OldFishKeeper
Fish Fanatic
Recently, I posted a reference to a 5.5 gallon "marblized" aquarium that I purchased from Sears, some 65 years ago. It had a slate bottom. I am still looking for some pics of this relic but, in my search I discovered the next generation of stainless steel framed tanks that I had and have posted a link (below) to a restoration process done by someone else.
I had another "blast from the past" regarding an elementary school friend I had back then. He was Dutch and his name was Julius. His father was an avid aquarium keeper. Julius knew of my interest in tropical fish and invited me to his home to see his father's creations.
His father built his own tanks. From memory, they were galvanized angle iron framed with a solid galvanized bottom. Apparently he soldered the frames and base. They had glass on all four sides and were held in place with, what smelled like, old, white window caulking. He had a very large aquarium in the living room. I would estimate it to be 100 gallons. I can't remember all the fish he had in it but a few were very large and beautiful Pearl Gourami. I remember the substrate was soil and he had beautiful plants. What surprised me was the green house he had in the back yard.
The green house did not have its own heat. Each of the many 10+ gallon, home-made tanks had soil substrate and metal bottoms. A bunsen burner type candle was strategically place beneath each one to provide controlled heat. These aquariums had many different fish and plants, in various stages of growth and all seemed to be flourishing.
I was amazed with the low-tech results and had knowledge of chemical problems with galvanized metal and the caulking used. I don't recall seeing any filters and have no idea about the water changes performed. All I know is that everything was healthy.
Here is the promised refurb of the stainless tank:
Hope you enjoy...
I had another "blast from the past" regarding an elementary school friend I had back then. He was Dutch and his name was Julius. His father was an avid aquarium keeper. Julius knew of my interest in tropical fish and invited me to his home to see his father's creations.
His father built his own tanks. From memory, they were galvanized angle iron framed with a solid galvanized bottom. Apparently he soldered the frames and base. They had glass on all four sides and were held in place with, what smelled like, old, white window caulking. He had a very large aquarium in the living room. I would estimate it to be 100 gallons. I can't remember all the fish he had in it but a few were very large and beautiful Pearl Gourami. I remember the substrate was soil and he had beautiful plants. What surprised me was the green house he had in the back yard.
The green house did not have its own heat. Each of the many 10+ gallon, home-made tanks had soil substrate and metal bottoms. A bunsen burner type candle was strategically place beneath each one to provide controlled heat. These aquariums had many different fish and plants, in various stages of growth and all seemed to be flourishing.
I was amazed with the low-tech results and had knowledge of chemical problems with galvanized metal and the caulking used. I don't recall seeing any filters and have no idea about the water changes performed. All I know is that everything was healthy.
Here is the promised refurb of the stainless tank:
Hope you enjoy...
