novahobbies
Well-Known Member
This tank has a looooong family history. My in-laws got this tank close to 30 years ago!! My father in law built the stand you see here, and as was his habit, he built it to withstand several direct nuclear attacks. After he and his wife enjoyed the tank for a few years, it was donated to my wife's aunt and her new husband. Jenny and Tony kept this tank as a freshwater set up for many years, but eventually lost interest and broke the system down. Tank and stand lay collecting cobwebs and various insect / reptile skeletons in the back of a storage unit until I was helping the family clean out the unit in 2007. It reignited my passion for the hobby (I had only ever done freshwater, and left it behind after high school) and I took the tank home, gave it a good cleaning, That slightly scratched and much-loved 55g aquarium took on new life as my first steps into the world of saltwater fishkeeping. After a short year of keeping the 55, I upgraded to a 110 gallon tank. The 55 was once again relegated to the back corners of a garage. Its sojourn there was short-lived, however, as a good friend of mine had become slightly addicted to the hobby as well around this time. After spending a few visits to our house (and she lives three hours away, mind you...) with her nose pressed against the glass of our big tank, the Wife and I decided to donate the 55 to her and get her started on a tank of her own.
That was 2009. She's still got it. She went slow, didn't overstock the tank right away, and did a ton of reading as she got into the hobby. Along the way, she's added a couple of my rock columns to the tank, increased her live rock to about 65 lbs total, upgraded her lighting to a 265w PC fixture, and will soon be looking at using a HOB overflow with a sump. Last time I was down I was thinking how much care she put in her tank, but the light looked kinda fugly on top and was casting glares on the TV across the way. So I went into my garage one last time before I had to put away my power tools for the move and built her this:
I know my skills are nowhere near what my father in law could do, but what do you think? Did I get a close enough match for the stain on the base unit? I was thinking of taking some steel wool and buffing the finish down a little, but I'm not sure if I should.
Not bad for a 30-something year old tank, eh?? I'm so glad it has survived this long and given so many people enjoyment. I know that it probably won't be long before I see an upgrade when I visit her, but until then I gotta say she's done a pretty darn good job with this baby!
...Of course, when she upgrades I'm gonna want this tank back. You understand. For possible sump purposes when I get my 265, after all....
That was 2009. She's still got it. She went slow, didn't overstock the tank right away, and did a ton of reading as she got into the hobby. Along the way, she's added a couple of my rock columns to the tank, increased her live rock to about 65 lbs total, upgraded her lighting to a 265w PC fixture, and will soon be looking at using a HOB overflow with a sump. Last time I was down I was thinking how much care she put in her tank, but the light looked kinda fugly on top and was casting glares on the TV across the way. So I went into my garage one last time before I had to put away my power tools for the move and built her this:
I know my skills are nowhere near what my father in law could do, but what do you think? Did I get a close enough match for the stain on the base unit? I was thinking of taking some steel wool and buffing the finish down a little, but I'm not sure if I should.
Not bad for a 30-something year old tank, eh?? I'm so glad it has survived this long and given so many people enjoyment. I know that it probably won't be long before I see an upgrade when I visit her, but until then I gotta say she's done a pretty darn good job with this baby!
...Of course, when she upgrades I'm gonna want this tank back. You understand. For possible sump purposes when I get my 265, after all....
