Carey's Community Build/Upgrade

[carey]

Well I got the first coat of black paint on and it was a devil to do. LOL lots of nooks and crannies. Looks crappy now but after another coat I think it will be presentable.

I also went to lowes and picked up a nice brushed nickel handle for the drawer, I think it will offset all the black. Cause it's alot of black. hehe

 

[carey]

OOOPs almost forgot. I'm onto filtration right now. I currently have an aquaclear 30 on the 10g. I was planning on moving it to the 20. Not the best filtration right? I was thinking on an aquaclear upgrade, I think the 50 might be good, but the 70 is awful tempting. lol But the 70 might not fit in the ack opening so thats a maybe.

Anyone have some opinions on the filter I should get?

 

[carey]

So any suggestions about the filtration? Think I would be ok with the AC30?

Also, substrate. I want a bunch of shrimps in this tank so I was thinking black sand. Shrimp like the sand netter dont they? And the fish don't really care either way I don't think.

Any opinions welcome!

Next stop after these questions is stocking! The fun part!

 

[severum mama]

Well I got the first coat of black paint on and it was a devil to do. LOL lots of nooks and crannies. Looks crappy now but after another coat I think it will be presentable.

I also went to lowes and picked up a nice brushed nickel handle for the drawer, I think it will offset all the black. Cause it's alot of black. hehe

It might be easier to take it outside and do some spray painting.

I'd go with the AC 50 or AC 70... if AC 70, I would turn down the flow (doing this on a 20H and it is still plenty of flow).

 

[Buffy]

Looks good Carey. I would have voted purple though jk

Are you going to put plants in it?

 

[carey]

K, I was thinking the AC50, not too big and not too small. lol I'll still measure the ac70 and see if it will fit, it might be too tight.

I painted the stand by hand with little paint brushes. eeeekk! I just now finished the second coat. It's a little sloppy but I don'[t think you can tell from a distance. This tank is going behind me at my computer station so not much to be viewed from anywhere else.

I want to try plants again, BUT now I have a single 18w 8000k bulb in the new hood. Not sure if the three I'm looking to plant will work with that.

I'm looking for java fern, java moss and anubias I believe. My last plants didn't last a week. :-(

 

[severum mama]

Carey, all 3 of those plants will do fine without a lighting upgrade. I have java moss growing in some tanks that aren't lit except for ambient room lighting. LOL. There are many varieties of anubias and some will get way too big for the tank, so be sure to stick with the smaller varieties.

 

[carey]

Good to know about the plants, this way i can still try them.

I was very productive today, got the stand and tank moved into the living room and got the black sand in it.

What do you think? I missed a spot on the side but it's still overall ok for me.

 

[Buffy]

I like it, I think you did an awesome job. I still think purple would have been sweet.

 

[carey]

I am a BIG fan of purple, if my house were set up a bit different I may have considered it.

I'm also a big pink fan too! Love those girly colors.

 

[Dary421]

I like it, I think you did an awesome job. I still think purple would have been sweet.

Nice job Carey ,...I'm not a big purple fan unless it's related to coral or coralline,....

 

[severum mama]

I like it a lot. That new hardware on the cabinet is a nice addition.

 

[HalfMoon B]

Thanks! I just started painting it black. So far only got the back done. Would you believe it was marked down from $110 to 29.99? LOL

if they had another i would have considered buying it as a storage table it's so nice and solid. barely looks like a fish tank stand.

WHERE did you find that deal??

 

[carey]

i found the stand at a chain store, Pet supermarket.,

I started filling it with water, I used a black sand as substrate. i also just got back from Petco, picked up an aquaclear 50.

Tank is only half full but it's looking good. The plate trick is actually working this time LOL

 

[carey]

I like it a lot. That new hardware on the cabinet is a nice addition.

Wouldnt you know it, the screws included were for cabinets and were too long. LOL I luckily had extra washers lying around so I could make it attach nice and securely.

 

[JimmyA]

Wow, that really looks nice!

 

[carey]

Well here she is all filled up and pretty much settled. Got the ac50 running for now, will hopefully have room to add the ac30 from the current tank. I'm hoping for a nice non cycle transfer.

Here is a shot of it up an running. And the before shot. Amazing what a little paint can do. Changed the entire feel of the stand.

BEFORE

 

[JimmyA]

Looking good!

 

[rich311k]

Came out very well, looks real good.

 

[Loraaf]

It looks great!!!! Love the black!!!