lighting/filter mods

[lgb]

Being frugal by nature and necessity, I've been thinking of ways to
lower the cost of setting up a 29H. See what you think of the
following.

I have two AquaClear filters and one Duetto submersible filter in use
now. I like the ease of cleaning on the AquaClears, but I prefer the
output of the Duetto since it points horizontally and thus creates more
of a current. The best answer would be a canister, but that's a lot of
money.

So I'm thinking of attaching a "trough", probably a split piece of
plastic pipe, to the lip of an AquaClear to redirect the output. I'm
not sure yet how to do the attachment to make it strong enough, but with
today's adhesives it shouldn't be too difficult.

Now to lighting. The hood I have has one 18 watt flourescent tube.
While changing a bulb in our bathroom the other day, I go to wondering
about the use of a double-socket fixture in a homemade hood. With two
of them, I could use 4 of the 6500K screw-in flourescents giving me 44
watts. Still not optimum, but a lot better than 18. And there may be
better screw-ins out there. I have yet to measure the total length of
sockets and bulbs to see if they'll fit in-line, but if not I could
angle them so that the two center bulbs bypass each other.

Any comments on these ideas? Anyone already done them?

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[spiral_72]

If the current hood is a commercially produced unit, the ballast may
not push much more than 18W. However if you stroll through your local
home improvement store, you should find an electronic ballast that will
bolt in similar to the original unit. Ballasts in that power range are
quite inexpensive. I am running a DIY hood myself........ Retrofitted
hoods are quite common.

Hope this helps..
http://www.geocities.com/spiral_72/Spirals_page.html

[lgb]

In article om>,
says...
> If the current hood is a commercially produced unit, the ballast may
> not push much more than 18W. However if you stroll through your local
> home improvement store, you should find an electronic ballast that will
> bolt in similar to the original unit.
>

This one is kinda' strange, at least to me. The ballast is on a wall
wart, not in the hood. But the screw-ins don't need a separate ballast.

> Hope this helps..
> http://www.geocities.com/spiral_72/Spirals_page.html
>

I took a quick peek at the site - nice. I'll go back and peruse it when
I have the time.

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[spiral_72]

All the screw-ins are a warm white (3500-4200K) far as I know....... If
you know of a daylight screw-in, lemme know. I'd like to use em for a
couple 10gallon tanks!

http://www.geocities.com/spiral_72/Spirals_page.html

[Elaine T]

spiral_72 wrote:
> All the screw-ins are a warm white (3500-4200K) far as I know....... If
> you know of a daylight screw-in, lemme know. I'd like to use em for a
> couple 10gallon tanks!
>
> http://www.geocities.com/spiral_72/Spirals_page.html
>
Nope. I picked up 14W 5500K spiral compact screw-ins at my hardware
store on sale cleap! One's over the 2 gallon hex tank on my web page.
It grows plants quite nicely. If you can't find full spectrum bulbs a
mixture of warm white and cool white is also very good for growing plants.

The downside of spiral compacts is that they don't provide as many
lux/watt as straight tubes. The spiral shape shades part of the output,
no matter how good the reflector.

I happened to pull this up on Google on lighting a 29 gallon tank
cheaply. http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.9512/msg00219.html
If you're good with wiring maybe that's a better option because you
get more lux and a wider selection of bulbs.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[lgb]

In article >, eetmail-
says...
> spiral_72 wrote:
> > All the screw-ins are a warm white (3500-4200K) far as I know
> >
> Nope. I picked up 14W 5500K spiral compact screw-ins at my hardware
> store on sale cleap! One's over the 2 gallon hex tank on my web page.
> It grows plants quite nicely. If you can't find full spectrum bulbs a
> mixture of warm white and cool white is also very good for growing plants.
>
> The downside of spiral compacts is that they don't provide as many
> lux/watt as straight tubes. The spiral shape shades part of the output,
> no matter how good the reflector.
>

The ones at Walmart (in the fish section) are not spiral, they're U-
shaped and are 6500K. IIRC, they're about $5 each. I think Big Als has
similar ones made by AllGlass at around $8.

They're 11 watt. I don't know if the shape is better or worse at
getting the light to the fish, but I wonder if that's a problem. After
all, even a single tube directs half its light upwards :-).


> I happened to pull this up on Google on lighting a 29 gallon tank
> cheaply. http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.9512/msg00219.html
> If you're good with wiring maybe that's a better option because you
> get more lux and a wider selection of bulbs.
>

Interesting idea, but I think my way might even be cheaper. I'll post
when/if I get it done.

A friend said he'd seen setups with the screw-in U-shaped bulbs mounted
across the tank, rather than lengthwise. That'd make a pretty wide
hood, but would work for larger tanks.

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[NetMax]

"lgb" > wrote in message
...
> Being frugal by nature and necessity, I've been thinking of ways to
> lower the cost of setting up a 29H. See what you think of the
> following.
>
> I have two AquaClear filters and one Duetto submersible filter in use
> now. I like the ease of cleaning on the AquaClears, but I prefer the
> output of the Duetto since it points horizontally and thus creates more
> of a current. The best answer would be a canister, but that's a lot of
> money.
>
> So I'm thinking of attaching a "trough", probably a split piece of
> plastic pipe, to the lip of an AquaClear to redirect the output. I'm
> not sure yet how to do the attachment to make it strong enough, but
> with
> today's adhesives it shouldn't be too difficult.


I've attached a 'ramp' to power filter before. A straight piece of
plastic attached to the horizontal lip forces the majority of the water
forward. If the tank's water level gets too low the weight of the water
might stress the ramp though (pops the adhesive used).

A piece of material (attached somewhere inside such as the screen edges)
works nicely to diffuse the flow and direct it less forcefully downward.

Just a few DIY ideas for the filter.

The cheapest and probably the most reliable filter is a powerhead driving
a matt filter. The large volume of space might eliminate all servicing
(organic matter dissolves as fast as it accumulates), powerheads are
cheap and reliable (especially if only pumping filtered water) and all
the connections are inside the tank (no danger of leaks).

The drawbacks are that it consumes interior space, and water changes are
very important (instead of cleaning filters, you are diluting the DOC
levels in the water). I'm contemplating setting up my next tank this
way, to test some of my recent design ideas.
--
www.NetMax.tk

>
> Any comments on these ideas? Anyone already done them?
>
> --
> BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[Elaine T]

NetMax wrote:
> "lgb" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Being frugal by nature and necessity, I've been thinking of ways to
>>lower the cost of setting up a 29H. See what you think of the
>>following.
>>
>>I have two AquaClear filters and one Duetto submersible filter in use
>>now. I like the ease of cleaning on the AquaClears, but I prefer the
>>output of the Duetto since it points horizontally and thus creates more
>>of a current. The best answer would be a canister, but that's a lot of
>>money.
>>
>>So I'm thinking of attaching a "trough", probably a split piece of
>>plastic pipe, to the lip of an AquaClear to redirect the output. I'm
>>not sure yet how to do the attachment to make it strong enough, but
>>with
>>today's adhesives it shouldn't be too difficult.
>
>
>
> I've attached a 'ramp' to power filter before. A straight piece of
> plastic attached to the horizontal lip forces the majority of the water
> forward. If the tank's water level gets too low the weight of the water
> might stress the ramp though (pops the adhesive used).
>
> A piece of material (attached somewhere inside such as the screen edges)
> works nicely to diffuse the flow and direct it less forcefully downward.
>
> Just a few DIY ideas for the filter.
>
> The cheapest and probably the most reliable filter is a powerhead driving
> a matt filter. The large volume of space might eliminate all servicing
> (organic matter dissolves as fast as it accumulates), powerheads are
> cheap and reliable (especially if only pumping filtered water) and all
> the connections are inside the tank (no danger of leaks).
>
> The drawbacks are that it consumes interior space, and water changes are
> very important (instead of cleaning filters, you are diluting the DOC
> levels in the water). I'm contemplating setting up my next tank this
> way, to test some of my recent design ideas.

What is a matt filter? I'm guessing it's like a pond filter with
coarse, fibrous matting that doesn't clog but I'd love to see pictures
or a drawing of how they work.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[NetMax]

"Elaine T" > wrote in message
.. .
> NetMax wrote:
>> "lgb" > wrote in message
>> ...
<snip>

>> Just a few DIY ideas for the filter.
>>
>> The cheapest and probably the most reliable filter is a powerhead
>> driving a matt filter. The large volume of space might eliminate all
>> servicing (organic matter dissolves as fast as it accumulates),
>> powerheads are cheap and reliable (especially if only pumping filtered
>> water) and all the connections are inside the tank (no danger of
>> leaks).
>>
>> The drawbacks are that it consumes interior space, and water changes
>> are very important (instead of cleaning filters, you are diluting the
>> DOC levels in the water). I'm contemplating setting up my next tank
>> this way, to test some of my recent design ideas.
>
> What is a matt filter? I'm guessing it's like a pond filter with
> coarse, fibrous matting that doesn't clog but I'd love to see pictures
> or a drawing of how they work.
>
> --
> Elaine T __

Exactly. You could even layer it with one coarse and one fine. I had to
dig deep into my bookmarks for this one out of Germany:
http://www.tuttas.de/aquaristik/konstruktion.htm
http://www.tuttas.de/aquaristik/index.htm

This illustrates it adequately (it's a very simple design), but they used
an external pump (or perhaps a canister) to deliver the water back into
the tank. You can take this design one step further by putting a small
hole in the matt for the output of a powerhead which is drawing water
from behind the matt (so no external hoses, pumps, connections etc).

Furthermore, a hose can be connected to the powerhead output so the
water flow can be directed. An example of direction would be to split
the return flow up (to a spraybar pointed to the surface to break up the
protein layer), and down (to a UGF plate at the lowest point in the tank,
covered with a few pebbles).

One of the beauties of this design is that it is very friendly towards
fry and other small creatures (shrimp etc). If the surface area is
increased (running the matt filter along the back of the entire tank),
the servicing interval can (in theory) decrease to zero.

Note that in a non-convex installation, you need some type of a grid to
hold the shape of the matt as the water flow is inward (negative charge
behind the matt). It's possible to reverse the flow direction (positive
charge behind the matt) so any captured debris is unseen, but I wouldn't
recommend it without some planning:
- pumping non-filtered water increases impeller servicing requirement
- clogged filter media would need an overflow gate (area above matt)
- no longer fry friendly

There are many variations possible. The Dutch Aquarium Systems company
took the matt and rolled it into a column, which is dropped vertically
into the back corner of a tank (for aesthetics, it's behind a grilled
corner plate). They then added an airline connector, and a pipe, so they
have an air-driven water pump coming up out of the centre of the column.
Inexpensive, robust, almost maintenance-free, fry friendly, bacteria
friendly (even under a power failure as it's completely underwater), easy
to UPS (air pump), polishes the water (once it's mature) and huge
biological capability (all that surface area). All the nice stuff which
should be associated with filters :o).
--
www.NetMax.tk

[NetMax]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
> "Elaine T" > wrote in message
> .. .
>> NetMax wrote:
>>> "lgb" > wrote in message
>>> ...
> <snip>
>
>>> Just a few DIY ideas for the filter.
>>>
>>> The cheapest and probably the most reliable filter is a powerhead
>>> driving a matt filter. The large volume of space might eliminate
>>> all servicing (organic matter dissolves as fast as it accumulates),
>>> powerheads are cheap and reliable (especially if only pumping
>>> filtered water) and all the connections are inside the tank (no
>>> danger of leaks).
>>>
>>> The drawbacks are that it consumes interior space, and water changes
>>> are very important (instead of cleaning filters, you are diluting the
>>> DOC levels in the water). I'm contemplating setting up my next tank
>>> this way, to test some of my recent design ideas.
>>
>> What is a matt filter? I'm guessing it's like a pond filter with
>> coarse, fibrous matting that doesn't clog but I'd love to see pictures
>> or a drawing of how they work.
>>
>> --
>> Elaine T __
>
> Exactly. You could even layer it with one coarse and one fine. I had
> to dig deep into my bookmarks for this one out of Germany:
> http://www.tuttas.de/aquaristik/konstruktion.htm
> http://www.tuttas.de/aquaristik/index.htm
>
> This illustrates it adequately (it's a very simple design), but they
> used an external pump (or perhaps a canister) to deliver the water back
> into the tank. You can take this design one step further by putting a
> small hole in the matt for the output of a powerhead which is drawing
> water from behind the matt (so no external hoses, pumps, connections
> etc).
>
> Furthermore, a hose can be connected to the powerhead output so the
> water flow can be directed. An example of direction would be to split
> the return flow up (to a spraybar pointed to the surface to break up
> the protein layer), and down (to a UGF plate at the lowest point in the
> tank, covered with a few pebbles).
>
> One of the beauties of this design is that it is very friendly towards
> fry and other small creatures (shrimp etc). If the surface area is
> increased (running the matt filter along the back of the entire tank),
> the servicing interval can (in theory) decrease to zero.
>
> Note that in a non-convex installation, you need some type of a grid to
> hold the shape of the matt as the water flow is inward (negative charge
> behind the matt). It's possible to reverse the flow direction
> (positive charge behind the matt) so any captured debris is unseen, but
> I wouldn't recommend it without some planning:
> - pumping non-filtered water increases impeller servicing requirement
> - clogged filter media would need an overflow gate (area above matt)
> - no longer fry friendly
>
> There are many variations possible. The Dutch Aquarium Systems company
> took the matt and rolled it into a column, which is dropped vertically
> into the back corner of a tank (for aesthetics, it's behind a grilled
> corner plate). They then added an airline connector, and a pipe, so
> they have an air-driven water pump coming up out of the centre of the
> column. Inexpensive, robust, almost maintenance-free, fry friendly,
> bacteria friendly (even under a power failure as it's completely
> underwater), easy to UPS (air pump), polishes the water (once it's
> mature) and huge biological capability (all that surface area). All
> the nice stuff which should be associated with filters :o).
> --
> www.NetMax.tk


Another consideration : behind the matt filter is a great location for
your heater, bags of peat, terbang, crushed coral, dolomite etc.

Also you might consider harvesting some invertebrates (I'm going to try
some types of shrimp one day), so that in your main tank, a baby shrimp
would just occasionally pop out of the ground for the eating :o).

Add some strong lights behind the matt filter and you might establish an
algae scrubber, keeping your tank algae-free in the most natural way. I
wonder how an algae-scrubber affects DOC levels?

ahh.... the possibilities :o)
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Elaine T]

NetMax wrote:
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>"Elaine T" > wrote in message
.. .
>>
>>>NetMax wrote:
>>>
>>>>"lgb" > wrote in message
...
>>
>><snip>
>>
>>>>Just a few DIY ideas for the filter.
>>>>
>>>>The cheapest and probably the most reliable filter is a powerhead
>>>>driving a matt filter. The large volume of space might eliminate
>>>>all servicing (organic matter dissolves as fast as it accumulates),
>>>>powerheads are cheap and reliable (especially if only pumping
>>>>filtered water) and all the connections are inside the tank (no
>>>>danger of leaks).
>>>>
>>>>The drawbacks are that it consumes interior space, and water changes
>>>>are very important (instead of cleaning filters, you are diluting the
>>>>DOC levels in the water). I'm contemplating setting up my next tank
>>>>this way, to test some of my recent design ideas.
>>>
>>>What is a matt filter? I'm guessing it's like a pond filter with
>>>coarse, fibrous matting that doesn't clog but I'd love to see pictures
>>>or a drawing of how they work.
>>>
>>>--
>>>Elaine T __
>>
>>Exactly. You could even layer it with one coarse and one fine. I had
>>to dig deep into my bookmarks for this one out of Germany:
>>http://www.tuttas.de/aquaristik/konstruktion.htm
>>http://www.tuttas.de/aquaristik/index.htm
>>
>>This illustrates it adequately (it's a very simple design), but they
>>used an external pump (or perhaps a canister) to deliver the water back
>>into the tank. You can take this design one step further by putting a
>>small hole in the matt for the output of a powerhead which is drawing
>>water from behind the matt (so no external hoses, pumps, connections
>>etc).
>>
>>Furthermore, a hose can be connected to the powerhead output so the
>>water flow can be directed. An example of direction would be to split
>>the return flow up (to a spraybar pointed to the surface to break up
>>the protein layer), and down (to a UGF plate at the lowest point in the
>>tank, covered with a few pebbles).
>>
>>One of the beauties of this design is that it is very friendly towards
>>fry and other small creatures (shrimp etc). If the surface area is
>>increased (running the matt filter along the back of the entire tank),
>>the servicing interval can (in theory) decrease to zero.
>>
>>Note that in a non-convex installation, you need some type of a grid to
>>hold the shape of the matt as the water flow is inward (negative charge
>>behind the matt). It's possible to reverse the flow direction
>>(positive charge behind the matt) so any captured debris is unseen, but
>>I wouldn't recommend it without some planning:
>>- pumping non-filtered water increases impeller servicing requirement
>>- clogged filter media would need an overflow gate (area above matt)
>>- no longer fry friendly
>>
>>There are many variations possible. The Dutch Aquarium Systems company
>>took the matt and rolled it into a column, which is dropped vertically
>>into the back corner of a tank (for aesthetics, it's behind a grilled
>>corner plate). They then added an airline connector, and a pipe, so
>>they have an air-driven water pump coming up out of the centre of the
>>column. Inexpensive, robust, almost maintenance-free, fry friendly,
>>bacteria friendly (even under a power failure as it's completely
>>underwater), easy to UPS (air pump), polishes the water (once it's
>>mature) and huge biological capability (all that surface area). All
>>the nice stuff which should be associated with filters :o).
>>--
>>www.NetMax.tk
>
>
>
> Another consideration : behind the matt filter is a great location for
> your heater, bags of peat, terbang, crushed coral, dolomite etc.
>
> Also you might consider harvesting some invertebrates (I'm going to try
> some types of shrimp one day), so that in your main tank, a baby shrimp
> would just occasionally pop out of the ground for the eating :o).
>
> Add some strong lights behind the matt filter and you might establish an
> algae scrubber, keeping your tank algae-free in the most natural way. I
> wonder how an algae-scrubber affects DOC levels?
>
> ahh.... the possibilities :o)

Thanks for the link with photos. The filter looks appealingly simple.
I assume you'd run a matt filtered tank with carbon or a lot of plants
to keep DOC under control.

I think I have something similar going in my 2 gallon planted tank which
has an air-driven sponge filter with a fairly coarse sponge. The tank
is well-stocked, yet I rarely have any debris when I rinse out the
sponge. I've taken to only cleaning the sponge monthly if that since it
just never seems to really need rinsing.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[NetMax]

"Elaine T" > wrote in message
. ..
> NetMax wrote:
>> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>"Elaine T" > wrote in message
.. .
>>>
>>>>NetMax wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>"lgb" > wrote in message
...
>>>
>>><snip>
>>>
>>>>>Just a few DIY ideas for the filter.
>>>>>
>>>>>The cheapest and probably the most reliable filter is a powerhead
>>>>>driving a matt filter. The large volume of space might eliminate
>>>>>all servicing (organic matter dissolves as fast as it accumulates),
>>>>>powerheads are cheap and reliable (especially if only pumping
>>>>>filtered water) and all the connections are inside the tank (no
>>>>>danger of leaks).
>>>>>
>>>>>The drawbacks are that it consumes interior space, and water changes
>>>>>are very important (instead of cleaning filters, you are diluting
>>>>>the DOC levels in the water). I'm contemplating setting up my next
>>>>>tank this way, to test some of my recent design ideas.
>>>>
>>>>What is a matt filter? I'm guessing it's like a pond filter with
>>>>coarse, fibrous matting that doesn't clog but I'd love to see
>>>>pictures or a drawing of how they work.
>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>Elaine T __
>>>
>>>Exactly. You could even layer it with one coarse and one fine. I had
>>>to dig deep into my bookmarks for this one out of Germany:
>>>http://www.tuttas.de/aquaristik/konstruktion.htm
>>>http://www.tuttas.de/aquaristik/index.htm
>>>
>>>This illustrates it adequately (it's a very simple design), but they
>>>used an external pump (or perhaps a canister) to deliver the water
>>>back into the tank. You can take this design one step further by
>>>putting a small hole in the matt for the output of a powerhead which
>>>is drawing water from behind the matt (so no external hoses, pumps,
>>>connections etc).
>>>
>>>Furthermore, a hose can be connected to the powerhead output so the
>>>water flow can be directed. An example of direction would be to split
>>>the return flow up (to a spraybar pointed to the surface to break up
>>>the protein layer), and down (to a UGF plate at the lowest point in
>>>the tank, covered with a few pebbles).
>>>
>>>One of the beauties of this design is that it is very friendly towards
>>>fry and other small creatures (shrimp etc). If the surface area is
>>>increased (running the matt filter along the back of the entire tank),
>>>the servicing interval can (in theory) decrease to zero.
>>>
>>>Note that in a non-convex installation, you need some type of a grid
>>>to hold the shape of the matt as the water flow is inward (negative
>>>charge behind the matt). It's possible to reverse the flow direction
>>>(positive charge behind the matt) so any captured debris is unseen,
>>>but I wouldn't recommend it without some planning:
>>>- pumping non-filtered water increases impeller servicing requirement
>>>- clogged filter media would need an overflow gate (area above matt)
>>>- no longer fry friendly
>>>
>>>There are many variations possible. The Dutch Aquarium Systems
>>>company took the matt and rolled it into a column, which is dropped
>>>vertically into the back corner of a tank (for aesthetics, it's behind
>>>a grilled corner plate). They then added an airline connector, and a
>>>pipe, so they have an air-driven water pump coming up out of the
>>>centre of the column. Inexpensive, robust, almost maintenance-free,
>>>fry friendly, bacteria friendly (even under a power failure as it's
>>>completely underwater), easy to UPS (air pump), polishes the water
>>>(once it's mature) and huge biological capability (all that surface
>>>area). All the nice stuff which should be associated with filters
>>>:o).
>>>--
>>>www.NetMax.tk
>>
>>
>>
>> Another consideration : behind the matt filter is a great location for
>> your heater, bags of peat, terbang, crushed coral, dolomite etc.
>>
>> Also you might consider harvesting some invertebrates (I'm going to
>> try some types of shrimp one day), so that in your main tank, a baby
>> shrimp would just occasionally pop out of the ground for the eating
>> :o).
>>
>> Add some strong lights behind the matt filter and you might establish
>> an algae scrubber, keeping your tank algae-free in the most natural
>> way. I wonder how an algae-scrubber affects DOC levels?
>>
>> ahh.... the possibilities :o)
>
> Thanks for the link with photos. The filter looks appealingly simple.
> I assume you'd run a matt filtered tank with carbon or a lot of plants
> to keep DOC under control.
>
> I think I have something similar going in my 2 gallon planted tank
> which has an air-driven sponge filter with a fairly coarse sponge. The
> tank is well-stocked, yet I rarely have any debris when I rinse out the
> sponge. I've taken to only cleaning the sponge monthly if that since
> it just never seems to really need rinsing.
>
> --
> Elaine T __


It is an oversized sponge filter. I was thinking of running a pro-60 off
one of the powerheads as a stop gap (to lower the DOCs), but ideally it
would be set up with an automatic water changer, probably a drip system.
I got a hold of some of the DAS sponge matt cylinders and I'm now
designing them into a styrofoam structure. If you recall my last
styrofoam carving,
http://www.2cah.com/netmax/diy_projects/sculptures/sculptures.shtml this
one will make it look like a toy. I'm starting with a block of extruded
polystyrene 60" long, 10" wide, 20" tall (going into a 60"x18"x24" tank).
It's sold as dock billet, used to make boat docks.

Next I have to go driftwood hunting, with my car and a chainsaw. I
remember a spot along the river where broken trees pile together at some
rapids (and the water is low right now). Once I have the right chunk of
wood, I'll design the styrofoam 'rock' around it, and then carve the
filters and heaters openings into it.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[A Man]

On Thu, 4 Aug 2005 09:04:15 -0700 in article
>, spoke
thusly...
> I have two AquaClear filters and one Duetto submersible filter in use
> now. I like the ease of cleaning on the AquaClears, but I prefer the
> output of the Duetto since it points horizontally and thus creates more
> of a current. The best answer would be a canister, but that's a lot of
> money.
>
> So I'm thinking of attaching a "trough", probably a split piece of
> plastic pipe, to the lip of an AquaClear to redirect the output. I'm
> not sure yet how to do the attachment to make it strong enough, but with
> today's adhesives it shouldn't be too difficult.

I think that sounds fine. I like the idea of making additions like that
temporary so I would make a U piece piece of plastic, as long as the trough,
to hang on the tank edge. Then glue the trough to that. You can remove and
clean the trough easily by just removing the hanging plastic. I would bend my
own clean plastic using a blow torch. Put one part of the plastic under
something heavy and square, like a block of wood, soften with blow torch,
then bend the other end upwards to 90 degrees.

As for lighting I just put a screw-in flourescent bulb in a cheap clip on
light fixture for the shop. The kind with the silver funnel shape reflector.
Bulb: $5US, fixture: $7US.

I also saw at a store, premade lights for the kitchen which hold 18" or 24"
flourescent tubes, 1 tube each. They were about $12.

--
Sig: Say no to fixed width HTML tables. They look terrible in most browsers.