New 40gal long tank! :D

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#1
So, I got a "new" 40gal long tank...for free! A friend had it sitting in his backyard forever and I convinced him to give it to me. He also have me an AquaTech 30-60 (needs some work as the intake tube is missing and it's been sitting outside for many years, but I think I can pirate the intake tube from the Penguin 170 I have on the 46gal now and it'll work) and two INCREDIBLE pieces of driftwood. As soon as I can get the tank unloaded from the back of my truck (it's a HEAVY bugger!), I'm going to get to cleaning it with a mild vinegar solution. So, hopefully it'll be up and cycling within the next couple of weeks. I'm going to do a fishless cycle (which will involve some interesting tank juggling, but I need the practice at the cycling 'cuz I'm not so good at that). However, I have a couple of questions before I get started...

1- Driftwood. I know it needs to be soaked until the tannins are gone. I have a clear plastic bucket I can soak one piece at a time in (they're both too big for a 5gal bucket). Should I just soak them in water, or should I soak them in a mild vinegar solution (at first, then gradually bring it down to pure water)? Also, the cooler of the two pieces has a black widow in residence (I think...she was there when I first picked up the piece of wood). What's the easiest/most efficient way to get rid of her without using harmful chemicals?

2- Substrate. Right now I have pea gravel in the 46gal (it's bigger than regular aquarium gravel, about 1/2-3/4" diameter). I think I ended up putting two bags in there (and I believe they're .5 cubic yard bags...or .5 cubic foot...I need to check). Anyway, with the dimensions on this new tank, I don't think that'll be enough to cover the bottom and be at the 2" or so that I want it to be. The tank is 48"L X 12"D X 16" H. I want the ultimate depth of the water to be about 13-14". I was thinking of adding a bag or two of play sand (can be bought for $2.68 per .5 cubic yard bag at Walmart) to get the right depth, then adding the pea gravel on top. I could also use some of the sand to create a river effect (the sand is the river and the gravel is the shore), which I find very appealing. Thoughts on this approach? I figure I'd probably need two bags of play sand if I want to make a 1" layer of sand on the bottom and have enough to make the river. Does that sound about right?

This will hopefully be my stocking, plus or minus a couple of female bettas (since I have the room to play)...with this stocking level, my filtration is at 133% if I can use the AquaTech 30-60 I have:
http://www.aqadvisor.com/AquStockIm...00909300164,6 x 200909300153,1 x 200909300239
 

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#4
I'm thinking about it. They wouldn't add too much to my biolode (yes, I already checked it :p ) and they are adorable. I will just have to keep my eye out for some that match mine in size. I've seen massive ones (as big as the full-grown cories I've seen) and I've seen tiny ones like mine was (1" or smaller). My guy is now about 2" long. :)

And I don't care if the spider crawls out of the bucket as long as it's not in the wood anymore! lol

Does anyone have any ideas about the amount of sand I'm going to need? I did the math, but I'm horrible at math and my answer didn't make any sense (basically I got that I'd need 47.xxx cubic inches to create a 1" layer of sand in the bottom, but that doesn't sound right for some reason).
 

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#6
Really? 'Cuz the sand I'm going to buy comes in .5 cubic foot bags. Urgh! I guess I could ask my dad who was a contractor for many years, but that would be too easy. :p I want the sand depth to be about 1" and then I'm going to use the gravel from the 46gal as well (do the kind of "river" and "shore" thing like DarkLies and I were talking about with the sand as the "river" and the gravel as the "shore"). I'm thinking two bags (which would be 1 cubic YARD, not foot...don't know why I keep saying foot) would be enough since I'm going to be using the gravel as well. Does that sound about right?
 

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Doomhed

Large Fish
Feb 11, 2003
687
0
0
42
Rhode Island
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#12
if you havent cleaned the tank yet I recommend my old cleaning solution-

5 gallon bucket- 1 large bottle hydrogen peroxide, 1 bottle white vinager and 1 bottle tank cleaner from the petstore and the rest hot water.

it could clean ANYTHING off the tanks.
 

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#13
Haven't even gotten it out of the back of my truck. LOL! The sucker is HEAVY and not only do I live by myself, but my dad broke his back a while back and can't lift anything heavy, so he can't help me. Anywho, mainly it's just mud on it. Surprisingly there's no hard water deposits (my area has notoriously hard water) or anything like that. So, as soon as I can get it out of the truck, it's getting the vinegar and hot water treatment (might add the bottle of hydrogen peroxide too, just to see how it does). I haven't ever seen any tank cleaning stuff at our LFSs or chains around here (which isn't saying much 'cuz our LFSs kinda suck in the fish department).