You would be pushing it for sure.. But it could be done! I have 21" of clearance and the collection cup is even with the bottom of the shelf. I had to put the skimmer on a 2" riser though because my 8" of water was too much for it, causing overflow. Perhaps if you make your initial baffle only 5"-6" you could eliminate the need for a riser and create those extra 2" for yourself. They say the Curve 5 operates in 8"-11" but thats simply not true, it will overflow. You need closer to 5"-6".