Add Refuge to existing HOB skimmer

[Conal monaghan]

Hey,
I have a hang on reef octopus 1000 hang-on back Skimmer and was thinking of trying to add a refuge to the intake chamber (non-bubble section). All I was thinking of doing was to add some Chaeto into the first chamber and put an LED over it. Has anyone tried doing this before or have any suggestions regarding the modification?

My concerns would be around Chaeto jamming the flow between the intake and the bubble section or breaking apart the Chaeto.

I would add a second hang on refuge however the tank will look too cluttered.

Cheers,
Conal

 

[lion king]

I don't see how this would work unless you disabled the skimmer action all together. Theoretically you could use the skimmer body as a reactor, you would have to disable the air line and maybe even adjust the flow. Unless it's a skimmer just laying around and you want to have some fun, I'd invest in one of the algae reactor at Marine Depot, or fashion your own diy with a re-purposed reactor.

 

[futureinterest]

I think it would work. However, I don't think there's enough space though to make much of a difference. But if you have a light laying around for it definitely worth a shot . Otherwise prolly not worth the effort/cost.

 

[Conal monaghan]

Yea, the issue is that I don't want to clutter up the tank too much. It is a Aqua one AR 850 tank, with the filter on the back portion of the tank. Therefore, I cannot hang my skimmer on the back and it needs to go on the side. Therefore, If I have another external refuge then both sides are obscured by hang ons.

Another option is I can get a second hand FLUVAL 306 and turn that into a refuge?