Well, picked up the 55 yesterday (how many "thank you"s is too many?) *thank you again!*
I forgot to take a before pic, but the tank was sad and dusty so I washed it immediately after I got home, then filled it with water for a few hours to make sure it holds it (but OMG I gave myself a heart attack because I forgot that there are moldings with braces on the tank for a reason and so when I filled it I didn't have a molding on the top and it bowed out A LOT!) I ran inside and grabbed a pitcher and bailed as fast as I could. I was so scared that my carelessness was going to break the tank! I fixed the broken brace with superglue and rubber cement and siliconed the moldings onto the tank... unfortunately, the silicone needs a week to "set". I guess it's okay though because my dad isn't available to help me build the stand until next weekend anyways, so it works out.
Thanks to Don I have a nice big UGF that is going to be combined with the one I already have and it'll have six uplift tubes for water flow.
um, that's about it actually!
here's a pic of the cleaned and siliconed tank on my porch. (it's upside down)