# ~10g Custom Tank Build (PIC HEAVY)



## Kronk (Oct 6, 2011)

So I was hooked with the fluval edge look, and was tempted to buy one until i read some reviews about the tiny opening and insufficient filtration. So since i really like putting my big mitts in fish tanks i figured i would play with some ideas in google sketchup and came up with the following... a 18" x 10.5" x 10.5" with a 5.5" x 4.5" filter chamber on the back. I want to do heavily planted with 2 or 3 dwarf puffers, on the fence with CO2 but due to my kids in the house i will be going with excel and fertilizers. Light is from a single 23W 6500K spiral bulb, wanted to do LED but price was too high to justify for the plants i plan to keep.

1. Design idea in google sketchup, the base of the tank has a removable front, i did an ATO to fit but dont think i will need to use it
2. $70 worth of glass to silicone
3. Got really good at siliconing... right as i was doing the last piece so I tore apart my first attempt and spent a very long time cleaning with acetone and razor blades
4. Finished product
5. 5.5" x 4.5" filter chamber, the water level means there is no surface disruption
6. Return piping from filter chamber
7. Ehiem compact pump 600 (160GPH)
8. Matrix biomedia apparently this amount will do for a 100g tank so i should be good. Also ever wonder what a shower puff looks like cut open? its 100% pvc!
9. Filter chamber packed, have a mini preset heater fit in as well
10. First attempt at island layout Fluval Black substrate and white sand between. Pouring in water was a disaster white sand was blown everywhere, gonna work with it anyways.
11. Nothing but java fern in it for now but this will change I tend to re-scape my tanks every water change i will be adding a lot more rock as well

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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

wow , thats some good work sir


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## rickwaines (Jan 2, 2011)

faaaaan taaaastic. love it!!!


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

My wife wants one now... i already have too many projects on the go


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## Kronk (Oct 6, 2011)

Forgot how annoying it is to sit through the cycle and its only been a week...

I added a lot more stones and moved the white sand off the Fluval Black to get a better island look. My crappy camera gets bleached out by the white sand, the tank is not blinding, but it is definitely a crisp bright white, 6500K bulbs are great. I really want to add more plants but the oil slick on the water surface makes me want to keep my hands out of it.

I have a ton of red worms in the tank now that are really easy to spot in the white sand they must have come in with the Java Ferns. Not too worried as they look too large to be parasitic, should be a good snack for the Dwarf puffers when I add them. They are likely Tubiflex worms that came from a very healthy tank with some very old healthy fish. They are about an inch long and seem to make webs or cocoons around themselves, very active wigglers too.

Well I guess I should go and feed my worms, and wait...


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## Pamela (Apr 21, 2010)

That tank looks awesome, you did a great job!


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## MEDHBSI (Sep 4, 2011)

Awesome job man  I love seeing people DIY things. now only if we could see a 55g version muhahah


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## Kronk (Oct 6, 2011)

MEDHBSI said:


> Awesome job man  I love seeing people DIY things. now only if we could see a 55g version muhahah


Why a 55g when you can do a 65g... 
This will be my new reef when I upgrade to a new house in a year or two. The entire reason i built the 10g was to test the idea, i was concerned about too many dark zones.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

jesus, man how are you doing all these crazy 3d models they are awesome

the first build is wicked, I am pretty excited to see the next one go down, im assuming the next one will be acrylic based on the number of holes you have going on in the back panel, 

the local glass shops here quoted me $10 a hole with no gaurantee that it wouldnt break >>>yikes maybe you have a good glass guy i dunno , regardless awesome work on both the tank, and the 3d modeling , im still working on learning how to draw proportioned stick figures .. good for you lol


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## Kronk (Oct 6, 2011)

I was a draftsman about 12 years ago, first job out of highschool and i have been drafting as a hobby ever since. I use google sketchup its an amazing program considering its free!

I will probably do glass, there are only 4 holes in the actual tank and they are all spaced properly, which means longer than the hole diameter apart and from edges.

I drilled a few holes in my current reef tank and it was pretty easy, albeit a bit nerve racking, get a diamond hole saw bit for $10 and you can do up to 10 or 15 holes. Go slow, use lots of water, and don't attempt to drill thin or tempered glass and you will be fine.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

good tips, thanks , i dont trust myself enough to do it lol


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

drilling a tank is fairly easy. Generally i try to keep atleast a distance of the hole diameter from the edges aswell as between holes. If you let the drill do the work, and you just pretty much hold it there no pressure, it wont be hard, just time consuming. I did a practice hole on a cheap picture frame that was insanely thin.

+1 on google sketch up, although i do have issues keeping dimensions proper length on there


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Wow, that's very cool! I love the look of the Edge as well, and was frustrated by the small size and huge price.


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## Fish n Chips (Mar 30, 2011)

So awesome! Having just setup an Edge tank myself, I can testify that being able to look in from the top on a 65 gal reef would be amazing!!! Any idea what it is going to cost to put together?


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## Kronk (Oct 6, 2011)

If I can get my hands on a 57g or 65g rimless I will just add the tops, collar and overflow. Just missed out on a beauty that was in the classifieds a couple weeks ago. The cost of the new reef will depend on what i will re-use from existing and cost of the tank. The 10g cost is below...
- $70 for glass (seemed high but what are you gonna do...)
- $30 substrate (lots of leftover though)
- $15 driftwood
- $10 Matrix biomedia
- $5 filter floss
- $10 MDF for stand and canopy
- $30 Ehiem pump
- $10 PVC parts and cement
- $5 krylon fusion paint
- $10 light socket and bulb
- $0 Plants and stones free
- $0 mini heater free

$195 sure adds up quick...


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## Kronk (Oct 6, 2011)

Interesting discovery tonight about those "red worms"... 
I noticed a mosquito on the water surface then another, and another just under the water... did a quick google search of mosquito larvae, and sure enough I have a mosquito factory in my house!! hahaha
The only way they could have gotten in is I had my driftwood soaking in a bucket in my garage. I am thinking the eggs were laid in there and they didn't hatch until I transferred the driftwood to my tank. I put some saran wrap over my tank opening and an airstone. I will probably have to leave it on for a few days then they should all be hatched or dead. Fortunately most mosquitos turn to adult within 10 to 14 days and the tank has been set up for about 12 days. 

Just a reminder for anyone storing standing water outside this time of year I guess... too bad my tank wasnt cycled yet, they would have made a great puffer snack!


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## Kronk (Oct 6, 2011)

UPDATE...

Overall I am happy with the tank as I wanted the overgrown look but i need to add some smaller plants as the java fern grows too fast and too big. 
Went shopping for puffers a couple weeks ago and unfortunately they only had 3 left in the tank, 1 dead floater, 1 obviously had internal parasites and one that looked decent. figured what the hell and bought the 2 live ones anyways. They immediately started devouring frozen blood worms but the stomachs still looked sunken so clearly IP. The decent looking one disappeared 2 days later, tore the tank apart and still didn't find him, good test for the cycle I guess. I loaded the tank with snails and the last remaining puffer actively hunts them which is entertaining. I may add some black neons to add some movement to the tank as it still looks empty.


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## AcidFear (Aug 19, 2012)

Wow nice job on the tank looks amazing I really like the idea of the two islands. What kind of puffer is that?


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Very nice looking and a cool build. Looking forward to seeing the bigger version. May have to try something like that myself some time.


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## Kronk (Oct 6, 2011)

AcidFear said:


> Wow nice job on the tank looks amazing I really like the idea of the two islands. What kind of puffer is that?


Its a dwarf puffer aka pea puffer. Lots of fun to watch buzz around every square inch of the tank hunting but can be a pain to feed, and they usually don't get along with others.



> Very nice looking and a cool build. Looking forward to seeing the bigger version. May have to try something like that myself some time


It wasn't much more difficult that building a regular tank, one of the benefits of the design is it creates an overflow with no drilling. The changes I will make on the bigger on is go as thin as possible on the top glass.


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## Smallermouse (Jan 28, 2012)

Wow, utterly amazing! Now that's what I call DIY.


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## sunshine_1965 (Aug 16, 2011)

Great looking tank. The glass is not cheap for sure. Hope the puffer is doing well. I had some figure 8 puffers for a while and they were cool to watch. They lived in a small group and did well. Loved there snails and blood worms.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Looks like 11 pieces of glass cut to size for $70 - sounds like a decent price to me. A lot of glass shops will charge $5 or more PER CUT! 

Do you have any screens over your pipe openings?

Love this DIY build. Great job and sooooo jealous of your computer graphics 3-D renderings.

I'm still old school using pen & paper.

Looking forward to your 65g build.

Anthony


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## Kronk (Oct 6, 2011)

As expected the puffers didn't live long due to the IP... and now my tank is loaded with snails. I had added a crowntail betta, 7 neons and a couple of algae shrimp just to get some movement in the tank. I figured the betta was a risk that he may not be able to find the air opening but i though they are smart fish and the opening is 1/3 of the tanks top and in the middle... long story short it seems wrong to have to save a fish from drowning. he is now in a square vase and I have an idea to make him an acrylic bowl. I have been considering adding a single german blue ram because i cannot find puffers anywhere in town. I will be headed down to the coast at the end of the month for a week long business trip so *if anyone has any cool fish recommendations* and a store selling them let me know. Once again crappy pics from my camera it cant seem to handle the 6500k bulb and white sand. Looks cool in person though.



SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> Do you have any screens over your pipe openings?


I don't have any screens over the pipes as they are output and fish wouldn't get too far if they swam in.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

i find with a light substrate using Exposure Value compensation is a must, most cameras have this, even crappy point and shoots and cell phones. I find EV -1.7 to be my sweet spot for photos, -1.3 sometimes for the dimmer tanks


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## Kronk (Oct 6, 2011)

Moved last year and the tank sat empty until about 6 months ago. I recently picked up a plant pack and bought Metricide14 to dose. Having some algae issues at the moment so I have recently reduced lighting hours and need to step up the water changes. Also looking to move the Columbian tetras out and get my old favorite, Dwarf Puffers. If anyone sees them in stores in the Lower Mainland let me know as I am traveling down for work this week.

The pics really don't do the tank justice as the white sand makes it a nice light source for the room. The plants are also various shades of green. I am using a D5100 if anyone has any tips.

I am very tempted to build a sister tank and do a nano reef on the other side of the fireplace. I do miss my reefing...


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