The great rebuild of my 55 gallon fish tank.

Hello everyone, This will hopefully show my progress on my 55 gallon fish tank rebuilding.


Above is what I started with.... A little background of this tank, I have had this 55 gallon tank for a little over 20 years now I think. It has been through quite a few set ups in that time. In the picture above you see it as it was before I started to really think of trying to redo it again. I had a water line connected to the tank that had a little valve on it so I could fill up the tank when it got low or changing out the water, problem was that it was slow to fill and 4 or 5 times I had forgotten that it was on only to come back in the room to find the tank had overflowed and soaked the stand and the carpet. So the stands MDF soaked up the water and started bulging, I have kept the water level where you see it because I was afraid the whole thing would collapse. There is one very old pleco living in there still.

So here was my plan at first, get a smaller tank set up to put the pleco in so I could take my time and redo the whole thing. below is the smaller fish tank I dug out of my attic. Notice I built the stand on measurements I thought was the fish tank's size. I was wrong the tank was longer than I thought!


Now the tear down and cleaning of the 55 gallon can begin.

Here is what is left of my first attempt at replacing the old fluorescent bulb with the new at the time LEDs, this is an old tank!



Here is the 55 gallon after much scrubbing, scraping and washing.... by the way vinegar is really good at removing calcium build ups...


I built a new stand for the tank out of square mild steel tubing and clad it with plywood painted black, I trimmed the edges and top with rosewood which came out looking pretty good I think.


At this point I was just going to put the tank back on and call it a day, but I had been watching a you tube channel SerpaDesign and on it Tanner was showing all the planted tanks and other builds he was doing and I got hooked on the idea of doing something more than just putting fish in my newly cleaned up tank. I curse you Tanner!!!

Here is the start of the expanded new plan



I planned on creating a sort of half fish tank half terrarium type thing.

I made the terrarium top part out of all stainless steel so nothing would ever rust. The side panels are also stainless steel with holes punched for the various things like in and out for the filter, float lever switch, etc.

Here is me trying to figure out the new LED light I was trying to build.




Here is a lesson about ordering metal and having it delivered to your house, The one on the left is what came in the mail the first time, not very straight anymore! Lucky for me the online metal place sent me a new one at no charge..


Here is the current stage, top part all done, sliding glass panels installed with a plate of glass on top so the LED light never gets wet.



my attempt at planting lotus seeds in the tank


Can anyone tell me if my light isn't bright enough, the leave on the lotus plants aren't opening up but the ones in the little pond outside are all open. I calculated that the light is putting out about 5000 lumens?


Things left to do...

Switch the large canister filter from the old set up to the new tank, it is currently on the small tank keeping the pleco alive.
Move the float switch to the hole I punched for it.
Populate the tank with fish and plants.
Make the sliding doors for the stand.

Well what do you all think? Thoughts, suggestions?

I love it! I love the fact you used Tanner’s builds as inspiration He was a big inspiration for my paludarium as well.

Just had an idea for you. What about a really long plant holder for terrestrial plants along the top of the water line? Can fill it with Peace lilys, Monserta, Pothos, Ferns, etc. Also makes a great filter I used an egg crate in mine siliconed and spray foamed in.

MattW3344 said:

Just had an idea for you. What about a really long plant holder for terrestrial plants along the top of the water line? Can fill it with Peace lilys, Monserta, Pothos, Ferns, etc. Also makes a great filter I used an egg crate in mine siliconed and spray foamed in.

Click to expand...

Yeah I kinda had that idea too.

When I hook up the canister filter back up to the tank the output will flow up in the middle of the wood that is sticking out of the water which will have plants and dirt. you can kind of see it in the picture below. Your idea is much simpler, wish I have thought of that before doing it the way I did!

That moss will love the humidity I made a drip wall in mine and within a few months was covered in moss. I really like your design the wood has been incorporated really well. Will be great to see the results in a few months time!

I added some things to my tank today!

My Sister inlaw told me about a local fish store she found, so I went there and ended up with a bunch of plants and 2 snails.

new plants...




and the snails, look at them go! eat all the algae please.



I was also talking to the guy who helped me and explained about the light I had built and he said it was probably too much light so I cut power to the two strips in the center so it should be putting out around 3000 is lumens.

Thats one healthy-looking crinum!

MattW3344 said:

Thats one healthy-looking crinum!

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Thanks! I liked the one you have in your 90L tank, and when I spotted it at the fish store I was like hey that's the same as in that guys fish tank!

Here is another update,

I installed the float switch for the water filling circuit I built.


I also have to admit that the starter gold fish got some kind of infection, I think it came from the snails or plants I bought. The smallest of the gold fish got really sick and lost his tail fin, I bought some "medicine" from amazon that was labeled as a cure all for a number of illnesses.

Here is the little guy after losing his fins and while I was waiting for the medicine to arrive, I really didn't think he would make it!


but after 4 treatments of the stuff he actually started to perk up.


Here he is now.... the open wounds have healed even more than this picture, he turned half black and is still learning how to swim with no tail fin but he is perky and eating normally again. I have named him Nubs.


I also added a rescue from my sister in laws tank that was getting picked on, his name is Gary...


Can anyone tell me what kind of sickness Nubs had?

Cool build! You've got some skills! I am especially impressed with your aquarium stand. No idea what got your little goldfish, though it usually comes back to a water quality problem. Hope it keeps recovering.

WhistlingBadger said:

Cool build! You've got some skills! I am especially impressed with your aquarium stand. No idea what got your little goldfish, though it usually comes back to a water quality problem. Hope it keeps recovering.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I think when the other gold fish get big enough they will go out to the little pond outside. Nubs if he survives will probably stay in this tank and live with the other fish I plan on getting.

Your tanks are great! I love the 150 gallon one!

Here is an update on my fish I named Nubs, he is doing great, all the wounds have fully healed and he has learned to live with no tail fin. He also seems to be getting some color back where he had turned black. Almost all my plants have been growing great, the crinum is going crazy!

Great to see the lil fella is doing well! Wow that crinum is doing great, better than I've ever had with mine. Looks like new plants growing off the sides as well.

Yeah the crinum has buds growing off the sides, I really like how it's growing. The other plants are doing good as well, except for the ones on the left of my tank. The biggest gold fish seems to be picking at them