I bought a project. Lol!

[Chels10117]

I just bought this 55 fish tank for $35. (still looks smaller than 55 to me but what it lacks in length it makes up for in height and width). I had to rescue it lol. I talked her down a lot in price and figured what the heck.

The brand is "Mj baolai" looks really old. Like 70's or 80's lol. I like the style of the glass and stand tho. Kinda unique. I looked it up apparently it's Chinese.

No leaks. Stand is in good condition. Tank just needs a good scrubbing. There is one crack on the top rim that I will need to fix. The hood is in bad shape. I might fix it up or replace it all together.

Any tips on how to fix this up?

I'm pretty sure I can make this thing look brand new. I'd love to give my fish a bigger home. Or I might turn it around and try to make a profit.

Pretty interesting find tho. ☺

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[FishyMamma]

It does look smaller then a 55. You could do the math or find one of those online calculators to tell you for sure so you know how much declorinator to use and such.

If it's an unusual size or shape and you can't find a lid, you could do what several folks here have done and get a custom cut glass lid and clip on or hang lights above. I've seem really nice set-ups like that in these forums. Perhaps folks will jump in with their pics and experiences. It really does look better than typical tops, and I may do that with my tanks at some point myself.



Sent via an unladen European Swallow

 

[Chels10117]

Yeah I looked it up its only approx 44 gallons. 170 liters. And I filled it up to calculate the gallons. It's foreign like Chinese or Japanese. It's not cheaply made tho it's pretty nice. I matched it up to what was on their website by measuring it and then looking at the bulb wattage. They made a 56 gal or 213 liter one but this is not it. The funny thing is I can't find these tanks ANYWHERE no one sells them. No one even knows what they are. They must have gone out of business a long time ago. I even saw a post from someone with the same dilemma as me. Tank with a crappy hood, same brand, and they couldn't find a replacement. That was back in 2009. They sold a lot of cool looking tanks. All with rounded corners and matching hoods and stands. Pretty neat.

A little disappointed as its only approx 8 gallons more than I have right now. But hey for the price I guess I couldn't go wrong. I might keep it and fix it up, use it for the meantime, and then keep my eye out for a bigger tank and sell this one.

I quite like the top it came with tho. It fits and idk if it would look right with a different top. But it really needs work... Apparently it came with a built in filter and they took it out because it was crappy. So I may have to cover up the back and make a slot for the filter and fix up the lighting... Not quite sure. Idk if making an entire new top would be worth the time.

The hood is going to be the hardest part to fix up. I already polished and cleaned up the stand it looks brand new. I still need to scrub the tank with vinegar to get the stains off and then fill in the Crack on the rim with some silicone and maybe paint that.

Maybe someone could give me suggestions? I'm definitely not a electrician or builder lol.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Chels10117]

I've been scrubbing the heck out of the tank all day and here's the result lol. Now just need to tackle the hood and fix a few cracks in the rim. Stand is all polished and like new.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[FishyMamma]

Looks great! What a difference. You used vinegar and elbow grease?


~ Sent with an unladen European swallow

 

[lunch]

Looks a lot like an aqua one aquastyle tank, same curved front corners and slight bow, they come in lots of sizes, maybe u could check out if any aquastyle lids fit and just get a 2nd hand replacment, not too sure bout the colour though, ive only seen them in silver and black

 

[lunch]

Something like that

 

[Chels10117]

Thank you! I used vinegar and a razor blade with a scrub brush and then actually ended up using bar keepers friend. The vinegar was not taking it off. I looked online for other cleaning options and found a lot of people, reputable aquarium keepers, use that with great results and no harm to the fish. I just need to rinse it REALLY well.

It does look a lot like that tank. I might look into it but idk about the size. It's an odd 170 liters. I just realized none of the lights on the hood work either. So it might be worth it to just try to make a new one. :/

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[PassengerTN]

Bar keepers friend makes light work of build up on old tanks! I picked up a 65 gallon O'dell hexagon tank and stand several months ago. Vinegar and a razor done nothing to the build up. BKF basically made it all able to be wiped with a rag. I'd never known of the stuff if I hadn't worked in restaurants for so long lol


Jesse

 

[Noel 9764]

My husband made a lid for me out of Lexi glass. We bought from lowes. He even put handles on for me. The lights sit nicely on top.I love it!! And no fishies can jump out of it.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Chels10117]

Yeah bar keepers friend is amazing. Cleaned all the crap off like that. And now it looks brand new again.

Plexi glass is an idea. The tank needs all new lighting anyways... I kinda like the top but at the same time I think something streamline would look nice.

How did you make yours? Did you do like 2 peices and then make a hinge and a cut out for the filter? That's how I would probably do it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Noel 9764]

Yup that's how my husband made it. If you do go with that route make sure that you use stainless steel hinges and screws. Plexi glass is ok but Lexi glass is more dense we measured and them cut it. It works well for us lighter too for me easier to clean.( for some reason, I break things easy) lol


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Chels10117]

Oh okay. Lexi glass. I have not heard of that. I thought it was just a typo lol. Thanks I will have to look into it. I just ran into another problem tho. Filter does not fit over the back correctly! The rim is too think. Sigh. I guess I'll just have to cut out a little notch for it to sit into. There was a thing right in the middle of the tank that got broken off so I'll probably do it right in the middle.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Chels10117]

Here's it finally inside with a few decorations that I picked up. It came with gravel and another rock decoration that I am going to use as well.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Chels10117]

Whoops I guess it didn't work here it is.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Chels10117]

Nvm it's not letting me put a picture lol. I'll try again later.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Noel 9764]

Sorry it's lexan glass( I shortened it to lexi lol) hubby corrected me ha ha
Good luck hope you post pics when your done


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Chels10117]

Ohh. Okay gotcha. Thanks. ☺

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[FishyMamma]

I'm having problems uploading pics too. I guess it's AA's server. I thought it was my phone because I have a Beta version of the OS on it.


~ Sent with an unladen European swallow

 

[Chels10117]

Yeah I guess you're not the only one because it's not working for me either.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app