fluval edge mod

claymax · #1 02-20-2011, 08:05 PM

i was thinking about drilling two holes in the bottom of a fluval edge, to act as returns and hid them with rock, do an led mod for lighting and notch the top, and add plumbing for an overflow. is there any structural issues i should be concerned about? can i get the proper spread of light if i keep the led under the hood?

Stones · #2 02-20-2011, 09:15 PM

I've seen quite a few mods done for lighting the fluval edge. Some people swap out the MR11 endcaps for MR16's and put in 2 MR16 multi-led spotlights in place of the stock halogens.

Others I've seen put a ~5x6" heatsink with 6 - 9 LED pucks on it driven by a buck puck or meanwell driver. This is what I'm planning on doing with my fluval edge as the lightspread seems to be a bit better than with just 2 LED spotlights, however it's the more expensive route to take.

I'd be a bit hesitant to drill this tank though. The glass is so thin that I'd be worried about shattering a pane. Since the tank is so small though, I'm guessing you could do it with a drill press as opposed to a hand drill which would greatly reduce the chance of cracking/chipping the glass as it was being drilled.

claymax · #3 02-20-2011, 09:20 PM

ya i was thinking that a heat sink would be best also, saw a good video on assembling a led fixture from rapid led,

ya that glass is thin, still think im gonna try it though (fingers crossed)

cale262 · #4 03-01-2011, 05:23 PM

I just built an over flow with acylic and drilled the top rim (plastic) instead of the glass...the overflow is hidden in the back portion on the edge stand and plumbed right out the bottom to the sump (very stealthy and OEM looking) the return comes up the same route...

claymax · #5 03-01-2011, 05:36 PM

ya that is definitely a safer rout but i would like to try through the bottom as this tank will be a precursor to a more custom tank in the future. ya that overflow sounds sharp, i think ill do mine the same

sphelps · #6 03-01-2011, 06:33 PM

With all the mods you're talking about have you considered building your own edge style tank from scratch? Might be easier and would be better since you can customize the size and make it larger as well and incorporate a larger overflow for higher flow.

claymax · #7 03-02-2011, 03:40 AM

yes i plan on it, but bigger! but its gotta wait until im not poor lol, this tank is goin to be sort of a guinea pig for the meantime

sphelps · #8 03-02-2011, 02:02 PM

So you've already got an edge? I figured you where going to buy one and since they retail for close to $200 you could easily make a bigger one for half that.

cale262 · #9 03-02-2011, 02:26 PM

I bought mine when they first came out and they were slightly over priced IMHO @ $179.99...a couple weeks later the priced dropped off to around $139.99 which was more realistic based on what they are... Now I've seen them retail as low as $99.99 which is OK but you still have to spend more to make them a complete system (as advertised) IMO...

On another Local FW forum I've seen them go used in about the $25-75 range.

Aesthetically I think they are awesome looking little systems and I considered make a larger version (45gal'ish) until I talked to a few custom tank builders ($$$)...In the end based on the price and other issue (gas exchange etc.) I figured a cube was more sustainable for my purposes.

Modifying & maintaining them though is a real exciting challenge, I love checking out what people (more on the hitec planted side) have done with them.

sphelps · #10 03-02-2011, 04:24 PM

Yes $100 would be a good price for the edge as you couldn't really duplicate the whole thing for less but if you're replacing the lights and filtration you're really only using the glass which I'm pretty sure you can get for less than $100. The stand isn't ideal either if you're planing an overflow so IMO you should start from scratch if you're planning a heavy mod project. I wish I started from scratch on mine but I did get the setup for $60 used so it wasn't too bad.