Filtration for my 500

[Sarmo]

once i had the overflow on it was time for the driftwood. i found this on the lake shore about 3 miles from my house. it took my son and one of his Basketball team mates to load it in my truck. i don't have a pic of it before i got it into the tank but it is 59" x 29" x 30". it had been soaking in the lake for months of years, i found it because the lake level is down. during the winter they lower the lake level to generate power and to protect peoples docks from ice. the tough part is that my tank isn't open on the top. it has 3 openings that measure 16" x 29" here is a bad pic with my wife and i trying to get the piece in whole.

 

[Sarmo]

that didn't work so i had to get the sawsall out and trim off the end.

 

[Sarmo]

once the wood was in place it was time for lights. i decided to go with 2 foot LED T12 replacement bulbs from LEDLight.com. i had the end pieces laying around from my Cichlid days so i mounted one bulb over each of the 3 tank openings. the bulbs were spendy at approx $50 each but cheap compared to 400W MH's..... not to mention they will cost about $3/year to operate and last for approx 50,000 hours

 

[Sarmo]

Next came final clean up and then gravel and rocks. I like the look of gravel better than BB and this stuff is a mix but a lot of it is about 1/2" size. i'd never had that before but i really like the way it came out.


i know those rocks look small but most of them weigh over 40#'s. it's a little scary to hand that size rock over the top of a 3 foot deep tank, one slip and it's a lizard cage.....

 

[Sarmo]

after gravel came water, YEA!!!!!
i soon found out that the driftwood wasn't completely water logged
now i am in a waiting game for the log to sink. i hope it doesn't take long?

 

[Egon]

Awesome pics! That log could take a while to sink. Best bet is to weigh it down, the added water pressure from the log being at the bottom of the tank will aid in the "water logging" process. Make sure it's secure, that thing bobbing to the surface could cause trouble!

 

[Sarmo]

how would you weigh it down? i could wire a rock to the log, the wire might rust or i could use copper wire? it's to big for cable ties so how long so you think it'll take the log to sink?
the pics are not really that nice but i thought they got the point across. my camera sucks or maybe it's the operator

 

[ojest]

Great build. Can't wait to see more pics of it when it's finally done.

 

[Sarmo]

here is a full tank shot and a pic of the first fish. sorry for the lame fish. someday they'll be a snack!!!

.

 

[Sarmo]

wow, i really need to clean the glass..... sorry about that