LHotelUmbraQua
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
DIY specs for a custom tank: Kick the walls
In my initial plans for this 5 gal custom freshwater tank, do you see any areas for improvement, or missing factors or options I should address?
Volume hides easily, so if there are particular benefits for one or two more gallons, please let me know. (I can already see it would give me more species options when owning just one tank.) Dimensions are interior, and reverse-calculated to leave 1" space above the water.
The material is 0.5" thick low-iron glass, but I am open to other ideas.
Q1. Does you count substrate and other matter as part of your desired volume?
Q2: Is 1.42:1 a good L to W ratio for a rectangular tank, or do you prefer another?
Q3: Can you recommend a maker that will look closely enough at my choices to question them, and speak up? Location is NYC.
Species are open; perhaps a showy centerpiece fish, 1-3 hardy fish, and a snail. What favorite or interesting species I should consider?
Thank you!
* In PLAN A.1, the cube is the water.
(The photo is a 3D PowerPoint rendering of one idea -- perhaps just a whimsy, but a rather cheeky one -- a to-scale 5 gallon version of the notorious Umbra, a design I love. The Coke can is for perspective. I would build the shell, and would consider changes, such as letting in, or forcing in, more light. I measured my newly-arrived Umbra yesterday; the tank capacity is not 2 gal / 1.8 gallon as advertised, but 0.9 gal, or 1.1 gal when filled to the rim.)
In my initial plans for this 5 gal custom freshwater tank, do you see any areas for improvement, or missing factors or options I should address?
Volume hides easily, so if there are particular benefits for one or two more gallons, please let me know. (I can already see it would give me more species options when owning just one tank.) Dimensions are interior, and reverse-calculated to leave 1" space above the water.
The material is 0.5" thick low-iron glass, but I am open to other ideas.
- PLAN A Cube: 10.8" L x 10.8" W x 10.8" H
- PLAN A.1* Cube: 10.5" L/W; 11.5" H
- PLAN B, Rectangle): 12.8" L x 8.8" W x 11.5" H
Q1. Does you count substrate and other matter as part of your desired volume?
Q2: Is 1.42:1 a good L to W ratio for a rectangular tank, or do you prefer another?
Q3: Can you recommend a maker that will look closely enough at my choices to question them, and speak up? Location is NYC.
Species are open; perhaps a showy centerpiece fish, 1-3 hardy fish, and a snail. What favorite or interesting species I should consider?
Thank you!
* In PLAN A.1, the cube is the water.
(The photo is a 3D PowerPoint rendering of one idea -- perhaps just a whimsy, but a rather cheeky one -- a to-scale 5 gallon version of the notorious Umbra, a design I love. The Coke can is for perspective. I would build the shell, and would consider changes, such as letting in, or forcing in, more light. I measured my newly-arrived Umbra yesterday; the tank capacity is not 2 gal / 1.8 gallon as advertised, but 0.9 gal, or 1.1 gal when filled to the rim.)
Attachments
Last edited:
