Getting a tank after many years away

[sooflyfisher]

Hi all, I am looking to get an aquarium after being out of it for many years. When I was into it in the past I had functional "ugly" tanks. Now I am looking to go with 1 nice "pretty" tank in my living room. Something thats pleasing to look at. A bit of a show piece.
I found what I believe to be an 80 Gallon tank used locally (48"x24"x16"). Comes with a Fluval 405 as well as a bunch of other stuff for 180$ (Canadian).
Seems like a good deal to me. And would get me going with a larger (better?) tank than the 38 gallon bow front kit I was considering. And yet still be cheaper.
I am thinking of going with some live plants, and having angel fish as the main attraction along with other suitable tank mates. (Cardinal tetras and Cory's seem to be a popular choice)
Any thoughts on this set up? Is the price good? Anything I should know about the Fluval 405?

Thanks all for any advice or opinions you can give.

Mike

 

[ZxC]

Seems like a good price. That's a nice sized tank. I would suggest that filter, then look for another canister filter. 48" tank with 1 canister is touch to achieve "decent" flow in my opinion. Especially with only 350 gallons per hour (Fluval 405).

If you want plants, look into SunBlaster nano-tech T5-HO. Cheap and super good at growing plants. Fluval 3.0 is a really good LED as well.

TSC has some "black industrial sand" from K&E. Its perfect for a planted tank. Rinse it really well.

 

[sooflyfisher]

I picked up my new to me tank today! Seems in decent shape, though am a little unsure about the no top rim? Stand looks better than I thought, but still think I will build a custom.

 

[ZxC]

What do you mean by no top rim?

 

[sooflyfisher]

I realised after posting that I took the picture with the hood on so its not visible. But the top edge of the tank is just the glass. There is no plastic edging around it. There is a brace that goes across front to back at the middle of the tank. And the edge of the glass is all nice and smooth and chip free.

 

[ZxC]

Is there a manufacture # on the bottom of the tank? If so I would look it up and see if it came with a brace. If it should have a brace I would make sure to build / buy one to be on the safe side.

 

[sooflyfisher]

Here is a picture of the Aquarium without the hood. Cant see any sort of markings on it anywhere. Looking at the bottom I did notice something seemed interesting to me. The bottom glass is not flush at the bottom. It all rests on the bottom plastic rim.
Here is a pic to show what i mean.

 

[ZxC]

Looks as if the previous owner had removed the brace or it broke and they replaced it with a custom center brace. It is likely fine to use. Test outside first though...

The bottom glass should never touch the stand, that could cause high stress areas across the glass pane. It is supposed to be like that.

 

[sooflyfisher]

Thanks! I may see if I can figure out some way to build a tap frame for it. Unfortunately dead of wither is not condusive to outside testing! lol!