Jill's 55g build on a budget

[Sake]

I think I may try to just reseal the parts I stripped....I should probably do the whole thing, but it IS holding water now so I'll try the easier method.

I've been in construction since i was 8 years old (family business played more than worked at 8 years old on the job lol), anyhow the general rule when recaulking or reglueing something is to remove ALL the old caulk and go completely new. The reason being is you don't know what has been on the caulk may be something that will mess with the bond, and also the new caulk will only be as strong as the layer under it. If it was me, I would spend a bit more time and redo it all, but then again that's just my opinion and we all know everyone has their, and they all stink kinda like....bleepholes lol

 

[darkmatter_3500]

Alot of people give Renas a bad rap,, I have a XP4 and it is a great filter for the money , it holds alot of biomedia, the flow is not what Rena claims but that us normal , filters are usually never as strong as they claim. It should work great on a 55.

 

[Jill]

Alot of people give Renas a bad rap,, I have a XP4 and it is a great filter for the money , it holds alot of biomedia, the flow is not what Rena claims but that us normal , filters are usually never as strong as they claim. It should work great on a 55.

My other craigslist options were a cascade 1000 and an eheim. I don't remember the model of the eheim, but it had a lot of reviews saying that it LEAKED. Good to hear from someone who has a rena and likes it!

 

[Jill]

75 pounds of sand has been thoroughly rinsed. Now I'm sitting at my computer sipping a glass of chianti as a reward for all of the sand I rinsed today and staring at an empty tank with hideous hard water stains at the top STILL. UGH! All it took was an aquarium light to make them painfully obvious. I guess I have more scraping to do.

 

[Bearchumjs]

75 pounds of sand has been thoroughly rinsed. Now I'm sitting at my computer sipping a glass of chianti as a reward for all of the sand I rinsed today and staring at an empty tank with hideous hard water stains at the top STILL. UGH! All it took was an aquarium light to make them painfully obvious. I guess I have more scraping to do.

You can see them even when it's filled? Or is it still empty as in no water? I'm sorry you have to scrape it still! Ugh!

But look at all the money you've saved! . It'll be worth it in the end!

 

[Jill]

You can see them even when it's filled? Or is it still empty as in no water? I'm sorry you have to scrape it still! Ugh!

But look at all the money you've saved! . It'll be worth it in the end!

No, there's no water in it yet. I'm going to auto zone to buy another razor blade scraper because I think mine has had enough....lol.

Do you think it will look better once it's filled? I sure hope so!

 

[Bearchumjs]

No, there's no water in it yet. I'm going to auto zone to buy another razor blade scraper because I think mine has had enough....lol.

Do you think it will look better once it's filled? I sure hope so!

I think so. I have hard water lines on the top of my 5 gallon. I can't see them when I top it off. Only when the level drops from evaporation. I don't know how bad they are on your tank, but I'd probably give it another good scraping if you think you need to. When you're done you could try wetting a spot and seeing if they are still visible. Or maybe try wetting a spot before you scrape more and see if you still think its necessary to scrape it again.

 

[Jill]

I think so. I have hard water lines on the top of my 5 gallon. I can't see them when I top it off. Only when the level drops from evaporation. I don't know how bad they are on your tank, but I'd probably give it another good scraping if you think you need to. When you're done you could try wetting a spot and seeing if they are still visible. Or maybe try wetting a spot before you scrape more and see if you still think its necessary to scrape it again.

That's a good idea. I'm so glad I have AA.

 

[Bearchumjs]

I'm glad I found it too! So much info and such great people!

 

[Jill]

Getting there! I'm sure I'll rescape this thing a million times, but I was so anxious to get some stuff in there!

 

[Jess1ca]

Getting there! I'm sure I'll rescape this thing a million times, but I was so anxious to get some stuff in there!

Lookin good

 

[darkmatter_3500]

That tank looks really nice, the stand is great!

 

[Bearchumjs]

Getting there! I'm sure I'll rescape this thing a million times, but I was so anxious to get some stuff in there!

It looks great! That black sand is really aweaome! Did you scrape anymore or just fill it up? I can't see any water marks.

I know what you mean about getting stuff in. Here's a pic of mine with one rock. I went straight to the river and got rocks for it and cleaned them til around 11pm or something. Lol!

Now your tank is nice to look at! When are you going to get fish and what kind?

View attachment 86150

The lonesome rock...

 

[darkmatter_3500]

It looks great! That black sand is really aweaome! Did you scrape anymore or just fill it up? I can't see any water marks.

I know what you mean about getting stuff in. Here's a pic of mine with one rock. I went straight to the river and got rocks for it and cleaned them til around 11pm or something. Lol!

Now your tank is nice to look at! When are you going to get fish and what kind?

The lonesome rock...

Wow that really is a lonesome rock lol. Put something in there

 

[Bearchumjs]

Wow that really is a lonesome rock lol. Put something in there

I did already! Lol! I had to go out to the river immediately that day.

 

[Jill]

Thanks everybody! I'll try to take some pics with my real camera today.

It looks great! That black sand is really aweaome! Did you scrape anymore or just fill it up? I can't see any water marks.

I know what you mean about getting stuff in. Here's a pic of mine with one rock. I went straight to the river and got rocks for it and cleaned them til around 11pm or something. Lol!

Now your tank is nice to look at! When are you going to get fish and what kind?

View attachment 86150

The lonesome rock...

OMG.....that rock is so funny!!

All of my rocks came from a local river too! I didn't scrape anymore....I'm so glad you spared me! And as for fish....I'm still deciding. If I can get my ph down a little, I'll probably go for some rams of some sort but beyond that, I still don't know.

 

[janky]

Tank looks really clean and tasteful... I'm liking the black sand and plants a lot!

Are you planning on doing it with mostly fish as the focus or are you going to get into dense planting and aquascaping?

 

[Jill]

Tank looks really clean and tasteful... I'm liking the black sand and plants a lot!

Are you planning on doing it with mostly fish as the focus or are you going to get into dense planting and aquascaping?

Thanks!

I'm going to try my hand at aquascaping this time. I'm even setting up CO2.

 

[Jill]

Updated tally:
Aquarium, stand, filter and other various supplies: $25
2 bags of Black Diamond Blasting Sand: $16
2 sheets chrome black paper from Michael's for bkgd: $3
Rocks and Plants: FREE so far (from local river and other tanks)
Rena XP3 canister filter: $50 (Scratch this....didn't happen for me )
Eheim 2250 canister filter: $40
Socket thingies to retrofit hood for cfl spirals: $9
4 pack of CFL spirals: $13
20lb CO2 tank and regulator: $35
Needle valve: $7

We're still acquiring the pieces to build a diy reactor, diy bubble counter, and diy drop checker for the co2. I'll update the cost of each diy when they're complete and take pics as I go.

 

[janky]

Wow!! Ok... very interested in how the CO2 setup works.
I've just been doing the soda bottle setup with an air stone
I'd love to set up a REAL co2 system, but the $$ scared me off from it. Curious to see how this pans out for you... keep us posted!