Phishies Inn

Don't get your hopes up for lovely fish pictures yet, this tank won't even be getting plants and ready to cycle until about the end of February, when I get some extra money from an orchestra concert.

But! May as well get started

So this is my 55 gallon that I recently purchased via a lovely ad in the newspaper. The tank and accompanying stand was $100. Not bad, eh?



Sideways, while I was cleaning it. There was a downside to this wonderful purchase - the ALGAE. There was so much hardened green algae (former saltwater tank)...ugh, if only I had thought to take a picture of it when I first got it.

Basically, take this...



And put it allll over the place lol. It took about 4 days worth of scrubbing vinegar to get it squeaky clean. So now it's like this:



Also with the tank came a nice black stand



And a nice free bonus, a background! It's actually double sided but the other side is way too "loud" with a bunch of greens...would fade my fish out. Backgrounds are cheap but meh, saving every penny I can!



So yep, that's it for now! Next up is the leak check. Pumping water from the sink and letting it sit overnight, oh boy, so much fun! :P

I'm hoping to make this a loach tank. Haven't decided on all the species yet, but so far kuhli, yoyo, and dwarf are on the list. Stay tuned

BoSox Fan7

what are you puting in it?

susitna-flower

Good price for a 55 gallon tank AND stand. Does it have lights or anything else? It is really great you have plenty of time to research just what you want. check these out.

http://www.loaches.com/species-index...ia-sidthimunki

If you get 10 or more it is best, as they are really small, and need that many to feel secure. Those and a couple of other compatible mid tank fish would be a really spectacular tank! HUMMMmmm platimun pearlscale angles! then your tank would be black & white and go with that lovely black stand.....

Phishies Inn

I was looking at the dwarf loach actually, but it says on the page they're expensive - do you know what they usually go for?

I hear angelicus loaches like to hang out in higher areas of the tank so, I'd probably get a few of those. Maybe a couple of yoyo loaches, I think they're beautiful.

So yeah, the next month will be spent balancing out what I want. I really want kuhlis and yoyos. Angelicus would be nice too.

But no flower, no lights. I'm still working on those too. Loaches don't like a lot of light from what I hear, which is just fine with me because I was going to get just enough lights for some low-light plants...don't really feel like spending a lot, heh.

susitna-flower

I just found some for $12 each....I find that not so bad, as many fish I buy are 20+....but having to buy 10 or more makes it seem high. It is all in what you want in your tank.

For me the idea of having a tank that really stands out is important. From my experience I have one really cool 55 gal , then there is my old 55 which is a mish-mash of all the fish that have survived over the past 4 years. There is no rhyme nor reason, and to tell you the truth it isn't very interesting. I would much rather have a well thought out tank, with few fish, but is striking and an interest to watch.....

Phishies Inn

I know what you mean...my 10 gallon community tank is like trail mix lol! Such random fish.

Yeah, the black and white theme you mentioned sounds very interesting.

So far this is my preliminary idea..

2 angelfish (http://z.about.com/d/freshaquarium/1/0/9/A/fw0087.jpg)
3 angelicus loaches (http://www.petfish.net/pix/Botia%20k...juv-Trigun.jpg)
4 kuhli loaches (http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fres...hWFLo_Ap4A.jpg)
3 yoyo loaches (http://www.loaches.com/species-index.../image_preview)

All of those aren't completely black and white but they all have the same general black/white/grey/brown tones. I put pictures of the color(s) I would aim for to make them pretty similar.

The kuhlis and probably yoyos would hang out at the bottom. The angelicus would go between the bottom and mid, and the angels would hang out near the mid and top. So I guess there's a good balance there?

The other good thing about the angelicus and yoyos is they'd both be around the same size (yoyos a couple inches bigger), so they'd probably "school" or group a bit, so it's like a school of 6 rather than 2 3s, right?

When I first bought the 55 I wanted a pleco but at this point I'm not willing to get one of the bigger ones if I'm going to do loaches. Maybe I'd get one of the smaller ones if I ever really got the urge for one.

Phishies Inn

Yay I got the rock I needed to make my decorations! Some flat fieldstone from a local gardening center at 15 cents a pound! Got 25 pounds for about $4. Man, I wish saltwater live rock was that cheap...

I'll post pictures once I'm done making the decorations. Today I'm probably going to be cleaning boiling the pieces, and if I have any more glue left start - not sure if I do or not.

Butterfly

What are you using to glue your rocks together? Sounding good
Carol

Phishies Inn

Well I thought I had some silicone glue but apparently not, I'll run by the Petsmart this afternoon after orchestra rehearsal most likely and pick some up.

What would you recommend I use for like, long spreading glue? For instance I'm going to be covering a plastic cup cut in half to make a cave with sand...will the silicone stuff spread okay over a surface like that? I've never had to use it other than lines and such. If not that I hear epoxy is good?

Butterfly

I use GE 100% pure silicone clear from Lowes(cheaper, same stuff) and use a caulking gun to dispense it. It will spread just fine on the cup(rough it up with sand paper) then roll it in sand or gravel. You can also use PVC pipe cut to your specs to make caves.
remember to let the silicone dry for at least 24hrs before covering with water.
Can't wait to see pics
Carol

Phishies Inn

Ugh I don't know what I was thinking. I went by the LFS store today and ended up getting this CorAffix stuff. The guy said it can be used to seal things together in the aquarium, that stuff was expensive though. I feel like a newbie who fell to the trick of paying too much. Oh well. This stuff better work. It's "ideal" use is to affix coral to rocks and such, but I mean it should work with rock to rock, right?

The guy is very nice though I talk to him all the time when I'm going in for fish, he always knows what he's talking about, and knew I was doing a freshwater tank - and a loach tank at that, so I would hope he didn't sell me something I can't use lol.

Butterfly

yes you can use that I was just trying to save you some money Let it dry 24 hrs also before putting water in.
Carol

Phishies Inn

Yeah I would've loved to have saved money lol. It's okay. This stuff should last me a long time, it's not like I use tons at a time.

My next task is to figure out how to boil the rocks. My mom ordered me to go buy a pan because she won't let me near her non-stick pans lol :P I wanted to fill the tank tonight to do a leak check. Maybe I'll be able to after the super bowl goes off :P

Butterfly

After you boil your rocks let them cool naturally, if you drain the pan and put cold water back in on them while they are hot they will explode. So please be safe and be careful
I'm sure you knew that but I'm a Mom and I had to say it
Carol

Phishies Inn

Hehe yeah I know, I cook a lot actually, she just doesn't want me to scratch up her nice pans lol. Understandable.

Butterfly

I don't blame her a bit i have a beat up pan I use for anything fishie I have to boil
Carol

steveangela1

I had a ton of fun boiling all my rocks for my 55 gallon tank and scrubbing them up where I gathered them from the lake... They stack all the way up to the top too...

The good thing is... you saved a lot of money and with patience you will have a beautiful tank!

Narcicius

loaches are cool and you got an amazign deal for a 55 w/stand wow hope everything sets up nicely