Enki
Aquarium Advice Freak
I was thinking of getting something bigger, but I saw this deal while out shopping for a bedframe yesterday and it just seemed like the right tank, so I went for it.
It's 4' x 20" x 20" so total volume is about 85 gallons, but one whole end of the tank is built into a sort of strange filter configuration that looks like it is intended to be a wet dry, so the real useable tank volume is closer to 65 gallons. Should be a lot easier (and cheaper) to maintain than the monster I was daydreaming about doing, but it is still the biggest tank I have ever had. Tank, stand and hood delivered cost me about $40 US.
I was also previously thinking of doing some kind of sandstone tile background and some other sort of unusual decor, but as I was digging through pics of tanks I kept coming back to how awesome a plain old clean painted black background looks. So I have changed my mind about that too, gonna do natural background with a sand & gravel substrate and natural rock, I'll probably even go ahead and scrounge rock, as going out rock hunting is pretty fun.
It looks like the flow through the filter is meant to go in through the plexy grate at the bottom then up through the narrow gap and overflow into the top of the filter to then trickle down through a couple layers of media and then under a gap in the bottom into the other side side where a powerhead returns the water back into the main tank.
I think the way I have it oriented now is 'backwards' from the intended setup, but I want the clear end of the tank facing the room so I will deal with it. Thinking about plumbing in some pipes for under-gravel jets for better water movement and flow across the tank. The current setups input and output are way to close to each other for my liking. The powerhead with it will probably get repurposed somewhere else, or tucked away as an emergency backup. It's 900L/Hr and I think I want to push the flow higher than that.
It also came with a bucket of used bioballs, Do you think those can, or should, be cleaned and reused? They are not too expensive here, but why waste them if they can be salvaged? My thinking is that a quick hose down, maybe a once over with a brush, and then a 'pasteurization' ought to make them safe for reuse.
OK some pics of the tank...
It's 4' x 20" x 20" so total volume is about 85 gallons, but one whole end of the tank is built into a sort of strange filter configuration that looks like it is intended to be a wet dry, so the real useable tank volume is closer to 65 gallons. Should be a lot easier (and cheaper) to maintain than the monster I was daydreaming about doing, but it is still the biggest tank I have ever had. Tank, stand and hood delivered cost me about $40 US.
I was also previously thinking of doing some kind of sandstone tile background and some other sort of unusual decor, but as I was digging through pics of tanks I kept coming back to how awesome a plain old clean painted black background looks. So I have changed my mind about that too, gonna do natural background with a sand & gravel substrate and natural rock, I'll probably even go ahead and scrounge rock, as going out rock hunting is pretty fun.
It looks like the flow through the filter is meant to go in through the plexy grate at the bottom then up through the narrow gap and overflow into the top of the filter to then trickle down through a couple layers of media and then under a gap in the bottom into the other side side where a powerhead returns the water back into the main tank.
I think the way I have it oriented now is 'backwards' from the intended setup, but I want the clear end of the tank facing the room so I will deal with it. Thinking about plumbing in some pipes for under-gravel jets for better water movement and flow across the tank. The current setups input and output are way to close to each other for my liking. The powerhead with it will probably get repurposed somewhere else, or tucked away as an emergency backup. It's 900L/Hr and I think I want to push the flow higher than that.
It also came with a bucket of used bioballs, Do you think those can, or should, be cleaned and reused? They are not too expensive here, but why waste them if they can be salvaged? My thinking is that a quick hose down, maybe a once over with a brush, and then a 'pasteurization' ought to make them safe for reuse.
OK some pics of the tank...
