# Brian's 2.11g Rimless Pico Cube (AquaTop)



## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

*AquaTop 2.11g Pico Cube Build*

I'm going to break this intro up in to two parts:

*Part 1* - Background / Unboxing (skip if you don't like reading)
*Part 2* - The Build Plan

*Part 1:*

_Disclaimer: I don't work for TruAqua or AquaTop... just wanted to get that out of the way. In fact, AquaTop (if you see this) should give me a free tank or something for this review / tank build! Haha... J/K_

I'm not usually an 'early-adopter' for anything but I decided to give this little tank a shot! I hate taking risks and like to dig up as many reviews as possible before buying something. I could hardly find anything on these tanks but for $30 shipped, it seemed like it was worth the risk on a low-iron high-clarity glass rimless tank (_see figure 1 for low iron vs. standard glass example_). I think I've been spoiled with this whole "low iron" thing by having a GLA 36-L and ADA 60-F in my house -- once you go low-iron, it's hard to go back IMO! Moreover, I've always found interest in those tiny Do!Aqua 2g cubes but didn't feel like spending $56.99 ($38 + 18.99 shipping) for such a tiny cube -- especially when it's normal clarity *green* tinted glass (no pun intended for those that own Do!Aqua or most of Mr. Aqua's line -- still nice tanks IMO). So a Do!Aqua-like cube + low iron ADA-like glass = "clicked buy" and here we go!!! :icon_mrgr

_Figure 1_







So I ordered this tank from TruAqua.com and they shipped it out pretty fast. The site doesn't specify the brand but it is branded as an AquaTop tank (are these the same company BTW?). 

Here are some details about this tank (source):

High clarity glass for an enhanced viewing experience
Low iron glass with a 91% light-through rate
Polished beveled edges 
High-grade German silicone for a seamless appearance 
For both salt and freshwater systems
Dimensions: 7.87" x 7.87" x 7.87"
Capacity: 2.11 Gallons

Here's what the site doesn't tell you (or at least I couldn't find it)... 

*AquaTop* branded tank
*30 day warranty *(no 3 year ADA warranty here - but you get what you pay for...right?).

So on to my experience receiving this tank:

speedy delivery.
Packaged extremely well with a HUGE box, thick crumpled paper padding all around the tank, and extra padding with foam and cardboard on the tank itself. Man, they spare no expense here which makes sense for a new company IMO, less negative reviews = more potential for future business.
Shipping carrier = Here's where they had to have saved money from spending a fortune on packaging. They used *OnTrac* as the carrier. I don't know about you guys, but this is probably my least favorable shipping company since I've had numerous bad experiences in the past. Luckily this time around, despite seeing some damage to the exterior of the shipping box (see pic below, top left side) I received the tank without a hitch and no damage. roud:

Here's the un-boxing. Just look at all that packaging and the size of the box in comparison to the tank! I removed all the paper used to cushion the top. 



























Here's some close-ups of the glass, edges, and silicon work. For reference on the glass clarity (tint), I have the AquaTop (right) next to the ADA 60-F (left). 

























And here is the AquaTop (left) next to my GLA 36-L (right)









I found 1 minute glob of extra silicone on a corner of the AquaTop. This was easily remedied with a razor. 










Overall, this tank seems like pretty darn good quality for the lower price-point. Excellent silicon work in which all the edges line-up nicely. As long as this thing can hold water and last, this is a quality looking rimless tank and worth taking a look at if you're in the market for a rimless. They also offer other dimensions to suite your needs. It would be nice to see TruAqua offer the larger AquaTop rimless tanks for shipping as well -- currently they are only offered as local pick-up in California.

*Update *on comparison pictures between the AquaTop & ADA 60-F glass: 
_Note: My GF wasn't satisfied with the test conditions of my original comparison pictures. Given that the room was dark, I used an LED flashlight, and that the ADA 60-F was on top of a brown towel which can affect the color being transferred through the sides of the glass panels. AquaTop tank is pictures with substrate in it._​


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Part 2: 

*The Skinny* (Already Acquired and In-Progress / Planning):

Hardware:
Tank - AquaTop (Dimensions approx. 7.87" x 7.87" x 7.87", 2.11g)
Light - Archaea 17cm Clamp-On type LED lighting fixture
Filter - Azoo Palm Filter

Substrate: Fluval Shrimp Statum on Floramax
Hardscape: Seiryu Stone and Manzanita

Flora:
Anubias Petite
DHG - E. Parvula
Echinodorus tenellus
Hydrocotyle tripartita sp. Japan
Needle Leaf Java Fern
Flame Moss / Xmas Moss
Fissidens fontanus (maybe)
Mini Pellia (maybe)

Dosing:
GLA dry ferts and Excel 

And some pictures:

Just messing with the hardscape... got a nice slope to the back right corner.









I was suppose to get my light fixture today, but here's what it's suppose to look like:









More to come!


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Nice man, these new Aquatops are giving the big brands a run for their money, it seems.


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## dr3ww3rd (Aug 29, 2011)

Looks amazing. I bet they spent 15 of those 30 dollars you paid them just packaging that thing up haha.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

They're great little tanks.

My two came in better packaging than I've ever seen. Shipped via UPS. Since I received two of them, it took a good half hour (not kidding) to unbox.

Clarity definitely rivals anything else available on the market. From what I can discern, they're manufactured by the same OEM that produces ADA tanks.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

somewhatshocked said:


> They're great little tanks.
> 
> My two came in better packaging than I've ever seen. Shipped via UPS. Since I received two of them, it took a good half hour (not kidding) to unbox.
> 
> Clarity definitely rivals anything else available on the market. From what I can discern, they're manufactured by the same OEM that produces ADA tanks.


It was only a matter of time until someone figured out out they could do it for cheaper. I've just learned that you can find the original sources of all imported manufactured goods online in databases through a project I'm working on now, so all anyone had to do was a little bit of sleuthing and contact the OEM, have some made, and sell them for cheaper. Props to them.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Kiran: Precisely. 

OP: I'm toying with a couple of the same light fixtures you're planning to use. Though, I know they're extremely low light. Looking forward to seeing how they work for you. Also considering the smaller Wave Point fixtures even though they're bulky.


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## dr3ww3rd (Aug 29, 2011)

somewhatshocked said:


> Kiran: Precisely.
> 
> OP: I'm toying with a couple of the same light fixtures you're planning to use. Though, I know they're extremely low light. Looking forward to seeing how they work for you. Also considering the smaller Wave Point fixtures even though they're bulky.


Definitely let us know how they work. This makes me want to grab one of these tanks for a moss scape. REALLLLLY don't need another one though.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

[ QUOTE=somewhatshocked;2917282]Kiran: Precisely. 

OP: I'm toying with a couple of the same light fixtures you're planning to use. Though, I know they're extremely low light. Looking forward to seeing how they work for you. Also considering the smaller Wave Point fixtures even though they're bulky.[/QUOTE]

You know i was feeling a little apprehensive with the strength of the Archaea 17cm too. I couldn't find much online about it either..apparently marine depot sells the UP Aqua version, which is exactly the same except where the neck Is located on the fixture. I've learned that the Archaea LED fixtures are rebranded UP Aquas. So there's some user reviews on Marine Depot. 

Anyway, after some determined digging around, i found a YouTube video of a guy using a Do!Aqua 2g with the Archaea inside an old Mac computer. He grew a fairy lush carpet of HC. I think if its strong enough for HC, then seems like you'd be able to grow a lot. 

Started:





Update on growth:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=relmfu&v=9HEo2b-ZxsM


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

I messaged Lawrence, from the YouTube vids I linked, regarding his thoughts on the light on the 20cm cube.. he lowered the fixture to about 2" above the water surface and he measures approx. 5" from light to sub. So I guess he's able to up the PAR enough by closing the distance for the HC. I don't plan on growing a carpet with light demanding plants, but at least we know the capability is there by closing the distance. However, compact growth might still be up for question.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Archaea 17cm LED came in today 

Here are the specs...

Quantity of LED Lamps: (30x White LED lamp)
Color temperature: Blue lamp(12000k) /White lamp (8000k)
Luminous intensity: Blue lamp(300mcd per LED) /White lamp (1400mcd per LED )
Total Power per fixture: 1.68W
Power per LED lamp: 56mW

This should be good for at least low light plants, maybe some moderate ones.... so we'll see how this goes


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Nice little scape. I like the slope, but I think you'll probably need more rocks in order to have the slope stay in place, especially once you fill it and have some current going in there.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

That's really low light for sure. But it should be plenty for mosses and crypts and such.

Looking great so far.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Yeah I'm not expecting much out of it to be honest. We just got a 60-F and I'm going to be suspending a Ray 2 over it... so I'll have 3 tanks with high-tech setups and this little guy will just be for fun! 

I'm going to see if I can lower the fixture just to squeeze a little more out of it though for some DHG or Microswords... I'm going to use some flame moss and xmas moss. Thinking about using some mini pellia too. I'm still confused! LOL

Here's how it looks with the fixture lowered a bit.. much better IMO. 










@Kiran - what do you suggest in terms of stones? A larger one or several smaller ones added? I'm trying to maintain some scale too... so maybe less is more? 

I also have one other piece of manzanita I'm going to throw in... tied an anubias petite to it


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Looks better and better by the minute!

Maybe you could build up/structurally support your slope with a few pieces of lava rock beneath the substrate. That would eliminate the need for additional stone if you don't want to change anything.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Very sweet build. I'll be following along. I personally don't like cubes. But these are very nice tanks. I'll only buy low iron now that I've had low iron tanks.


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

shoulda got the fugeray-R


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks guys! 

@MABJ - I feel you. If i had to have like one or two tanks, then a cube wouldn't be one of them. The price was right and i have the perfect place for it at the bar by my kitchen. 

@soup - trust i love finnex, i own 3x Ray 2's. I just think the fugeray-r looked bulky by comparison. I'm going for an elegant look since this tank is by the doorway to my house.


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> Thanks guys!
> 
> @MABJ - I feel you. If i had to have like one or two tanks, then a cube wouldn't be one of them. The price was right and i have the perfect place for it at the bar by my kitchen.
> 
> @soup - trust i love finnex, i own 3x Ray 2's. I just think the fugeray-r looked bulky by comparison. I'm going for an elegant look since this tank is by the doorway to my house.


How much was your light BTW? Can you light be used as high tech or you going more low/medium?

I have the fugeray-R and it is very slim, but I use it on a standard 2.5g high tech (12" long tank). Since yours is a cube with 8" length it would be too long, would work just stick out 1" on both sides.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

It was $29.99 from AFA. I'm using it for low tech. I linked some YouTube videos earlier to "MacAquarium" the guy posted 4 updates in which he used a 20cm do!aqua with the same light. He lowered the light to get the distance from light to sub to about 5". He successfully carpeted HC. I think it's capable if it can do that with all else considered in a high tech environment.


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## AquaTopMAG (Jul 13, 2012)

It's nice to see our High clarity tanks in use. These systems are fairly new so getting the word out has been a challenge. Posts like this really help and we look forward to seeing more!


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## catfishbi (Jun 10, 2008)

Keep up good work. happy to see some really nice tank out there with reasonable price  will sure buy some in near future 



AquaTopMAG said:


> It's nice to see our High clarity tanks in use. These systems are fairly new so getting the word out has been a challenge. Posts like this really help and we look forward to seeing more!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

AquaTopMAG said:


> It's nice to see our High clarity tanks in use. These systems are fairly new so getting the word out has been a challenge. Posts like this really help and we look forward to seeing more!


Nice to see you here! Did you see my disclaimer in the review? Haha... 

Anyways, are you guys planning on offering some shipping options for the larger tanks in the future?


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## DefStatic (Feb 19, 2013)

While I think the Finnex Fugeray-R would have been a better light, not by enough to make a huge difference and I thinkyou are right, you wouldn't have gotten that sleek look you are looking for.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks DefStatic - I couldn't agree more! 

Okay... *Update time! *

I planted the tank with plants I already had sitting around in other tanks.. 

I think I still want to get some mini pellia in here and try it out. I'm also considering using some marsilea minuta as some foreground. I might just save money and try to carpet the hydrocotyle japan.. I just want to try to maintain some scale since the tank is small. 

I'm using an AC 20 for now on the lowest setting with some established biomax. It's fairly big so I can't position the LED light the way I want to. Currently I'm using my Azoo Palm Filter in a shrimp cube temporarily. I just got bored of looking at the AquaTop so I just started it up with plans to change things around a bit. 

So here it is (for now) with a temporary resident, my female betta, RED SONIA, from when I started the GLA 6g a ways back... 




























From the back side... my slope is still holding due to the Floramax as the first layer. I believe since the Floramax is rather coarse lava rock, it doesn't really have a propensity to slide as opposed to using all AS or FSS. Also, I like how the reddish-brown crypt and manzanita compliments the dark green needle leaf java fern -- just an observation


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

:thumbsup: looking slick indeed. i like!

man i want their tank now. . . but i also wish they would make a 45f type shallow tank


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## DefStatic (Feb 19, 2013)

You have made a believer out of me. I love that tank, and love TruAqua's prices. I have to say, that glass is super. Sometimes I see some rimless high clarity tanks and there is too strong a green tint. This one truly seems crystal clear.

Also, awesome Betta. Will that be a permanent home? No fear of jumping? She will be quite happy!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

@gnod - I would like to also see some unique tank dimensions out of AquaTop! Maybe even a 6g long and/or 12g long but with this awesome high clarity glass! 

@DefStatic - I've had this little female betta for about a year now. She's been in nothing but rimless tanks with no lids where I've had the water filled to the top. She's been good about jumping. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep her in here permanently. For now, she's doing well... 

I slapped a quick YouTube video together... I'm really excited about this Pico... haha!


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Very nice. Looks like a perfect size for my desk at work. I'd like to setup a neo cull/chocolate tank at work.


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

woah, nice video man! what did you use and was it on a tripod? smooth and butter and great lighting. 

6gallon long sounds DOPE! man, should i just make a tank...


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

gnod said:


> woah, nice video man! what did you use and was it on a tripod? smooth and butter and great lighting....


+1 how'd you do the smooth motion


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## bitFUUL (May 14, 2010)

Lookin good Brian.


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## zzrguy (Jul 11, 2012)

Nice look. I wish I could get some wood like that around here.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Haha... Thanks guys!

Well I just hold the camera real smooth like a robot! LOL... j/k

After you load a video on YouTube, there's a option when you edit the video to stabilize it.


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

Ty for posting this,

I just bought the high clarity 10"x10"x10" cube off of truaqua.com!


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

DefStatic said:


> While I think the Finnex Fugeray-R would have been a better light, not by enough to make a huge difference and I thinkyou are right, you wouldn't have gotten that sleek look you are looking for.


fugeray-r 5w vs 1.5w

and the fugeray-r has red spectrum that pops red plants and livestock, adjustable...

I am contemplating this for my 10"x10"x10" (4.2g)cube, but I don't think its enough light for medium tech? am I wrong on this as OP is lowering the light and my tank is slightly larger.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Yeah I think with the Fugeray-R you'll have about 40 - 45 PAR - definitely adequate for medium-tech. 
www.finnex.net/index.php?page=shop....category_id=4&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=61


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

brian how did you get your light lowered? how is it staying in place

I just dont see how that light AFA 1.5w is able to grow HC 10" above substrate..... must be a miracle light, I am tempted to buy it


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Well I haven't lowered it yet. I'm still waiting to setup my other tank so I can move this aqua clear 20 that's taking up too much room. Once I move it and throw the Azoo Palm Filter on here, I'll have the space to lower it. I'm just going to clip it on a candle holder that sits lower than the tank. I attached a picture earlier in this thread before I planted and flooded the tank. 

I also linked to that guy who carpeted HC with this light. I believe he said it was only 5" from light to sub. Seeing is believing right? Well he had 4 updates in a 3 month time span... sure enough the HC carpeted. Here's that link again, look up his videos and compare this one to "update 4."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8CiwS6HXgM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Anyway, your cube's dimensions are larger. So i think the Finnex Fugeray-R or Fugeray would be a good choice.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

*Update Time! *

Here's a little update on my Pico Cube... Not much to report, its a low light tank so things tend to inch along slowly. My Hydrocotyle tripartita sp. Japan is growing the fastest. I already snipped some off and replanted to fill in the sides of the stones. 

I added a little more substrate in the foreground to accommodate some *Marsilea crenata *(aka: Dwarf Four Leaf Clover). This is my first time using this plant so I was excited to find it at the LFS. Grown in its immersed form, it looks like Glosso to me. I've been reading mix reports whether the MC can be grown in low light versus high light. I'm crossing my fingers it will do alright in here. 

Still need to swap out the AC 20 for the Palm Filter and lower the light fixture some. 

Here's some update pics:.




























Little miss Betta checking out her new front lawn. 



















Thanks for stopping by guys!


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

I likes.

Are you running a heater on that bad boy? if so, which one?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

This little cube really is turning out to be quite lovely.

You've done a terrific job with mastering scale.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks guys!

@soup - no heater... I'm in AZ so average temp in my house is upper 70's. I have an extra Hydor Theo 25w for the winter months though.

@somewhat - scale is tough. I think the betta throws it off a bit and i would've rather used some chili rasboras or something. But this little betta has been with me for a while.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

I really like the cube. This is ripe for shrimp  if only there were no betta.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks MABJ. Yeah some shrimp would look better -- especially for the scale factor.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Minor Update... I took out the Marsilea and moved it to high tech conditions. It practically did nothing in this tank. I added more anubias petite. And, I moved in more DHG since I spotted runners ever since I started dosing Glut. Moved the Betta to my 12g and moved in a single dwarf puffer for now. I plan to rehome him soon and maybe just put shrimp in here. Not much else going on right now... 

Here's some pics... Looks better with DHG and more anubias. I hope the DHG continues to do well with Glut. We'll see given that the light is not very strong.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

I'm just going to take a copy of this, and I'm going to keep it forever. 

When I read DP and 2g tank.. I thought... Ehhhhhh. Maybe not. 

I think he looks awesome in there!!!! I'm so going to copy this build if one of my tanks ever crash lol. 

I have wanted a DP for a long time, though. Is yours fully grown?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Thanks for sharing an update - it's still looking great!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks guys!!! Yeah the Dwarf Puffer is full size. I did have one before that was slightly larger but I think that was just genetics as some are larger or smaller than others. But I preferred when I had the dwarf puffers in my 6g rimless... I actually had 3 but when I was gone for 1.5 weeks, I came home to discover that 2 of the 3 puffs got sucked up against the inflow of the lily pipes and died... so that left me with one DP so I moved him here. I know they have a large bioload so I'm staying on top of PWC's until I decide what to do with him. I think he's small enough and this tank is large enough so long as you stay on top of maintenance. 

Thanks for the compliment, Jake! Your cubes are looking splendid as well. I'm diggin' the various mosses you have on the DW. Simple and clean!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Decided to do this last night... 









Got a bag of Africana AS for the first time and wanted to give it a go... Nothing big... just different. It's a tiny tank so not much I can do with it... I want to keep it minimal with low light plants (it's all my light can handle anyway). Throw some shrimp in later. 

I tied my needle leaf java fern to a piece of Malaysian DW, planted a crypt in the back, and squeezed in some Anubias sp. Petite where I could. 

*I'm still trying to get my hands on some Mini Xmas Moss *as I think this would look nice to soften the transition from substrate to the DW and fill up the foreground a bit. 

Here are some pics  










FTS's (multi-angle):


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## maxwellag (Mar 30, 2012)

Looking good! I used to have some dwarf puffers and I loved them.


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## Bserve (Nov 4, 2012)

Lovin the new setup


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks guys! Just waiting on the AS to stop leaching ammonia and I'm going to either put my scarlet badis or shrimp in here.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

Wow that looks awesome!


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## BHolmes (Aug 23, 2012)

I really like scale of this. It gives me a lot of inspiration for my 3g. Did you use the floramax under the AS again? That's a really cool concept. Awesome tank!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

The Dude said:


> Wow that looks awesome!


Thank you!



BHolmes said:


> I really like scale of this. It gives me a lot of inspiration for my 3g. Did you use the floramax under the AS again? That's a really cool concept. Awesome tank!


Not this time... I used it before because it would blend in and not be noticeable being that they were both dark substrates. This would be to apparent with the africana AS. So I used substrate supports to keep the slope from sliding and flattening out. I used plastic placemats I found at Target. Just cut to size and insert into the substrate. The more commonly used stuff, that I'm aware of, are those clear plastic cutting boards.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

No update since 2013. Updates nao! If you ever want to sell the cube let me know.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Sorry man.. no real updates because I'm about to actually take it down and store it away in the garage for a rainy day. The new 3g long will take its place for the time being.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Darn lol. Well like I said if you need some funds I'd pick it up. But how's that DP?


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Okay... so instead of taking this cube completely down, I decided to try my first attempt at a wabi kusa. 

I got the 2g cleaned up nice and Wabi-Kusa'd out. Hopefully the plant selection works as I didn't thoroughly research this (just watched a YouTube video and read one thread on the topic...lol). 

Here's a close-up of the cube and how I managed to squeeze the LED light overhead with limited clearance. 


Then I took a fine mesh bag and filled it with new AquaSoil and a few small river stones to weigh it down. I also got a nice clump of peacock moss that I'll use to cover the ball with. 


With fishing line I wrapped it real tight to form a ball. 


And the finished product...* DAY 1*
So I guess, I'll make this a build within a build (or should I make a seperate thread for this?).


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Why the limited overhead clearance? Well, I decided to finally also get my 3g long going. Right now I'm conceptualizing the scape. But I at least created a way to have both pico tanks going. Behold, the tower of picos. Found some clearance stuff for it in the "as-is" section @ ikea. Worked out well, albeit not the best looking solution 

Check it out


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

Promising start!


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