Super Excited - Free Aquarium

Dear fish friends.

I was talking to my boss about my fish (as I do with anyone and everyone because who doesn't want to just talk about their aquariums) and I found out that he too was a fellow fish enthusiast.

He then proceeded to tell me he was trying to get rid of his 38 gallon that has been sitting in storage for a few years because he does not have room for it in his condo and doesn't plan on moving in the near future. So I was given a 38 gallon setup for free. everything included; and when he said everything, boy did he mean everything.

Now, I would be crazy to not accept this offer. However, I am still fairly new to this hobby, and this is a massive upgrade from the basic 10 gallon I have now. So I may need your guy's advice over the next few days/weeks as I sort through all the equipment I now have. I need your guy's advice on:

1) Possibly how to even use this equipment
2) If the stuff would even work anymore (some is over 5-10 years old, I don't know if aquarium supplies have a useful life)
3) General advice on how I go about starting a 38 gallon from a 10 gallon

I unfortunately can't set up the tank for a few months, as I am graduating college and moving in early may. So that gives me ample time to figure out all this equipment and what stocking I should have in the aquarium.

I'll post pictures of things I have questions on as I sort through them in the next few days/weeks.

Feel free to just leave any advice you guys have for making this switch! Talk and brag about your aquariums, I know you want to.

 

Awesome! Happy for you. The first thing I'll say is that a 38 gallon is going to much more forgiving in terms of water chemistry than your 10 gallon would be. More water=more room for errors if they occur. Plus! Has the tank been sitting dry for 5-10 years? The first thing I would be doing is checking the seals to ensure that they are solid. If a tank is sitting dry in storage (not sure if you meant outside or inside storage), especially in climates with extreme weather, the seals could peel off or rot away in some cases. A leak test is a must, and what better time to do it than now when you are a few months away from setting it up? As far as the other "equipment", we'll need more description and the pictures you are talking about to determine what it is/if it functional for you. Don't hesitate to ask any other question you have!

 

Yes please do attach as many pictures as you can

I reccomend a good cleaning with chemicals (but not soap) prior to using it.

 

Just a good scrub with a kitchen sponge and some salt for abrasive is needed. After that long of being dry nothing could of survived that will hurt your new fish. If in dought a final rinse with hydrogen peroxide will kill any simple cell organisms. Check your seals and leak test. A big tank is not much different than a small tank you just change a little more water. I had a 10 as a kid but it was just a summer thing with stuff from the creek. Every weekend I would start over. My first real tank with bought fish was a 55 gallon. I kept it lightly stocked till I got the hang of it. It was a piece of cake. I had so much room for error. A missed water change no big deal. Over feed the fish no big deal. Since then I have had both overstocked tanks (convicts breed worse than rabbits) and understocked tanks. Current setup is understocked and I love it. Just sit back and enjoy the fish with minimum maintenance.

 

Awesome! Happy for you. The first thing I'll say is that a 38 gallon is going to much more forgiving in terms of water chemistry than your 10 gallon would be. More water=more room for errors if they occur. Plus! Has the tank been sitting dry for 5-10 years? The first thing I would be doing is checking the seals to ensure that they are solid. If a tank is sitting dry in storage (not sure if you meant outside or inside storage), especially in climates with extreme weather, the seals could peel off or rot away in some cases. A leak test is a must, and what better time to do it than now when you are a few months away from setting it up? As far as the other "equipment", we'll need more description and the pictures you are talking about to determine what it is/if it functional for you. Don't hesitate to ask any other question you have!

Thank you! The tank has been sitting dry but it has been in a basement inside. I will definitely still do a leak test though just to be on the safe side

 

Okay fish friends. I am back home from college for a little bit and have started to sort through the things I got. First questions are:

1. It looks like the filter I received is a Cascade 700? I did a little searching and people are either very for or very against this filter it seems like. Anyone have any thoughts on it? Pictures attached.

2. I have never had a canister filter before. Is there something I should be checking for to make sure its still working properly? Anything I should check in general? I can't really run it in water right now, possibly later this week.

3. What the heck is this thing attached to the filter? It looks like it has CO2 tubing on it so is it something to do with CO2?? Picture also attached.


More questions and more pictures to come possibly. Always open for advice!

 

Fish friends. Question number 2 (or 4 technically)

I still know absolutely nothing about lighting. There were two fluorescent fixtures with four bulbs in them. There were two of each type of bulb in there, pictures attached (front and back of boxes I don't know what is important info). Would this lighting setup be fine for mid-high tech plants? I don't have any in mind right now, but I want something more than java fern/moss. A nice carpeting plant would be great eventually.