Stand for Aqualife 115 Skimmer

[Mikedawg]

Anyone built a stand for the Aqualife 115 skimmer which will fit in chamber 1 of a Biocube 32? Intank Media recommends one but I haven't found any plans/pics yet.

I assume it is a matter of getting a drilled out length of pvc or egg crate the right height to elevate skimmer.

Thanks much.

 

[Diesel]

Yep you mentioned it.
Egg grade or pvc pipe to keep it on the right level.
Sometimes you can change the height of the skimmer chamber or neck to get that desired level

 

[Idoc]

Egg-crate and a few cable zip ties... it's pretty easy, just made one the other day for my skimmer. Tip...put the knot part of the zip tie on the inside. When/If you cut the extra zip tie tail off, it can be very sharp.

 

[Mikedawg]

Yep you mentioned it.
Egg grade or pvc pipe to keep it on the right level.
Sometimes you can change the height of the skimmer chamber or neck to get that desired level

Thanks Ben, looks to me that this Aqualife is almost the same design as the Fluval ps 2 and I have two of those working right now so maybe it won't be too much trial and error.

Any chance you have measurements for a stand?

 

[Mikedawg]

Egg-crate and a few cable zip ties... it's pretty easy, just made one the other day for my skimmer. Tip...put the knot part of the zip tie on the inside. When/If you cut the extra zip tie tail off, it can be very sharp.

Good look; thanks. For my small footprint I may just use pvc which I can easily cut to length to fine tune (if there is such a thing with a nano skimmer) my equipment.

 

[Diesel]

Thanks Ben, looks to me that this Aqualife is almost the same design as the Fluval ps 2 and I have two of those working right now so maybe it won't be too much trial and error.

Any chance you have measurements for a stand?

No, can't help you measurements for that.

 

[Mikedawg]

No, can't help you measurements for that.

Thanks anyway; I'm thinking from your post that I may be able to easily shim my cup or the skimmer itself to fine tune.

As many people as there are that buy this skimmer for a Biocube 32 I'm surprised someone hasn't come up with a $60 acrylic stand for it!

 

[CNDReef]

Here you go

 

[Mikedawg]

Here you go

I like this solution a lot; will be easy to adjust. Thanks much.

Even though my tank is the new Biocube 32 I believe the first chamber is about the same size as the one in this Biocube 29 video and my skimmer should be stable sitting on a magnet of this size.

In fact, I've got an old magnetic glass cleaner that I don't use and thinking this might just work!

Now, if only the Falcons can beat the Patriots this year...............

 

[CNDReef]

Lol
I don't know if that's going to happen [emoji12]

 

[Danny Martinez]

I like this solution a lot; will be easy to adjust. Thanks much.

Even though my tank is the new Biocube 32 I believe the first chamber is about the same size as the one in this Biocube 29 video and my skimmer should be stable sitting on a magnet of this size.

In fact, I've got an old magnetic glass cleaner that I don't use and thinking this might just work!

Now, if only the Falcons can beat the Patriots this year...............

Hello Mikedawg,

I know this is old but I'm having a heck of a time frame figuring out how to install the AL 115. It's one of the skimmers that is recommnded by the LFS for BC32 bit I can't find much online as to how to make it work.

It looks like you used octo magnets. And you have it chamber 1? Looks like chamber 2 required ATO even with magnccets? I appreciate isn't siight you could provide is greatly appreciated.

I'm ordering the intank media basket so would use on chamber 1 or 2. I've read that the tunze 9001 is a better fit but I'd prefer using the skimmer I already have. I haven't opened it yet, so I suppose I could sell it on eBay to recoup some of the money and apply towards tunze skimmer....

Thacnks!!

 

[Mikedawg]

Danny, I ended up putting my AquaticLife skimmer in chamber 2 next to and to the left of my InTank basket whose water guide hooks onto the side wall separating chamber 2 from chamber 1, and just had some rubble and a little floss in chamber one. I didn't use an ATO cause tank lid kept my evaporation rate very low. BTW, you can disconnect the fan if it is too noisy - I called BioCube and found out this is an acceptable solution.

First, I cut a 2.5" piece of pvc (think it was that size) several inches high (don't have anymore or I would measure it for you) and then drilled it out to look like swiss cheese. I threaded the power cord through one side and so the skimmer sat on it just fine. Worked pretty well except it did collect some detritus because of size and I couldn't adjust it up or down. Then, I bought the Octo Magnets, only ones I could find that are fully coated, and just put one inside the skimmer which was still in chamber 2, and the other on the back of the cube to hold the skimmer in place. Worked great and if I needed to tweak the skimmer some for height, it was very easy to adjust.

Like you, I searched and searched for a solution and read different things about how easy or hard the Tunze was to fit in; I ultimately concluded that I would have to modify the tank for it to fit and since the tank was full of fish and coral I didn't want to do that. Plus, I found that the AL worked great once adjusted; just rinse it in water and vinegar to remove the factory oils and be a little patient with it. I did add the air tubing modification you can find on YouTube to quiet it down and it worked well.

Good luck, I have since sold this tank but remember enough to write what I did if you need more detail.