Converted Wet/Dry to Sump/Refuge

[Thavngr98]

So over the holiday vacation I took my wet/dry out and added a 20 gallon long tank with 3 sections. A bulk of the work was getting the plumbing under the stand and making it all fit right. But the one thing I noticed is evaporation! Holy cow. I though it was bad before its really bad now! I ordered and ATO today and it cant get here soon enough! The one thing I did not really take into consideration which i should of is the height of my skimmer (AquaC Urchin Pro) The removable cup needs far to much space to be removed. I'm thinking of tapping the side of the cup and adding a drain line. Have anyone ever done this to a skimmer? This should reduce the amount of times I will have to remove the cup.

 

[thirty5]

A lot of skimmers come with a port to put a tube on. So as long as you drill it carefully you will be fine. But you still need to get the cup off once in a while to actually clean it..

 

[Imbarrie]

You will need to cut a channel into the side of the skimmer body to accommodate that. Seems easy to do, though doing a good looking job would require a router and some skill.

 

[thirty5]

You will need to cut into the side of the skimmer body to accommodate that. Seems easy to do though.

Why would he want to cut into the actual skimmer??? Actually need to really just tap the BOTTOM of the cup...

 

[Thavngr98]

Yeah I don't see a need to cut into the skimmer. I'm talking about the cup. The drain would help a lot. I know I would still need to clean out the cup every now and then but the drain beats disconnecting the pump every time I need to empty it.

 

[Imbarrie]

How can it drain when it is surrounded by the body of the skimmer?
Or you will drill really high up on the cup which would limit any adjustments.

 

[thirty5]

Like this.

Sent from my Piece of crap Sprint Epic

 

[thirty6]

Ant,

it looks like the cup may be covered by the body of skimmer. i think thats what he meant

 

[thirty5]

LOL i didnt realze what type skimmer he was talking about! MY BAD>>>

Then yes I agree you will need to cut a notch down the side of the body of the skimmer to be able to get the tube low enough to actually drain it..

SORRY!!

 

[Thavngr98]

How can it drain when it is surrounded by the body of the skimmer?
Or you will drill really high up on the cup which would limit any adjustments.

I didnt know there was an optional drain. I can do this with a router easily. And your right I didn't take into consideration the cup being submerge. Or I can just sell the skimmer and get more compact one. Its a great skimmer if you have space. Very quiet!

 

[Imbarrie]

This would be an easy DIY for a skilled person.

But you would be better getting a different skimmer. Modded skimmers usually dont live up to expectations. IMO

 

[Thavngr98]

I'm certainly skilled. And could tackle this easily. I'm just thinking it might be harder to sell the skimmer if I mod it no?

 

[Imbarrie]

might be harder to sell the skimmer if I mod it no?

Bingo