No-Filter DIY Dropoff Bog Nano Fish Tank

I enjoy making nature designs. Things like terrariums, vivariums, aquariums, or paludariums. In other words, nature in a glass box. It's a form of art. A painting is defined by the edges of a canvas and these by the container they're housed in. That could be a simple rimless aquarium or an open front paludarium. While I've worked with nearly every type imaginable, there is one that I haven't. The drop-off aquarium. What even is that though? Simply put, it's just an L-shaped aquarium on its side. I've been really curious lately what type of design I could make in one. However, from what I could tell, there are only a few ready-made options available. I also don't really care for acrylic enclosures and would never spend that much on a tiny tank. That's when I decided it was time to challenge myself to see if I could build one. I needed some glass for that. While I have scraps everywhere, I thought it would be easier to begin with an existing tank. In theory, all I'd have to do is take it apart, make a few adjustments, and put it back together. That would only be possible if I could cut the sides into the mandatory L-shape. Eh, easier said than done with glass at home. Now, I've made similar cuts before by first drilling through the glass to create an intersection. It worked then, so I knew it could work here. Since I'd have to do this on two identical sides though, I first made a jig from a piece of PVC board. From there, all I had to do was tape it to the glass, add some water, and drill away. I wasn't really concerned with this part because I drill glass all the time. It was scoring the perpendicular lines that had me a little concerned because there was no room for error. Well, that didn't go as planned. I guess I'll take the L here. It's not all bad though. I wanted to take apart most of my old tanks to build up the glass reserves anyway, and I had another tank to work with. After repeating all of that and getting back to the scoring step, I was a little nervous to try again. I didn't want to mess it up a second time, but thankfully, things went much smoother this time. I just had to use a screwdriver to finish the job. Then it was rinse and repeat on the second, and I was in business. Not gonna be frank, these cuts weren't perfect, but that's alright. Nothing some sanding couldn't fix. Dampening the edges before buffing it with a medium grit sandpaper went a long way to minimize debris. In no time, the inconsistencies were gone, and all that remained was some of the radius from the drill bit, which was fine. With the hard part finally out of the way, the rest of the glass work was a breeze. Knowing which pieces go where, and how they're oriented makes all the difference during assembly. In any particular build, I usually get a question about why I used whatever color of silicone that I did. Either option holds glass just fine, but there are pros and cons. If applied well, clear silicone is a little more subtle, which is why I'm using it here. However, it may discolor or show algae as a tank matures. While black silicone is more visible, on the other hand, it hides application and consistencies, and doesn't discolor or show algae. In my opinion, this makes it a better option for beginners. I gotta be honest, this one had a lot going on, so it was a real doozy to put together. While the silicone cured, I got to work on the stand. This too had to be a custom build. I had an idea in my head that looked a little something like this, but I went into it without much of a plan otherwise. I chopped up some boards, and made pocket holes to assemble a top that matches the tank's shape. I intended for this to sit on some legs. When I tried making a rough layout though, it just didn't look right. Now, I don't know about you, but I always get some crazy brain fog after daylight savings time that lasts for about a week. If I had to make an excuse for myself, that would probably be it. Regardless, I returned the following day with a somewhat clearer head, and a better blueprint for what I wanted to make. This time, I split the stand into two distinct components. A box on the left with shelves, and a leg structure on the right. Based on its shape alone, I knew this tank would look wacky, and I wanted a unique stand to match. It's worth mentioning that I keep things standardized in the animal room to maintain a certain vibe. I knew this tank and stand wouldn't fit the theme, so I decided early on to put it in my office. That wasn't the only reason though. My long term goal is to make the animal room as quiet as possible. While I do find some comfort in the slight hum of pumps and filters, the longer I do this, the more I get sick of excess noise. I don't want to leave that in my office either, and this will be a filterless setup, so it seemed like the perfect fit. While it was fun to branch out from the norm, I didn't get to experiment nearly as much as I had planned. I intended to use more elaborate joinery, but it wasn't possible on my timeline. I really only had one day to build it, because of the setback from the previous day. This all makes me consider how I really need to plan things better from the start to allow time for my mistakes. All in due time I suppose. For a few hours work, it wasn't too shabby. I just had to add some blocking for self-leveling feet I'd add later on, and seal it up. I kept it simple with a few coats of lacquer. While that dried, I got back to the tank. First, there were a few housekeeping things to address, like removing the tape, putting a frost film on the back, and an adhesive neoprene mat on the bottom. Like that, a standard rimless tank was transformed into a drop-off aquarium. I knew this tank's shape would lend itself to some creative ideas, and what immediately came to mind was a rotten stump with its roots down in the water. I even had some old chunks of spider wood that were perfect for that. I gotta be honest, it took some time to get a good configuration, because nothing wanted to stay put. To keep that from happening once I did, and to stop things from floating later on, I locked it in with expanding foam. I removed the excess after it cured. Slowly but surely, a structure resembling the appearance of a stump I had in my mind came to fruition. That's when I decided to add some lava rock. My supervisor said it would look better with this branch in the front, and I couldn't agree more. Finally, I used other chunks of wood to build out the top of the stump, and hid the seamless superglue and coco fiber. This upper area would become a planting shelf and the tank's filter. I've been using substrate bags in my planted tanks lately, and I really like the result. That said, I decided to take a layered approach here because of how it will be planted. First, I put down some aqua soil to lay a nutrient-rich foundation. Then, I worked in some of the larger plants, like a peace lily and syngonium. I'll definitely have to keep both well pruned so they don't get out of hand. I topped all of this with a dense clay-based gravel to anchor the plant roots while building up more height. I imagined this with a ton of large trailing plants growing over the side and down the stand. It's not a look I go for often, but I felt like I had to with this tank's shape. I topped it off with gravel to match the lava rock and moved to the bottom. I wasn't going to plant anything demanding here, so I kept it simple with sand alone. I had to add some rocks as well. And with that, it was ready to move into the office. I just had to install those leveling feet on the stand, and I thought it would look cool with some rattan mesh on the back. I'm really pleased with the look of the stand in this space. While it may have looked nicer with a darker stain, there was no going back now. Man, it was just so satisfying how the tank conformed to the stand like a puzzle piece. As I said, I wanted to keep it simple with plants. I chose things that aren't very demanding of nutrients, won't require much upkeep, and will grow under pretty much any light. That was important because unlike the terrestrial plants that have access to natural light from the door, these only have access to the spotlights. If you know me, I can't do a setup like this without floating plants, especially with that shallow pond area on the left. Another aspect of this being a low-maintenance setup is how I'll stock it. Snails were a must, more specifically ram's horn for general cleanup, and Malaysian trumpet to sift through the substrate. I was originally going to add shrimp, but I decided to add a few netfuls of scuds instead. They'll help process organics alongside the snails. The fish would also have to be low-impact, which meant nano, and it doesn't get much more nano than the chili rasbora. You know, I'm always so focused on the design within an enclosure, that the outside is often an afterthought. I really enjoy how the shape of this tank pushed me beyond the glass, ultimately turning this corner of my office into a straight up vibe. I wasn't sure what to expect from a drop-off aquarium when I began either. While there's a myriad of ways I could have utilized it, I think using the top as a bog filter for terrestrial plants is one of the best. Not only does it look cool and facilitate an interesting shallow habitat, but it will also provide unmatched stability for the animals. I cover how this works, and how to do it in length in the Definitive Guide to Growing Houseplants in an Aquarium if you want to learn more. There are countless ways to design and maintain a setup, and this was just one. Like I've explained, having so many plants will greatly increase the window between water changes without the noise of a filter. Not only that, but the stocking is light, so the buyer load will be minimal anyway. However, I do have 12 other fish that I wasn't able to catch, who I'll add in here later, so there will be more than you see. Also, since the tank is new, I'm adding this cycled sponge filter to get things moving along. I'll take it out in a few weeks when the tank is stable. I had so much fun finally giving a drop-off aquarium a try, and a DIY one at that. If you enjoyed this project, you'll also like the time I set up a huge filterless guppy aquarium, and a tank that's filtered through a waterfall's terrarium. As always, thank you so much for watching, and until next time SerpaSquad, take care and peace.