# Filter/surface skimmer idea



## dallops_of_polyps (Feb 19, 2008)

i was wondering if its possible for me to glue two PVC pipes onto the tube of my original stock HOB fliter. they will go to the bottom but one pipe will stop and filter the water from the bottom and the other will make a 180 degree U-turn and come up about a inch below the surface and end with an elbow so the input is parallel to the surface to avoid the forming of a vortex. basically i am trying to kill two birds with 1 piece of equipment lol.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

ofcourse this is can be done, the question is how effective will it be? this should prevent surface scum from building up but the same thing can be achieved by aiming a powerhead slighty upwards to disrupt the surface. this wont be removing anything but will prevent anything from building up. if its a large enough tank there should be a skimmer regardless to help remove this but since your talking about HOB filters i will guess this is something smaller. the PVC will take up some nice space so consider that and anything sucking downwards near the surface will more then likely be creating a vortex. i say if you have an extra HOB why not try it?


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