Swingline77
Active Member
I have a Reef Octopus INT150 that I'd like to stabilize, but I'm not sure how. First, is it necessary that it be absolutely level? It's so difficult to find any way to stabilize it since there is a very small flange on the bottom (about a 10th of an inch), and almost the entire thing is tapered. I've seen people simply use a zip tie around the neck and also put it around a central support bar in a sump. While this will keep it from falling over, I wonder if something like this is the best solution.
Aside from this, one option would be to take the muffler holder off, and use the threaded hole that the muffler mounts in to screw in some sort of rod. The other end of the rod can then be secured. Option 2 is to put a strap around the 5" diameter ring into which the muffler holder screws, then worry about securing something to this. Option 3 is to route a plastic ring that's open on one side, similar to what's holding the muffler, and use this to hold the entire ring onto which the muffler holder is attached. Option 4 is to have clamps hold the bottom of the skimmer to a plate. This is a great solution, but extremely time consuming in terms of making everything.
The easiest answer, by far, is to use acrylic welding compound to weld a piece of acrylic onto the bottom of the skimmer. The piece welded on would be of a slightly greater diameter than the bottom of the skimmer, and have a few holes in it. I could then use these holes to mount the skimmer to a frame. As things are now, there's room to do this. The disadvantage is that I will have more-or-less permanently altered the footprint of the skimmer this way.
I'm leaning toward either the "zip tie" option, if it's a good one, or putting a threaded rod into the hole that holds the muffler holder. Any thoughts? Thanks.
Aside from this, one option would be to take the muffler holder off, and use the threaded hole that the muffler mounts in to screw in some sort of rod. The other end of the rod can then be secured. Option 2 is to put a strap around the 5" diameter ring into which the muffler holder screws, then worry about securing something to this. Option 3 is to route a plastic ring that's open on one side, similar to what's holding the muffler, and use this to hold the entire ring onto which the muffler holder is attached. Option 4 is to have clamps hold the bottom of the skimmer to a plate. This is a great solution, but extremely time consuming in terms of making everything.
The easiest answer, by far, is to use acrylic welding compound to weld a piece of acrylic onto the bottom of the skimmer. The piece welded on would be of a slightly greater diameter than the bottom of the skimmer, and have a few holes in it. I could then use these holes to mount the skimmer to a frame. As things are now, there's room to do this. The disadvantage is that I will have more-or-less permanently altered the footprint of the skimmer this way.
I'm leaning toward either the "zip tie" option, if it's a good one, or putting a threaded rod into the hole that holds the muffler holder. Any thoughts? Thanks.
