Ryno

I just found and purchased this 65 gallon tank on craigslist. It is in wonderful condition and the cabinet is all real oak. I paid $200.

I want to use this to replace my 55 gallon tank which is badly scratched. It will also give my Clown Knife a little more room.

The previous owner used it as a reef tank. I have heard that the best way to clean it out is to use vinegar. Does anyone know how much to dilute it? Of course I would make sure it is rinsed out real well before transferring my fish into the new tank.

Here are a couple of pics of the new tank, one with a flash one without.

By rynospursfan, shot with FinePix S1000fd at 2010-02-18

By rynospursfan, shot with FinePix S1000fd at 2010-02-18

Nutter

Looks fantastic. Good deal for the price. Just use the vinegar straight. There's no need to water it down. Fill the tank right up to almost overflowing for 24-48hrs to let the water soak into the dried salts. That will make removal much easier. Empty then clean with the vinegar. Rinse thoroughly when your done.

Raamiah

Something I read that also cleaned the tank I bought recently off craigslist quite well was baking soda mixed with water. I used both that and the vinegar. The tank looks sooo much better now.

Upgrading tanks is very exciting! Congrats!

Furallicah

I envy that tank! Grrrr...lol. It looks awesome! I hope I can dig one like that up lol. I might have to build one my own though.

Ryno

Thanks for the hints Nutter and Raamiah. I vacuumed out most of the coral sand that was left in there today. I think I am going to go fill the tank up in the garage now and let it soak.

Furallicah, I looked on Craigslist many times before I found this gem. Keep an eye out if you have Craigslist in your area, you may get lucky too.

Ryno

Well after a lot of rinsing of the tank and sand and building a couple of new pieces for the tank (lighting and covers), I got the tank set up and transferred over from my 55 today. My Clown Knife seems pretty happy with her new home. I have attached some pix:

Draining the old tank into some buckets and coolers:

By rynospursfan, shot with FinePix S1000fd at 2010-02-27

New tank in:

By rynospursfan, shot with FinePix S1000fd at 2010-02-27

All set up:


I was a little nervous about netting and moving such a big fish, but thanks to the fly fishing net I borrowed from a friend it all worked out great. I think the whole thing took about 2 and a half hours. Of course I still need to finish cleaning out the old tank.

aquarist48

Hello Ryno,

Great find. You've done a wonderful job!
Ken

benjaminBreaker

Nice...your knife is gonna' love it!

Ryno

Thanks Benjamin, she is loving it, here are a couple of new pix of her:


By rynospursfan, shot with FinePix S1000fd at 2010-03-01


By rynospursfan, shot with FinePix S1000fd at 2010-03-01

bubblefish

Wow, she's beautiful. How big is she?

Ryno

She is about 16-17". She is 14 years old. When I got her she was about 2" long.

benjaminBreaker

That's incredible, how long do they usually live for?

BTW, you can just call me Ben.

Ryno

Ben,

Everything I have read says they live for 10+ years, so that doesn't help much. We obviously know that they can live for at least 14 years. I know I have heard of common Plecos living to be 20-25 years old.

blodhi

Nice fish.

tetralover77

nice fish any others in that tank?
btw nice find