E's 34 Gallon Solana Build

[CoralReefer]

I would go litermeter. Id save money for a better skimmer and and youd be better off with water changes then the tunze. I did the airline mod and everything, but its pretty bad.

Couldn't agree more ai sol and acans didn't mix for me. With the radion my sps are colorful and growing very nice.

Sorry to get off topic. I thought about ripping the back out in my solana but it was the newer model and had a lip in the back and didnt wanna do it.
If the height of the back glass is the same as the rest I would do it.

Good luck

 

[E.intheC]

you sure u cant just cut the taps that holds the drip plates on second chamber? it will give u some extra space.


so i heard there is a solana 60.....:shhh:

:lol2: the 60 isn't made any longer. I like the Solana 34.
The middle chamber's divider is also blocking the skimmer from fitting the second chamber.

Get a hob skimmer and call it a day IMO. You're not going to take much of a loss on the new skimmer.

Have you tried selling on MR recently? :lol2: ...seriously though I think this might be the only option here. Hopefully ill be able to get a new HOB-1 skimmer though. JNS skimmers sell out quickly. Almost instantly.

That's gonna be tough to remove. That Channel that holds the sponge goes all the way to the bottom of the plastic wall.
I can't imagine how you could cut that without removing the entire panel to do so.
It won't fit in the middle chamber?
It should be ok with an ato.

Yeah the channel goes all the way down to the bottom. It's going to be a pain to remove. The skimmer won't fit in the second chamber. It's just barely too small.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

There are other options for skimmers. Bm nac qq.

 

[E.intheC]

Thanks Chief. How did you fit the skimmer in the tank?

I've been looking and researching for a long time. I'm still thinking about removing the plastic overflow section but I haven't made up my mind yet.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

It will fit if you persuade it gently.

 

[E.intheC]

I think I'm going to try and remove the plastic overflow. The silicone looks pretty clean and I can't imagine it being too difficult to remove, as long as I can get my hands in there.

 

[E.intheC]

Well. The first inch or so came off easily. The remainder was not so easy... But, after draining the tank of 75% of its water and 2 hours of ripping the overflow plastic out, I now have it done. The skimmer fits

 

[CoralReefer]

Well. The first inch or so came off easily. The remainder was not so easy... But, after draining the tank of 75% of its water and 2 hours of ripping the overflow plastic out, I now have it done. The skimmer fits

Glad everything worked out.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

So you're adding a sump?

 

[E.intheC]

No I just took the part that holds the sponge in the first chamber. The sump area is still the same

 

[jackson6745]

well. The first inch or so came off easily. The remainder was not so easy... But, after draining the tank of 75% of its water and 2 hours of ripping the overflow plastic out, i now have it done. The skimmer fits :d

pics!!!!!!!

 

[viplok]

you ask a pic from this guy? what a joke ))))

 

[E.intheC]

you ask a pic from this guy? what a joke ))))

:lol2: I might post a video up tomorrow once things get back to normal and I can place corals. No busting chops if it's upside-down.

 

[mbg75]

Skimmer like this?

 

[E.intheC]

Thanks MBG. That's a nice skimmer too.

The JNS skimmer is now finally running. I had to visually inspect it to make sure it was running. That's how quiet this thing is.

 

[E.intheC]

This time around I'm going for an AIO (all-in-one) tank. After about four straight years of sumps, return pumps, and everything that goes along with it, I just need a break. :lol2: Plus, the smaller volume will mean simpler water changes and less dosing (well.. amounts, not frequency).

34 gallons should be perfect for me. I'm going to use this thread to document the build, and hope to keep this tank setup for a long time. (I know my wife will KILL ME if I don't keep this setup for a while) :smash:

Video as/of 3/31/2013:

 

[E.intheC]

Hopefully everything works out OK and it's not upside-down or sideways. It looked decent when I took it on my phone.

 

[CHEMCHEF]

Link not working for me

 

[Djbetterly]

So how happy are you with your new skimmer? Are you 100% glad you removed the overflow plastic? Are the results worth it?

 

[E.intheC]

I'm happy with the skimmer for sure. It does a very good job. I'm pretty confident there isn't a better performing drop-in skimmer out there. Probably similar performance to the HOB-1. It's also very quiet.

Removing the overflow plastic was a pain (would have been much easier if the tank was dry) but I have no regrets.