330L Tank Journal

[Zikofski]

First major update for everyone i am still on track to hopefully finish the tank by the end of the month i hope got a few new things and decided on what to get stock wise

okay so far i have:
- Tetra EX 1200 Filter
- Fluval E300 Heater
- Arcadia Ultra Seal 2 x 54W Lighting
- 1 x 54W 48" Original Tropical T5 Tube
- 1 x 54W 48" Pro Plant T5 Tube
- 2 x 48" Reflectors
- Wood (picked from the garden)
- 1 Tank 54" x 20" x 19"

Items still to get:
- Sand (have decided on Unipac Senegal sand now)
- wood from store to create a lid which will house lighting
- Second tetra EX 1200 Filter

Stocking so Far:
- 4 Angel
- 2 Red Line Torpedo Barb

additional stock to get:
- 6 Torpedo Barb (8 in total)
- BN or Starlight Plec
- 12 Corys (6 Orange Laser and 6 Sterbai)

will continue finishing the wood this evening and tonight, going out to store tomo to to get sand and wood for the lid

thnx Minnnt for all the help and advice given really appreciated

 

[minnnt]

Senegal is fantastic mate, the colour when in the tank and settled is great. I am contemplating a change to it in my 180.

Plans sound good so far mate, the ex1200's are amazing filters... I WILL get everyone converted to them!

 

[Zikofski]

i let you know how it goes with the sand

and i shall join you in this quest for conversion

 

[Zikofski]

okay sorry for the delay in posting been prepping for work this week bo ho lol,

Right i got everything setup and running without fish in will put the in this weekend if all goes well,

okay to follow on from last time; for some reason all my LFS have never herd of Unipac Senegal sand but they did have Unipac Silica with in my opinion looked identical maybe they changed name? not sure but it looks great

finished stripping the wood best i could cleaned scrubbed and soaked in boiling water and i haft to admit it looks amazing took me 2 days to do the wood and a further 1 day to clean all the sand i ended up getting 2x 25Kg bags for £40 total i think i only used around 40Kg of the sand tho left some for spare

with the sand in i started filling up and the sand was a b***H i cleaned it for a whole day yet when filling it was still murky dam sand oh well its clean now stuck the log in and annoyingly despite how heavy it was it floated but luckily i wedged it in and looks gd IMO, pictures will follow,

built my light unit from 12mm thick MDF despite my c**y cutting skills looks ok lol, it will haft to do for now i ended up getting 1 Pro PLant 54W bulb and a Standard Tropical Bulb as they both had different light wavelengths thought it would be for the best cost me £40 for both

so with the pump running and the lights on i just can't w8 to get the fish in this weekend and then plan for plants

So here what you all been w8ing for the pictures il post the I'm steps to what i did over the last week thnx for reading and helping out been amazing i just hope the fish are okay when i move them over

starting to Strip the Bark

Now finished Striping and now soaking

Wilst soaking i noticed the wood Floats but at same time i start to clean the sand

In Big Buckets

and in the Small ones

once we had finished one bag of sand we decided to take a break and move our old tank and put the new one in place looks gd already i think

Now its time for the Sand

And to fill the thing, i told my Gf to use a plate and cup but she refused and loved turning up the sand

her words where it will settle in time

While she did that i went a got the wood ready

and Wedged it in

i The went over to my dads and built our dodgy light unit I'm impressed with the way i fixed the lights on the inside and stuff but the wood working skills i suck at

Anoyingly before it cleared up i had to leave to travel back up north for work my gf has sent me a picture but its really really low RES so i shall get a gd one this weekend before i put fish in hope you all enjoy stay tuned for more updates this weekend

 

[Zikofski]

Ok I have been thinking do you haft to have lights on for fish I need to paint my lid this weekend can I put fish in and paint the kid but leave it off for a few days while it cures?

 

[Tizer]

fish dont need lighting, natural daylight through your windows will do fine while you paint, not sure what that is under the tank, but you need some thick carpet or poly around 8mm thick to rest something that heavy on or you could end up with a cracked base. even some old carpet underlay would do the job and cut around the edges when in place to smarten it up. i would also reinforce the center of the shelf before it starts to bow under the pressure and im 99% sure it will over time and thats when your tank with go BOOM!.

 

[Zikofski]

Okay thnx and yes I do plan to strengthen the middle part of that draws but getting down thing underneath I don't think is posible I know the tiles are very very strong and thick il take the risk with them thank tho

 

[Tizer]

i wasnt talking about the tiles, i was talking about the area between the stand surface and the glass base of the tank itself.

 

[Zikofski]

Aaah okay there is a plastic sheet the tank is sitting on sorry

 

[Tizer]

Aaah okay there is a plastic sheet the tank is sitting on sorry

yeah exactly, its not thick enough, thats why i mentioned it

well, it certainly doesnt look thick enough anyway, looks like plastic picnic sheet :0

 

[Zikofski]

Ye I think It is just a picnic sheet or something

 

[ZoddyZod]

that radiator is a bit close. Should be ok bcause it's not directly behind the tank and you've got a large volume of water, but just keep an eye out to see if the tank temp increases when the heating is on.

 

[Zikofski]

Ye I wondered that but the room is the size o a barn do it Dosnt Change the temp at all plus we never hav the heating on

 

[minnnt]

Wow mate. Love it. You have done very well indeed. Some kind of polystyrene is needed though.

Good excuse to empty the tank and get rid of the missus's balls up with the hose.

 

[Zikofski]

Ye that is true I don't think I have anything other than the cardboard it came with il dig around maybe some old carpet about

And thnx I have enjoyed doing this