Nano Cube DIY Build

[mike_freegan]

Hello everyone. I'm currently rocking a Fluval Edge, but I've had enough of the problems with trying to get light all the way to the corners, and problems maintaining the tank without tearing all the plants up.

I really love how the edge is styled, with all of the hardware concealed, but wanted something a bit more practical.

I always really liked cube tanks, so, I bought a Dennerle 30l Nano Cube and set about building my own housing. Below is my guide.

First up, I wired up some GU10 lamp holders. These were £2 on eBay. You simply wire them in parallel straight to a mains plug. No converters required. I actually used the cigarette lighter trick from this thread for easy wire stripping and soldering. Bulb holders are just soldered in parallel.




I tested them out with my 3 LED 4w Day White bulbs from eBay (£10 set). Looking good!




OK, next up a thick 5mm piece of A4 acrylic, bought pre-cut from eBay. I drew around my lamp holders


...then cut them out using my dremel, cutting attachment and pillar mount (although you could probably do this with a drill and file if you had to, but I got a Dremel for XMas and have been looking for an excuse to use it).




The spotlight holders are from B&Q. These cost the most at £4 a pop. They aren't really necessary, and there are cheaper plastic equivalents but I wanted the splash-proof kitchen/bathroom ones and I thought they looked nice in brushed chrome. They just snap into the holes. No tools required.




To cut the rest of my acrylic, I just used a stanley knife to score the acrylic, cutting against a saw-edge to keep the lines straight. Then you just bend the piece and it snaps quite cleanly. The rest of the box is 3mm acrylic. I used 2 x A3 sheets altogether. The total acrylic cost was £12.




All glued (technically welded because it melts the acrylic together) with Tensol 12 adhesive. The bottle was about £7 from eBay. It is hard enough to handle in under 10 minutes.




...holding it in place whilst it sets with an Xbox box and guitar amp




Masking tape keeps everything tight. I stuck it in a way that didn't rely upon my crudely cut edges too much.




Just stuck the last piece! Then I cut some slits to slot over the edge of the tank for mounting.




Shot of the Dennerle 30l cube with cheap HOB filter. Filter was £7.50 from Amazon UK




The end result with filterintake poking out from the housing. It is insanely bright and a decent spread of light.






I think I'm going to add a strip of black sticky vinyl (some came with the tank) below the box straight down to hide all of the wires and CO2 hosing when it is up and running.

I can't wait to get some fauna/flora in there, but it'll have to wait until I move house I think. Extremely pleased with the result though!

[philemon716]

Fantastic start to a journal!

[Conrad283]

Very very very cool

[synaethetic]

That's a great DIY job. Marvelous! You will have no trouble growing with such a nice light.

[JEden8]

Nice light setup!

[PhillyMurse]

This is looking great! Makes me want to go into the garage tomorrow and start.

[mike_freegan]

Thanks guys. It didn't actually take long at all once all the bits arrived. Maybe 2 hours?

Here is a bit of a better angle:

[jimmytruong87]

It looks very nice. Where did u buy that cube tank?

[GMYukonon24s]

Nice build!

[thelub]

very nice build mate

[mike_freegan]

Originally Posted by jimmytruong87

It looks very nice. Where did u buy that cube tank?

It is a Dennerle 30 Nano Cube bought from Swell UK. It was only about £35 delivered and comes with a lid, underpadding and backing. The front edges are curved and seamless.