Been Offered A Used Tank For £50?
- Thread starter russboy
- Start date
Picked it up this morning, cleaned it & now sitting in my kitchen, gotta decide whether to keep it or sell it, must admit it is quite nice!
... & here's my existing 500L set up in my lounge:
Oh & I think the doors have been fitted upside down! But I'll swap them when I have the chance, also changed the handles to match all our kitchen cabinets as I had spares.
Tested for leaks too & all good.
... & here's my existing 500L set up in my lounge:
Oh & I think the doors have been fitted upside down! But I'll swap them when I have the chance, also changed the handles to match all our kitchen cabinets as I had spares.
Tested for leaks too & all good.
leighton_87
Fishaholic
Looks great!
BLACK DDOG
New Member
easy to drain too, just pop the pipe out the patio door.
Timberbatch
New Member
WOW nice find! Hope you have a lot of fun with it! Love your 500L by the way 
Just gotta find a guide for setting up a new tank, as my 500L I transported with 250L of the existing water.
Although the 500 is due a clean next weekend so going to bring across the waste water to the new tank without too much of the dirt from the bottom of the tank.
Although the 500 is due a clean next weekend so going to bring across the waste water to the new tank without too much of the dirt from the bottom of the tank.
Sounds like you are keeping it - good job
Looks great in that spot, and being in the kitchen it is the easiest place to maintain it. Plus you can "feed" your garden with the fish waste. I got a thin Hozelock hose with all the fittings and it winds up onto a small reel. For my large aquarium in the bedroom I just pump the water out of the bedroom window onto the front garden, then fill a beer bucket on a stool by the side of the aquarium with the same hose from a cold water tap. Then I add boiled water from pans and kettle to bring it up to temperature, mix in de-clorinator and use the pump to pump it all back in. Considering its size it is the easiest tank to maintain because it is all done electronically Oh, and you can use this hose to transfer the water directly from your larger tank too!
The main thing in setting up a new tank is to use mature media in your filter and ensure it is fed, to speed up the cycling process. I have read about adding Ammonia into the new tank to feed the bacteria prior to adding any fish. There is a lot of info., out there - Google "fish-less cycling", there may also be something in the resource centre on this blog? You can put extra media into your existing filter and then take some of it out for the new filters, this will then have some of the good bacteria on it to kick start the process.
Yes the doors are upside down.
What you planning to put in it?
Your other tank looks great too.
Very exciting for you...more fish
Looks great in that spot, and being in the kitchen it is the easiest place to maintain it. Plus you can "feed" your garden with the fish waste. I got a thin Hozelock hose with all the fittings and it winds up onto a small reel. For my large aquarium in the bedroom I just pump the water out of the bedroom window onto the front garden, then fill a beer bucket on a stool by the side of the aquarium with the same hose from a cold water tap. Then I add boiled water from pans and kettle to bring it up to temperature, mix in de-clorinator and use the pump to pump it all back in. Considering its size it is the easiest tank to maintain because it is all done electronically
Oh, and you can use this hose to transfer the water directly from your larger tank too!The main thing in setting up a new tank is to use mature media in your filter and ensure it is fed, to speed up the cycling process. I have read about adding Ammonia into the new tank to feed the bacteria prior to adding any fish. There is a lot of info., out there - Google "fish-less cycling", there may also be something in the resource centre on this blog? You can put extra media into your existing filter and then take some of it out for the new filters, this will then have some of the good bacteria on it to kick start the process.
Yes the doors are upside down.
What you planning to put in it?
Your other tank looks great too.
Very exciting for you...more fish
My water change set up is all done by hose to & fro the bath, which a switchable valve in it when I need to move the gravel hoover from one side of the big tank to the other. As I re fill via the shower head I just constantly check the water temp so that there isn’t a major disruption to the fish. Also this way there is very little mess & I just need to clean the bath afterwards.
The kitchen is equal distance from the downstairs bathroom so I can I can operate the same set up.
I designed it like this as when doing 30% water change every 2 weeks I was having to fill large buckets in the bath & carry them to the tank & pour them in, but that was 150 litres to lift above shoulder height so wasn’t a healthy way to carry out the change.
For the new tank the water is all up to temp (24C), 3 trays of media in the filter & based on its being a 260 litre tank I put in 32.5ml (more like 40ml) of Stress Zyme & the same of Stress Coat as if memory serves me well it said add 5ml per 40L of water. Also when I do my water change this weekend on the 500L tank I’m first going to empty out probably 100L or more from the new tank & that goes down the drain. Then start draining the 500L tank but from the top, not touching the gravel at this point & this “good” water can go into the new tank to help the media. Then I just carry on & refill my 500L as per normal.
Once I’ve done all that I’ll probably leave it another week to test the levels on the new tank.
The kitchen is equal distance from the downstairs bathroom so I can I can operate the same set up.
I designed it like this as when doing 30% water change every 2 weeks I was having to fill large buckets in the bath & carry them to the tank & pour them in, but that was 150 litres to lift above shoulder height so wasn’t a healthy way to carry out the change.
For the new tank the water is all up to temp (24C), 3 trays of media in the filter & based on its being a 260 litre tank I put in 32.5ml (more like 40ml) of Stress Zyme & the same of Stress Coat as if memory serves me well it said add 5ml per 40L of water. Also when I do my water change this weekend on the 500L tank I’m first going to empty out probably 100L or more from the new tank & that goes down the drain. Then start draining the 500L tank but from the top, not touching the gravel at this point & this “good” water can go into the new tank to help the media. Then I just carry on & refill my 500L as per normal.
Once I’ve done all that I’ll probably leave it another week to test the levels on the new tank.
That sounds great - you have it all sorted in respect to water changes. I had to set up the pump etc when I did my back in doing 20% water changes daily on the 215Litres when it went through a spike. It is so much easier with the hose system, as you also pointed out, everyone should have one
Any plans for which fish are going in the new one?
Any plans for which fish are going in the new one?
Most likely that the Oscars & Texan Cichlids will go in the new tank initially from the old tank, purely because in the big tank we want some plants & colour in there & that’s a nonstarter with these vicious gits! I’ll probably also move across the 8” plec I have to help keep the glass clean, leaving the 2 4” plecs in the big tank, along the with 15” big daddy plec!
Then in the long term I will look to get rid of the Oscars & Cichlids & we will go for some black & white fish in there, but realistically from now to that happening is probably 6 months as it all takes times.
Then in the long term I will look to get rid of the Oscars & Cichlids & we will go for some black & white fish in there, but realistically from now to that happening is probably 6 months as it all takes times.
Wow you have some big plecs!
Personally I love the planted tanks, they are like an underwater living world full of colour and movement, with the fish. I tend to stick to fish that do not grow too big therefore hopefully the plants stay rooted - not always the case though!
Cool plan, I guess there will be loads of people assist you in choosing black and white fish in the future.
Look forward to pics.
Personally I love the planted tanks, they are like an underwater living world full of colour and movement, with the fish. I tend to stick to fish that do not grow too big therefore hopefully the plants stay rooted - not always the case though!
Cool plan, I guess there will be loads of people assist you in choosing black and white fish in the future.
Look forward to pics.
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