Reef Discussion

leodb89

Member
Mar 6, 2012
3,751
876
Sydney
DiY Refugium - AC110 AquaClear 110 HOB Refugium Mod
Hey Guys,

a few of you know that im going to be putting this up, mainly because i take a lot of advice from people but really at most times dont have a lot i can give back and im hoping that i can start with this.

What will we be modding:
Hagen AquaClear 110 HOB Filter

Our Goal:
-Build a HOB refugium to help with nutriend exporting on my 2ft where a sump is out of the question.
-Add a little more water turn over.
-Room to add some carbon or rowaphos in the future.

Specs on the Hardware:
- Rated for 60-110 Gal - approx 230-420 Litres (thats about 2-4 times my water capacity)
- Maximum Output: 1892 L/h (500 U.S. Gal./h)
- Full Flow Control: 630 L/h (166 U.S. Gal./h)
- Power Consumption: 14 W

Keep watching this as today im going to buy the silicone and hopefully getting started :)
 

leodb89

Member
Mar 6, 2012
3,751
876
Sydney
So i had a pretty busy day today and at the moment theres no real update, need to go buy some acrylic for a baffle or two.

havent decided the design i wanna go for so gonna ask for some suggestions, basically looking at sump designs and trying to shrink it for my DIY

here are some pics i took today, you can see the silicone i've gone with, seen someone else use it in their build, it says on the back wait 7 days for aquarium use but it takes 24hrs to cure
is this to cover themselves or can someone tell me if i can just use after the 24hr curing?
 

leodb89

Member
Mar 6, 2012
3,751
876
Sydney
Ok so the next few pics will be the box and its contents and i put it on my tank because this thing is huge (thats what she said)

and wow lol looks like half my tank it has an adjustment to reduce the flow rate hoping that helps the other thing my lfs suggested
was to make sure the water streams into the water rather than above causing a waterfall like feature.

please let me know your thoughts on the following:

1. it come with some massive sponge, could i use this in the first chamber?
2. it come with activated carbon and a bag for it, could i use this also with or instead of the pad?
3. throw the ceramic rings out ye?
4. i will post some pics of what i wanna do in terms of baffles for chambers.
5. should i grab an adhesive waterproof LED chip n put it under the cover for my fuge light or do you guys have any
suggestions for a cheap, low power consumption light, that looks neat.

basically wanna have this thing running without having to maintain it every week you know what i mean have it just do what its gotta do and not bother anyone.

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aussieant32

Team Leader
Feb 19, 2012
3,337
914
Sutherland, Australia
looking good. I don't know about the waterfall thing, if it creates a bit of surface aggitation I see that as a good thing?

I would have the sponge first, that should stop any larger particles in your water getting into the actual fuge section. Also, if you have not bought any yet dont buy any acryllic, just use the sides from the media basket, they are the perfect size and you already have them. I saw a mod done on this same model and he used them really well.
 

leodb89

Member
Mar 6, 2012
3,751
876
Sydney
yeah they all use the actual sides of the media basket but they arent good for running a bubble trap...

if you look at the 5th photo you'll see the sides have cut outs like little squares to allow water to flow through but because this is massively over rated for my tank,
i felt if i use baffles (even if the bubble trap side of it wont work or is deemed useless) it will assist with slowing down the flow a little, i have about 8 of peoples DIYs
lol im tyring to look at them all and create my own one.

i m thinking of spraypainting the tank facing side and both sides of the HOB to avoid light spill over, what are your thoughts people, should i sprat paint or vinyl it?
 

leodb89

Member
Mar 6, 2012
3,751
876
Sydney
ok guys so heres the pic from the manual which assumes the water flows from the bottom of the intake (i know sounds like a dahhh moment but look at the design its weird)

also look at my proposed plan for the fuge, i wanna use baffles to slow the flow down a bit, i wanna use acryllic because the walls that come with it have flow holes in it,
all the things in green are optional additions im thinking i wanna know your thoughts.

the 3rd pic is the LR i will be using from my tank that i had set aside during my last rescape...dont go off topic about the juvie tang its only temp to help with my algae.
anyway looking forward to some feedback before i start the build hoping to get some soon so i can start/finish it :)

thanks guys

Baffle Plan.jpg


filter stage.PNG


IMG_6405-LR.JPG
 
Last edited:

rockerpeller

Member
Oct 14, 2011
1,261
436
Hastings, Vic
From my understanding, the filter will still keep the same flow even with the baffles. If you're wanting to slow the flow down, you'll either need to remove some"teeth" from the impeller, out get the next size down impeller.
Also using the standard media basket side walls gives you a more broader flow through the refuge rather then just over the top.

I've done this mod before so I'm just speaking from experience. Have you thought of doing a surface skimmer mod?
 

leodb89

Member
Mar 6, 2012
3,751
876
Sydney
yeah with the 110 you cant use an impeller from the 20/50/70 those 3 can only be used with each other, and heard down the road cutting the teeth can cause probs, however it does have a flow adjustment.

am i wrong in thinking the fact the water will need to flow through the filter media then baffles then LR and macro that it would not indeed slow it down as it is not direct passthrough all the way through and straight out?

ive seen a few surface skimming mods they look a bit ugly though...ive seen people drill a hole in the side of the surface skimmer to prevent the siphoning sound although this puts bubbles into the tank which is good but doesnt make it a peaceful reef lol, if you got pics please post some :)

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Last edited:

rockerpeller

Member
Oct 14, 2011
1,261
436
Hastings, Vic
It would slow it down, but the thing is due to the pump pushing water through the media, you'll find the water level in the chamber right after the pump will end up pretty high, flow over the 2nd baffle, and negate the whole slowing down process. If the pump were on the other side and pulling water through the media, yes it would slow it down through the whole filter.

There was 1 other surface skimmer method which involves an acrylic/pvc pipe set up like an upside down stockman overflow. Small profile and not too intrusive ;)
 

leodb89

Member
Mar 6, 2012
3,751
876
Sydney
smaller version means less media i thought about going smaller but why not the biggest and baddest lol at least i can use it if i upgrade, although im not too fussed if the flow is too much it was just an idea..

so rockerpeller what you're saying is i can use baffles but it will literally do nothing due to the design of the filter?
 

rockerpeller

Member
Oct 14, 2011
1,261
436
Hastings, Vic
How is set up... yes. There's nothing to lower the amount of water being pumped into the chamber besides the standard flow adjustment. As long as there is enough flow through the media, it won't overflow. But the point of a refuge is to have low flow, to allow the macro algae and dsb to absorb as many nutrients that flow through as possible.
When I 1st started looking at running a refuge, I didn't understand why it had to be low flow, in reality I still don't, but with so many reefing gurus recommending low flow through a refuge I figured there had to be a reason.
 

leodb89

Member
Mar 6, 2012
3,751
876
Sydney
makes sense...i guess for me not being able to run a sump or anything this is the next best thing i may later on decide to cut the tabs but not really convinced on it yet..

does anyone have any suggestions on:
my proposed design?
wil the carbon have any effect with having macro and LR?
should i use a DSB or no?
 

chimaera

enjoy the little things
May 13, 2012
5,473
2,295
Sandringham
Here are two threads you might be interested in where others have done a similar mod - 1 2

Have you also looked into the InTank media basket solutions? Might get some additional ideas from there.

I just took delivery of an AC70 so looking forward to seeing this progress - I was planning an intank media basket myself, but might try my hand at DIY too =0)
 

leodb89

Member
Mar 6, 2012
3,751
876
Sydney
hey chimaera i did look at their option but DIY is more fun it will be my first one, and to be honest i dont like the whole bubble looking holes lol but good for a nano to hide the heater easily

what kinda light you planning on using?

btw thanks for the links hard to find one with good pictures