What to do with empty compartment on CPR Bak Pak?

Discussion in 'Protein Skimmers' started by DaDaAtlanta, Oct 7, 2009.

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  1. Jacwil

    Jacwil Coral Banded Shrimp

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    Gotcha! Maybe I'll go that route as well.
     
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  3. xmetalfan99

    xmetalfan99 Giant Squid

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    The heater will not melt the acrylic. I kept my heater in that chamber for the 1+ years that I used the bak pak.
     
  4. Shu

    Shu Astrea Snail

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    Do you thank that we can put mangroves or cheato in there. would we have to put any substrate?
     
  5. xmetalfan99

    xmetalfan99 Giant Squid

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    I don't think it will work properly. You will need a light on the skimmer and any algal growth in the skimmer will hinder the skimmer's performance.
     
  6. xmetalfan99

    xmetalfan99 Giant Squid

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    I have a friend who used one of those UVs until the electrical box got some water on it. They did not add any sort of water seal in the box to make it water resistant. It is also a cheap sterilizer from petsmart where when the bulb goes out you buy a whole new bulb and casing for it. All that gets reused is the pump. You also can't tell if it is on when the red led stops working. Don't skimp on your equipment. Its a bad mistake many of us have done and winds up costing us more in the long run.
     
  7. DaDaAtlanta

    DaDaAtlanta Feather Star

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    The chaeto wouldnt be going into the skimmer compartment but just the return compartment which is initially supposed to be used for biobale anyway, just replacing it with a bit of chaeto. Also the mangroves dont need any substrate, they can be placed with the roots only in the water using styrofoam, eggcrate or sumthin similar and both require very little wattage. I have a 5 watt clip on fixture thats perfect for it. Again, moving the heater is pointless cuz its barely noticeable in my tank anyway.
     
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  9. DaDaAtlanta

    DaDaAtlanta Feather Star

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    I had the same UV sterilizer (green machine). What a piece of junk. It leaks from the bottom. I took it out and am afraid to even use it again. I did find a used turbo twist 8 or 9 watt I think it was at the LFS but it wont fit no way so might just get it and use it by itself with a pump
     
  10. xmetalfan99

    xmetalfan99 Giant Squid

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    I am talking about the return side. The piece of acrylic that separates the two chambers will grow algae on both side because you need a light on the skimmer to make it "work" as a fuge. The algae on the bubble chamber side will hinder the skimmer's performance. You are better off doing nothing with it than turning that side into a fuge.
     
  11. DaDaAtlanta

    DaDaAtlanta Feather Star

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    Hmm. I see wt u mean but I think Its worth a shot and any algae can be cleaned with maintenance or maybe just mangroves alone. Even if it becomes an issue its easily fixable and I wont lose nothing but some chaeto which I have a real small DIY HOB refugium thing I can use. There is already lots of light going into the bakpak because I moved it on the back and I removed my background, tank looks a lot better this way but since its clear, atleast during the 10 hours my lights are on, theres plenty of it going into the skimmer as it is. I'm gonna give it a try and see how it goes once I can find some chaeto. I will post my results here.
     
  12. DaDaAtlanta

    DaDaAtlanta Feather Star

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    WooHoo, I finally got me some chaeto, but thing Im tryin to figure out is what I can use to keep it from overflowing into my tank from the cpr? What do yall suggest?