How to DIY an AC 70 fuge - Page 6

Colin · 06/21/2007, 05:11 PM

You have to cut the intake tube because it is too long for small tanks. It would hit the bottom of the tank. You'll need to cut it down to fit.

--Colin

ZooZ · 06/21/2007, 09:42 PM

i see...i dont think it will be a problem for my 26G. Its 24" deep. What is that surface skimmer ppl are talking about?? I already have a HOB counter current skimmer.

dirtyone · 06/22/2007, 04:38 AM

heres a link from one of my AC conversions..... http://www.nanotank.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1768

ZooZ · 06/22/2007, 09:35 AM

dirtyone you placed your baffle somewhere completly different from where supermongolia did. He placed it so that the intake chamber and actually fuge area are seperated. How far away from the intake chamer and how high off the floor of the filter Should the acrylic baffle be?

ZooZ · 06/22/2007, 07:16 PM

Does the baffle need to be siliconed to the base of the filter?? How high should it be and how far from the intake and impeller area?

dirtyone · 06/22/2007, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ZooZ
Does the baffle need to be siliconed to the base of the filter?? How high should it be and how far from the intake and impeller area?

i siliconed it cause it didnt have anything to hold it in place. i used one side of the basket for one of my baffles and its just far enough away so you can get at teh impellar and the impellar guard. the other baffle is acrylic and the bottom is also, its the same size as the bottom of the basket. the way i made mine was like havign a solid bottom basket and one solid side so that the water would flow over the top of the fuge and also under and up the other side to accross the top. for the short time i had it, it worked awsome. i sold it so i could build the same out of a AC110. HTH

ZooZ · 06/22/2007, 09:51 PM

Im going to be using acrylic as the baffle. I still dont know if it should be sealed against the bottom of the flter. How high it should be and how far from the intake chamber.

dirtyone · 06/23/2007, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ZooZ
Im going to be using acrylic as the baffle. I still dont know if it should be sealed against the bottom of the flter. How high it should be and how far from the intake chamber.

mine where if i remeber correctly where half way to the top of the water level. i was just triing something different on mine, all you really need is one baffle and large enough so the water doesnt disturb what you keep in your fuge.

ZooZ · 06/23/2007, 02:44 PM

ok you havent answered my question dirtyone. I need to know if the acrylic baffle needs to be sealed againt the floor of the aquarium. and How far away from the intake chamber should it be? Anyone?

dirtyone · 06/23/2007, 03:20 PM

it doesnt really matter how far away from the intake chamber, i left enough room so i could get at the impellar. yes it should be siliconed because theres nothing to hold it in place.

Slakker · 06/23/2007, 03:24 PM

Also depends on whether or not you want to be able to put any filter cartridges in there.

ZooZ · 06/24/2007, 02:12 AM

I got a AC70 but used the impellar from the 20. When i used the AC20 impellar the water barely filled up the 'u' section of the intake tube. It made a gurgling noise also. And theres soo much bubbles in the display when its on. Any way to stop the gurgling noise? Use a AC 30 impellar perhaps?

Colin · 06/24/2007, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ZooZ
I got a AC70 but used the impellar from the 20. When i used the AC20 impellar the water barely filled up the 'u' section of the intake tube. It made a gurgling noise also. And theres soo much bubbles in the display when its on. Any way to stop the gurgling noise? Use a AC 30 impellar perhaps?

Push down on the intake tube with your finger and see if that helps. If so, the intake isn't sitting on top of the impeller chamber, but is stopping just a little short. Sometimes this happens when the intake tube isn't in quite all the way.

OR

I had this problem when I did mine. There are some vertical ridges in the groove on the front of the filter where the intake tube clamps in. These keep a modified intake tube from seating completely on the impeller. You may need to sand them off (I used a dremel).

There should be no gurgling or microbubles after the filter has primed and is up and running. I have an AC 20 impeller in mine and it's completely silent.

--Colin

ZooZ · 06/24/2007, 10:49 AM

I got it..thanks for the help colin. Its up and running. Going to see nitrates in 2 weeks from now. Current nitrates are at 30ppm. The only thing i screwed up on is my baffle does not go all the way to the bottom. Theres abour a 1cm gao due to the narrowing of the filter. I have a sand bed in the filter too. Should i be worried about this??

Telal · 07/06/2007, 10:09 PM

I just finished this mod on an AC70 I've got it up and running on my JBJ Picotope but I wanted to run a reverse light cycle on it and its in my and my girlfriends bedroom so I taped off the return and any parts the would be in contact with the water and used Krylon Satin Black to spray paint the outside until it was completely opaque. I made a new top out of a $2 piece of acrylic from lowes which I also spray painted opaque black leaving a window taped off directly above the fuge area and secured it using two rare earth magnets. One I glued onto the underside where the piece if the filter sticks up between the return and and the intake and the other I glued to the top of my diy top. I salvaged an old light that sits flat on the top and stuck in a 6700K curly CF bulb. I only get a little light leakage that I should be able to take care of with another spraypainted piece of acrylic glued to the front of my diy top that ends right above the returning water because there is light leaking from the grid on the front.

This thing is the perfect size to hold a Visi-therm Deluxe 50W, I made a baffle to seperate my heater and give me an area to hold filter floss and carbon or whatnot when needed.

I shaved too much of the stock impeller even though I shaved then tested then shaved more and tested again, the last time I had to shave off a lot to get each impeller blade even. So I've ordered a AC50 impeller for my AC70, I still want a lot of flow as I'm trying to make this the only thing on my picotope because I hate the look of equipment in the tank.

So far my nitrates have dropped from ~30 to~10 in a week and a half and the reverse light cycle has really helped keep my ph stable.

ZooZ · 07/06/2007, 11:58 PM

oh heyy i would do a reverse light cycle but its the light issue that bothers me...my tank is in my bedroom. I would really like to see some pictures of it and might try doing the same!!!

Colin · 07/07/2007, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ZooZ
I got it..thanks for the help colin. Its up and running. Going to see nitrates in 2 weeks from now. Current nitrates are at 30ppm. The only thing i screwed up on is my baffle does not go all the way to the bottom. Theres abour a 1cm gao due to the narrowing of the filter. I have a sand bed in the filter too. Should i be worried about this??

You're welcome!

The sand will be bad if it gets in the impeller chamber. It'll be noisy and could lock up.

For my baffle, I used the side off of the basket that came with it and just stuck it in the slot on that side of the filter. I'm only using chaeto, though. No sand or rock.

I had a reduction in nitrate from ~20 to 0 in a few days. It's amazing.

--Colin

ZooZ · 07/07/2007, 08:35 AM

oh yea...if your getting such good results with just the cheato i might take out the sand when i do some maintenance work on the filter...Do you use some type of floss to get the big debris out of the water? Oh yea and should the cheato be rolling or moving at all because i dont seem to have much circulation where the cheato is.

Colin · 07/07/2007, 09:57 AM

The chaeto is pretty good at catching the big stuff. Pods and worms will colonize it and eat the debris.

I think the water flow comes from the bottom to the top, so it flows through the chaeto. Mine doesn't move at all.

--Colin

vegasaquaria · 07/08/2007, 08:59 AM

What do you use to cut the extension tube?

Thanks!

Colin · 07/08/2007, 09:20 AM

I used a dremel. You could probably use a hacksaw too.

--Colin

ZooZ · 07/08/2007, 10:24 AM

How does the flow come from the bottom if the baffle is siliconed to the base of the filter? Sorry i just want to make sure my refugium is running probably.

Quote:

Originally posted by Colin
The chaeto is pretty good at catching the big stuff. Pods and worms will colonize it and eat the debris.

I think the water flow comes from the bottom to the top, so it flows through the chaeto. Mine doesn't move at all.

--Colin

dynaschm0e · 07/08/2007, 10:28 AM

I use a dremel also to cut plastics and PVC, but used a coping saw prior: it works well because there are many small teeth. -Trey

Colin · 07/08/2007, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ZooZ
How does the flow come from the bottom if the baffle is siliconed to the base of the filter? Sorry i just want to make sure my refugium is running probably.

The baffle should either have holes in it, or an opening at the bottom.

--Colin

ZooZ · 07/08/2007, 12:24 PM

oh ok...im all good then..going to test nitrates tomorrow and see if it went down from 20ppm prior to installing the fuge.

06/23/2007, 03:24 PM	#136
Slakker Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Southeastern Wisconsin Posts: 4,521	Also depends on whether or not you want to be able to put any filter cartridges in there. __________________ -Tyler Oceanic 58RR display/20H sump/fuge thread...follow the red house. Current Tank Info: Oceanic 58g, 20H sump, AquaC EV-150, 175w Hamilton 14k + 2x39w T5HO Actinics

07/08/2007, 10:28 AM	#148
dynaschm0e Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 182	I use a dremel also to cut plastics and PVC, but used a coping saw prior: it works well because there are many small teeth. -Trey __________________ Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -Mahatma Gandhi Current Tank Info: first reef tank: 28 gal JBJ nanocube HQI , NanoTuners actinic mod, JBJ ATO, refugium mod in center overflow chamber using 9x5” 6500K PC

06/21/2007, 05:11 PM	#126
Colin Registered Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 848	You have to cut the intake tube because it is too long for small tanks. It would hit the bottom of the tank. You'll need to cut it down to fit. --Colin

06/21/2007, 09:42 PM	#127
ZooZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 694	i see...i dont think it will be a problem for my 26G. Its 24" deep. What is that surface skimmer ppl are talking about?? I already have a HOB counter current skimmer.

06/22/2007, 04:38 AM	#128
dirtyone Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Dunkirk Posts: 98	heres a link from one of my AC conversions..... http://www.nanotank.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1768

06/22/2007, 09:35 AM	#129
ZooZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 694	dirtyone you placed your baffle somewhere completly different from where supermongolia did. He placed it so that the intake chamber and actually fuge area are seperated. How far away from the intake chamer and how high off the floor of the filter Should the acrylic baffle be?

06/22/2007, 07:16 PM	#130
ZooZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 694	Does the baffle need to be siliconed to the base of the filter?? How high should it be and how far from the intake and impeller area?

06/22/2007, 09:51 PM	#132
ZooZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 694	Im going to be using acrylic as the baffle. I still dont know if it should be sealed against the bottom of the flter. How high it should be and how far from the intake chamber.

06/23/2007, 02:44 PM	#134
ZooZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 694	ok you havent answered my question dirtyone. I need to know if the acrylic baffle needs to be sealed againt the floor of the aquarium. and How far away from the intake chamber should it be? Anyone?

06/23/2007, 03:20 PM	#135
dirtyone Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Dunkirk Posts: 98	it doesnt really matter how far away from the intake chamber, i left enough room so i could get at the impellar. yes it should be siliconed because theres nothing to hold it in place.

06/24/2007, 02:12 AM	#137
ZooZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 694	I got a AC70 but used the impellar from the 20. When i used the AC20 impellar the water barely filled up the 'u' section of the intake tube. It made a gurgling noise also. And theres soo much bubbles in the display when its on. Any way to stop the gurgling noise? Use a AC 30 impellar perhaps?

06/24/2007, 10:49 AM	#139
ZooZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 694	I got it..thanks for the help colin. Its up and running. Going to see nitrates in 2 weeks from now. Current nitrates are at 30ppm. The only thing i screwed up on is my baffle does not go all the way to the bottom. Theres abour a 1cm gao due to the narrowing of the filter. I have a sand bed in the filter too. Should i be worried about this??

07/06/2007, 10:09 PM	#140
Telal Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 34	I just finished this mod on an AC70 I've got it up and running on my JBJ Picotope but I wanted to run a reverse light cycle on it and its in my and my girlfriends bedroom so I taped off the return and any parts the would be in contact with the water and used Krylon Satin Black to spray paint the outside until it was completely opaque. I made a new top out of a $2 piece of acrylic from lowes which I also spray painted opaque black leaving a window taped off directly above the fuge area and secured it using two rare earth magnets. One I glued onto the underside where the piece if the filter sticks up between the return and and the intake and the other I glued to the top of my diy top. I salvaged an old light that sits flat on the top and stuck in a 6700K curly CF bulb. I only get a little light leakage that I should be able to take care of with another spraypainted piece of acrylic glued to the front of my diy top that ends right above the returning water because there is light leaking from the grid on the front. This thing is the perfect size to hold a Visi-therm Deluxe 50W, I made a baffle to seperate my heater and give me an area to hold filter floss and carbon or whatnot when needed. I shaved too much of the stock impeller even though I shaved then tested then shaved more and tested again, the last time I had to shave off a lot to get each impeller blade even. So I've ordered a AC50 impeller for my AC70, I still want a lot of flow as I'm trying to make this the only thing on my picotope because I hate the look of equipment in the tank. So far my nitrates have dropped from ~30 to~10 in a week and a half and the reverse light cycle has really helped keep my ph stable.

07/06/2007, 11:58 PM	#141
ZooZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 694	oh heyy i would do a reverse light cycle but its the light issue that bothers me...my tank is in my bedroom. I would really like to see some pictures of it and might try doing the same!!!

07/07/2007, 08:35 AM	#143
ZooZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 694	oh yea...if your getting such good results with just the cheato i might take out the sand when i do some maintenance work on the filter...Do you use some type of floss to get the big debris out of the water? Oh yea and should the cheato be rolling or moving at all because i dont seem to have much circulation where the cheato is.

07/07/2007, 09:57 AM	#144
Colin Registered Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 848	The chaeto is pretty good at catching the big stuff. Pods and worms will colonize it and eat the debris. I think the water flow comes from the bottom to the top, so it flows through the chaeto. Mine doesn't move at all. --Colin

07/08/2007, 08:59 AM	#145
vegasaquaria Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 2	What do you use to cut the extension tube? Thanks!

07/08/2007, 09:20 AM	#146
Colin Registered Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 848	I used a dremel. You could probably use a hacksaw too. --Colin

07/08/2007, 12:24 PM	#150
ZooZ Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 694	oh ok...im all good then..going to test nitrates tomorrow and see if it went down from 20ppm prior to installing the fuge.