90 Gallon Surf-Line Tank (first tank, n00b, help!)
- Thread starter CarpeD1em500
- Start date
im doing a 20l DSB, and im using the Quickrete play sand, i rinsed it once, and then dumped it in and stuck a bunch of prefilter in to polish the water. 2 weeks later which was yesterday i added california black worms and some kuhli loaches see the thread below
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230013
also to glue things to together, you can use either aquarium sealant, or a hot glue gun, i almost always use the hot glue gun because i dont want to wait 48 hours for it to dry, as long as it doesnt have any dyes added to the glue it will be no problem for the tank. I have several ornamants in use in many of my tanks that i got for free because they were broken in peices at work and i hot glued them back together
good luck
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230013
also to glue things to together, you can use either aquarium sealant, or a hot glue gun, i almost always use the hot glue gun because i dont want to wait 48 hours for it to dry, as long as it doesnt have any dyes added to the glue it will be no problem for the tank. I have several ornamants in use in many of my tanks that i got for free because they were broken in peices at work and i hot glued them back together
good luck
For glue I use GE silicone I. Much cheaper and the same as aquarium silicone. Be careful with hot glues as some still need to cure for 48 hours. Curing your glue is not just letting it dry but letting impurities leach out of the glue so they do not end up in your water. As far as ruins for decorations you just have to search the pet stores on line. I've thought about Grecian ruins also and not much out there for larger tanks. I'm actually thinking about making them with styrofoam and concrete. We'll see.
Hey everyone ... got some updates to share, but they might not be the ones you guys are looking forward to...
So I realized there are a few things I needed to do before I got this bad boy up and fully running, and unable to move...including (a) Paint the back, and (b) install a GFCI in an outlet behind the stand.
So, here are some pictures of the painting process (you'll see I taped the ends and used some plastic wrap on the water-touching aspects of the tank to ensure nothing chemically bad gets into the tank):
For anyone curious, I used this:
99 cents at Lowes, and it was marked as Krylon Flat Black. I used 3 total coats - in the Atlanta sun it took 20 minutes to dry, so overall about an hour total.
As you'll see in the last picture, I was also trying to clean off some sand I had purchased from someone on Craigslist. This is the sand:
Unfortunately, the sand is...not as white as I want. So I'm not going to be able to use it. This comes to my first question (and one I'll be sure to research), but what is the best white sand out there that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg??
I found this at Lowes:
Premium Play Sand - is that the whitest I'll get?? It's still not all that white, unfortunately....
Anyways, the second part of my project today, being an electrician!
This is the outlet that I used:
...drumroll...
And the finished result!
And...it actually works haha. Which was somewhat surprising. And the fact that I'm typing this means I didn't die in the process.
Anyways, the next step is sand, then water, then we're on to fish!
So please help with the sand!! (Also, recommendations on sand bed depth / overall amount of sand would be helpful. The tank is about 48 x 18, unsure of what depth I should use (not looking for plants, at least not many plants)...2-3 inches? So about 100 lbs? Thoughts?)
Thats all for now. Once I get sand I'll have some better pictures to display...
So I realized there are a few things I needed to do before I got this bad boy up and fully running, and unable to move...including (a) Paint the back, and (b) install a GFCI in an outlet behind the stand.
So, here are some pictures of the painting process (you'll see I taped the ends and used some plastic wrap on the water-touching aspects of the tank to ensure nothing chemically bad gets into the tank):
For anyone curious, I used this:
99 cents at Lowes, and it was marked as Krylon Flat Black. I used 3 total coats - in the Atlanta sun it took 20 minutes to dry, so overall about an hour total.
As you'll see in the last picture, I was also trying to clean off some sand I had purchased from someone on Craigslist. This is the sand:
Unfortunately, the sand is...not as white as I want. So I'm not going to be able to use it. This comes to my first question (and one I'll be sure to research), but what is the best white sand out there that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg??
I found this at Lowes:
Premium Play Sand - is that the whitest I'll get?? It's still not all that white, unfortunately....
Anyways, the second part of my project today, being an electrician!
This is the outlet that I used:
...drumroll...
And the finished result!
And...it actually works
haha. Which was somewhat surprising. And the fact that I'm typing this means I didn't die in the process. Anyways, the next step is sand, then water, then we're on to fish!
So please help with the sand!! (Also, recommendations on sand bed depth / overall amount of sand would be helpful. The tank is about 48 x 18, unsure of what depth I should use (not looking for plants, at least not many plants)...2-3 inches? So about 100 lbs? Thoughts?)
Thats all for now. Once I get sand I'll have some better pictures to display...
The tank sounds like it will be awesome. I love the Atlantis theme. You could put tetras in there if you want. I'm not sure if you're looking for larger or smaller fish but a bunch of neons and/or cardinals always look great and get along well with most other tetras. As for sand, I would use 2-3 inches, maybe more if you plan on planting the tank, sorry i dont know a good type that is white. Good Luck
kj5kb
KEEPER OF CATS, FISH AND CATFISHES
I know you already have the play sand, but if you want something a little lighter in color...and way easier to rinse...try pool filter sand. It's larger grained and more uniform than play sand, and tends to be lighter in color. It also doesn't compact like play sand does. Any pool supply place should have it; it's $7 for a 40 lb bag here in NE Ohio. I'd get 2 bags, but you may only need one for a shallow layer.
I've had both, and I probably will never use 100% play sand again. I do have one tank with a deep sand bed of 1/3 play sand, 2/3 Pool filter sand mixed, and I'm quite happy with it.
1" or even less of sand is plenty if no (or just basic) plants.
Sand is going to look different when wet vs dry too, so keep that in mind.
And...remember that the fish WILL poo on your sand, no matter how well you train them - so you may not REALLY want snow white sand. I once put goldfish in a tank with white quartz gravel; I very quickly changed it out for darker gravel!
For easy sand rinsing, you can't beat a wheelbarrow and a garden hose. Much easier than using a bucket.
Superglue/cyanoacrylate is fine in a tank too.
I've had both, and I probably will never use 100% play sand again. I do have one tank with a deep sand bed of 1/3 play sand, 2/3 Pool filter sand mixed, and I'm quite happy with it.
1" or even less of sand is plenty if no (or just basic) plants.
Sand is going to look different when wet vs dry too, so keep that in mind.
And...remember that the fish WILL poo on your sand, no matter how well you train them - so you may not REALLY want snow white sand. I once put goldfish in a tank with white quartz gravel; I very quickly changed it out for darker gravel!
For easy sand rinsing, you can't beat a wheelbarrow and a garden hose. Much easier than using a bucket.
Superglue/cyanoacrylate is fine in a tank too.
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Another option you have as far as the window is goes is to simply cover that end of the tank. I usually do the backs of my tanks with vinyl ( the type from sign companies) but even using your run of the mill backgrounds from fish stores, rather than just doing the back of the tank do the back and bring it all the way around the side of the tank by the window. That way you would be able to open your blinds when needed and still not panic about hte algae in the tank. Depending on the style/thickness of the background and how opaque it was you may not be able to leave the blinds open all the time, but you could open them at least on nice days or if you wanted more light rather than be destined to live in a cave because of your tank (even if most of us are willing to do it anyways if that what it takes lol).
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. Sorry, posted this before I realized you had already painted the back.. sorry for the late advice. Good looking tank though and looking forward to seein gthe Ruins theme as I had often considered doing a similar tank
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. Sorry, posted this before I realized you had already painted the back.. sorry for the late advice. Good looking tank though and looking forward to seein gthe Ruins theme as I had often considered doing a similar tank
