Upgrade From 55 To 75 Gallon.

I finally decided to upgrade my 55 gallon tank to a 75 gallon. I got tired of dealing with the limited width for aquascaping. I picked up a Marineland 75 with stand, Fluvel 48” Fresh and Planted 3.0 light, Marineland Magnaflow 360 filter, Aqueon 300 watt heater, and a couple Fluvel air pumps for a total investment of $300. Everything is about a year old and in great shape, it just need a quick cleaning and some black background paint. My plans are hopefully this weekend to get the 55 emptied out of fish plants and substrate. Move the tank and stand and install the 75 in its place, aquascape it and add fish. The 55 already has a pair of cycled Magna flow 360’s on it.

 

I finally decided to upgrade my 55 gallon tank to a 75 gallon. I got tired of dealing with the limited width for aquascaping. I picked up a Marineland 75 with stand, Fluvel 48” Fresh and Planted 3.0 light, Marineland Magnaflow 360 filter, Aqueon 300 watt heater, and a couple Fluvel air pumps for a total investment of $300. Everything is about a year old and in great shape, it just need a quick cleaning and some black background paint. My plans are hopefully this weekend to get the 55 emptied out of fish plants and substrate. Move the tank and stand and install the 75 in its place, aquascape it and add fish. The 55 already has a pair of cycled Magna flow 360’s on it.View attachment 586803View attachment 586804View attachment 586805

Nice! Post some pictures when you have it set up!

 

Nice! Post some pictures when you have it set up!

That I will, I'm hoping to be done by the weekend or early next week.

 

Today I got the back glass painted and the additional substrate rinsed. My goal is to have the tank running Saturday.

 

Nice!

 

Excellent score !

 

Excellent score !

Well it's gets better, someone is buying the 55 gallon for $200 next week so now the total price goes down to $100 for what I brought home. Well maybe $30 for gas and $8.99 for a bag of BDBS, not enough in the 55 to fillout a 75.

 

So today I was playing around with a big piece of driftwood that was in my 150. I removed the slate from it, since the piece stood vertical and I plan to lay it down in one corner of the 75. So far I like the general look of the wood on a test fit. I’ll also be bringing the 3 pieces from the 55 gallon over.

 

That's my kind of wheeling and dealing!

 

I have the 55 ready to come out as soon as my neighbor comes over in a few minutes.

 

What did you use to paint the glass black?

Acrylic arts and crafts paint, or something else?

I asked because that is what we used for our 55 gallon a few months ago, but I'm looking at other options when we paint the back of our 75g.

Once you get the 55 gallon out and the new 75 gallon in, the extra 6" of depth you're gaining will be very noticeable!

That's good to hear the buyer didnt fall through for 55g.

 

I got the 75 up and running, I’m just waiting for the water temperature to drop a few degrees. The tap water was 82 at the coldest setting, so the chiller is working over time.

 

What did you use to paint the glass black?

Acrylic arts and crafts paint, or something else?

I asked because that is what we used for our 55 gallon a few months ago, but I'm looking at other options when we paint the back of our 75g.

Once you get the 55 gallon out and the new 75 gallon in, the extra 6" of depth you're gaining will be very noticeable!

That's good to hear the buyer didnt fall through for 55g.

I did spray paint the back glass with a Krylon black paint. I knew the extra 6" is a big difference, the 100 gallon is an 18" wide tank, and the 150 is 24" wide. I'll never get a tank narrower then 18" any more.

 

That is a great looking setup

 

Finally got all the fish in

 

That is a great looking setup

Somehow I developed a knack for randomly choosing pieces and plants, then haphazardly throwing them in the tanks without any real plan until it comes together. My wife loves the look of it so far.

 

Looks great man!

 

Looks great man!

It's almost done, I'm waiting on my LFS to get in a shipment of Driftwood. They actually sell it by the pound and the mopanI wood ends up cheaper then on eBay. I'm also building a stone cave for the Kribensis I picked up this weekend.

 

I pretty much got the stone cave built, I’m just waiting on the silicon to finish curing overnight and then give it a 24 hour soak before placing it in the tank.

 

I pretty much got the stone cave built, I’m just waiting on the silicon to finish curing overnight and then give it a 24 hour soak before placing it in the tank.View attachment 613162

Looking good man! I just got back from a work trip and picked up a bunch of slate looking flat rocks. If they test good I will be building a flat rock tower/ mountain in my 45g

 

Looking good man! I just got back from a work trip and picked up a bunch of slate looking flat rocks. If they test good I will be building a flat rock tower/ mountain in my 45g

It will probably go in the tank tomorrow.

 

I got the cave in the tank today, now with a little time some areas will blend in better with some algae growth.