Skimmer/Refugium mods

[BrothaWolf]

Originally Posted by Cerealkiller024

Hey Im wondering what the dimensions are of your fuge. I found one but its 19" wide Im thinking that to big.

4.5 x 13 IIRC what tank are you using it for?

[YumSaltWater]

Im interested in doing something like this for my tank.
You know, when i have money.
I have a 24 gallon aquapod reef tank which is doing fine although my nitrates are usually up.
Where can i find detailed instructions/pricing on modding my tank like this?
Thank you for your help.

[BrothaWolf]

Originally Posted by YumSaltWater

Im interested in doing something like this for my tank.
You know, when i have money.
I have a 24 gallon aquapod reef tank which is doing fine although my nitrates are usually up.
Where can i find detailed instructions/pricing on modding my tank like this?
Thank you for your help.

hmmmm I dont know about the aquapod. Aquapod has a hinged top which will make it harder to retrofit something but not impossible. Unless you have the halides... I just winged it with my biocube. Grabbed my cordless drill and my hole bits... Sapphire Aquatics may actualy make a fuge for the aquapod

[aquaman3680]

haha i never saw this thread! But great job! Do you still have the hang on fuge running on that tank?

Matt

[BrothaWolf]

Originally Posted by aquaman3680

haha i never saw this thread! But great job! Do you still have the hang on fuge running on that tank?

Matt

Sure do and its working great!

[au_1990]

I have the 24gal aquapod with the halides and I had Kyle at Sapphire Aquatics send me the fuge/skimmer combo that they sell. Hooked it up two days ago and it fits my aquapod nicely. The skimmer is still going though its break in period and according to Kyle, this usually takes a week or two. I will let you know when and how the skimmer works in a couple of weeks.

[BrothaWolf]

Originally Posted by au_1990

I have the 24gal aquapod with the halides and I had Kyle at Sapphire Aquatics send me the fuge/skimmer combo that they sell. Hooked it up two days ago and it fits my aquapod nicely. The skimmer is still going though its break in period and according to Kyle, this usually takes a week or two. I will let you know when and how the skimmer works in a couple of weeks.

I ran my skimmer only at night till the break in was done so that I didnt have to deal with the micro bubbles

[au_1990]

I hadn't thought of doing that and I might put the skimmer pump on the same timer as my lighting for the lunar lights. The skimmer is producing some wet, green liquid but I still think it is a little "thin" and should be much richer and darker. Another question, how did you go about adjusting the height of the collection cup on your skimmer? Also, I have read on here that some reefers use the Seachem product called Purigen. I don't use it but I was wondering if it would effect the skimmer's production and also if it had any long term adverse effects on the bio filter.

Thanks.

[Woodstock]

Welcome to Reefsanctuary au_1990

Great thread Brotha~


edit: phoey.. i ran out of karma... I'll hit you with some when I can au_1990

[BrothaWolf]

Originally Posted by au_1990

I hadn't thought of doing that and I might put the skimmer pump on the same timer as my lighting for the lunar lights. The skimmer is producing some wet, green liquid but I still think it is a little "thin" and should be much richer and darker. Another question, how did you go about adjusting the height of the collection cup on your skimmer? Also, I have read on here that some reefers use the Seachem product called Purigen. I don't use it but I was wondering if it would effect the skimmer's production and also if it had any long term adverse effects on the bio filter.

Thanks.

To adjust the height of the cup just roll the o-ring towards the bottom of the collection cup. That will raise the cup when you place it back in the skimmer. Never used purigen so I cant help you there

[freddyk]

Your setup looks great. I have a BioCube 29 and I have been trying to figure out a way to add a refugium without drilling the actual glass. In your pictures it shows the pipes coming up and over the back yet you still seem to have the lid on. Did you just drill the back of the hood to make way for the pipes? Also where did you put your pump that feeds the fuge? If you have the skimmer in chamber 2 then is the fuge pump in chamber 1 or the display itself?

I am really happy with my tank I just want more water volume and pods...

Thanks

[SALA900]

question, where did you buy the refugium? and what model it is?

[Rcpilot]

It's a CPR refugium.

You can get them here:
CPR AquaFuge Hang-on Back aquarium refugium / Gina's Aquarium Supply

CPR actually makes several sizes. You can get specs at the CPR site, here:
CPR AQUATIC, INC: Products

I started out with the Aquafuge 2. It's 19" long and does not have a built in skimmer.

I bought an in-tank skimmer that sucked and blew bubbles all over my tank.

So, I bought the Aquafuge PS large model thats 23" long and has the built in skimmer. It totally kicks butt. I only open the air valve to let it skim at night. I want my corals to eat during the day. I skim about 8-10hrs per night. I shut the bubbles off when I get up around 6:30am.

If you have 24" of room on your tank--DEFINITELY get the one with a built in skimmer. I think they make a smaller one thats only 19" long and has a built in skimmer. I have a 19" model without a skimmer. But, now that I see how they built it in, I might just slap a couple pieces of plexiglass in mine and build a skimmer into it.

My tank is an All Glass thats 24" wide. The large 24" CPR just BARELY fits on a tank that size. I mean BARELY. It's tight, but it fits. You'll have to turn the intake tube out a bit to make the powerhead fit without hitting the side of the tank. But it's a threaded connection, so ya just twist it a little tighter and slap the powerhead on.

Ginas Aquarium supply also sells the legs/stands for the CPR lights that fit on top of the refugium. I bought the 18" light with 24w light.

When you get to the refugium page on Ginas, scroll down to see the leg kits. They sell the lights too.

The 18" light with 24w daylight 10,000K is CPRL 1624
The stands for the medium 19" refugium are AFSTND
The stands for the 24" refugium are PSSTND, but I used my old ones when I upgraded my refugium. The old ones work, but they are a little loose. You'd have to see it to understand. It makes no difference which ones you use on the larger refugium. The larger refugium is actually about 1/2" slimmer than the smaller 19" fuge. So, when you use the ASSTND legs on the larger fuge, they can slide back and forth a little bit. They don't fall off though. It's designed so that it won't fall off.

The large 36" light CPRL2436 is for the under tank refugium. It's 36w.

[SALA900]

I also have the 2 biocube, and im planing doing the hob refugium, so in order to do that i need to throw away the stok filter right?, set up the skimmer on chamber 2, take out all the bioball from it also? add purigen on chamber 3? is that correct?

[ramora]

nice tank good work.