katiev
Member
* I started all this last month, so this is a little late in posting -- I used a disposable camera that I wanted to fill up before getting developed. My parents bought me a digital camera for my birthday, so future pics for this thread will be better quality. 
*
Thursday, April 5th
Bought 55g FOWLR tank/stand/equipment/livestock local for $300, from a very nice girl. She was getting out of the hobby, so I was given TONS of equipment, testing supplies, water change buckets, etc.
Unfortunately, the inhabitants of the tank were inappropriate for what I wanted to do with it. There was a juvenile Koran angel, a percula clown, pink and blue spotted shrimp goby, coral banded shrimp, purple reef lobster, feather duster, tube anemone, and various hermits. The angel would outgrow the tank eventually, as well as being unsuitable for a reef. I already have a clown, so the perc couldn’t stay. I also already have a yellow watchman, so the goby wouldn’t work either. I’m not particularly fond of coral banded shrimps, so he went too. I would have kept the purple reef lobster, but I was concerned about him munching on my very tiny yellow watchman. The lobster, tube anemone, feather duster, and hermits went to my mom’s tank (you know, as payment for helping me move the tank and siphoning ALL of the water out).
Got the tank home, set up and scraped all the hair-algae-covered coralline off of the glass. I left most of the sandbed and some water to cover it, but I pulled out all of the really yucky sand (the previous owner didn’t have much time for the tank, so there was cyano and hair algae that I had to remove). Also, I would eventually be putting PVC piping in for a snowflake eel, so removing some of the sand would make that step easier.
The tank, as it was when I bought it (minus rock and some sand):
Here's the 2" diameter eel tube my fiance crafted for me:
Friday, April 13th through Sunday, April 15th
I bought black spray paint for the back of the tank, and paint for the stand.
My lovely fiancé, Tim, spray painted the back of the tank and painted the edges black:
Here’s the stand, sanded:
And, here’s the finished product, with the eel tube in place:
A close-up of the cool door knobs my fiance found for me:
Sunday, April 25th
Filled the tank with water and added the live rock that came with the tank. There's about 50 pounds, and I plan on adding another 30 pounds or so. I just kind of tossed the rock in, by the way -- I'm waiting until I get the rest to set it up the way I want to.
*******************************
My To-Do List:
* Make DIY sump with overflow box -- I don't want a fuge, so it will be just for housing my skimmer, filter materials, heater, and return.
* Buy lighting -- I plan on purchasing the 48" Nova Extreme T-5's.
* Make an eel-proof top -- I'm going to use egg crate, and cover it with clear screen and secure it to the tank with velcro "hinges."
As far as inhabitants, I have two scenarios in mind: snowflake eel, valentini puffer, and long-nosed hawkfish -or- snowflake eel, dwarf lionfish, and long-nosed hawkfish.
Anyway, thanks for making it this far! Any comments or suggestions are appreciated!
*Thursday, April 5th
Bought 55g FOWLR tank/stand/equipment/livestock local for $300, from a very nice girl. She was getting out of the hobby, so I was given TONS of equipment, testing supplies, water change buckets, etc.
Unfortunately, the inhabitants of the tank were inappropriate for what I wanted to do with it. There was a juvenile Koran angel, a percula clown, pink and blue spotted shrimp goby, coral banded shrimp, purple reef lobster, feather duster, tube anemone, and various hermits. The angel would outgrow the tank eventually, as well as being unsuitable for a reef. I already have a clown, so the perc couldn’t stay. I also already have a yellow watchman, so the goby wouldn’t work either. I’m not particularly fond of coral banded shrimps, so he went too. I would have kept the purple reef lobster, but I was concerned about him munching on my very tiny yellow watchman. The lobster, tube anemone, feather duster, and hermits went to my mom’s tank (you know, as payment for helping me move the tank and siphoning ALL of the water out).
Got the tank home, set up and scraped all the hair-algae-covered coralline off of the glass. I left most of the sandbed and some water to cover it, but I pulled out all of the really yucky sand (the previous owner didn’t have much time for the tank, so there was cyano and hair algae that I had to remove). Also, I would eventually be putting PVC piping in for a snowflake eel, so removing some of the sand would make that step easier.
The tank, as it was when I bought it (minus rock and some sand):
Here's the 2" diameter eel tube my fiance crafted for me:
Friday, April 13th through Sunday, April 15th
I bought black spray paint for the back of the tank, and paint for the stand.
My lovely fiancé, Tim, spray painted the back of the tank and painted the edges black:
Here’s the stand, sanded:
And, here’s the finished product, with the eel tube in place:
A close-up of the cool door knobs my fiance found for me:
Sunday, April 25th
Filled the tank with water and added the live rock that came with the tank. There's about 50 pounds, and I plan on adding another 30 pounds or so. I just kind of tossed the rock in, by the way -- I'm waiting until I get the rest to set it up the way I want to.
*******************************
My To-Do List:
* Make DIY sump with overflow box -- I don't want a fuge, so it will be just for housing my skimmer, filter materials, heater, and return.
* Buy lighting -- I plan on purchasing the 48" Nova Extreme T-5's.
* Make an eel-proof top -- I'm going to use egg crate, and cover it with clear screen and secure it to the tank with velcro "hinges."
As far as inhabitants, I have two scenarios in mind: snowflake eel, valentini puffer, and long-nosed hawkfish -or- snowflake eel, dwarf lionfish, and long-nosed hawkfish.
Anyway, thanks for making it this far! Any comments or suggestions are appreciated!
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