Dretter's DIY zero edge cube

[dretter]

I recently decided to take it upon myself to build my own zero edge aquarium, but I have been extremely busy with school and I have not had the time to start a build thread until now. Here are some pcitures that I have been taking during the build, hope you all enjoy!


It all started with the following plan:



Back View



Lumber



Pieces cut to size before hand





Stand completed

[dretter]

Getting everything ready to weld the sump!



Preparing the edges





Sump fully welded



Under the stand



Water testing!



I also welded the 35 gallon cube tank, unfortunately I didnt take any pictures of the process, but here's the finished product (I also routed the top with a 1/2 curved bit)

[dretter]

Here's a closer look at the top edge after I sanded it a bit, I also have routed the side edges of the tank but I cant seem to find any pictures.

[dretter]

Getting ready to drill the hole for the return bulkhead in the bottom of the tank



Drilling the return hole into the tank that collects the overflowing water



3/4 inch bulkhead fully installed



1 inch bulkheads at the back of the tank installed



Holes had to be cut in the plywood supporting the tank so the plumbing could fit through



1/2 inch loc-line installed for the return system

[dretter]

First bulk reef supply order that came in!!

[dretter]

Plumbing also arrived



Installing the baffles for the sump





Everything fits!



Holder I made for the filter socks

[dretter]

Water testing!



My new Vega, stand and controller finally arrived



Here's a short video

[dretter]

Today I cut the plywood to encase the sides of the stand. I put roller door catches on the inside of the stand to hold the plywood in place and to make each side removable.

Plywood after it has been cut to size



Closeup of the roller door catch





Front of stand



Side view



Outside is finished!



I plan on covering the outside with some fake stonework, here is the link; http://www.textureplus.com/stacked-stone-standard.html

[nemofish2217]

Very nice so far!

[Aquatron]

What a nice job your doing Did the tank overflow even on all sides? Would you do anything different?

[dretter]

Thanks! and yes it overflows on all sides, but it was very difficult to get it to that point. I first thought that routing all the edges with the 1/2 inch curved bit would be enough to get an evenly distributed flow. After testing it I realized that I would have to sand down the corners a lot to lower them and increase the flow. So it took a lot of time to sand them down to a point where I was happy with the flow, and a lot of polishing afterwords to get it clear again! If I was doing it again I would definitely like to use curved acrylic, but its difficult to find an oven big enough to do this in.

[ingtar_shinowa]

wow. Great fabrication.

[FusionVi]

Great job. I love this type of tank.

Sent from my HTC PG09410 using Tapatalk 2

[james30ct]

Looks really good, but if the power goes out wont the locline return back siphon and drain the whole cube being that low in the tank?

[dretter]

There is a check-valve on the return that stops it from draining

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by dretter

There is a check-valve on the return that stops it from draining

Until the check valve fails..

[dretter]

I've tested it numerous times, just gonna keep my fingers crossed!