Let’s face it, most all-in-one aquariums are woefully underflowed and almost all Solana and Biocube owners end up getting some kind of propeller pump to increase circulation inside the tank. Although the AIO nanos have been a major product category in the aquarium hobby for quite some time, none of those currently available in the US have been equipped with a stock propeller pump to either drive the filter, increase flow or both.
I have an Ecomini 28 gallon and after running some prop pumps inside the tank like everyone else, I decided that being able to see the pump, power cord and mounting bracket was just not pimpin’. After a little trial and error I found that the Tunze Nanostream was not only small enough to fit inside the filter with the nozzle sticking into the tank, but since I cut a 2″ circular hole and cradled the spherical pump with a cylindrical collar, the nozzle can actually be directed about 45 degrees in any direction. The Tunze Nanostream in this tank is more than enough to produce great in-tank flow as well as driving the filter system with a much higher flowrate than the stock pump was providing.
This modification came out much better than I had anticipated and I look forward to sharing whole tank shots once I get around to rescaping this Ecomini reef tank. So far the only downside is that the Nanostream sits in the part of the filter which doubles as a reservoir. It’s not a big deal but until I get some automatic top off system arranged I will have to manually top off the Ecomini about twice a week. Surely I must not be the first person to have made a propeller modification to an AIO nano like this and we’d love to hear any feedback in the comments from others who have done a similar mod. A couple more shots of the AIO nano prop pump mod after the break.
