My 55 Gallon Planted Journal

[tom91970]

I picked up my used 55 gallon tank and stand today. The tank is approximately 5 or 6 six years old. The under gravel filter, heater, and lights were thrown away (lights did not work). The glass canopy was broken.

The gravel consists of small quartz pebbles which I will save to use in another tank. I would guess there is about 75 pounds of gravel.

So, for the tank, stand, and gravel I ended up paying $50.

I plan on buying:

*Aquaclear 70 filter
*250w Visi-Therm Stealth heater
*Coralife 130w compact fluorescent light system with adjustable mounting legs
*Eco-Complete for substrate
*CO2 injection will possibly be a paintball-style system

As soon as it warms up I will begin cleaning, sanding, then painting the stand. It will be painted black to match the one my 29g tank sits on.

I will plan on painting the wood grain strip around the glass; the back pane will also be painted black.

This project will continue as time and money allows me to do it, so until then this journal will not be updated very often.

Here are a few pics I took today:

[d3sc3n7]

That tanks pretty rough there Tom old boy. But, its the nasty tanks that make the best show ones! At least to you, because you know how much time and effort you put into it..before you even put your first gallon of water into it.

[crimsontsavo]

It''ll look great!
Ohh I want to reach through the screen and start stripping that stand so I can stain it!!!!LOL

[tom91970]

Originally Posted by crimsontsavo

It''ll look great!
Ohh I want to reach through the screen and start stripping that stand so I can stain it!!!!LOL

Too late! I sanded the stand down yesterday afternoon and painted it black to match the stand the 29g tank is on. I need to put another coat on one of the doors and a few places on the inside and the stand will be finished. I used up the two cans of spray paint and will have to buy another can or two (will also be painting the back glass black).

I also started cleaning the tank with vinegar. Too worts places were the top of the frame and that is mostly all clean now.

So far all is looking good. The used 30g tank I bought a year ago looked just as bad as this one and it came out looking great.

Jay's right...you appreciate a tank more that you have rescued and put back into shape.

[GeraldTheMouse]

Any idea what your going to put in it?

[tom91970]

Originally Posted by GeraldTheMouse

Any idea what your going to put in it?

Yeah...but I change my mind every 5 minutes. One minute I'm thinking about a couple pair of angels with maybe a GBR, the next minute I'm thinking about a large school of something like glowlight tetras or tiger barbs. I'm even considering several dwarf gouramis, either honeys or neons.

I thought about doing a cichild tank with maybe a few yellow labs...but I scratched that idea once again.

I wanted to use Eco-Complete but found out how much I will need. I might go with a Schultz Aquatic Soil/gravel mixture. I had thought about using Special Kitty cat litter but I think if I ever do something like that I will put it in a smaller tank to see how it works (I've read both good and bad stories). I've got pool filter sand in my other planted tank but wanted something a little darker for the 55g.

[GeraldTheMouse]

Aqua Soil is a pretty nice planted substrate from what I have read. But on the Planted Tank forum, there have been sever people who have had their Amazonia II turn straight into "brick dust" right after contact with water. I have though about getting some for my tank, but I never felt like pulling out everything to change substrate.

For fish, you could have maybe a trio of angels, 3+ GBR (depending on amount of hiding places), and a large group of peaceful schooling fish like rasboras. And then maybe a pleco if you want.

[tom91970]

I plan on doing another heavily planted tank with a couple large pieces of driftwood so there should be plenty of hiding spots. I have a pleco in my 29g that I plan on transferring to the 55g.

[GeraldTheMouse]

Sounds good to me.


I can't wait for the pitcures

[sphed]

I would go with Amazonia II. Like Gerald said before, I read on plantedtank.net that here have been some complaints about it turning to mud or dust but all customers were fully refunded. You also get more for your money with Amazonia compared to flourite and Eco-complete. I have heard of people mixing pool sand with eco-complete and I have done this myself but never upgraded to better lighting so it was a waste. I would recommend getting lights first because you can always grow plants with crappy substrate and good lighting. It would be a waste to buy expensive substrate and not have good lighting.