I kinda did this. I acquired an empty Aquaclear 500/110 shell with the motor and gray basket(but with no media, etc) and I ran a power head inside the tank to provide flow.Originally Posted by linjam
I took the AC, cut the strainer piece off, and, using a reverse-flow kit that came with my Penguin 550 powerhead, pumped the water from inside the tank into the filter. To do this you need to remove the original impeller from the AquaClear so the water can flow into the filter. Add chaeto, live rock, or whatever you want(lighting optional for non-algae setups) and voila! Instant mini-refugium. The only thing that really sucks about this setup is that you'll have to put in some baffles of some sort if you want to run mud or fine substrate. The small water capacity is also a perceived weakness, but on a smaller tank, it isn't a big deal. I originally ran Chaeto, but after a self-engineered cyanobacteria infestation(which, I admit I was curious in seeing just HOW good cyano was at reducing nitrates. I had heard it was very potent at the task, which proved true....I was tired of how it looked though. It isn't exactly pleasing to have a box of lime-green and dark red slime hanging on the back of a tank...) I just switched it over to a single layer of sponge and my heater.
Lucky me, I've got sponge and copepods growing in the filter now!
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