Redoing My Dads Tank...mwuahahaha (Journal)

[Shovelman]

Oh how the tables have turned! Finally my dear old dad seems to have realized how important it is to have an adequate filter versus his (this is in my words) piece of rubbish underground filter. Anywho not only is it the filter, but for years he has been keeping his guppies in his 25 gallon tank without a heater...from my knowledge on basic fish keeping...guppies are tropical fish...nuff said. It was about time he finally came to his senses and has offered me an opportunity i never would have thought to hear escape from his mouth.

For a little bit of $ my job was/is to:
-Remove under gravel system
-Safely keep livestock alive
-Change water
-Create a "hassle free tank", one which he can feed and let be...Which as we all know is somewhat of a dream only all fish keepers can have, as too just put fish in and have a worry free fish tank in which we only feed .....so along those lines ive just created a more manageable, yet hopefully more natural home for his fish
-redo the aqua scape ^ kinda listed above as too what i could create with the limited resources....
- And put the new filter on and to attach my heater....courtesy of ...well me.

If anyone reads this, if you could PLEASE PLEASE recommend some other fish other than guppies! From what Ive observed from his fish keeping habits, it needs to be easy to keep, nothing too demanding....and colorful. He likes rainbows....alot.... kidding, but colorful is obviously what most tanks do strive for, unlike the oddball keeper such as myself
His tank is about 23-25 gallons...its weird...its a half hexagon tank, and i have to admit, there's a fair amount of surface area on the ground for such a tall tank....I will measure and get tank dimensions tomorrow, as this was all a one night project.
I was actually thinking of him returning his 2 miscellaneous corydoras for 3 Bolivian rams as i know there one of the more so bullet proof (please correct me if im wrong) dwarf cichlids and not sure on this but might be ok with guppies.

So i shall post pictures and you guys let me know how much of an awesome tremendous fantastic pay increasing commissioned job i am so very well taking by the horns hehe

But let me and my dad know of anything you would do differently or suggestions as too any aspects of the project! Im going to go and take pictures as i finish up for the night and will post all the pictures in a little bit! Thanks guys!

Ps: He's going to read this thread, or rather im going to make him read this so he can better understand how to care for his tank/fish.....no offense dad once you read this

 

[Shovelman]

Well where shall we start first? Ah the new filter, why of course!

Putting it together, easy as pie....could have made it at least a little challenging.

Getting the materials/tools ready

The original aquascape my dad made.....

Another pic of the original

And getting everything rolling now! Had to take some water our for the 5 guppies, 2 cories, and the one albino BN pleco

Temporary fish bucket. Used an air pump and air stone to keep it oxygenated. And a branch of hornwort for the 3 fry to hide in.

After i took out the Under gravel filter plates....gotta love all the gunk/sediment!

Ok so forgot to take pictures for a little while so this is after i put in the new decor/ extras to fill the gaps and such. Was limited to using rocks. Fake plants. And whatever other cheesy decor i could fine, but personal i think the rocks make it a ton better.

Cleaned up all the nasty stuff btw, just didnt take a pic after i did. Another veiw before the long strenuous journey to fill it up, pitcher, by pitcher.

And after filling it and getting everything working properly and the water conditioned of course, its done! so here are some pics of it now. Eventually i will be making a large order of plants from aquarium plants.com, and hopefully my dad will buy some java fern and such in the same order to replace the fake plants and make it looks a lot better. But this is the hard scape (non permanent, and will be subject to change).

So let me know what could be better. And any advice/ suggestions for some hardy fish that are good with guppies would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Tizer]

I want to be helpful, but, i cant get past the grotty silicone seals on the glass. The structure of the tank just doesnt help it in any way shape or form. The hang on the back filter is certainly a good idea, no bulky internal = win. Im not sure if some better lighting would help, it looks...grim, dark, dirty. Maybe a nice black sand in the bottom instead of the gravel and rocks with some bogwood features and new green silk plants. The stand itself could do with some loving, maybe a coat of paint.

 

[TetraUk]

Good job, although I cannot stand plastic plants and would rather have a bare tank than have plastic lol

Only thing that came to mind is that by removing the underground filters, syphoning all the muck from the gravel and adding a new un-primed filter are you not worries about starting a cycle again? As most of the bacteria will have been removed from the tank unless you saved the dirty water and added it back to prime the new filter

 

[Shovelman]

Good job, although I cannot stand plastic plants and would rather have a bare tank than have plastic lol

Only thing that came to mind is that by removing the underground filters, syphoning all the muck from the gravel and adding a new un-primed filter are you not worries about starting a cycle again? As most of the bacteria will have been removed from the tank unless you saved the dirty water and added it back to prime the new filter

Ive got some cycled filter media from my canister filter ill be popping in the filter.

Tizer: that's what i was thinking as well. My dads tank is, i believe over 10 years old, so with the age of the tank comes some of the neglect as to the seals, which hold just fine, and the stand's really rugged appearance. Ive even offered for him to use my clean 20 gallon tank with sleek black stand, but he wanted to keep it going with his old tank, so couldn't really do anything about that, all i could do is the internal arrangement and some cleaning around the tank (gunky seals wouldn't clean and i didn't want to risk breaking a seal).

Even with it being able for me to re arrange it, i was EXTREMELY limited on supplies, and like i said before/above, it will change as i cant stand fake plants as well. Only had 3 extra pieces of driftwood from setting up my 65 gallon tank, and only the one piece fit in in a somewhat 'ok' way...and so the only thing else i could use to decorate with was some lake rocks and the cave and the plastic plants. Had to use the same gravel, but at least i put it through his mind to possibly do sand.

And the reason why it looks so gloomy/dark is that there were still some particles floating round the tank, and the light is not strong whatsoever. i put a crypt in there and it only grew about 3/4 inch and was just starting to sprout 2 new leaves over a 4-5 month period....

 

[shi24137]

try taking a soft toothbrush to the seals, but don't scrub too hard as you might break the seal. I got lucky on my 60 gallon and got black seals, but my 10 gallons have white-ish seals, I'll definitely be watching how this tank evolves! I love the shape of your tank!!! Good work!!!

 

[Shovelman]

try taking a soft toothbrush to the seals, but don't scrub too hard as you might break the seal. I got lucky on my 60 gallon and got black seals, but my 10 gallons have white-ish seals, I'll definitely be watching how this tank evolves! I love the shape of your tank!!! Good work!!!

Thanks, im sure my dad will be happy to hear it! Hopefully he will shell out some money to buy some driftwood and plants so we can fix it up even more

 

[Dieses Madchen]

My mystery snails like the gunk the was in the seals of my hex...i am started to notice patches of cleanliness here and there.....(i too couldnt get the seals to come clean without the risk of breaking them )

 

[Shovelman]

My mystery snails like the gunk the was in the seals of my hex...i am started to notice patches of cleanliness here and there.....(i too couldnt get the seals to come clean without the risk of breaking them )

Looks like im getting a mystery snail for his tank! Ive had then before and are awesome to watch...lol

ps: Has anyone had any experience with Bolivian rams? Are they particularly picky like that of German Blue rams?

 

[Dieses Madchen]

My mystery snails like the gunk the was in the seals of my hex...i am started to notice patches of cleanliness here and there.....(i too couldnt get the seals to come clean without the risk of breaking them )

Looks like im getting a mystery snail for his tank! Ive had then before and are awesome to watch...lol

ps: Has anyone had any experience with Bolivian rams? Are they particularly picky like that of German Blue rams?

Yeah, I just got my snails yesterday. They are pretty neat to watch. One of them was particularly confused that the plastic plants weren't edible

 

[Shovelman]

My mystery snails like the gunk the was in the seals of my hex...i am started to notice patches of cleanliness here and there.....(i too couldnt get the seals to come clean without the risk of breaking them )

Looks like im getting a mystery snail for his tank! Ive had then before and are awesome to watch...lol

ps: Has anyone had any experience with Bolivian rams? Are they particularly picky like that of German Blue rams?

Yeah, I just got my snails yesterday. They are pretty neat to watch. One of them was particularly confused that the plastic plants weren't edible

Hahaha nice!

 

[lljdma06]

That is a big difference, Shovel!

What's the lighting? Maybe we can find some nice plants that'll do well.

L

 

[Shovelman]

That is a big difference, Shovel!

What's the lighting? Maybe we can find some nice plants that'll do well.

L

I dont know what watt bulb it is, it isnt printed on the bulb or the max wattage for the ballast. Just know its a single fluorescent bulb that appears a bit more pink than other bulbs. I was thinking some nice tall java ferns in the back and some dwarf sag for the foreground and anubies to attatch to multiple rocks to pull the tall java fern and the sag together size wise.

 

[Tolak]

An old flatback hex, nice! I've never owned one, but I've moved them, those old one are built real sturdy. Get dad to hit an auction, he can get some real bargains on stuff like the rest of us old cheap guys do!

 

[Shovelman]

An old flatback hex, nice! I've never owned one, but I've moved them, those old one are built real sturdy. Get dad to hit an auction, he can get some real bargains on stuff like the rest of us old cheap guys do!

Next green water auction we are planning on going when ever that is! maybe you could hook him up with all the fancy angel fish