AnnaEA

I took the not particularly metaphorical plunge today, and bought my gravel and etc for setting up my tank - I'll be working on that this afternoon and evening.

Here's the order of operations.

Carry tank into bathroom, put in bath-tub and rinse/check for leaks.

Move dresser that will support tank to spot where tank will be.

Empty tank, worry about getting water all over carpet in hall, carry tank to dresser.

Check tank for levelness. Worry about the quality of bubble level.

Rinse gravel, add to tank. Add decorative objects - I got a piece of drift wood, and rock. Worry about rock and wood messing up water.

Fill tank with 2 gallons of water - double check level, reposition deco-objects as needed.

Fill buckets with additional water and put in closet. Worry about buckets getting kicked over during the night.

And that's it for today. Tomorrow I"ll get my plants and plant them, then finish filling the tank, and start cycling.

I've already gotten a head start on the worrying. *lol*

Anna

jes28

Hi

Is your tank the type that needs to sit on a foam mat?

AnnaEA

A foam mat? Not as far as I know..... Certainly no one that I've talked to at the LFS has mentioned my needing one.

They did suggest I check my dresser for the weight load though - which I did.

Anna

jes28

Hi

You can get foam or pollystyryne, not sure if all tanks need them.
But I just got one to be one the safe side.
If the surface is not quite flat, it can cause presure in one spot.

fish_r_friend

or a towel

AnnaEA

Set back!

I went to look at the tank after it had been resting for a while (about an hour) with the gravel and water (2 galllons) in it, and it is starting to make the top of the dresser bow.

We tested the dresser by me, and then my husband both climbing on top of it -- it was sturdy and did not move or creak. But we didn't stay up there for very long - maybe five minutes, so I guess it didn't get a chance to start bowing.

Anyways, I'll pick up a formal aquarium stand tomorrow -- the dresser can hold on for another day, and with only two gallons of water in the tank, it won't be too hard to move.

atmmachine816

sounds like a plan but i wouldnt worry about rock and wood messing up water though but looking forward to seeing some pics if you can take them

vin

Good idea about getting the stand. What you have to remember about you and your husband as opposed to the tank is that you are considered a 'live load' and the tank a 'dead load'.

Dead load is critical when checking for structural stabillity as it's stationary so the load is constant and spread over one concentrated area. Chances are when you and your husband sat atop the dresser, your weight was more evenly distributed from left to right and front to back.....

Enough of the boring talk!!

Sounds like you've got a plan!! Have fun and good luck!

AnnaEA

Structural engineering rocks!

atmmachine816

yup stands are nice too as then you can put it wherever you want just in my opinion i like the solid tank stands all the way down so youu cant see all the wires like you can with the metal wire stands just my opion i only like those for breeding tanks.

vin

One more thing about stands - BEWARE OF THE PARTICLE BOARD STAND!!!! They're OK, it's just that structurally speaking, they're like sponges....And what are we dealing with Water ...... So....Keeping this in mind, particle board over time if water is repeatedly spilled or splashed on it will eventually blister and fail......and one day CRASH!!! No more fish tank and Nemo is flapping around on the wet carpet while you're at work.......

There are some really nice solid wood stands out there with cabinet doors and shelves, etc.....I would recommend going this route if you're looking for something in the ways of furniture....One more thing....Don't forget the surge protector for all of your electrical gear!!! 8)

EmpPleco

Hello !

If you are worried about the driftwood dirtying up your water, it probably will if you do not boil it or let it soak first. I just threw mine in a pot and let it run to a boil and then once it started boiling, I kept it in there for like 5 minutes. within that five minutes the water was YUCK BROWN! I emptied the yuck water, put in new water and I did the process one more time (Not sure if the second time was necessary, but safety called, lol ) -- after it boiled the 2nd time, I just placed it on a clean towel and let it cool off, and then I put it in my tank ( I have two pieces of driftwood, one big one small, and neither yuckied up my water with this process )

Good Luck

AnnaEA

Surge protector, check! I picked up a cheapo four plug in one, and I'm using it to replace the high end computer surge protector I've been using for my electric tea kettle! Tea kettle gets the cheapie, fish tank gets the big one.

My drift wood is soaking in a bucket in the closer right now. It's got some serious floating action going on, and needs a good soaking -- hopefully it will be good to go by the time I get the stand, but if not I'll just let it float. Guy at the LFS says this will also leach it clean if it's going to discolour the water or anything.

I"m probably going to get one of the metal stands I've seen at petsmart - my LFS doesn't carry stands for ten gallon tanks!!!

atmmachine816

Vin why are surge protecters necessary? i have a power strip that my grandpa used and my friend just uses extesion cords

AnnaEA

The tank is completely set up, filled with water, and has been fed ten drops of ammonia to start the cycling process.

My tank has - a whisper filter, 90gph, a little all-glass submersible heater, a light(15 watts), a rock with two large holes in it, a neat shaped piece of wood and some plants. The plants are - two clumps of dwarf mondo grass, an anubias nana, a java lace fern, and some java moss. It looks very sparsely planted,, so I may pick up some more plants next week, if these ones don't die or look like they are starting to die.

My camera has dead batteries, or I would take a picture to share.

Anna

atmmachine816

o recharge those batteries or get new ones but is your light incadescent or flurescent and as far as i am aware of mondo grass is not fully aquatic and will eventually die and foul up your water though i am not 100% certan that dwarf mondo gras is the same but better do some research to make sure and sounds like you are doing good Good luck and take some pics

AnnaEA

I'm putting the batteries in to recharge over night - pics coming tomorrow.

And I have just googled the dwarf mondo grass, and it is not fully submersible so I will probably keep it in until I finish cycling, and then pull it out and put it in a planter on my plant bench - it is a pretty little grass.

Butterfly

Sounds like you've got it going on and such a good lot of good advice also. Good luck!!
atmmachine816- power strips are ok But the extension cords can get a little warm if overloaded.
Carol