[hahnmeister]

Don't get too excited, I saw the photos, and they really dont show much of anything at this point... just the cone and body, but no actual mechanicals/plumbing in place. The dimensions dont quite mesh up with what I was thinking in the original design, but this is more of a 'testbed' design anyways.

All I know for sure is that Anton has said he is very interested in a product for this 'niche', as it seems to be a high volume one that would really increase exposure to ATB in general.

The main ideas behind the design are:
-Easy to clean/break down w/o having to remove the entire HOB body or any water... the cone, cup, pump, and bubble plate can be removed completely w/o removing anything else.
-Small efficient pump... heck, Ill spill it... its based on the 'pimp my pump aquaclear 802' mod. An aquaclear 70 that is modded up to 400lph for 10-12 watts. It is possible that this may not be the final pump... although it was the original idea.
-Uses the ATB cone/pyramid shape body so it is part of the cone skimmer line.
-Uses a removable bubble plate.
-Pump is in the skimmer, not hanging in the tank.
-water level/outlet is controlled by an adjustable standpipe, not a valve system of some sort. I figured out a way to make a telescoping standpipe that is rather simple and should work just fine. I have never been a fan of valve controlled outlets/height adjustment with external skimmers. With a standpipe system, the water has a 'backup' opening to prevent overflows.
-Simplicity of design, for durability, ease of construction, and cleaning. For those who know of the 'wetworx nano skimmers' over at nano-reef.com, you know what Im talking about.

The weird thing is, based off this design, ATB could make a very simple external cone line as well... just rather than HOB, it would be a box/cylinder you can stand next to your sump.