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Kraylen's Aquaclear 110 Fuge Mod


Kraylen

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Kraylen's Aquaclear 110 Fuge Mod.

 

I've been wanting to mod a AC HOB filter into a fuge for a while. With the new 37 came the new AC110 so I figured I would give it a shot. I created a guide for anyone who wants to duplicate.

 

 

Materials:

AC110 Hang-on Filter - 89.99

Loc-Tite Super Glue Gel "All Plastics"(Has a primer marker and glue tube, works awesome on plastics) -1.99 x 3

Loc-Tite 10g Super Glue Gel - 4.99

Plastic Spray Paint(Black) - 6.99

AGA - silicone - 9.99

Masking tape - 1.99

Rio mini sun 10 led clip on light - 29.99

Sand paper, one rough one fine grit.

 

Tools:

Razor blades

Dremel with cutting wheel of some sort

 

 

P1010001-4.jpg

First, I took a razor blade to one of the basket sides that came with the filter. On one side, I used the teeth as a guideline of where I wanted to seperate the plastic. I turned the piece over and used a flat edge to cut the other side. A little bit of bending and the piece snaped perfect.

 

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Save both pieces as we will need these.

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This is my new best friend in DIY tank stuff.

 

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Prime the edges of the larger piece of plastic you cut and prime the contact points the plastic piece will touch when you mount it against the pump wall.You should be able to rest two small teeth on the pump you can tack with the super glue. Glue and hold for 30 seconds and then run a bead of glue along all the contact points.

 

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*Take the smaller piece of the plastic wall you cut and choose a place to mount it. You can use the primer marker to trace your plastic as it will be good for the glue as well as leave a clear streak you can see at an angle. Once you trace the piece, remove it and fill in the rectangle you just drew with the primer marker.

 

*This step is only needed if you plan on using a clip light.

 

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*Prime the flat side of the small wall piece and wait for the moisture to vanish.

 

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*Get a good amount of glue on the plastic piece and relocate the primer rectangle you drew on the filter back.

 

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*Stick the piece to the filter and hold for about 30 seconds. After sticking the piece I ran welds of superglue along the 4 edges and since I previously traced the plastic piece with the primer marker, the excess glue will form a wider bond.

 

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*Example of Rio led light.

 

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The bottom of the basket that came with the AC110 was painted black on one side, which is totally optional... but I think it looks cleaner and matches my black silicone/hood/stand. :)

 

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While the paint was drying on that, the super glue had been dry for a little while. I used the AGA silicone and went to town closing gaps.

 

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Be sure you hit all the angles.

 

 

 

Nice and thick beads.

 

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Prime the front piece on contact points. If you painted a contact point on the piece dont worry, the primer marker will remove the paint if you mark it a few times. Glue the piece over the front where the water drops back into the tank. Make sure its level and the right side it against the wall and the piece if flat against the inner wall of the filter.

 

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Masking the top lip off for painting.

 

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You can use the lid from the box with a little razor blade trimming and create a free top to mask if you decide to paint.

 

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Used a razor to cut some of the lid back so I could get the masking tape against the tiny front lip of the left wall. Good paint lines are all in the clean masking! Make sure your surface is clean and dry/oil free of else the tape wont stick and your edges wont be clean.

 

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Almost.

 

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Masked.

 

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Even masked out the led light to match everything. I hate having different colored equipment.

 

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Plastic sticking spray paint was used so nothing flakes off later. I only did one coat on the fuge since it will be hidden for the most part.

 

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Tape from the top lip removed.... Paint is the ultimate cover up for sanding scratches and bonding materials that are a different color from the material.

 

 

 

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Not to bad for one coat.

 

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Led light painted and attached too see how they look together.

 

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Lights on.

 

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Side view.

 

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I used masking tape to square off an area on the lid of the filter I could mark with a razor blade to later dremel out. This will be used to let maximum light in from my clip on, if you plan on using a mini-hood of some sort you can place directly over the lid of the filter.

 

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Used a piece of wood as a flat edge to make a clean mark with the razor blade.

 

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Rough cut with the dremel. Once the burr cools along the edges you can snap it with your fingers or run something flat against the edges to remove most of it.

 

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I used two grits to smooth out the areas I just cut a little more. Its nothing perfect but better then the dremels rough cut.

 

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I wanted to paint the lid also so I masked off the edges to match the top lip of the filter which was also transparent.

 

 

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buffed with the fine grit a little bit so the paint sticks a little better.

 

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Sprayed.

 

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I took the last wall from the basket that came with the filter and cut this small piece off the bottom using the same method I used to cut the 1st wall in two.

 

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Perfect plug for the 1st glued wall! Has teeth on the other side also for super glue tacking! Don't forget the primer.

 

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Just in case I threw a glob of silicone on the other side.

 

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Edited by Kraylen
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Finished product with lid and leds.

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Back shot.

 

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Good work there kra

 

Thank god someone replied, trying to post 50 pictures is hard when you dont have filler posts.

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In the first chamber? I glued the entire thing and sealed with silicone. I ran primer and glue on every single contact point before sealing.

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woot, nice one...that the old LED light from the BC29?

 

Yes, same light. Ive used it for many things!

 

nice job crayon

 

any comments on what quality of chaeto growth you're seeing w/ that little rio l.e.d.?

 

When Phase420 had it he used it in a smaller ACfugemod in the back of a BC29 and got some pretty rapid cheato growth.

 

I've had several ideas about what to use in the AC110 fuge.

 

-Clip on LED light would be good for small stuff, I was thinking of adding a high mounting light for mangroves while using the LED light for smaller stuff in the fuge.

 

-Ditch the led lights and use the 38w PC coralife hood thats on the pico(which will be getting dumped into the new 34gal once cycle is over) and grow super dense cheato.

 

Also depends on what maloney sends me today :)

Edited by Kraylen
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Kraylen, truly an awesome DIY... I think everyone here knows of the concept, but this is a really good and simple set of instructions to actually do it... How long did this take to make?

 

Also, where did you get your aquaclear? It seems like they could be had for cheaper than paying full retail price.. Any ideas?

 

I also have seen some people downgrade the impeller in an AC70 to something that has less flow (for smaller tanks). Is this something that can be done with the AC110 as well?

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Paleoreef103

Just cut down the blades on the impeller a bit and you get the same effect as downgrading the impeller without spending any more money.

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Thanks man. I was searching on here for a guide or a how to but I didn't find one. So I made one in hopes that someone in the future won't have the same problem as me. I wasnt about to cheat on N-R and goto RC for information. I hope this can be stickied and used in the future by others.

 

 

 

 

Kraylen, truly an awesome DIY... I think everyone here knows of the concept, but this is a really good and simple set of instructions to actually do it... How long did this take to make?

 

Also, where did you get your aquaclear? It seems like they could be had for cheaper than paying full retail price.. Any ideas?

 

I also have seen some people downgrade the impeller in an AC70 to something that has less flow (for smaller tanks). Is this something that can be done with the AC110 as well?

 

 

Project took about 2 hours to complete. The time was mosly in waiting for paints/glues/primers to set. Otherwise it was pretty simple. I did what most do with a little of my own taste like the black paint and light clip.

 

I saw a AC fuge mod done by some chick and it was ok, but the job was really chop and hard to follow. I understand that ugly things sometimes function, but presentation and clean is a factor to me.

 

I got my aquaclear from a rival LFS actually, my store was closed and we didnt have the AC110 in stock. I hate waiting so I picked it up anyways.

 

The AC110 wheel did not need to be modified due to the adjustment feature on the left side of the filter. You can offset the intake tube by sliding the switch. You can also cut the switch box wider for even lower flow.

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lol theres a reason its called an aquaclear

Great how to! It has a lot better instructions than on other aquaclear fuge mod posts.

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