$146 Nano Reef: DIY AquaClear Refugium Mod & Filtration (Part 2)
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- Setting up a successful reef tank does not need to cost a lot, here is how I converted a AquaClear 70 filter is double as a powerhead and refugium for the $146 budget reef tank build!
El Fab's AquaClear 70 modification instruction on Nano-Reef.com:
www.nano-reef....
List of equipments for this build:
Hipargero / Aqua Knight A029 Light (Amazon): amzn.to/2JHA8E5
Aqua Clear 70 HOB Filter (Amazon): amzn.to/2Nx9DDA
Hydor 25w Heater (Amazon): amzn.to/2O4XMh4
Hydor 100w Heater (Amazon): amzn.to/2LFH4Dd
Silicone Sealer 1oz (Amazon): amzn.to/2PbQhFH
* Buying items using the Amazon links here will be the same price but give me a small commission, much appreciated if you end up buying anything using these links!
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looking good! the smart ATO sensor fits perfectly in that little indented area between the uptake tube and overflow. Thats where I have mine and you can't even see it.
This right here is why I love Comments on RUclips, thanks Mark for this gold nugget of info!! =O
Just want to say you inspired me to setup the same type of tank.. end result was no where close to $146 though lol. I used my sons old 10g that had evaporated to about 1” of water and had green algae almost all for panes top to bottom. (Did this in ourpose was going to use it as a shrimp tank and wanted the overgrowth for the hard to keep shrimp only setup) scribed it down and repurposed it about 1h after seeing this series of videos last weekend. Later that day I went to Petco spent $190 on 4 pieces of rock covered in coralline that looked clean from a tank wo corals so likely no missed coral pests. (My petcos are pretty clean compared to local fish stores they are 10x cleaner systems) picked up a 20lb bag of oolight love sand while there as well as aquaclear 70 and 2 cartons of seawater cause it was impulse buying and I didn’t have salt water ready to go and it’s only a 10g so actually cheaper to buy mixed water then to do myself.
Setup rock poured in about 17lbs of the 20lbs of sand (I still like fine sand dsb setups) poured in 30g worth of bio spira and tank fired up instantly.
Went back to different Petco that same night to purchase a few fish and cuc (before anyone flames in me for how bad this is.... I’ve been keeping planted, predator, and large saltwater tanks longer then prob half the people watching this have been alive. I know when I can and can’t add live stock safely)
I went with the fluval evo light which cost and extra $40 over your light but I like the adjustability to tune the led to proper spectrum and at same time have the whites turn in for viewing pleasure when I’m home. Idk how well it will grow coral but the one rock I purchased that had zero coralline out of the four is already mostly encrusted. So if it can grow coralline that fast off spores then it must be good for corals despite the bad reviews which upon getting I can attribute 99% to people who likely use default settings that are only 80-90% violet and blue with 20-30% whites and red.. not ideal growing spectrum selections.
Using the akre 12w grow light and just placed cheto in today although tank since about an hour after setup is still running 0-0-5 with pho’s below what my testing can accurately measure but is likely from experience .2ish... hardest part really has been fine tuning the heater as tank is open top and I run 68* at night and 76 during the day. Even still with cheap fluval titanium that is 3 years old only getting 1* temp swings but having hard time getting to the desire range I want at 79-80 cause the thermostat it has is at best 5-6* off.
All in I’m up to prob about $300 not counting the live stock which was another $150. I’m also using the intank system instead of modifying the factory basket. I wanted more options.. running nano carbon in areas where pump is.. poly fill floss in first chamber, cruised coral in second inside filter bag and cheto in the third chamber. Been running the aq70 at Lowest flow setting and have similar drifts to what your tank shows on update video. I for one love fine sand and I love natural drifts of the sand. I’ve never seen a flat ocean sea bed myself. Sand is supposed to move about and have deep areas that denitrify and shallow areas they nitrify.
The one thing I’m having an issue with as of now is circulation. I setup rock in a one big arch with some depth scape. Getting a lot of collection under the arch for now and all pumps I currently have even programmed Down to min setting are too high flow and disturbing the sand too much. One was a jaebo pp8 which on min should be under 300ghp but was way too much. Thinking of trying the hydor nano centered on back glass rated to 240 but afraid that’s still going to be too high a flow with the aq70. I picked up the aq30 impeller and will be doing that mod this weekend so crossing my fingers it’s enough reduction in filter flow to be able to add a small wave maker. We will see.
Side notes.. anyone considering the fluval sea nano light.. its user interface is good but takes hours before you’ll understand how it works as you get zero instructions. Also it will not fit framed rim tanks.. I had to cut out the framing in the center inside portion of the tank so the light would sit level. Tbh that’s not really the lights fault but the tanks as the frame just flexed too easy. You’ll likely find this problem with any clip on light with any tank smaller then a 40 breeder u less it’s rimless..
Anyone looking at using a nano tank setup with an aquaclear filter.. buy the 70 period. You can always spend $8 and get the impeller from the 30 which will reduce the flow but you want the largest housing you can fit. The 110 filter uses a different pump setting but the 30/50/70 all use the same setup just different impeller designs. You can get say 45 flow from a 70 size unit by using a 30 impeller. 30 flow from a 50 or even if desired 60ish flow from a 30 by putting the 70 impeller into it.. these are great $8 modifications to the aquaclear filters allowing you to fine tune the flow for your tank..
God bless everyone who sees this I hope you have a great rest of your day and a great day tomorrow. God is king and God loves you bye.❤️🙏🏽🤍🕊🤍
Dave's nano tank has a pretty good cheap diy fuge light. He might be able to tell you where he got it from👍
I never did a video on it because I couldn't find a source for the leds I used
Dave hiding his secret source... ;-)
Yes nice update on this little project I am excited to see it completed with super cool coral and fish thank you for this video
Mailed me a letter? This video was great man. I dont think the ATO is cheating. I think the build you are doing is to show hobbiest it can be done for a low starting price. ATO is for top off and a follower can just make the judgment call to add it or not. You have like 3 tank to be toping off! Not the same.
very good content of the video. following the channel, if you can sign up, thanks
very good content of the video. following the channel, if you can sign up, thanks
Awesome video man! This was really helpful, I’ve been looking into a lot of DIY projects for this and then you come out with this one which was a live saver compared to going with a few of the other acrylic diy videos
Thank you for your kind words and glad this video was useful in some way!!
Having an accrylic lid cut for the top will dramatically reduce evaporation but it will reduce gas exchange. This can be combatted by putting an airstone underneath the cheto and it will also tumble the cheto and give it CO2.
The growing cheato adding oxygen will probably make up for te reduced gas exchange if he doesn't overstock
Interesting idea, I do have a spare airpump that I could hook up and try this... although I wonder if I'd get salt splash on the wall from the airstone, hmm... one way to find out. Thanks for the idea
Don’t waste your money on any other HOB filter! use an Aqua Clear now Fluval Aqua Clear. They say it’s not as good as the originals but still better than all the others you will see at a big box store.
I turned my HOB filter into a turf scrubber and I'm currently using the ACKE LED 24W (~$20 on amazon) www.amazon.com/ACKE-Fixtures-Seedlings-Hydroponics-Aeroponics/dp/B01N47QRHV/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534797309&sr=8-2 . It's IP64 waterproof (splashproof, but not submersible). It's slightly bigger than the cover of my HOB so it acts as a lid. I plastic wrapped the frontside of it just in case.
Also, for evaporation issues, the cheapest way to deal with that is to use a glass lid. Even if it's partially covered, you will see less evaporation. When my 29g was fully covered, I almost never had to top off. Now it's 80% covered and I need to top off once a week about half a gallon and the A/C is running in my house 24/7.
As always very enjoyable video Mok. The more tanks the better.. I should stop being lazy and finish buildind all my tanks, maybe one day lol.
Thanks man, although I'm not too sure about the more tanks the better line, LOL!
You may want to leave the lid off the filter and light it from the top. The smoked [not clear] plastic will effect the spectrum of any light you use. The heater would also be more efficient away from the motor in the filter as heat from motor will throw off built in thermostat as will the fuge light when you install it.
Thanks Dave, I was hoping to avoid heater in the tank but sounds like it may have to go in there, hmmmmmmm
@@InappropriateReefer also good in case the pump stops working or you leave the filter off the tank still gets Heat
Sorry, but u broken ur head to get this "great" mod... Better lesnt the advices of so many smart people that give u comments... U get a Better job!
i hate those salt creep on the heater wire when i used have a tank. Time to restart. You can use an gang box with 24W CFL light bulb as cheato lighting. I used those those www.homedepot.com/p/Carlon-1-Gang-20-cu-in-New-Work-Box-B120A-UPC/205319652
How do you get flow on your chaeto with this build? Mine keeps sticking to the grate and collecting debris :/
I'm looking in to getting to fish tanks and I'm getting a fresh water tank. Will the fliter refugium work for the fresh water tank?
The link for the mod doesn't work and i don't remember how to do it again for another 10 nano reef... Crap!
Quick question, I have a 70 gallon fish tank that I want to turn into a saltwater can I still do this set up for it using the aqua clear 110?
Its cool, but I would take care with the thermo in contact with plastic
Can you run the Aquaclear on the back or does it have to be on the side glass?
If you had to cut the intake of the filter you could just cut the male piece smaller and then insert it to the female piece
Cripes man... How many windows you got open on that browser😂
Great job dude!
😁☝🏻
You dont need to use silicone I used cyano acrilite glue
hey i was wondering of getting the aqua knight light, for a tank, but i looked up on amazon and they dont ship to australia, any other lights that are cheap and can be sent to australia?
The Kessil A80 is also very popular (although it may not be as strong), also a AI Prime HD if that is not outside of budget!
Curious to see how detritus will affect this filter overtime.
And amazing to see how you release video while being away, keep up the good work :)
(Doing this message on a sunday while i work, god damnit, can't find time to create video >.< )
Shouldn't be much detritus here - the filter floss contains most of it and regular cleaning/replacing it keeps flow up. The aqua clear 70 is a workhorse filter, too.
I'm guessing I'd clean the filter chamber regularly to keep the detritus down, especially since I added a few marinepure spheres in the back and gunk is going to get stuck among them! Hey man, sacrifice a few hours of sleep and knock one out. ;-)
Notch the top of the lid not the filter box itself to accommodate the heater. I would suggest a small LED light for that refugium over the Macro algae. If I were gonna do macro algae I would drill a hole in the top of the lid over that chamber about 1 3/4 - 2 inches and use the Kessel A80 Refugium light. I would also go to a AC 50, 30 impeller in the filter pump to reduce the flow of water. This will prevent over flow being a problem and increase the dwell time for the algae to do nutrient take up better. Do not be tempted to use a AC 20 impeller as the pump wont be able to self prime itself should there be a power failure. It just doesnt move enough water to lift and prime the filter. Been using Aqua-clear filters for over two decades now and love them although I may be moving over to Seachem Tidals in my nano's.
Seeing your video has me tempted to do one in a refugium again...only instead of Macro Algae, I may use 3-4 Mangroves instead!
Funny project. I used a Aquaclear box as a return with water from the sump pumped up into the box then to the tank. .
Interesting, so you connected a hose to the intake, and the filter pump was strong enough to pull water from the sump which I assume is under the tank?
No, I ran the line from the return pump to this box which held carbon or what ever else I put in it, which then ran into the tank.. It was my way of preventing back siphoning
This is a great series of vids! Keep us updated, but don’t forget the 150! 😝
150who? lol!
Ahh very cool mod!
which heater did u used the 25 or 100
You need to upload more!like your vids.
Thanks man, I wish I could as well... harder and harder to find time these days =(
This man's tab game is strong
If you look around Michaels Craft Store for 'plastic canvas' you can get a plastic mesh for a dollar or two.
Do you need to turn the filter into a refugium or could choose a smaller filter and a powerhead
Smaller filter and a powerhead would work, lots of similar builds to this but with those pieces. If you can't find em pm and i'll shoot ya the link
The white sticker in the tank tells you who was the guy that assemble it
Liked and subscribed!
Great video! I know this was over 6 months ago, but have you tried drilling more holes to have the sump/filter move more water? Cheers Inappropriate reefer! look forward to watching Episode 3!!
I am going to be doing a 25g or 40g breeder for my next tank...have both the tanks on hand already, the 25g was at one point the home to an ocellaris clownfish.... I may do something similar, along with other filtration and flow....
Now to sort out the lighting ...
The CH in Chaetomorpha makes a "K" sound.
Thank you for the correction!
Would this filter still be adequate if I used a 20 gallon?
Yes because it is already huge for such a small tank
@@alauram.6416 What about a 40 gallon breeder?
@@monkelover2056 yes, but dont over stock.
I'd skip the chaeto personally. Use water changes for nutrient removal. Any algae will just add work and slow down flow. No need for it on a small tank.
I agree with this tbh; always enjoy a refugium though. If it becomes too much of a pain I’d pull it
Ryan Thompson I have a similar size tank and was going to do this. Do you think I would be just wasting time? If not the algae maybe use some biological media instead?
Do we have to do this or can I just leave the filter as it is
you can leave as is but this reduces nitrates in the main
Put a cover and it will slow it down. A lot I have covers on my 55 and it only needs a top off like maybe once a week of not less
@InapropriateReefer
Hey thank you for recording my interview with George at aquashella!
I bought a red and blue plant light for my refugium. I keep it on 24 hours a day and my chaeto grows fantastically. It was a very cheap light off of eBay. Put a lid on everything. Helps with evaporation. Add some live rock rubble to the base of the refugium. Helps with critters. It’s how I set mine up.
Love the channel, learning a lot from ya. Newbie here to saltwater, setting up my first now. 150gal and a 60 gal frag tank.
The 146, is just for the equipment, the tank, the light, Hob filter, heater , I don't think that's including the inside of the tank at all though like livestock right?
I used the clear plastic sheeting that comes with poster frames. It’s about a milimeter in thickness and very brittle but if you take your time and cut it to the dimensions of the inside edge in the tank, also making gaps for the light mount and filter inlet, you can have yourself a very lightweight tank cover that’s super cheap. Works great and as long as you don’t scratch it, should remain crystal clear and give you plenty of evaporation control.
Hi dude, is it better to redesign this filtration into the refugium, or let it be as stock ? Im new in this hobby and im wondering if i can do that.
Btw nice video, thumbs up !
Mate you can easily take the rim off that lil tank if you want a rimless that bad
Hey I made one similar. However I bought a led clip on from Lowe's for $20. My cheato was nice and green. It's silver with a round light section.
You should look into a 12w Acke grow light, it's really compact and has a good spectrum for macro algae. It can get really warm though so I'd give it some space but all in all a great fuge light for the money.
El Fab's AC70 mod might be the best, most useful mod I've come across in reef keeping ever. NR forums are excellent, too.
What did you put in the filter again? How does it filter without any sponge media/charcoal/etc
Thanks so much for these vids! I’m copying this setup with water and sand from my 55g Bc I’m too lazy to wait for it to cycle lol. As always, great video! Keep it up 👍
Really curious about this. Firstly do you need such a big HOB? Also is it safe to put a heater in the HOB?
Time to update your videos..bud ..were waiting...thanks
I love this idea...I have a couple of these aquaclears hanging around. I may have to try it LOL
Question man. Which light do you gonna use for you chaeto? Thanks in advance!
Just starting my 2nd reef a 8g and I went with the aqua clear 20 kind of regret it now but hell I’ll make it work
The lid doesn’t fit well after a while anyway. You will need a light. Skip the lid.
I would suggest a light from the top to prevent light bleeding into the display tank
Looks good though definitely and I certainly hope it helps people realize it isn't that hard not cheap to get into this hobby
I’ve had really good results with the small eshopps fuge light
It was awesome to meet you at aquashella on Saturday! I am the one with the blue and white shirt that brought my mom to the show. I hope you have a great time at the show!
Whats up with your 90's keyboard tho?
Great video. I decided I would also also make a 10 gallon reef tank and right now I'm just waiting for the final parts so I can start cycling. One thing I learned while researching was that a small refugium like the one you are using would barely do anything because of the low water volume of the filter. Also because you put the heater inside the filter, it can potentially overheat and melt the plastic. Also you are definitely going to need a light for the refugium. I felt this would be too much hassle so for my build I'm just going to do some mechanical filtration with some blue and seachem. I also learned about chaeto reactors. Not only can they hold more water and naturally clean your tank, they can also grow pods very well, meaning you could get a 6line wrasse or even a seahorse. Just something cool I learned.
Russel Chua I did this on my own tank but a media reactor with a pump is 38 bucks on amazon and the led grow lights are another 13 bucks. About the same as a aquaclear 70 but is way more efficent.
@@OSSOYT Could you provide a link to the media reactor with pump & grow light. Currently gathering info and equipment to get it right the first time. Thanks
@@TheAlmightysMercy ended up scrapping the 10 gallon reef, the media reactor chaeto grower is in storage until I can upgrade my 30. I just used the stock pump included with the phosban reactor 150 and a few led growlights on ebay
Hay man glade too meet you at aquashella
Hey ! give us an update on the nano 10 gallon!!! please
this is gonna be my first saltwater tank hope thisi doesnt fail me lol
Awsome I need a Refugium so bad for my tank
Looking good! What fish do you plan to add to this tank (if any) ?
Put a glass lid so evaporation doesnt happen as often
what light did you use for the refugium?
What is that background music?
are you not having a UV filter?
LED strips 👍for the algae
Early congrats on 21k subs
Now a want a nano lol
Could you update this for us
If I decide to make this refugium setup myself, would I need another separate filter for mechanical filtration? I have a 29 gallon build going on and wanted to try this hob refugium.
I have the same question for the same reason.
@@samanthastockdall9747 from what i researched, this will act as a mechanical and bacterial filtration system. you don't need a second filter. however, i have an old 20 and now a 50 and i'm turning my 50 into a fuge and leaving my 20 filtering as usual.
Nice one!!
Nice!
Nice!
Great series man!
Yay! Thanks for part 2!
No filter floss used?
even tho im not a reef keeper, i love your vids
Where at did you place your ato in the aquaclear?
Slipped it under the AquaClear 70, there’s a perfect spot
First
finally thanku!!!
Second baby
4th
Will macro algae actually address nutrients better than just using the same sized space for a good quality biological that supports anearobic bacteria instead which also pull out nitrate and phosphate and so on? Because it's far less maintenance and more consistent, and works 24 hours a day unlike macro algae which is only actively growing when light is on it. Also the excess bacteria that blooms gets pulled out by the skimmer and it also feeds corals. Macro algae doesn't support coral growth but it can if large enough support pods if you dose food that the pods eat... I just get the feeling biological like established denitrate by seachem under the right flow will be a million times more effective at nutrient control than doing macro algae if you do the same space for either and denitrate is cheap and never needs to be replaced.
Or do both 💁🏼♀️
It's good to seek out information and find out what works best otherwise the hobby never progresses. If biological is as good or better then why bother with macro algae at the same time you may as well have a frag tank going or frag tank to sell for credit at the local fish store or something else going on.
WaterspoutsOfTheDeep because macro algae is natural as well and has benefits
What benefits?
WaterspoutsOfTheDeep home for copepods and soaks up nutrients
For my 20 gallin nano I bought an aquaclear 30 (for 10-30 gallon aquariums, but Im seeing many people are using the Aquaclear 70. Should I exchange my 30 for the 70? Is it a big deal?