Cesar Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 What AC do you recomend for a 5 Gallon tank that Im going to be seting up? Link to comment
Chino Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 Omens, I think you should install the baffle because you dont want to risk getting sand in the motor. If you look at everyone else who modded thier AC, they all install a baffle. IMO, install the baffle that way you have two "sections" one for a possible heater, small skimmer, sponge, or occasional carbon and the other a refugium. The slower the flow the more efficient the refugium will be. Cesar, I dont know what the dimensions are for your tank but the AC 500 might not even fit your 5gal. I think the length measures a lil over 13". If it does fit, youd have to heavely slow the flow with every possible option (baffe, surface skimmer, remove black ring between U tube and motor, shave propeller, ect). I doubt the surface skimmer will fit inside your tank, its fairly large. Id go with the AC 300 with the mini impeller and baffle with the flow set to low. Hope this helps you guys. Good luck. Link to comment
Heather_H Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 Im a newbie at this also... I want to set up a 2nd reef (10 gallon) my question is.. (and this may sound stupid) but the fuge is used for filtration for the tank correct? or am I missing a part.... also , all I would need to do is mod a ac500, get the skimmer attachment... and macro algae with a light on top and I should be good to go? I just want to make sure im not missing a vital part of this ! one other question... im looking on "thatfishplace" and I see a AC50 and a AC70... are these equals to the 300 and 500?? Link to comment
omens-nano07 Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 So dose the water go over the baffle only or dose it go under it also?BTW,thank you Chino for the info. Link to comment
Chino Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 I dont know if you guys have read this whole thread but it basically answers all your questions. Pages 1-3 has a few pics if you guys need to see examples. Steve961 has explained in detail how he modded his AC 500. Heather_H, well, Im going to try to answer your fuge question in short. Yes, a fuge is used for filteration but a sort of special filteration. Its also sort of like a partition of your tank away from predatory livestock for you pods to live in and reproduce safely. The macro algae basically absorbs your excess nutrients, so called nitrates, helping you lower your nitrate level in your tank and also keeping your macro growth out of your main tank and in the fuge only. As of just needing a modded ac 500, macro, skimmer attachment, and a light and being good to go, I also used a few pieces of live rock, live sand and a some shells for my pods to hide and reproduce in which is common for any fuge. To answer your other question, I answered this a few posts back. " Hagen changed the names of their filters a while back. AC 300 is now the 70 and the AC500 is the 110". Omens, it really depends on how you mod your AC500. If you use more than one baffle, the baffle that separates the LS, LR and Chaeto should only have water flowing over it not under it. If that baffle is not sealed at the bottom, the sand would get under it and flow around to your motor, not a good thing. So far Ive only seen one baffle installed for all the mods. So to answer your question, water should flow over the baffle only and not under. Check pages 1-3 because they have pics and lots of good info on this mod. Good luck guys and I hope this helped. Link to comment
ODOG Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Heather, I think the 50 = AC 200 and 70 = AC 300. Not sure what the 500 is now. The old numbers meant how many gph they pushed the new numbers stand for what size tank they are good too. Link to comment
Blind Tree Frog Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 500 is the 110. I asked this above NOTE: Petsmart.com has the AC500 for $32. The store has the AC 110 for $72. They are the same thing (Hagen changed the packaging and the name recently), but the Petsmart manager might be wary about price matching since the sku's don't match. If he's been around long enough to remember that they are the same thing, you're probably fine, but an anal manager, one who doesn't know, or one who figures the website is getting rid of overstock of the old boxes and claims they are different might not price match for you. Link to comment
Blind Tree Frog Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Regarding the skimmer attachement... It seems to me that someone who is creative with a dremel and a length of PVC pipe can make their own. I'm guessing that an outer tube that fills with water from the top should work the same, but I haven't fully explored this theory. Link to comment
Blind Tree Frog Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Originally posted by Chino The slower the flow the more efficient the refugium will be. Any reason behind this? I know I've seen everyone install the baffle in their set up, but I have yet to see anyone really explain the gain to this. EDIT sorry for the triple post and not editing. Link to comment
Chino Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 I purchase my AC 500 about a week ago and I noticed on the box where it says "110", it says in smaller print underneath it "Formely 500 model" and same as for the others. You can use this to inform the manager. But like Blind says, it really depends on the manager for that particular Petsmart. Well the baffle has a few purposes. Like I said earlier, its sort of like a divider i guess you can say to separate all the components of a refugium (LS, LR, and macro) from the intake area. Having a baffle will help slow the flow and keeps everything such as the macro and LS from kicking around and possibly entering the main tank or the filter motor. IMO, slower flow is good for the refugium because an AC 500 is powerful and rated for tanks up to 110 gallons. So much flow will possibly push out some macro to the display. Also, you want to occasionally have a few pods flow out and not so many at once. Let them reproduce and populate in your refugium. Most importantly, such strong flow will just enter and exit so quickly that it will almost be pointless to have macro in there. The macro will not absorb enough nutrients to benefit the tank. This is from my experience and I tried my best to describe how a refugium works from how Ive learned. Do some research on refugiums or do a search on here. I got a few horrible pics of my mod. Let me upload them and Ill share them in a bit. Hope this helped out. Link to comment
Chino Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Ok, I know the quality sucks but all I have is a phone digi cam. Better than nothing. The sponges will be replace with a heater and a small coralife super skimmer when necessary. Top views Close up of 1/4" acrylic baffle 7watt 6500k Palm PC light over refugium Side shots Yellow watchman checking refugium out Link to comment
Chino Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Front shots And for the hell of it Very new to Aquarium photography, I appologize. Enjoy. Link to comment
omens-nano07 Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Hey Chino,Can I have the site you got your ac500 lights at or what brand plz.How many watts is it also. Thank You Link to comment
Chino Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 You can get a similiar light from petco for about 17bucks. It looks identical to the light I have but the one I have is an Azoo palm light. Dont know what brand it is on this link. Galaxy Palm Light Link to comment
omens-nano07 Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Whats better 13w or 7w for the AC500? Link to comment
Chino Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Of course a 13watt is going to be better but a 7watt will do just fine. I used the 7watt because I wanted the least amout of light leaking into my room and my tank at night. IMO the 7watt palm light is perfect for my AC 500. I dont think macro needs such strong lighting especially chaeto. Link to comment
omens-nano07 Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 thanks BTW I live in carrlltin,TX so I live live 30 mins from you. Link to comment
Chino Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Cool Omens, I had no clue and didnt noticed you live that close. I have a friend that lives in Coppell and I visit every once in a while. Are you aware that we have a Marine Aquarium Society? Im not a member yet but will be at the next meeting we have.DFWMAS Its cool to know local reefers. I just got my chaeto macro algae from a local reefer from the forums that lived right around the corner. Anytime you need any help just let me know or PM me. Good luck. Link to comment
Cesar Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Chino do you think that an AC500 good for a 60 Gallon tank? Instead of a Wet Dry filter? Link to comment
Chino Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 IMO the volume of a AC 500 is way too little to have any effect on a 60 tank. I think an AC 500 fuge is good up to only a 30gal tank. So far, Im having doubts that it might not be good enough for my 20 but its the only thing I could have dont to have a refugium because my space is limited under my stand and even around it. With a 60gal tank, you should have at least a 20 gal sump/refugium. Link to comment
Cesar Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 But I thought that the AC500 is good enough for a 110G or is that basically BS. Link to comment
omens-nano07 Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Hey Chino,Did your light come with a bulb or you have to buy one? Thanks agan Link to comment
Chino Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Cesar, if your using a AC 500 as a mechanical/chemical/biological filter and not for a modification into a refugium, then yes its good for up to 110 gal tanks. In this thread, we are pointing out the modifications of a AC500 into a fuge which Hagen Aquaclear doesnt support. I hope this helps. Omens, yes my light did come with a bulb. I think most fixtures you buy online come with bulbs. FYI, I did not buy the bulb online, I went to petco and purchased it. I dont like to order stuff online because I like to see exactly what Im purchasing. Good Luck guys. Link to comment
omens-nano07 Posted October 22, 2004 Share Posted October 22, 2004 Originally posted by Chino Cool Omens, I had no clue and didnt noticed you live that close. I have a friend that lives in Coppell and I visit every once in a while. Are you aware that we have a Marine Aquarium Society? Im not a member yet but will be at the next meeting we have.DFWMAS Its cool to know local reefers. I just got my chaeto macro algae from a local reefer from the forums that lived right around the corner. Anytime you need any help just let me know or PM me. Good luck. Yeah,I did thank about it joining the DFWMAS.But I am only 16 and have no car yet :*( but I will be geting one soon enuff so when I do get car I willl join.Let me know if its a fun thing.Its nice to know some one with som experince live close to you.BTW I am ordering the ac 500 fuge setup next week so we will see how that gose........Thanks for your help Link to comment
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