D_R's 55 community.

[Dark_Rider2k3]

haha yeah. No offense, but i'm glad i'm not the only one with these problems.

I have a few other tricks up my sleeve so i'm def. not going out without a fight... though, i'll still use the tank, even if i can't get the stuff off..

[Dark_Rider2k3]

just a quick update for everyone to know what's going on:

I got the hood/light (and I have pics up of it soon.) I am not sure though what kind of lighting it is, and how powerful it is.. the only thing I saw was on the bulb it said:

"Eclipse Natural Daylight"
F40T10 48" 36L

I have pics of it on at night and WOW is it bright.. so i'm assuming it's much more powerful then standard lighting. I have to get the pics on my computer and i'll do that tomorrow morning.

I also got an AquaClear 70 filter, and have it running on my 30Gal. It's creating a lot of current, and I've been monitoring my fish, and so far it's ok.. I'm going to leave it in for a few days to build up the beneficial bacteria.

Other then that, I also have the thermometer. I need to get a heater, some substrate, air pump/air stone, and also a backdrop for the back (I don't want to paint on the tank so i'm just going to get a good background.)

So far i've spent:

$50- Tank + Stand
$40- Hood/Lighting
$55- Filter/Thermometer/Water conditioner

Can't complain at all so far lol.. only 145 spent... Though, i'm not sure how much the the substrate will cost, and I don't know about the heater.. but I think they were like 30 dollars.. The air pump and stone are also fairly inexpensive..

so far so good!!

[COBettaCouple]

I could be wrong, but I think that means they're T-10 tubes of 40 watts.

[shellbell4ever]

I think it looks great!!!Good job

[Dark_Rider2k3]

@CO:

I'll look into online, but thanks!!

@ Shellbell:

Thanks a lot!!

okay so now:


Picture time!!!

This is the Aquarium with the hood:



Here is a night pic of the lighting. Note that there is no flash, all the light is from the tank and nothing else. So.. any ideas of how powerful it is (I know CO said it would be a T-10 tube.. but.. is that powerful? LOL i'm not good at lighting yet):



The lighting:



Closeup of the model and such:




Enjoy!!

[COBettaCouple]

That's some lighting and the tank is definitely coming along great

[Dark_Rider2k3]

Originally Posted by COBettaCouple

That's some lighting and the tank is definitely coming along great

Thanks a lot!

You were right about it being T-10 lighting (the plant guys told me the same).

I looked it up and found this out:

Product Code: F40T10EX50
Light Output: 3550 Lumens
Energy Used: 40 Watts
Rated Life: 20,000 Hours
Base: G13 Medium Bipin
Maximum Overall Length (MOL): 48 Inches
Diameter: 1.25 Inches
Color Temperature: 5000
Color Rendering Index (CRI): 84
Bulb Type: T10

still not sure, but if i'm correct, that's very low right?

[COBettaCouple]

I believe so. It's less than 1 watt per gallon. I think PlantGeek would have information on how many wpg different plant types would need.

Originally Posted by Dark_Rider2k3

still not sure, but if i'm correct, that's very low right?

[MissMTS]

The tank looks great so far! It sounds like you got a really good deal. The AquaClear filters are great! I have the 70 on one of my 29 gallon tanks, and it should be plenty strong for your 55 gallon. About the painting thing, I paint the backs of all my tanks and it looks really good IMO. You can see pics in my gallery or profile if you wanna see what it looks like. It is just a nice flat background- nothing to distract from the fish. I have used black, brown, blue, and green and they all work nicely

[Dark_Rider2k3]

CO:

Yeah PlantGeek said that.. i would have to upgrade.. so i'm researching all of that..

Miss:

Thanks a lot!! I'll check out your pictures to see what it looks like, but I am wondering if it's easy/hard to remove the paint if you ever want it off the tank. Also, what type of paint do you use?

[Dark_Rider2k3]

Update:

Went to the LFS and got some Eco-Complete and BioSpira . I also asked them about my tank's hard water stains, and they only had the same suggestions you had. So, I set it on it's side a little and dumped the vinegar into the tank over night... i'm about to check to see if any of it was removed, and so i'll let you all know.

I am also going to set the tank up today with my fish and the BioSpira... then, (probably thursday or friday), i'm going to go get some decorations (the driftwood mainly), and the rest of my stock.

So right now in the 55gal is going to be:

6 White Cloud minnow
3 Mollies

I will get at the end of this week:

6 cherry barbs
6 Otocinclus

Hopefully today I will order my Angelfish off Aquabid, but we shall see..

My main goal is to get it set up and ready to be used, so I can at least get all of my fish into it and get my Betta into the 20gal... that small 2.5 is too small for me to control it's temp... so yeah so far so good!!

[Dark_Rider2k3]

Today was the BIG DAY!!!

and I must say WOW!!!

First off, I could not get rid of the stains on the glass..

BUUUT..

upon filling up the tank, the stains magically went away!! They are still there, but with water in the tank, you cannot see them!!!

So first off, Here are some pics of the "tear down" of the old tank:

First pic is of the old tank (I had the 55's filter "seeding" from the tank)



This was all of the stuff I removed from the cabinets:



Here is all of my fish and everything "finally" out of the tank:



Here is the old tank after moving it out of the room:



Unfortunately after that, my dad needed the camera, so I didn't get any pictures of the "setup" of the 55.. though, I did get 2 good "completed shots":






My next goal is to completely stock my tank, and get a background for the 55. I was going to paint it, but then decided against it.. and so I'll just go get a background (I feel safer taping a background on then spray painting..). After I get the background, I will then get a piece (or maybe more) of driftwood. Finally, it will be upgrading the lighting and getting some moderate plants (I don't want to go Co2 at the moment, so will get some plants that will do good w/out it..)

Thanks for looking!!

[mrsmuffin]

Looks like you have been working hard. I am sure that it is going to turn out great! (And your dad was right, the color on that stand does match the room well...)

[Dark_Rider2k3]

haha yeah I guess he was right... lol it don't bother me anymore .

Now I gotta get up some nice aquascaping ideas.. this is gonna be hard for me LOL!

I also need to check on plants

[COBettaCouple]

Cool!

[Dark_Rider2k3]

Well I got a background in my tank, and so I wanted to share 2 pictures of it:

[COBettaCouple]

Good look with the background.

[Dark_Rider2k3]

thanks!!