My 2 20g Long Tanks

[MoondustBob]

I think you've done a fantastic job, and you should be proud

 

[ICEEGRL]

Thanks. Some things happened and I didn't get to work on the stand any more. I am planning on trying to get the poly on today. That is all I like having it finished. If I hurry I might get it done so it will be dry enough to bring in tonight. That would be good...
I will post a pic when I get it finished and start getting it set up.

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[jollysue]

DrsFosterandSmith has black Flourite and black sand Flourite now.

I didn't get to finish reading all your new stuff yet.

 

[ICEEGRL]

The stand is finally finished. It should be dry enough to bring in maybe by lunch tomorrow. Then I can get my tanks set in it. I will be so glad to have them out of the floor. I worry about that since my new 55g got broke.

I will check them out for the substrate. I was going to check there for a few other things, so that would be good if I could get everything in one place. Thanks

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I got the substrate ordered for these 2 tanks. I am going to try flourite (black) and flourite sand (black) mixed. It will be 2 parts sand with 1 part the larger stuff.

I have intentions of finally going through the filters that Tolak sent me today. I have had them for a while now, but everytime I start to go through them to check them out something happens. If all goes well I will get them cleaned and tested today.

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[ICEEGRL]

View attachment 51615

It is now finished and in place. It took all day to figure out how to get it level. It is now secured in place.
I have the substrate ordered. Now I just need to get those filters checked, and get my other equipment sorted for them. I need to double check to make sure I have not forgotten anything.
This puts me one step closer.

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[ronanphilip]

nice job. looking good

 

[ICEEGRL]

Thanks.

I got one big filter and one small filter cleaned and tested. Both worked fine. I will try to get the others cleaned and checked tomorrow.

As soon as the substrate gets here I can start planting.

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[jollysue]

You got a new Betta?

Ooow! I want to see!

 

[ICEEGRL]

I made a big mistake... I forgot to wash the flourite sand before adding it to the tank!
I now have a tank full of fog!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have put extra pads in the filter and got it going. I also added a little crystal clear to see if that would help speed things a little. I thought I was doing good...
Then the filter starts making a squeel/grinding sound... I shut it off quickly! It is one of the aqua clears from Tolak. I have never run it before, so I don't know much about it. I am going to check for sand in it, and add a sponge to the intake to make sure grains of sand can't get sucked in.

I realize now one of the major things I forgot to get... glass lids. How do you forget to get the lids?
I have to get those so the lights dont fall into the water. This means no light for a little while... unless I can come up with something that would keep them up safely. The light strips are not as wide as the tank.

I will post more when I get a few of the problems sorted.

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[wendywc]

Hi Amanda. Sorry to hear about the fog. Would it be too much work to scoop some or most out and rinse it?

For temporary lids, you could use some mesh screens if you have any.

 

[ICEEGRL]

Ok... the tank is clearing some, but there is a gray/white powder looking stuff all over the sand. If you touch the sand or stir the water at all it goes cloudy again...
Is that normal, or is there something else wrong?

There was no sand in the filter. I ended up having to turn the flow down to make it stop. It also over flows water around the intake pipe when it is on full flow... I now have it set at about half and it is doing ok so far...

I have gotten all the bugs out of the hornwort and I am going to plant it in this tank. Then I am going to put my betta in to get what ever I may have missed... just in case.

I will add a pic when I get it all set up.

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[Tolak]

AC filters will tend to overflow on the intake side a bit if you have it on full flow. This is nothing to be concerned about, everything from the mini's to the pair of 300's on my oscar tank do it. They will do it more if you double up on sponges, a common trick.

Sometimes to get them started you have to give the impeller a little spin, especially if it is a little dirty. If you have skinny fingers you can reach it, I have fat fingers, a Bic pen works well for giving it a little poke.

The AC filters are tough little buggers, my oscar ripped off an intake sometime yesterday. Filter drained back into the tank, as the intake was pushed up from the impeller. Filter ran dry for who knows how many hours, motor overheats, thermal protect kicks in.

Unplug it, fill it with water, replace the floating intake. Plug it in, poke the impeller with a pen, starts right up.

I think my oscar has anger management issues.

 

[ICEEGRL]

Maybe it did something to make him mad when you weren't looking...
I think he managed his anger quite well...

The filter is still making that noise every now and then, but not nearly as much. It may have been just from not running for so long. I have already had to wash out the filter stuff due to it being so nasty and clogging up. I have it running again. It is still very cloudy. Maybe I will be able to see if it is planted anywhere near right by tomorrow.
I took a few pics to show why you should never forget to wash sand...

View attachment 51706
View attachment 51707

This is what it looks like right now. Isn't it beautiful?

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[Tolak]

Maybe it did something to make him mad when you weren't looking...
I think he managed his anger quite well...

Well yeah, better than the time he shoved the spray bar half out of the tank. Doofus fish emptied 1/4 of the tank on that one.

Wow, that is cloudy, but you can work with it. I'm thinking with the proper decorations, perhaps a couple monster movie figurines, and some viney plants, you could have a real unique theme tank. It does have an eerie look to it, but I don't think that is the effect you are looking for.

Sometimes there is a little air bubble sort of thing that gets stuck by the impeller, sliding the flow adjustment back & forth a few times usually eliminates this.