TOTW 6-1-08 Interesting thought for a hang on refugium

[Future]

After much, much reading I stopped to think about some of the old equipment I brought to work and is not being used.

I have an older hang-on filter with a built in skimmer. It's the kind that overflows into the tank with the skimmer on top as the lid. I'm not sure how well it works because it's been a while, but if I filled this with something like cheata or caulerpera and/or mangrove pods, it would be more than I have now with fairly little effort or out of pocket expence.

The questions here are...

1. Will this benefit my tank at all?
2. Do I need to do anything "special" as far as plumbing? It's basically a filter the media would be the macros
3. Will I need to add special additives?
4. If pods come with the living macro, will the filtration itself harm the pods?


Originally I was going to use my old 5gal. tank as a refugium, but the plumbing alone would be a PITA because the 5gal. would be underneath the 32Gal. (Screwed up stand my brother-in-law built for it combined with lack of space) I can still do it, I'm just looking at things I have right now as opposed to rushing out to spend cash on more stuff.

[slchurch]

Hey there, very good question and a great idea for people who don'y have the funds to buy the real thing. I'm kind of suprised that no one responded to this question, I will give it my best shot. The answer to the question is yes you can use a HOB filter as a mini refugium.
The first thing that you would need to do is find a way to partially block the area around where the impeller so that anything that you put in the area where the filter media used to be installed does not get into the impeller. With that said remember that the only purpose of that impeller is to move water so DO NOT block it in a manner that water flow is halted or even slowed for that matter. I played with this design one time using a emperor 280. I blocked the spray bar hole with silicone so it wouldn't work and used a 1/8" thick piece acrylic with a bunch of 1/8" holes drilled in it and siliconed it to the inside of the filter on the hump b/t the impeller and the filter media area and only went up as high as needed and that was it.
The things you put in your HOB refugium are totally up to you and the space available. Live sand (the Emperor has a bump as stated above), live rock rubble, chaeto, calupa, even some mangrove sticking out of the top would look kool. Lighting could be accomplished using just about anything, those cheep deflectors with the red ended clip that they sell about anywhere in the automotive section with a "sunlight" floursent would work great.

Well I rambled on like a mad man not even knowing if anyone is interested in my responce so here you go anyway. GOOD LUCK from the Tattooed Freak!!!!!!!!

[Future]

LOL,

I went ahead and did this myself w/o knowing what I was doing at all. I used an old penguin bio-wheel mini.

First I popped out the bio-wheel itself and put the intake into the area it needed to go. Basically the intake tube sealed itself around the impeller so that was a plus.
Next I siliconed a plastic strip in front of the overflow so the macro wouldn't fall out. then simply filled with Chaeto.

Worked great! Being it's a small space and the unit is solid black, I let it utilize the same lighting schedule as the tank because the light shines in from the positioning.


As a first time DIY I'm surprised it worked, but it gave me the basic concept of how it should be done properly. Now I know I can add substrate, lighting, etc...

I was about to convert an Aquaclear 110, but it was too long for the back of the tank. The middle strip was in the way, so now I'm just looking to get a new gasket seal and motor for the hang on I originally wanted to use.

[scubadude]

great idea! how bout some pics?

[Future]

Sure, Once I get home and get the major issues addressed I'll get some pictures of the ref.

[Future]

I haven't had the time for this yet. Tomorrow I'll have it posted for sure.

I want to do another small modification so I can do step by step pictures for yas

[Future]

OK Guys this is going to be a 24 hour process as the silicon cures due to my small modification. So you're seeing this in real time here.

First I went through all my old hang on filters and chose one that fit my tank. I went with the old Penguin Bio-Wheel Mini that I used on my 5gal. QT before the side broke.

Picture #1:
This is the basic equipment I used. The filter, a plastic lid, and the type of Macro I wanted to use. (In this case Chaeto w/ a small portion of Caulerpa very nicely seeded) You don't need a lot in the mini, so a baseball size clump should be just fine.

Picture #2:
First I removed the bio-wheel from the filter, it won't be used here so your filter doesn't need to be the bio-wheel type. I then cut the plastic lid so it would fit snugly into the overflow area.

Picture #3:
I used a tool to punch holes throughout the cut out section of lid. The holes were punched inward so the rough edges will grab hold of anything that might try to pour out of the overflow. (Think of it like a cheese grater. That small rough side basically grasps and holds tight.)

Picture #4:
I used an aquarium silicon to attach the plastic lid to the overflow area. I'm sure any glue will be fine, I just happened to have a new tube of aquarium seal here so I used it. (This picture shows the sizing of the lid prior to the holes. Sorry I'm not used to step by step pictures )

Picture #5:
Just showing the sealant I used in case anyone is interested.

Later we'll see the final results as the silicon cures. I'll check in a few hours as to the strength. It should be fine because it's not going to be holding the water pressure as a tank itself would.

[Future]

OK, after a few hours I checked and the silicon was almost 100% cured, so I started the testing with a 5gal. bucket. The testing helps to remove some of the toxic chemicals from the silicon when it's curing.

Picture #6:
I used such a small amount of silicon it's not really going to be a factor anyway. The amount was 1/4 the size of a dime on each side.

Picture #7:
Take your macro and fill the filter with it. You say that there needs to be something to baffle the intake? That wasn't an issue with this particular filter because the intake is pretty much surrounded to begin with. At the very bottom of the intake is where the water comes out towards the rear of the unit. The problem is basically solved for you making it a sweet deal that they took care of half the issue for you all because of the design.

Picture #8:
Now yes, I know the filter is black. Usually they are all clear or at least have a light for the photo. cycles. I keep my lighting near the back of the tank, and the height is just enough to illuminate the tank as well as the macro inside the filter.

Picture #9:
If you want lights on, but don't want lighting inside the hang-on, simply place the cover on and it's light's out!

Picture #10:
Final product functioning with a descent flow and no macro able to escape. There will be an adequate flow and as far as the 2 smaller openings on the bottom of the plastic lid, This is so any POD's can escape into the tank as they wish.

[Lucid]

that's a cool project. ;) got me thinking of doing a HOB fuge now. was thinking of a 10gal, but this would be lots easier!

[Future]

If you use an Aquaclear 110, using the parts that come with it, just rearrange them and they fit snugly like the picture below. No glue's needed at all. It's basically an easier plug & play but will require a longer hang on space.

[Future]

Yes I do get a little bored quite often. lol