mechishark7 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 So I've wanted to make a tiny acrylic tank for a while now but seeing dafil's 0.8g totm has really motivated me to actually start planning it. I took inspiration for this tank from the design of the Fluval Edge series tanks. I wanted to make a few changes to its design and shrink it considerably. I painted the tank red since its easier to see than black in the photos but I plan to make the red areas in this image out of black or white acrylic. Front view. The interior dimensions of the main tank area are 9.75" x 4.875" x 4.875" which equals 231.71 in^3, one gallon is 231 in^3, so its just about one gallon on the dot. Side Top. The top will be open to accommodate the LED heatsink Back. There will be some opening to the tank from the back to allow gas exchange to the tank, it was just easier to design it with no hole/gap. Side cross section view. Here you can see how its an AIO, compared to the Edge series that had HOB AC filters in them. the back compartment will hold the filter media and pump along with a heater. Heres a view of the back with a cross section, the overflow and return pump holes are most visible in this view. Here is a front cross section view, here you can see the overflow slots extend above the level of the main tank and allows the water level to extend above the main tank, so there are no air bubbles in the main tank, just like in the fluvial edge tanks Here is a top cross section view, the back filter compartment and the access hole to the main tank in view. I plan on making a DIY LED fixture, not sure what yet as I have no experience with that so I'm open to ideas/suggestions! I would like it to be controllable and full spectrum to be able to grow anything. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions Link to comment
k4ndyk1ng Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I don't know anything about DIY LEDs. But there are plenty of people that will know If this happens I want to see this, the mini edge Link to comment
CCLAXX Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 What is your budget on something like this? As for LEDs your options are almost limitless, you could even contact Dave over at Nanobox and see what he could cook up. Ive also wanted to do something similar, curious to see how this turns out. Dylan Link to comment
mechishark7 Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 What is your budget on something like this? As for LEDs your options are almost limitless, you could even contact Dave over at Nanobox and see what he could cook up. Ive also wanted to do something similar, curious to see how this turns out. Dylan Not sure yet, probably between $100-$200 for the lighting. I know that might seem like a lot for a 1g tank but I already have the acrylic and tools for making the tank, and a heater and return pump (I might already have one) couldn't cost that much. I did see that Nano Box is now selling their 13Up LED arrays for $59.99 so thats definitely an option too. The whole top of the tank will be open to accommodate the heatsink so I should be able to fit a 4" x 6" heatsink there. Link to comment
rocksmom Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Following! This looks like it will turn out very cool. I was also going to suggest the Nanobox 13up since I love both of mine. You could probably get the whole setup including wiring, drivers, and storm controller and then just mount it to whatever heatsink you put in there. Link to comment
farkwar Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 You have the overflow teeth lower than the top glass. You will lose the EDGE effect with a large bubble of air between the glass and waterline. You need a hinge of some sort for the lid. The edge uses a Aqua Clear filter, what are you using. Nanobox puck for lighting. Youll need power supply, two drivers, fan, two channel timer controller, fan power supply, heatsink, vent material for lid, a fan vent cover should suffice. Link to comment
mechishark7 Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 You have the overflow teeth lower than the top glass. You will lose the EDGE effect with a large bubble of air between the glass and waterline. You need a hinge of some sort for the lid. The edge uses a Aqua Clear filter, what are you using. Nanobox puck for lighting. Youll need power supply, two drivers, fan, two channel timer controller, fan power supply, heatsink, vent material for lid, a fan vent cover should suffice. The teeth and water line extend above the lowest line of the display tank. No need for a hinge, the top of the tank will be open and the led will sit on top, inside the top rim of the tank above the water line. No HOB like the Edges, the back compartment is a sump to hold filter media and pump, as explained ^^^ No fan on the heatsink, nano boxes don't have one and I shouldn't either The heatsink will be the top of the tank, no lid needed either, i will get a black anodized one that will blend in with the rest of the black enclosure Link to comment
fragtal Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Oh I can't wait to see this! I have a freshwater planted 6G Edge at work and I love it. Link to comment
mechishark7 Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Actually just found out the Nano box tide minis do have a fan, ill have to add that to the light item list Link to comment
grafxalien Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I did almost the same thing a few years ago except I made it larger than an edge and used glass. Here is my original DIY post about it. It may have some helpful tips for you in it. Feel free to ask about it. My tank is still running. My only regret about it is it is a pain in the ass to clean inside it. http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/273895-my-complete-diy-setup/ Link to comment
dafil Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Very good projekt ! I have PAR30 7x1w /60deg.optics ,retrofitted with chinese leds led bulb... inches above the surface/PAR at the surface/PAR 4 inch under water/PAR 2 inch under water/ 4 / 1200-1500 / 350-500 6 /600-850 / 350-400 / 500-600 8 / 400-500 / 150-200 / keep in mind these numbers when choosing high power leds Link to comment
erevast Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Very cute! What are you planning on putting in it? Link to comment
mechishark7 Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 So I just accepted a full time job (graduated in the spring so I've been bummin off my parents) and I'm moving to Melbourne Florida so this project will be pushed back even further than expected, but I will have plenty of time and stocking options to build the tank with once I'm down there. Very cute! What are you planning on putting in it? Not entirely sure yet, no fish since its so tiny but it could be a cool sexy shrimp party tank! Corals are probably going to be an assortment of zoas since they're hardy and easy and besides that I'm not entirely sure. I don't want anything like xenia that grows out of control that I'm going to have to trim since there won't be much access to the inside once its all set up. Open to suggestions of live stocking options and places to go for corals since I'll be new to florida! Link to comment
k4ndyk1ng Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 zoa garden and sexy shrimp sounds cool Link to comment
fizzy Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 this looks like a good design, have you used acrylic before ? I build acrylic aquariums here in the UK. Link to comment
erinwillett Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Sexy shrimp party tank! Complete with disco LED lighting? I kid. Link to comment
Steensj2004 Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 +1 on the LED Array from Dave Farson, One of his LED clusters would rock this thing. This will be cool! Link to comment
mechishark7 Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 this looks like a good design, have you used acrylic before ? I build acrylic aquariums here in the UK. Thanks! Haven't worked with acrylic that much really, just cutting the crappy Home-Depot stuff for jobs around the house. Ive done a bunch of research and watched tons of tutorials on acrylic tank building but by far does that not mean I know what I'm doing I figured starting on a project this small means mistakes cost much less $$ than if I started by trying to make a huge tank out of 1" acrylic Any advice is super appreciated I mean, I do have a degree in Mechanical Engineering so I'm pretty sure I could build it no problem, but any advice on techniques and such would probably be the most helpful advice Link to comment
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