I have been in the process of putting a new tank in my shed. Tank is 200x75x75cm. 1100Ltr approx
The tank it's self, I am getting off a mate who got it to put in his house, but now is re-building down south so sold it to me for $400. Bit of tidy up needed to be done, but no leaks.. So Score as far as I'm concerned! It came with a wooden stand which I wasn't really interested in after seeing just how much weight the 2, 6x2x2ft tanks I have already put on their stand/cabinet and current wooden floor they are on. "Shed has a concrete slab base thankfully"
Posted a WTB or "build" should I say steel stand in the classifieds. Tony "Barf" got back to me that day and the stand is now built ready to pick up Sunday morning, 3 days later!
Thanks to Bowdy for being an all time lad and helping me out with a trolley to move the tank Monday and also giving me a lift Sunday morning to pick up the stand.
Current fish I have going in the tank:
Bay Snooks
Jags
Dovii's
Jardini
Plecs
I would also love to get my hands on some P Bass in the not to distant future along with a Mangrove Jack and a Pimelodus Ornatus Cat "which seem hard to get anything of any decent size atm" and then breed some of the pairs of American Cichlids I already have in separate tanks.
Cheers, Sam
Firstly had to remove the door so the tank/stand could fit through! A lazy 9mil clearance.
Put up some black builders film to stop any debris/dust coming off the old comcrete shed.
Then posted a WTB in the classifieds to get a steel stand made to replace wooden one. Tony "Barf" replied almost straight away. Popped out to his beautiful home to check out what he was making it from and drop off payment.
Got a message 3 days later and stand was complete!
Picked up the stand with Bowdy this morning and with his help got it through the door and in place with ease! "Cheers again bro"
Laid some ply and gave the joints and front a spray. Mainly joints to stop rust as there will be a cover enclosing filtration etc.
Moved it with ease thanks to some glaizer suction cups and a big trolley for "tank movin"
Up on the stand. Needs a bit of clean up "old 3D background" Glass is all top notch.
Got in and ripped the existing background off, gave it a clean and moved it into place. Placed a couple of bricks behind end legs and walls to make sure there is enough room to run piping for filtration as well.
Went to Bunnings as grab some PVC piping to start building the filtration. Gave them a spray with a black enamel and let dry while I began to tidy up the inside of the tank.
Only actually "hit home" how big it was when I had to climb in to clean the excess silicone left from removing the background!
After finishing cleaning the inside of the tank I placed the pipework in to see what it looked like. No glued in place yet.
Used the existing bulkhead fittings that were still in good shape. Attached a fitting to the end to match up with the pipes. Can all be dismantled by unscrewing the back of the bulkheads.
Overflow inlet.
Outlet at the other end.
Also attached two ball valves to control the flow.
Waiting for pond sealant to dry on internal pipes on the "fish watchin" couch I just moved in.
Dog bed for fish watching I built a while ago
Thought I may as well knock up the base stand for the 4x2 sump tank while I waited for pond sealant to dry.
Realized thanks to Bowdys input that I didnt really need any excess pipes in the tank. Just run a strainer straight off the top.
Filled it with water and outlet seems to work perfectly. Now just have to pick up sump, pump and media and should be up and cycling in no time!
Put the outlet inplace.
Picked up the sump and pump this arvo. Just waiting for the glue to dry where I removed the ball valve on the return pipe then I'll give it a test run.
Got the flow and water level pretty much sussed. Ened up putting existing pipe back in the tank as it wasn't draining fast enough straight from the surface. Working great now at almost 6000 liters an hour.
Put an ehiem I had running on another tank in sump "didn't think it would hurt" to try start cycling it. Popped 2 15cm featherfin Synadontis that are swimming round living the space!
Also put some white sand in it I had" and driftwood. Playing around with the layout of the wood for about an hour and am sort of happy where it is at the moment.
Get some glass for Monday and silicone the baffles into sump and put media in.
Edited by SamJohns, 22 April 2012 - 12:11 AM.