The Tenecor® Desktop AIO Drop Off DIY Drops April 13th, 2024

[Naekuh]

I love that curved front acrylic.
It feels like the DIY version tho will be my OCD bane, because i will probably spend about half the day trying to perfectly allign the rear baffle so its perfectly center, not thinking its center and having to redue it every 10 seconds or so.

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

I love that curved front acrylic.
It feels like the DIY version tho will be my OCD bane, because i will probably spend about half the day trying to perfectly allign the rear baffle so its perfectly center, not thinking its center and having to redue it every 10 seconds or so.

Not this time. I am working on designing the seam quality into the assembly process.

 

[ronnie]

I haven’t built the pico yet, but this one looks like a lot fun!

 

[AquaLogic]

Looks really nice. My only feedback is that I strongly prefer an AIO chamber that runs the entire back. I like to have 3 chambers to work with. I'm happy to give up the display space for more versatility in the rear.

 

[Lingwendil]

Bad idea. won't help. Bend your arm tightly. See the flare at the elbow? Acrylic does the same thing. That flare needs to be machined off before the top and bottom are attached. We use super double secret technologies to do that. Double Secret.

I've built a couple dozen acrylic tanks over the years at the garage goober/starving hobbyist level, some of my experience on how to do this as a "figure out as you go" kid back in the day-

My high school senior project was the design and build of an aquarium out of acrylic- Approximately 24x12x12" if I remember correctly. Simple AIO rear chamber with a couple baffles, and eggcrate media baskets. I detailed a version with bent front corners and glued front corners, and presented them side by side. The glued version was eurobraced with 1" strips inset 1/8" down inside the walls, the bent corner version had a one piece top with a cutout like the Tenecor tanks do.

For the bends, My solution was to build a strip heater out of resistance wire, and control heat with a light dimmer. I made a jig out of aluminum stock with hinges to keep everything square and aligned during bending. Once bent and cooled I carefully sanded the corners flush and square with a sanding block. Then once glued up with Weld-on #4 I routed and flame polished all the edges. It was a lot of work, but was affordable and looked like a factory tank.

I later tried the same bends on a long tank (48x10x10) and had a heck of a time keeping it square for whatever reason, but I haven't revisited the process as i stopped building tanks ~15 years ago.

Reading all the Tenecor DIY made my buy some scrap acrylic and start playing with it again, now that I have a pretty good assortment of tools and my own house to play in.

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

Latest sketches and musings.

 

[Jim Gomoll]

You do love tabs.....
What's the plan for AIO with this design?

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

You do love tabs.....
What's the plan for AIO with this design?

Trying to make it easier for the average bear to get good results. Our production versions obviously would not have them.

 

[dansyr]

Latest sketches and musings.

undercut part could fit an ATO? not sure volume but looks like ~1/4 volume. Or just a drawer for wires etc but that seems.... dangerous... on a DIY

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

undercut part could fit an ATO? not sure volume but looks like ~1/4 volume. Or just a drawer for wires etc but that seems.... dangerous... on a DIY

I want to stay away from drawers. They turn ugly real fast. It's essentially an open cubby. I am even kicking around the idea of raising the entire tank off the surface. Elevating it.

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

Posted in the Pico thread by mistake. Let's try it again.

First render iterations. Notice the full bottom. Again, this design is not going to be everyone's favorite but it will make fabrication so much easier and with much better outcomes. The bottom panel will probably also be black.

 

[Johnd651]

Posted in the Pico thread by mistake. Let's try it again.

First render iterations. Notice the full bottom. Again, this design is not going to be everyone's favorite but it will make fabrication so much easier and with much better outcomes. The bottom panel will probably also be black.

Third picture down, why no cut out on the right side?

 

[jpshoemaker46]

Any shrimpers out there? A R2R member this morning wanted to run shrimp in the Pico. I suggested we design and build a shrimp specific AIO. In addition to this Drop off, I want to do another drop at the same time and think the Shrimp box would be a good one. If anyone else thinks so, let's hear your ideas. I always loved those little guys.

I have a peppermint in a 1g!

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

Third picture down, why no cut out on the right side?

overlooked. there is one there too. the top will have the tabs and notches. the bottom will not except in the back by the "legs". This little guy is going to assemble without any jigs or fixtures. also coming up with two other variants. wait for them

 

[KC2020]

Now just put a closed off diagonal corner in the back to hide a stand pipe and return or lengthen the entire system and do an AIO that's the full height. That would obviously leave only the side access to the space under the higher level.

 

[Jim Gomoll]

Posted in the Pico thread by mistake. Let's try it again.

First render iterations. Notice the full bottom. Again, this design is not going to be everyone's favorite but it will make fabrication so much easier and with much better outcomes. The bottom panel will probably also

Posted in the Pico thread by mistake. Let's try it again.

First render iterations. Notice the full bottom. Again, this design is not going to be everyone's favorite but it will make fabrication so much easier and with much better outcomes. The bottom panel will probably also be black.

Looks nice.
Overall LxWxH? From sketch its 15 x 11 x 15 by the looks of it.
Filtration plan? If AIO to be added the 8" shelf only leaves about 6.5"

 

[Johnd651]

overlooked. there is one there too. the top will have the tabs and notches. the bottom will not except in the back by the "legs". This little guy is going to assemble without any jigs or fixtures. also coming up with two other variants. wait for them

LOL...thats we are here for.

Now, will this also come with a pico sump to fit under there... (just kidding)

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

Looks nice.
Overall LxWxH? From sketch its 15 x 11 x 15 by the looks of it.
Filtration plan? If AIO to be added the 8" shelf only leaves about 6.5"

I want to stay in the 15 inch envelope. Suggestions on shelf/ledge dims? Or if we want to do it right, maybe extend the dimensions to 18x11x15

 

[tbrown]

Posted in the Pico thread by mistake. Let's try it again.

First render iterations. Notice the full bottom. Again, this design is not going to be everyone's favorite but it will make fabrication so much easier and with much better outcomes. The bottom panel will probably also be black.

Responded in the Pico thread.

 

[tbrown]

Back and bottom black. One side black as an option? Top section is pretty small for an AIO option with drop-in?