How to use that extra space in an Aquapod

[inafishschool]

Has anyone made good use of that extra space in the back compartment of the Aquapod 24 g? Based on many of the threads here, I tossed the foam pads, bio balls, and ceramic cylinders that came stock with the tank (the old "nitrate factory" issue). But even with a skimmer, heater, and powerhead, there's quite a bit more space just goin' to waste back there.
I'm considering using part of the back compartment for some live rock rubble that would serve as a refuge for copepods and add more biological filtration. Anyone had success with this? Pros? Cons? Still a nitrate factory? Any other good uses of this space? Thanks, RP

 

[matts125]

I have seen one in the past that had a mod done where there was a clear piece of acrylic on the back with a PC light for macro algea to grow back there (refugium) so you would just need to cut out a rectangular piece of the back and patch in a clear piece of acrylic then put a light on the back of it to shine in for the macro algae...

I dont know of a link showing this but I am sure someone else here has seen this before and can chime in with a link.....

Matt

 

[lavenderfish]

Over on nano-reef.com this is a popular option.
http://www.sapphireaquatics.com/sto...s_id=6&zenid=206e40e41f22bf5a110124f890ac987c

The mod Matt is refering to doesn't require cutting the back glass and subbing acrylic. You pry, scrape and razorblade the black backing away from the rear glass over the compartment you wish to dump chaeto. Add cheap light. Krish has photos of taking all of the backing off in one of his Aquapod threads. Check nano-reef.com for pics and details of this refugium mod. It is pretty commonly done by those folks.

 

[Krish]

Here's the link to what I did with mine. Not sure if it will help, but may trigger some ideas. Good luck

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21916

 

[inafishschool]

Thanks everyone for the ideas so far. I'll definitely check it out.

 

[Passinetti2007]

Not sure if anyones mentioned it but when I had my 12 gal nano cube which is just a smaller version of your 24 I took out all that crap and just filled it with live rock. Including my live rock in my tank I had like 30 lbs of LR in a 12 gal tank. It was really nice. I also hid my heater back there. They make a skimmer that can fit in that size tank too in the back. Not sure which one it is but I've seen it before.

 

[keener1830]

I have no extra space in my aquapod 24 in fact I am trying to figure out how to cram a second maxijet 1200 into the return section. On the overflow side I have the sapphire skimmer and it works well but takes up most the space. I also have two bags of carbon on the skimmer side so the water sees some type of carbon before returning to the tank.