Got My New Tank ;)

[Leaky]

I picked up the tank off my friend yesterday, it was in a bit of a sorry state it had to be said !!

ive given it a good clean out and have brought it home and is now in my room.

The lid was cream crackered and looked proper old so im buying a replacement, better lid and a stand to match !!!

first job though, re-sealing it !! i think the tank was a home made jobby and the sealent used has gone fairly green, im going to clean it up and reseal it inside and out and get some corner covers to cover the joins in the glass (not sure where from yet but hey ho !!

anyway, i will post some pics up once ive dismantled my shelf unit that will be replaced by the tank and a couple of pics as it is atm !!

I am going to post up pictures of all the work i do to it and also post a cycle diary to let you know how im getting on, it will be a couple of weeks before i even buy any other bits as ive got to buy a stand and replace the lid, but all in good time !!!

Shall Keep you posted, Chris !!!

 

[fatheadminnow]

Congrats on the tank man!

Looking forward to seeing pics, and your posts!

-FHM

 

[Leaky]

Heres a few pictures of the tank in question !!!

first couple are of the dirty tank (the state i got it)

This is me cleaning it at my girlfriends house !! and a stray dog who decided to walk through

then the tank in its final new home (my bedroom)

i got the 130L tank, light power supply, a tropical light for live plants, the tank lid and a back ground ... not bad for a quids worth of petrol from down the road !!!!


first plan is to cut back all the silicon down to the seal, then reseal it so its completely water tight (its been stood in the garage for a long time of my friends and i dont know how the change in weather effected the silicon.

The next job after that is to pimp the lid

sanding it down, repainting it and changing the hinges and knob on it so it looks a bit more like the rest of my room (beech finish)

once thats done i will have the cash to buy the beech stand i selected to put the tank on, then i will be ready to buy tank bits and bobs !!


filter first, then heater then test kits and ammonia, get the cycle started then gradually buy ornaments and think about the fish (i have a rough idea of which i want)

Comments appreciated, good or bad !!!

Cheers, Chris

 

[arobinson1984]

Tanks looking good, especially for a quid lol,

Great size tank for a first tank! I'm guessing its your first tank??

Will look great once everything is completed, any ideas what sort of setup you going for?? external / internal filter? external / internal heater?

What sort of fish are you aiming for??

Andy

 

[fatheadminnow]

Nice looking tank!

-FHM

 

[Leaky]

Tanks looking good, especially for a quid lol,

Great tank for a first tank! I'm guessing its your first tank??

Will look great once everything is completed, any ideas what sort of setup you going for?? external / internal filter? external / internal heater?

What sort of fish are you aiming for??

Andy

Thanks Andy !!

Yes this is my first tank, my dad had a 4 ft monster in the living room a long time ago which i guess started my obsession with fish

he said he will help me as much as he can.

Ive been researching and reading (a lot) on here, ive decided to go for everything external (well as much as i can get external) to keep the tank as free as possible so the fish feel more at home without strange objects in the tank.

Ive decided on a Tetratec EX 700 Filter, ive read that this is quite a quiet filter (which helps for my room) and a hydor external heater to fix onto the returning water back into the tank (if thats the right place to set it up)

ALl will be fitted into one of the two cupboards in the stand im going to get, in the other side i will buy and keep a small medic set in the case of an emergency, plenty of food and treats and my tester kit !!

I went around my local fish store the other day and i simply wrote down the names of the fish that i really liked the look of, i have yet to research into them but will be doing once the tank is going.

The fish i looked at are: (im not sure if these are all tropical by the way, the fish store sells marine and coldwater as well)

Blue Damsel,
Guppy,
Angel fish,
neon tetra
molly,
rummy tetra,
gourami,
torpedo barb,
platy,
panda corydoras,
blue acara.

I dont know what conditions they need or anything, that list is purely based on looks atm, im sure it will be decreased as time goes by !!!

Cheers, Chris !

 

[arobinson1984]

All the fish seem fine regarding tropical status, except I'm not sure what the blue damsel and blue acara are so check these beforehand.

I too am getting a hydor external heater next week and an eheim external filter, I've heard the tetratec is a good filter, along with the eheim range although eheims are slightly more expensive.

You seem to have a plan on what you want to do which is a good thing, whereas some people just get a tank, set it up, dont even realise about the nitrogen cycle and just throw a load of fish in, poor fishies!

Regarding the test kit, I'd recommend the API freshwater master test kit, it is used and recommended by many members on here, most fish stores sell it for around £25-£30 but there are plenty of sellers on ebay selling the set for £14-£15 so a nice few extra pounds left to spend on fish

Andy

 

[fatheadminnow]

No Neon Tetras until the tank is at least 6+ months old, sorry.

Neon Tetras need an established tank.

A freshly cycled tank is very prone to water parameter fluctuations, which the Neon Tetras cannot handle.

Also, like stated above, the API Freshwater Master Test Kit is a very good test kit for the price it is.

-FHM

 

[Leaky]

No Neon Tetras until the tank is at least 6+ months old, sorry.

Neon Tetras need an established tank.

A freshly cycled tank is very prone to water parameter fluctuations, which the Neon Tetras cannot handle.

Also, like stated above, the API Freshwater Master Test Kit is a very good test kit for the price it is.

-FHM

Yeh thanks, i read the comment you wrote about those chemicals saying that neon tetra need a well established tank, and so they shall get one !

is that just the neon tetra, or the tetra family in general ?

and which out of that list would be a good fish to introduce to my tank first ?

i may look into the various fish today and see what they need etc, as for the API test kit, i was looking at that at this other fish shop we have around here, its strange, we have a fish shop that just sells fish and no equipmnet at all, then theres one that sells barely any fish but all the equipment, then theres a couple which sell everything ! strange huh ?

Anyway, thanks for the comment, i will update some pictures when i get some work done to it, im going to be spending some money on monday on it so that will be my first update really,

Cheers, Chris.

 

[rewlyn]

call me curious but whats that blue thing in your tank

 

[OscarWilde]

Good stuff. Its fun to have a project. Im doing somthing similar with a Marine setup I just bought.

Good luck

 

[Leaky]

call me curious but whats that blue thing in your tank

Haha the blue roll is a background for the tank, its got live plants and rocks on it, it was stuck to the back of the tank, its in good condition i plan to re apply it to the back of the tank once ive resealed it inside out.

i will put up a pic of it, ive not seen this design in many fish shops around here but its a nice one !!!

and im really excited about starting this project, its going to be very fun !!!!



EDIT:

Heres a picture of the mysterious Blue sheet