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]

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]

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.

 

[tom91970]

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.

How did the Eco-complete and PFS look when it was mixed together? And I know what you mean about having good lighting; my current planted tank has sand and great lighting and the plants grow good with added ferts.

 

[tom91970]

Here are a few recent pictures showing the progress on the tank and stand. First is a picture taken after putting the first coat of paint on the stand on 3/9/08:

I still need to finish painting one door and most of the inside.

Just starting to paint the trim:

Here's a picture of the back after finishing (might have a few touch ups left though). The back actually looks darker than the photo shows, but the reflection of the plastic makes it look lighter than it really is:

I ordered 6 bags of Eco-complete ($12 per bag), a Stealth heater, and a few other things from one of the sponsor's last night. I also picked up an Aquaclear 70 filter ($41.00) and a large piece of driftwood for $6.99 at Petsmart yesterday.

I will be buying a new fixture soon.

 

[Sticky Fish]

updates? im interested in seeing how this turns out.*thumbsups

 

[3800rs]

looking good, keep the pics coming

 

[tom91970]

***UPDATE***

3/22/08

Moved the tank and stand into the house.

3/27/08

Received 6 bags of Eco-complete and a 200w Stealth heater from one of the MFT sponsors (ThatFishPlace.com).

3/31/08

Received 130w Coralife Aqualite fixture

4/1/08 (today)

Added 5 bags of Eco-complete and filled tank with water. Also installed Aquaclear filter and heater. Filter media has been cycling for 17 days now in another HOB filter for a quick jump start.

Close-up of substrate:

Added some cuttings and other plants (taken from 14g tank). Also added two rocks (one from the 29g and one that was waiting to be called into duty). Will add some driftwood as soon as it is finished soaking).

The tank needs some serious cleaning on the outside and around the top rim on the inside; need to buy some Lime Off since regular old water and vinegar would not do the job.

I might try and make a trip this weekend to pick up some more plants. Might even pick up a few fish this weekend.

 

[Sticky Fish]

those coralife fixtures look really good. 55 is definately the "dream" setup. maybe you should look into a glass cover for the tank. it'll prevent lots of evaporation. plus they make the light that much cooler! i use eco in mine, and the slope method of laying it out works out nicely(towards the rear.) looking forward to the final result...*thumbsups

 

[Macfish]

I agree, the coral life light is great! I have glass tops on my 55 with the light sitting on the lip of the tank (w/o legs) with great results. With my weekly water changes, the water level never drops below the rim of the tank.

 

[tom91970]

those coralife fixtures look really good. 55 is definately the "dream" setup. maybe you should look into a glass cover for the tank. it'll prevent lots of evaporation. plus they make the light that much cooler! i use eco in mine, and the slope method of laying it out works out nicely(towards the rear.) looking forward to the final result...*thumbsups

Thanks for the comments. Actually, I am in the process of finding a glass top that I can use with the leg mounts. I might look into something custom made. I need something to lay my lunar light strip on (which I intend to buy ASAP).

I bought the Coralife fixture specifically due to the fact that I could flip the fixture up for instant access without having to remove from the tank. Then again, maybe it's not so wide that I can't just move it to the rear portion. I know that my Current Satellite is a PITA anytime I want to move anything inside my other planted tank.

My Eco is actually sloped towards the rear quite a bit...you just can't tell in the picture (I'm guessing that's because I have the ends sloping, too...creates a mirror effect in that picture and makes it look flat).

 

[pwrmacG4]

tank looks great! I have the same light.. works good and doesn't get too hot. can't wait to see it grown out

 

[tom91970]

tank looks great! I have the same light.. works good and doesn't get too hot. can't wait to see it grown out

Hey, you got a heck of a deal on some plants...why not donate to the cause?