A photo journal of my experiment putting together my new tank.
The tank after cleaning out the years worth of grime and chicken feces...gag:
The tank came with a really nice filtration system except it was missing one little bulkhead...the bulkhead that sealed the corner overflow pipe that runs through the bottom of the tank. Of course, it is a aquarium specific piece and since I couldn't afford to buy a whole new piping set, I got a crash course in plumbing and PVC pipe building.
The mess of the living room (my roommates really appreciated my construction project):
New pipes coming into the tank:
New pipe fittings under the tank:
Getting ready to test out my plumbing skills:
Here goes nothing...filling the tank:
Woohoo, no leaks! The mesh bags in the gravel are some of what I used to seed the tank with:
Once I got the tank up an running, I tried to introduce the danios. Unfortunately, the water flow from the pump had the current moving so fast the poor danios were barely able to swim without being spun in circles. So back to the hardware store to get the makings for a reverse flow undergravel system to make the best of the water flow.
You can see the undergravel pipe system in this picture. By the way, I highly recommended buying a saw to cut PVC with. I used an old hacksaw blade and my hands hurt so bad after all that cutting:
Much happier danios:
Now to tackle a hood/lighting system. Seeing as how I limped my way through plumbing, it was time to take a crack at carpentry and electricity.
Cutting the base for the hood...it takes a really long time to cut a curved edge with nothing more than a hacksaw and a coping saw (make a 3 inch cut...cut away waste wood...make another 3 inch cut...ugh):
Woot, finally finished the edge...only several more pieces including figuring out how to cut holes in the middle for the glass to fit in:
Now onto wiring the hood light:
Yay, I actually made a functional light:
Testing out the light system before attaching all the pieces:
Painting time. A hint, trying to paint several coats takes a long time when it is snowing outside. Watching paint dry...:
But it was all worth it because my fish have a big new home.
A view of the hood and light:
With the lights out to see the whole tank:
Blackskirt investigating the driftwood:
The guppy was the only fish that stayed near the front of the tank so I could get a clear picture of her:
Diver Dan, the African Dwarf frog hiding under a piece of driftwood:
Blackskirt playing in the bubblewall:
Inside the tank:
The tank after cleaning out the years worth of grime and chicken feces...gag:
The tank came with a really nice filtration system except it was missing one little bulkhead...the bulkhead that sealed the corner overflow pipe that runs through the bottom of the tank. Of course, it is a aquarium specific piece and since I couldn't afford to buy a whole new piping set, I got a crash course in plumbing and PVC pipe building.
The mess of the living room (my roommates really appreciated my construction project):
New pipes coming into the tank:
New pipe fittings under the tank:
Getting ready to test out my plumbing skills:
Here goes nothing...filling the tank:
Woohoo, no leaks! The mesh bags in the gravel are some of what I used to seed the tank with:
Once I got the tank up an running, I tried to introduce the danios. Unfortunately, the water flow from the pump had the current moving so fast the poor danios were barely able to swim without being spun in circles. So back to the hardware store to get the makings for a reverse flow undergravel system to make the best of the water flow.
You can see the undergravel pipe system in this picture. By the way, I highly recommended buying a saw to cut PVC with. I used an old hacksaw blade and my hands hurt so bad after all that cutting:
Much happier danios:
Now to tackle a hood/lighting system. Seeing as how I limped my way through plumbing, it was time to take a crack at carpentry and electricity.
Cutting the base for the hood...it takes a really long time to cut a curved edge with nothing more than a hacksaw and a coping saw (make a 3 inch cut...cut away waste wood...make another 3 inch cut...ugh):
Woot, finally finished the edge...only several more pieces including figuring out how to cut holes in the middle for the glass to fit in:
Now onto wiring the hood light:
Yay, I actually made a functional light:
Testing out the light system before attaching all the pieces:
Painting time. A hint, trying to paint several coats takes a long time when it is snowing outside. Watching paint dry...:
But it was all worth it because my fish have a big new home.
A view of the hood and light:
With the lights out to see the whole tank:
Blackskirt investigating the driftwood:
The guppy was the only fish that stayed near the front of the tank so I could get a clear picture of her:
Diver Dan, the African Dwarf frog hiding under a piece of driftwood:
Blackskirt playing in the bubblewall:
Inside the tank: