WaterWorldAquatics Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 10g i would go with the ac300 mod.... Link to comment
tippmann03 Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 from what i understand you can decrease the flow, right? so the ac500 would give me a greater volume fuge, vs the ac300. Correct? Link to comment
WaterWorldAquatics Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 correct, u can do that, i forgot about it. Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Here are some pics of my AC 500 fuge. It's been up and running for over 6 months now. I just pruned some of the chaeto down and there is some LR rubble in there along with some LS. I used the grill that came with the AC 500 to construct the fence. I use a cheap lightstrip that I got from petco that fits a 2.5g tank with a PC bulb from Home Depot, along with the glass top for a 2.5g tank. I do get light spill-over to the tank, but it pretty much acts like a moonlight. That, and I am too lazy to do anything more to it. I got some acrylic from Home Depot and cut the baffle out to fit. There was a sketch of the dimensions somewhere on here that gives you a perfect fit. With the skimmer attachment, the flow is nice and low. It was on my 10g for about 5 months before I took that down and put it on my wife's 29g. Sorry about the lighting. I'm a horrible photographer! I'm not that great of a DIY guy, but this was one of the easiest projects that I ever completed! Hope this gives some hope out to everyone who thinks it might be hard. Jeff Link to comment
tippmann03 Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 @ flugelnuss, That light strip you have, i believe it is this one... http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_det...D=1105563410502 ...it says it is only incandescent, is that strong enough lighting for a fuge? what types of macro algea do you have? @ anyone with a AC500, i cant seem to find the dimensions anywhere, could someone please take out a ruler and measure how many inches it sticks out from the back of the tank please? thanks Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 tippmann03 - that's the exact one I have. I replaced the bulb with a PC self ballasted bulb (The package reads, Ultra Mini Spiral Lamp) that I bought from Home Depot. It says that it puts out 60w while only consuming 14w of energy. I grew all types of macro in it. At first I was cultivating different types of caulerpa, but then switched over to chaeto. As you can see in the pic, I still have some caulerpa in it that I haven't yet removed. That and it keeps growing back after I pull it out. The lighting solution I chose was very cheap. I don't even think it cost $10 for the lightstrip, bulb (3 pack), & glass top for a 2.5g tank. Link to comment
stash98 Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 how do you guys cut the plasics and acrylic? do you need a dremel? I don't feel like shelling out the 90 bucks for it. Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 I just bought an acrylic blade. I think it cost a couple of bucks. All you need to do is score it and then break it off once you get the scores deep enough. If you go to Home Depot or any hardware store and tell them what you want to do, they can point you to the right tool. It's nothing special. Link to comment
stash98 Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 ok thanks..do you think it will work on the AC300 plastics too? I just want to make a few notches in it for the heater cable, and will probably make the refuge barrier out of a cd case. Link to comment
pastelball Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Do you think a ac500 be to much for a 15 gallon or should I go with the 300? Link to comment
RIreefGuy Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Anyone have the dimensions of the ac500? I currently have a 10g with a prizm dlx skimmer and a penguin 170 hob filter. They take up the whole back of the tank. I want to replace the 170 with a modded ac500 fuge but I dont think it will fit. Also, I am thinking the 170 is too small to make in to a fuge. Thoughts? Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Originally posted by stash98 ok thanks..do you think it will work on the AC300 plastics too? I just want to make a few notches in it for the heater cable, and will probably make the refuge barrier out of a cd case. I don't see a problem with that. Although, notches might be a little harder to do. I would try a dremel or something like that. Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Originally posted by pastelball Do you think a ac500 be to much for a 15 gallon or should I go with the 300? I had an AC 500 on my 10g before moving it over to the 29g. I read somewhere and will stand by it myself, that you will be sorry if you go with the AC 300 if you can do the AC 500. It gives you more space and adds a little over 1 gallon to your system. With the AC 500, you don't need to change the impeller. All you need is the baffle, surface skimmer, and you need to remove a plastic part from the incoming u-tube (not sure what it's called. it's late.) Link to comment
pastelball Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 How did you attatch the grill to the filter? Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 You can use silicone or use what I used. It's called Household Goop. It's completely waterproof and won't leach anything into the tank. I got a big tube of it for like around $5 at home depot. Link to comment
stash98 Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 how long does it take GOOP to cure? Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 I let it cure for a day or 2. it was over 6 months ago when I did this, so i'm sorry that if I can't remember all the details. Link to comment
stash98 Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 that's fine...i planned on 2 days or so two..thanks for the quick responses. Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Good luck. Like I said in an earlier post, this is one of the easiest DIY projects. Link to comment
tippmann03 Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 i got all my supplies today, and epoxy'd the grate to the top, and am waiting for that to harden completely. I have a question on the water flow. So to me it looks like the water is sucked up the tube and drawn towards the pump, the propeller then pushes it to the right at the bottom, (and then the water would move through the filter media if it was being used as a filter), and then flows over the top and into the tank again. The problem i see is that the sand will be at the bottom, right where the water is going to be pushed by the pump...wont this upset the sand to the point where it ends up flowing back into the tank??? Link to comment
snostorm Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 You know thats a damn good question, I was wondering about this as well. Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Did you install the baffle? Link to comment
tippmann03 Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Originally posted by flugelnuss Did you install the baffle? meaning....??? are you talking about the side wall of the filter media container? i was planning on puting that where it would normally sit if it was still being used to hold the filter media. do you glue it to the bottom instead? that makes sense actually...then the water would flow upwards first and provide a shelter to the sand.... Link to comment
stash98 Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 yeah, you have to do that . if not you will have sand issues. I would use a solid piece of plastic that is around 6 inches high, so there is no flow though any holes in the baffle. Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Try this thread: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...highlight=ac500 Lots of pics to help you visualize. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.