOOP anywhere, but DO NOT use the Marine or Outdoor GOOP as they supposedly have a UV protectant that could cause trouble. . Link to comment
Deadlykorean Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Im thinking of doing similar with my AC300, just a quick question: the 6" baffle, how much water flows over the top of the baffle? I'd like to get a rough estimate and apply that to my 300. thx Link to comment
Siejuban Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I used Silicone sealant already to make the wall, hard (actually lazy) to remove it and make it again. But it is working good so far, anyway, if there is leakage there is no a problem, since they are in the same container. I use the AC mini impeller, it is working, but only problem is the intake tube is not fully filled with water, but it is fine, and working very very quiet, the water flow seemed became stronger than when the mini impeller was in AC Mini. Strange is, after I turned on the converted AC 300, my yellow polyp happened to be more wild opened and expand more than when I was using AC mini. Link to comment
Siejuban Posted October 19, 2003 Share Posted October 19, 2003 That is how I set up my AC 300 as refug Link to comment
Beatty3987 Posted October 19, 2003 Share Posted October 19, 2003 Kool tread it has lots of info...... Link to comment
Blownpony Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 Originally posted by Steve961 Siejuban: I would stick with the GOOP if I were you. I tried using Silicone sealant on some acrylic scraps, and it just did not adhere very well. The GOOP was easy to work with and made a strong and waterproof bond. You can get GOOP anywhere, but DO NOT use the Marine or Outdoor GOOP as they supposedly have a UV protectant that could cause trouble. . Is the GOOP in a purple tube? Want to make sure I use the right stuff. Don't want to kill my fish. Link to comment
snookface1 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 Steve961, do you have a light over your SC 500, if so which one. The systems looks good. I'm in the process of planning a new 15 gal. I have the tank and lights (96 watts Coralife 50/50), but haven't bought any thing else. Is there anything you would do different? Link to comment
Steve961 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 At first I tried a bookworm, but I did not like it. I then made a pendant light using a small clamp on worklight ($3.00), and a 19W 6,500K pc light ($8.00). I then painted the pendant with some leftover black Krylon Fusion paint. This is a much brighter and focused light than the bookworm, and I really think the macro growth has been better. The only thing I have changed is to place a screen in front of the outflow to prevent the macro from entering my tank. You can see it in the photo below. Small fragments do get out sometimes, but it is no big deal. Link to comment
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