HOB Skimmer Mod?

[Bigboned]

Hi all,
So my tank has a 3" brace all around the top ( euro brace?) but also a wood trim piece on the 3 visible sides so i have somewhere to 'hang' stuff.
i have no sump room ( unless a 12" cube would suffice) so my intention is to use a Hang on skimmer
i fancy the Reef Octo bh90 BUT with this and every other hang on variant - the feed and return pipes only give about an inch or so clearance from the body.
Warranties etc aside if i was to modify the 2 pipes so they gave the 3" clearance i would need ( eg extend them horizontally from 1" to 3") would the pump cope? i know its only an extra 2 inches of pipe so in my head i cant see the issue but everywhere i look that isnt a forum including LFS all shoot me sideways glances and tell me im crazy it will stop the unit working correctly - that could be to try get me to buy more equipment but even at that i cant actually find a skimmer that would clear the brace regardless of price.
Am i crazy? are they crazy? is there a preferred solution for braced tanks?
im converting from FW on a 4' tank, only room in the stand is a 12" space which currently holds a canister which i intend to use as a reactor in the time being so happy to compromise and use a HOB skimmer

 

[laverda]

It is hard to say specifically. It may work, but only way to know is to try it. It will make the skimmer much harder to get started. Starting is a common problem for most HOB skimmers with the pump outside the tank anyway. The reason is the pumps used are designed to push water not suck water. It may not seam like a big difference but it is.
There are to other options that would be better solutions in terms of skimmer performanc. I would drill holes in the braces for the skimmer if possible. The second would be to move the pump inside the tank and modify the pipes to suit.

 

[Bigboned]

how bout a 3rd option of removing the brace at the side? i understand the term brace but are they actualy there to hold the tank together? all my previous tanks never had any bracing perhaps maybe apart from a centre one on some of them. or would it be a case of removing one would defeat all of them ?

 

[lion king]

What size tank are you talking and what are your stocking plans. That mod may work but it may not, are you sure you will need a skimmer. There are alternatives to managing nutrients, like using an algae reactor. I would not remove the brace, but what about drilling holes.

 

[Bigboned]

I’m looking at mixed reef with fish, it’s a typical FW 4ft x 15” x 2ft deep agreed it’s prob not best to remove, although I could potentially move it across a few inches to give me the equivalent of a rimless end.
Looking at a Tunze internal aswell but I would need spacers to clear the brace so I could remove the cup.
Would prefer a skimmer to be honest - you would think someone would have nailed this by now! Serves me right for no sump lol

 

[Bigboned]

you know how it is when the solution is right in front of you and if you just thought about things for a sec the answer will smack you in the face.........
well all along im thinking - at the right hand side of my tank is where id like to hang the skimmer - easy access etc, well they are called hang on the BACK for a reason - there is a bloody hole!!!!
if i hang the skimmer on the back upto the corner then the inlet pipe would extend thru the corner cut out, im fairly sure that the pipe route for the output isnt as vital to the operation and so i could extend that the 2 inches to go over the brace??

as its behind the tank rather than the side it wouldnt be as accesible but the wood facade around the top would actually hide most of it from view also with just the top inch of the cup protruding ( thinking reef octo bh1000).
As i will be emptying the current setup anyway i will be able to move the tank an extra couple of inches away from the wall to create room
DOH!!