Some basic questions.

Is that the pefect place or what! (except for my house of course. he, he.)Yup, good idea to seal that window against the cool air. A nice plexi storm window on the outside would do and you'd never see it. Agree with plecosterone. Would be nice if you could access underneath the seat for storage and what not. Not sure how without defacing it though. Beautiful wood. I suppose you could look into making the front pop open somehow but that would be a lot of work. Either way, really cool. Can't wait to see it!:thm:
 
Unfortunately there isn't any 'under' the seat. The whole thing is a pop-out on the side of the house. It's sturdy, but it is actually hanging out over nothing.

So with the comments I have gotten from here, I have also purchased:
item # item description qty
------ ----------------------------------------------- ---
601141 No Spill Clean and Fill 25 ft. Kit 25 ft 1
605183 CLASSIC EXTERNAL CNSTR FLTR 2217/UT 159G 2217/U 2
601139 Visi-Therm Deluxe Heater 300 Watt 300 watt 2
603528 Freshwater/Saltwater Carbonate Hardness Test Ki 1
603529 Freshwater/Saltwater Nitrate Test Kit 1
603530 Freshwater/Saltwater Ammonia Test Kit 1
605784 ESU Power Center(TM) 1
604736 AmQuel Plus, 16oz 16 oz 1
604668 Prime, 250ml, 8.5 fl oz 250ml, 8.5 fl oz 1

I've already got a PH test and will buy the nitrite test locally.

I also got 200 lbs of play sand (Silica) from Home Depot.

For the nook I got a 8 foot length of pool liner (.45mm thick) to protect the wood in case I accidentally leak water. The stairs will just have to buck up. I'm going to get a 20" by 82" piece of plywood to set on top of the liner to make a nice flat base for the aquarium itself, and I can then attach a flashing board to the front to make it look nice.

The filters I chose because they will fit within my 10" of space beside the tank. The 25' python hose will be plenty to reach the nearest faucet.

What other things do I need to buy before I can start putting some plants in it and cycling this thing?

Some ammonia, in some form or another. (Can't I just put a few drops of urine in the tank?)

Some aquarium salt.

Do I need to get an air pump for oxygenation? I'll have several plants before I add any fish, but these filters I don't think put any oxygen in the water at all.
Anything else?
 
thats going to be almost 2000lbs. of weight hanging over nothing as you say as it is a pop-out on the side of the house, would you and 10-12 of your friends stand on it and see what happens? also canister filters are usually bigger than the 10" of space that you have. the whole thing sounds like a bad idea structurally, but it would look nice.
 
Yes, I'd be happy to have 12 friends stand on it. The middle of the tank will actually be within an inch or two of the wall joists, and those are very stable. They go straight down and then contact the concrete foundation.

As far as the canister filters, I looked their stats up on the manufacturer's site and picked a model that was less than 10" wide. I'd have gotten bigger ones if they would have fit, but the others did not.
 
If will not hold the weight of the tank you have big structural problems. I see no problems with the structure holding it. the actual "box" is the one you need to be concerned with, although it looks strong enough. The 2217's are nice filters. I use one and have absolutely no complaints whatsoever with it.
 
Please don't use urine. If you can not find pure ammonia, use fishfood.
 
I won't. Just curious if it would work.

So despite my full confidence that the spot will hold the tank, I have hired a contractor to come and verify this for me.
I know the guy andhave other things for him to do so it's not that expensive just for this issue.

Can someone help me on the air bubbler issue? Do I need one or not?
I'll have a bunch of plants growing before I get any fish, but they will all be small yet.
 
faldgan said:
Can't I just put a few drops of urine in the tank?
Click to expand...

I was considering using urine for my cycle, but the ammonia content of urine is very low so quite a large amount would be required to bring the tank up to 5ppm! You are also introducing immeasurable amounts of urea and other toxins. Urea is an excellent source of nitrogen for plants and is much less toxic than Ammonia but it makes for a very slow cycle. I believe some people have done it though!
 
yuck.

if youve got the budget to be buying stuff like youve got (gosh i wish i could), i would invest in some bio-spira.
 
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