New Tank - ~45g

[Kalavek]

Found this at a LFS in Abbotsford today, collecting dust in the back of the store. Four feet long, glass, not used, though the frames are a little scratched up and dented from sitting around the store for who knows how long. $90 Canadian. Apparently it just wouldn't sell, so it sat around for ages. It would be a 50g if the front corners were not angled, so it's probably about 45g.

Now if I could just find a decent cabinet to put it on for a good price - my best lead right now is $275 with tax - I wish I had some tools and a bit of shop space, because I know I can build a good strong cabinet for a lot less than that. I've been all over my local area checking out Home Depot, LFS's, even Wal-Mart hoping I could find something that I can trust to hold 400-500lbs of water and gear.

I'm thinking freshwater planted, HOB overflow box with a 5g wet/dry filter and a bottle of C02... though not all at once. I have to start considering what kind of fish to put in there, if I can find a place to set it up.

Does this sound like a practical plan?

 

[FroggyFox]

Cool lookin tank! I'd just suggest making sure you gently wet down all of the seals before filling it with water, if its been sitting dry and empty for as long as you say then it is a lot more likely to pop a seal if you just fill it up right now. And you might just try filling it up on a level surface somewhere that won't matter if it gets soaked...just for grins I had a seal break on a 10g tank from the pet store and I know that only 10 gallons of water made a huge mess, so now whenever I get a new tank I fill it up in a bathtub or outside first and check it over thoroughly before filling it up.

 

[Kalavek]

Well, I'm not sure how long it had been sitting there - the silicone is still very flexible when poked at, and the glass cleaned up wonderfully. No scratches anywhere that I've noticed. But you're right, I do not want a tank failing on me - I'm on the second floor of a house, and the tank would be above someone else's bedroom.

I was planning on taking it out on the deck and filling it up, then leave it for a few days to see if it loses any water... but the weather is getting a little colder now, I've had frost on my car in the early morning already this year.

I have noticed one of the corner panels was not quite set in place properly, leaving a small gap between the bottom frame and the glass on the outside of the tank. I think I should probably fill that with some silicone and let it cure a few days before filling the tank.

 

[noob23]

go for saltwater, you will love it

 

[Kalavek]

go for saltwater, you will love it

Shhh, in time, in time... I'm just getting the wife used to the fact that this new tank isn't meant to replace the first one!

Here's the plan: Freshwater unplanted first, then freshwater planted, then saltwater unplanted... and so on.

I'm working my way up to a small saltwater tank installed inside a medium freshwater tank installed inside a big saltwater tank.

Fully plumbed, of course.

 

[Kalavek]

It took a couple days, but I've located a stand for this tank for a good price. The packaging was pretty thrashed, giving it a fifteen percent discount right off the shelf, but the contents appeared to be okay. So I bought it. When I opened it up I discovered the door hardware and shelf insert were missing, and it had actually been assembled and then taken apart by force. A quick call to the store manager rewarded me with an additional 30% discount.

I fixed the damage to the cabinet and picked up replacement hardware for the doors at Home Depot - the doors on the cabinet will need to be trimmed down an eighth of an inch to make it all fit together, but it looks like I've managed to get the tank and the cabinet for well under $300 bucks!

 

[Big Vine]

Good stuff!*thumbsup2
I hope the stand holds up okay.
BV

 

[Kalavek]

I believe the stand has all the strength it was designed for... the bulk of the damage was around the Ikea-style hardware that was used to secure the boards together. I'm more concerned about the stability of the tank, really.

Can anyone tell me if cold nights (cold enough for a layer of frost) would affect a full tank of water sitting outside? I'd like to have it full for a few days in a safe place before I trust it inside the house.

 

[Kalavek]

I filled the tank yesterday and started the cycle today using ammonia. I'm seeding it with filter media from my 25g, so hopefully it'll turn around quickly.

The setup is still pretty rough, but so far includes:

- Aquaclear HOB (until I get my filter setup built)
- black background attached to a plexi backing
- 48" shop light fixture with metal reflectors
- 2 x 32w "aquarium" tubes from Home Depot (they were cheap and I'm naive)
- a 200w submersible heater
- a small submersible circulation pump and a bubble disc, new air pump

This will likely change a lot in the next few weeks - I'm open to suggestions. The decor will be all the stuff from the 25g for now, but there will be plenty of room for additions.

 

[Kalavek]

Well, so far no sign of nitrite. Either I'm being impatient, or my seeding failed.

I've added some more ammonia after reading through a few sites describing fishless cycles... I'm seeing a lot of different opinions on how high the ammonia should be. 2 ppm? 5ppm?

I'm also raising the temperature up to about 80 degrees to help speed up the process.

 

[FroggyFox]

I would seed by swishing a filter cartridge in the tank every three days or so. The difference in opinon on the amount of ammonia is just that...an opinion. I would personally go up to about 4ppm...but thats just to get it to a good measurable spot. Not the darkest color onthe chart, not the lightest....but enough so you can know about what it is so that when it starts dropping it is obvious. raising temp is a good idea, and if you add more surface agitation (lowering the level of water or changing how the water hits the surface coming out of your filter) it will help increase the oxygen in the water also which would help.

 

[Kalavek]

Thanks Froggy, just to be clear - which filter cartridge would you dip into which tank? I'm guessing you mean to swish your established filter in the new tank.

Ammonia now reads somewhere between 2ppm and 4ppm... I'm having a hard time seeing the difference between those color swatches. If the whole point is that I'll see the reading drop when the bacteria starts working, I'm sure I'll notice if it drops below 2ppm. I also tossed in a handful of gravel from the 25g in a clean filter pouch.

The bubble disc creates a lot of surface agitation, and helps keep a current flowing around the tank. I'll continue using it. You can see it in my avatar pic, on the right hand side of the tank.

I'm usually very patient, and I know how long a cycle can take. I'm still finding it a little frustrating waiting for the first signs of nitrite!

 

[FroggyFox]

Sounds like a plan

Thanks Froggy, just to be clear - which filter cartridge would you dip into which tank? I'm guessing you mean to swish your established filter in the new tank.

Yeppers you got it

I'm usually very patient, and I know how long a cycle can take. I'm still finding it a little frustrating waiting for the first signs of nitrite!

Hey no arguement here...its totally frustrating! I have that zero water change system downstairs cycling and am sitting by helplessly...trust me I am right there with ya! lol

 

[Kalavek]

Hey no arguement here...its totally frustrating! I have that zero water change system downstairs cycling and am sitting by helplessly...trust me I am right there with ya! lol

How is that going, anyway? I'm pretty skeptical, unless there is a filter in there that gets cleaned or replaced. I can accept that you might not have to remove water, but something in the system has to be collecting the undesirable stuff.

 

[FroggyFox]

yeah, there is an hob filter on it with cartridges that are supposed to be swapped out every other week and another one that is once a month. Its going ok details are in my thread about it in the equipment forum...I dont want to hijack your thread

 

[Kalavek]

yeah, there is an hob filter on it with cartridges that are supposed to be swapped out every other week and another one that is once a month. Its going ok details are in my thread about it in the equipment forum...I dont want to hijack your thread

I'll keep an eye out for posted results, since that seems to be one of those long term experiments.

As to hijacking - pfft, this is the most action any of my threads have seen in awhile. I've just been posting changes and progress while assuming someone will point out my mistakes when I make them, or answer questions when they know the answer. You did, so I guess the system works!

Now, one more thing I've been pondering. This tank is really meant to let me completely empty my 25g tank so I can strip and replace the silicone before I re-purpose it. When I move the decor and the fish over, should I move their water as well, or at least a percentage?

 

[FroggyFox]

since the 45 is cycling it probably wouldn't HURT to transfer the water over, but most of your bacteria is not free floating...so the difference would be negligible.

I do have a question though...if you're going to transfer everything over, why don't you just transfer it now and run both filters on the 45 for awhile?

 

[brian1973]

I completely missed this thread...very interesting tank and a good price. Looks like it's coming along nicely.

 

[Kalavek]

since the 45 is cycling it probably wouldn't HURT to transfer the water over, but most of your bacteria is not free floating...so the difference would be negligible.

I do have a question though...if you're going to transfer everything over, why don't you just transfer it now and run both filters on the 45 for awhile?

Primarily because I'm a sucker for an experiment. I prefer to see things happen rather than blindly assume they occur. Perhaps I could have skipped the cycle altogether since I already have half the water I need in the 25 (plus the filters for the culture), but I also really wanted to see what it's like to cycle a tank - I didn't know about cycling when I set up my old tank and it cost me the first school of danios.

Moving the water over is less about the bacteria and more about minimizing the difference in water parameters for the fish - I thought from their perspective it would be more like doing a 50% water change and rearranging the furniture. I'm not sure if that can reduce the stress of moving them from one tank to another.

I think the ammonia has dropped by 1ppm, but I don't see any hot nitrite action yet. At the very least, I want to see that happen. After that I might get impatient and Prime the tank mid-cycle to get on with it.

 

[Kalavek]

I completely missed this thread...very interesting tank and a good price. Looks like it's coming along nicely.

If only everything else was as cheap as the tank and stand - I still paid typical prices for the air pump, gravel, filter, lighting fixture and heater. I'd have to add it all up, but those things have probably cost just as much.

There was a 340 gallon tank at that store for a grand - if this keeps up, I might have to kick out the roommates and take my basement back!