Jump to content
Coral Vue Hydros

DIY fluval edge style tank


Kestrel

Recommended Posts

Hello everyone,

 

So I'm returning to the hobby after having been away from it for about three years. I'm well versed in freshwater and always wanted to do saltwater but I've shied away as I didn't have the space/time/money until now. I'm basically starting from scratch and so of course I'm looking into tanks.

 

I fell in love with the Fluval edge 12 gallon, I love the way it allows you to look downward into the tank and gives you that extra viewing angle. However, it's just too small! I'm not in a rush, i see this as a long term hobby for me so I'm ready to take my time. What I'd like to do is build my own tank, fluval edge style, I'd like to keep it an AIO as well, the space I have in mind for it could probably do 25 to 30 gallons nicely.

 

Anyway, anyone have thoughts on this? I'd love to hear from some more experienced people.

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

The green for the planted looks cheesy.

I also don't like the range of lighting intensity, at least from those pictures. Way too bright at the center with too much shadowing at the upper corners. Could definitely do it better with a custom build.

 

If I were doing it, I'd build the back wall higher so I could build the raised section so the water level would be higher than the top glass by at least an inch or two with a nearly coast to coast overflow so it could still be sumped. The side walls would have a 1° to 2° slope so that any air or proteins that raise to the surface make their way to the overflow section instead of getting stuck towards the front. The overflow section (and the raised portion of the back pane) wouldn't need to span the entire width so you can conserve the look of the Edge. Making the over flow section only a few inches wide allows you to place the lighting (which I would make wider than the one on the Edge and angle the LEDs at the ends to give better coverage) over the glass and leave plenty of viewing room from the top glass while being able to minimize the shadowing and evening out the light distribution. But that would definitely make scaling a challenge and would not give the dancing light patterns that you get from the rippling surface water. So, I'd probably end up making the raised section wide enough to accommodate the lighting, or make the raised section 8-9 inches wide and make a two piece light to even out the lighting. Returns would go through the rear wall, possibly even in the raised section so they are not visible. A Y-type loc-line on one of the bulkhead fittings to direct a small portion of the return towards the surface of the raised section to create ripples.

 

Would be a fun challenging build for sure.

 

If you did two piece lighting, it would allow you to have even lighting throughout the day, but allow you to remove the second section for top down viewing. Not that the second piece needs to completely cover the top, it would just allow for more exposed top glass.

Link to comment

A DIY edge would be cool, but also pretty difficult unless you're experienced at cutting glass or have access to some sort of cutting machine.

 

IMO if you like the "top down" view :naughtydance: you might also consider an angled tank:

 

angled3.jpg

 

angled_fts_0413.jpg

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...