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2g rimless custom pico cube, 9x9x7in


airman_verde04

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airman_verde04

hey folks,

ok, so I'm selling my other pico, I really wanted something more sleck looking, so I had some free time this afternoon, went to the hardware store and picked up some glass, and started on my new 2 gallon pico cube tank. Its looking good so far..

 

I want the rimless look, so if anyone has an opinion about if its going to work without putting some kind of supports please tell me. If anything, I'm planning on making a small base of some kind that holds the ends tight, or some sort of stainless steel corner pieces to reinforce the corners so I don't loss the rimless look..

 

as for filtration I'm going to more than likely just buy one of those mini HOB filters I've seen on Dr. F&S.

 

Lighting, I'm going to get a 20w 50/50 bulb, I used a small part of a tall living room lamp I got for free, bent the piping, and I'm going to have it hang over the tank, more than likely, I'll get some sort of stainless steel bowl or a pretty light fixture to use as the refractor and what not to complete the look.. thats about it! should

be able to do a water and strength test on Friday.. here are the pictures of my work so far!!

 

of, if your wondering whats going in there.. no clue.. I'm going to make the light fixture big enough for 2 bulbs, so if I want, later on I can toss one of those growth pink/violet colored bulbs in there too.. who knows, but I know for sure, its going to have black sand!! well... maybe.. if I can get some sand from someone elses tank for cheap or FREE!! i'll take what I get, but thats a road I wont be on till, well i get an office!! I mean, I might put it up for a little while, hehe.. but just as a test.. ok!! ENJOY!

 

Light fixture!

100_0461.jpg

how its going to look standing up.

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got the glass! yeah I know, I just asked this morning what I can use.. I love being close to mom and pop stores!

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all taped up!! and coke can for sizing

100_0465.jpg

 

100_0467.jpgB)

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looking good... have you ever made a tank? if not, go get your self some painters tape... trust me... other wise the seams will look like crap... you want to make about a 3/8 inch boarder on each piece of glass... after you get it all square and apply the silicone (and smooth it out) pull the painters tape off it so you will have straight seams, and alot less to scrape with a razor blade... ive built a few picos and my first trials turned out really bad... good luck

 

and on a tank this size you wont need any other support other then silicone... no need for bracing

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airman_verde04
looking good... have you ever made a tank? if not, go get your self some painters tape... trust me... other wise the seams will look like crap... you want to make about a 3/8 inch boarder on each piece of glass... after you get it all square and apply the silicone (and smooth it out) pull the painters tape off it so you will have straight seams, and alot less to scrape with a razor blade... ive built a few picos and my first trials turned out really bad... good luck

 

and on a tank this size you wont need any other support other then silicone... no need for bracing

 

thanks for the advice, but I already did the silicon, ops! but I really like your idea and I think it will be worth redoing the seams thanks for the tip! alittle late.. but its ok..

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Already moving to another tank I see. I told you it was an addiction that you just can't stop. Once you start reefing, you will constantly look at other tanks and think to yourself how nice it would be to have one for yourself.

 

Have you tried posting up your current tank on the local reefers site? I know it blows but someone might be interested locally.

 

Any pictures of the first attempt at putting it together? Where did you get the glass, ACE Hardware?

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airman_verde04
Already moving to another tank I see. I told you it was an addiction that you just can't stop. Once you start reefing, you will constantly look at other tanks and think to yourself how nice it would be to have one for yourself.

 

Have you tried posting up your current tank on the local reefers site? I know it blows but someone might be interested locally.

 

Any pictures of the first attempt at putting it together? Where did you get the glass, ACE Hardware?

 

I'll take a picture here soon, it didn't come out all that bad! but I like the idea of nice clean seams.. I used a guitar pick to do the seams and it worked really well!

 

and you know it!! I went to ACE, it reminds me of home since we only got a lowes in the last 4 years I was back in VA, so small stores is the way to go. oh! it was only 6 bucks for the glass..

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airman_verde04

hey everyone!! well, the work is going on with the new tank! I re-did all of the seams on the tank, I used the recommended tape the seams to get smooth lines.. It worked and looks great! I'm off to do some rock climbing, but I plan on doing a water test tonight when I get home!! my last water test didn't go so well, but the bead on that seam really sucked, this one is crazy awesome so I dont think I'll have any leaks this time, second times I charm! I really haven't spent much money on this tank! thats the goal, so I've been looking for something I could use as a light hood for my hanging light I'll have on it, and I found this little basket at the goodwill for $2, fliped it upside down, and wah-la! nice little light hood! I'm going to do some drilling for the wires tomorrow or so, then I plan on painting it silver to match the light stand! anyhoo... here are some new pictures.

 

before - little flower basket

basket.jpg

 

After- now its a tank hood!!

newtank.jpg

 

I'll throw a pic of the water test later on.

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airman_verde04
Looking good man....hope the water test turns out for you. Could be a sweet little tank for sure.

 

yeah it didn't, it seemed to only suck on one side, I put alittle more sealent on that side of the tank, so hope it works tomorrow, but if not, I guess I'll cut the seam and try again on that one side.. we shall see.

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airman_verde04
I'll be tagging along, this tank looks nice.

 

Very innovative tank hood hahaha! At least its stylish. lol

 

haha, thanks!! yeah, I just finished painting it, I'll be wiring up the lights later this week, I'm ordering my lights so I should have it up and running sometime next week..

 

anyhoo, I just did the second water test.. it worked great! I found a air bubble, so after I put some epoxy on the outside seams just to hold it a little tighter, I'm going to fill that air bubble in.. here are some pictures from the water test, you can see where I had to put another layer on one of the seams.. its the sloppy looking one.. anyhoo.. here ya go!

 

I just tossed some rocks in there to get an idea of how much light I get, I'll have a total of 2 50/50 10w bulbs and 1- 10w color enhancing bulbs, and also a 25 blue LED light bar that runs at about 460mn, those will be for my actinic hours in the morning and end of the day. I dont think I'll have any moonlights on this tank. just due to the fact I want to keep it as sleak as possible, and its going to be tight as it is under that hood! but maybe later down the road. haha..

t2.jpg

 

here is a top view

t2.jpg

 

This is my favorite view, I really like those rimless corner pictures.. and hey!! now I have one!!

t1.jpg

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airman_verde04
wow..thats a lot of silicone...

 

you think so? I rather have alot of silicone than a leaky tank, especially since I'll have this guy in a government office, leaky tank = no more fishies at work EVER!! haha.. better to be safe than sorry.. HAHA

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for your first DIY tank its not that bad... next time (and trust me there will be a next time) you will do a better job... its all about practice and learning from mistakes when it comes to silicone seams... looks better then my first one thats for sure

 

i like the dimentions... you should look into a 70w retro for over the top of it

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IndicaCorialis
should of done it out of acrylic! or had me make you one out of acrylic!

Ditto...Get some acrylic and play around with it. It's very easy to work with, strong, and looks MUCH cleaner. Really good acrylic doesn't scrath that easy either. I'm planning on making a similiar tank but with a sump underneath made of black acrylic to put live sand, rock, chemipure, and chaeto in. I'm still working out the design in my head...

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theres no reason to use that much silicone...look at quality tanks like elos or ada. they use enough silicone to stick the glass. hardly any beyond the thickness of the glass. and it does not leak

 

im not telling you that your first DIY tank should be top quality like ada or elos, but just saying theres no need to use that much.

 

this was my first DIY glass tank

DSC_0094.jpg

i used the tape method for the silicone seams...

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airman_verde04
for your first DIY tank its not that bad... next time (and trust me there will be a next time) you will do a better job... its all about practice and learning from mistakes when it comes to silicone seams... looks better then my first one thats for sure

 

i like the dimentions... you should look into a 70w retro for over the top of it

 

I thought about it, but if I would put MH on anything, it would be my 10g, and I really like T5s, so I don't think I'll ever be messing with MH, thought I was at lowes yesterday and saw MH bulbs and almost started looking for a baslast to build one.. OPS!!

 

looks cool, i wouldn't worry about tooo much silicon. the sand should do a good job covering it

 

Thats what I was thinking,

 

should of done it out of acrylic! or had me make you one out of acrylic!

 

I played with plexy glass and acrylic when I was a kid, my mom worked at a sign factory and I could get scraps whenever I wanted/needed some, had that stuff on everything, I'll pass, I'll just use glass.

 

Ditto...Get some acrylic and play around with it. It's very easy to work with, strong, and looks MUCH cleaner. Really good acrylic doesn't scrath that easy either. I'm planning on making a similiar tank but with a sump underneath made of black acrylic to put live sand, rock, chemipure, and chaeto in. I'm still working out the design in my head...

 

I was thinking the same thing, but I'll wait till I use this one for a while.

 

theres no reason to use that much silicone...look at quality tanks like elos or ada. they use enough silicone to stick the glass. hardly any beyond the thickness of the glass. and it does not leak

 

im not telling you that your first DIY tank should be top quality like ada or elos, but just saying theres no need to use that much.

 

this was my first DIY glass tank

DSC_0094.jpg

i used the tape method for the silicone seams...

 

Thats nice, but I think I did a pretty good job thanks, I'm sure I could have made the seams a little smaller, but even before I had to fix the leaky side of the tank, the glass flexed a good bit. anyhoo.. I'm not taking this thing apart again, it was a P-I-T-A the first time.. when I do another one (way way way down the road, I'm thinking about making a scull skiff out of wood here soon, so I wont really have time for building fish tanks) I'll make sure the glass is cut better, and that I have a better way to hold the tank together.. anyhoo... thanks for the advice though.

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The glass looks like its 1/4th id get a little thicker next time. I dont know how you heald the glass togeather this time but i all ways you eletrical tape. But for you first tank you did a really really good job and your next one will look even nicer

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airman_verde04
The glass looks like its 1/4th id get a little thicker next time. I dont know how you heald the glass togeather this time but i all ways you eletrical tape. But for you first tank you did a really really good job and your next one will look even nicer

 

thanks alot for the really nice, non-negative comment! haha, I think it is 1/4in glass, just normal window/picture frame glass, and for holding up the sides before I did the silicon, I just used painters tape. Its in the middle of its second water test. I'll keep it up for about 2 weeks, just to make sure.. maybe only 1, its holding up fine. thanks again! I just got my LEDs, so I can start working on the light hood.. I'll be gone most of the weekend, so I wont be doing any tank work till next week.

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airman_verde04

Hey folks,

well, I finally got around to working on the tanks lighting system, Its all wired, up, I'm about to dump the water from the water test, then I'm going to figure if I'm going to use the lamp base, well, as the lamp base, OR!! If I'm going to make a new little base to hold the light hanging arm thing.

 

Also, I'm going to get a piece of glass or plastic to put on the open part to the light hood as a splash shelled, and I need to order the 2 other bulbs for the tank.. but I need to sell my other little tank before the wife will let me order anything for this tank..

 

anyhoo, I wired in the Blue LED light strip just like I used on my main take, just only 1 strip and Its using a 9v power supply, unlike the 12v on the main tank. It should look really nice once I get some rock and sand in this tank. ok, so only got one picture for you guys today.. I'll wait to take more when I get all the actually bulbs that will be used with this tank!! Happy Tuesday Everyone!!!

 

lgihts.jpg

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superduperwesman
Hey folks,

well, I finally got around to working on the tanks lighting system, Its all wired, up, I'm about to dump the water from the water test, then I'm going to figure if I'm going to use the lamp base, well, as the lamp base, OR!! If I'm going to make a new little base to hold the light hanging arm thing.

 

Also, I'm going to get a piece of glass or plastic to put on the open part to the light hood as a splash shelled, and I need to order the 2 other bulbs for the tank.. but I need to sell my other little tank before the wife will let me order anything for this tank..

 

anyhoo, I wired in the Blue LED light strip just like I used on my main take, just only 1 strip and Its using a 9v power supply, unlike the 12v on the main tank. It should look really nice once I get some rock and sand in this tank. ok, so only got one picture for you guys today.. I'll wait to take more when I get all the actually bulbs that will be used with this tank!! Happy Tuesday Everyone!!!

 

lgihts.jpg

 

 

Good Idea on ordering the other bulbs unless you like cleaning your glass all the time... trust me I knew

 

IMG_0343.jpg

 

IMG_0342.jpg

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You did a great job dont listen to the random tards:) Also to be honest Ive worked with loads of caulking and silicone on houses etc and the best seem made is really just wiped with a finger as you push it in no need for tape really. Cant wait to see how it looks all set up:)

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