55g need parts suggestion?

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*shaking head* long boring night at work... African Cichlid like high pH and the American's prefer more acidic water, that might be what I read. I have been trying to run that over in my head. Same genies different species with different tastes... but than again there are jungle cats and tundra cats.

I'm going garage saleing later this morning (since it is past midnight). I hope the one estate sale has some fish stuff, which is my only reason for going.

I've been reading up a bit on the activated carbon, was thinking of a water filter. Amazing what the stuff can do. But at the same time a healthy tank should have the bacteria removing the ammonia.

I am sort of tossed between having a sponge filter (simple, effective but ugly to look at) and a HOB. If I can find a cheap canister filter I will go for it. I hope we get some more OT at work soon so I can afford to get the idle tanks up and running.
 
well, like we all said, a sponge wouldnt provide adequate filtration for a 55... if its all you got, its better than nothing, but a cheap hob from walmart would do the trick... check craigslist... i found a guy here, im going tomorrow to get the filters, all the stuff listed for $35 (talked him down some :)) and basically all it needs is a $5 part from fluval to make it work (impeller)... you can get canisters very cheap used, like a quarter what they cost new... now with your ph at 7.4, imo you can keep about any fish you want (maybe not discus) because its fairly neutral... mine stays at 7.6-7.8, thats straight from the tap, and i have cichlids, neons, guppies, balas, tinfoils, and a bunch of others and they are all doing very well, all at the same ph... ph isnt really that big of a factor in what you can keep unless you get in to the delicate fish like discus where they do need a low ph... good luck at the yard sales tomorrow (i just cant call it today, i havent went to sleep yet :(), im going to hit a few myself (for baby stuff)...
 
I am understanding a little more about the tank eco-system every day. From what I have learned the pH being constant is more important than anything else (well having a tank of vinegar or baking soda water *lol*).

I was thinking the sponge for the 30g. I still need stands for a 20g, a 30g, and the 55g. I am hitting some garage sales today, might luck out. This week I am way too broke to buy any equipment.

I have 4 empty tanks if I count the one I am setting up for my daughter. Only the one for my daughter has parts.

I am lucky to have someone at work who knows chemistry and biology. An engineer from first shift used to keep huge salt water tanks before he got married and had kids.... but the QA girl has a degree in some sort of biology (micro-biology). If I get an idea I run it by her. I was thinking about water filters and home made versions, she gave me some decent advice. Any time I have a question about chemistry I run it by her.

I need to get some more coffee in me and hit the yard sales.... hopefully I can luck out with some equipment for cheap.
 
if you could make a filter, that would be awesome... pretty much all you need for a filter is a pump, some filter floss, and water... if you make one, take lots of pictures, id love to see how you do it step by step (may do one myself)
 
some kid did it on instructables.com... I don't have a pump or I'd have it set up.

Point is a bit moot now that I have a few extra HOBs hanging around.
 
just some more advice... with my HOB's, I have two carbon cart.'s. I take one out every two weeks and rinse it, then I replace the carbon after about the third change. The cart.'s aren't meant to have the carbon replaced but, that's cause they want you to spend money on their products! I just rip the tops of them open and replace it.

Anyway just some advice for HOB's. Cart's are too expensive IMO
 
carbon is pointless unless you are needing to remove medications or something of that nature... and i never rinse my cartridges... if they start to clog, i put them in a bucket with tank water in it and swish it around a little... when you rinse them, you rinse out the bacteria, and put chlorine and chloramine in the filter pad, therefore putting it in the tank... just my opinion though
 
I took mine out for a day when I dosed my tank :(. Kept it in a bucket of tank water just so the bacteria could munch on some tank water.

Good news is that the black neon tertas look better, not all gone but they have less spots on them :)

Oh man now I have to clean another tank and decide where it goes! Starting the building of the stand for the 55g will wait for a few weeks... spent too much on fish stuff and have to catch up on bills now.
 
lol, i know the feeling... what kind of stand are you building? just like 2x4's or something with cabinet doors or shelves? are you going to put a canopy on it? if you do, i want to see the plans... i need one for both my 125 and which ever 55 i keep... have no idea where to start with a canopy lol
 
I think I am going to go with just the stand and no canopy. 2x4 frame with maybe some shelves and sheeting covering.... Or might just go simplistic and just paint the 2x4 frame.

I don't have a "style" in my apartment. *lol* I save that type of thing for my cooking and trying to aqua-scape my tanks.
 
carbon is pointless unless you are needing to remove medications or something of that nature... and i never rinse my cartridges... if they start to clog, i put them in a bucket with tank water in it and swish it around a little... when you rinse them, you rinse out the bacteria, and put chlorine and chloramine in the filter pad, therefore putting it in the tank... just my opinion though


Wow... you guys don't miss anything! I figured most hobbyist know not to use CHLORINATED tap water when rinsing filters.

Yes! I do rinse mine in a bucket of tank water. I'll be more detailed next time. HAHA
 
oh sorry about that lol... usually when somebody says they rinse their filter out, they just run tap water through it until its "clean"... and i meant no disrespect, just thought if you were using tap, you might want to change your method... and i learned on here real quick that probably 90% of these guys say carbon is useless... ive not been using it since joining, same water params as before, plus i dont spend $5.99 on a jar of carbon ever other week anymore :) i just have some gravel in mine from one of my tanks... i think it actually does more good than the carbon did
 
lol, i know the feeling... what kind of stand are you building? just like 2x4's or something with cabinet doors or shelves? are you going to put a canopy on it? if you do, i want to see the plans... i need one for both my 125 and which ever 55 i keep... have no idea where to start with a canopy lol
ive got a 2x4 stand on one of my 55's... at first i worried about its structural integrity because it is literally made of two 4' long 2x4's bolted to 2 13" 2x4's, with one going down each corner to the same lol... works just fine though.. not as pretty as my cedar stand with doors, but gets the job done :)
 
the stand I got for the 29 gallon looks like a TV stand. I was worrying about it's strength till I was looking at teh stand I got from Wal-Mart for my other 29g... It should hold. But I also might beef it up with a cross-member made of 2x4s.
 
it amazes me at how sturdy the stands actually are... when i was carrying in my 125 stand, i carried it myself with no strain at all... it almost felt flemsy to me... its got the tank which has to weigh 2-300lbs, 100lbs of pfs, rock, water, lights... its got ALOT of weight on it... wood is surprisingly strong :)
 
hehehe I would rather over engineer the 55g stand just to be safe. Wood is a bit like concrete in that it is good in certain stress areas and bad in others. Try flexing a 2x4 on the wide side and then on the thin side.... Ply wood is laminated (which causes extra strength in most materials) but they have the grains go at perpendicular angles to help the stress load....

Also funny what a single cross-beam can make.

Oh no I have been hanging around the Engineers at work too much!
 
lol, i lived in the ag shop when i was in school, i mainly welded and fabricated, but did some woodwork (birdhouses lol). I have been thinking about making a nice stand for my 125... something out of 2x6's and 4x4's... maybe a 3/4 plywood top and then those really super thin 1/4" slats to go on the outside and stain... i know how to build the stand, me and my dad built a deck when i was living at home... probably do it something like that, just sit the tank on the plywood and have the sheeting come up a little bit... i just dont know where to start on a canopy? i dont know how i could build it and not worry about being able to lift up my glass tops to feed, etc. ive tried finding plans online, nobody has anything except stand plans...
 
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