It's been awhile.... I'm back now!

jayo · Jan 6, 2022

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone has been safe and well over the course of the last year. I took a step back from fish keeping and focused more on family and the basics. Although it was much needed, I also took time out for personal reflection as well as projects. Now I'm not some big enthusiast by any means but I really enjoy my fish. I sit back with a cold one and enjoy the quite time, so let me tell you a story..

So a couple of years ago I was sold what was said to be a 180 gallon tank. Me not knowing any better said, well it does look larger than any 125 I have seen so be it, I'll take it. From there I went thru the motions of buying all the cute little decorations they sell at Pet Smart and Petco, the basic substrate as well that is extremely over priced if you haven't found out by now and I was off and running. Fast Forward 2 years later and I run across this board...... WOW! What have I done? Am I a troll, am I "THAT GUY" with a mindful of misguided information that I have read online? YUP! That was I!

I wont bore you with the history or all the research I've learned since joining though, I'll just let the pics do the talking. Just know I appreciate everyone one of you that have given me advise or shared information regarding Central and South American Cichlids!

Step 1!
I found a 180!

tlindsey · Jan 6, 2022

jayo said:
Hello everyone!

Hope everyone has been safe and well over the course of the last year. I took a step back from fish keeping and focused more on family and the basics. Although it was much needed, I also took time out for personal reflection as well as projects. Now I'm not some big enthusiast by any means but I really enjoy my fish. I sit back with a cold one and enjoy the quite time, so let me tell you a story..

So a couple of years ago I was sold what was said to be a 180 gallon tank. Me not knowing any better said, well it does look larger than any 125 I have seen so be it, I'll take it. From there I went thru the motions of buying all the cute little decorations they sell at Pet Smart and Petco, the basic substrate as well that is extremely over priced if you haven't found out by now and I was off and running. Fast Forward 2 years later and I run across this board...... WOW! What have I done? Am I a troll, am I "THAT GUY" with a mindful of misguided information that I have read online? YUP! That was I!

I wont bore you with the history or all the research I've learned since joining though, I'll just let the pics do the talking. Just know I appreciate everyone one of you that have given me advise or shared information regarding Central and South American Cichlids!

Step 1!
I found a 180!

View attachment 1484105

Welcome back!

jayo · Jan 6, 2022

A little back story on the tank. This tank was an older Ocenaic Tank built in 2011 and owned by a Pond store here in the Atlanta area. The tank has been sitting in this spot since new and had seen better days. I had better pics but some how deleted them, tank had Koi and and a single algae eater.

Step 2!
Assess the tank and stand!

jayo · Jan 6, 2022

Well the good news! Tank was 100% water tight, seams were good, silicone was in good shape, no worries! It just had a film of algae so thick I had to use vinegar and water, soft scrub pad, and even a razor..

Stand on the other hand was toast! Tank had an overflow with sump, the sump had not been maintained in god knows how long, clear signs of leaking and smelled horrible. Pics above are when I got it home and turned it upside down. There was 1/2 plywood at the bottom but peeled away like an orange by hand.

I am no carpenter by any means and did not plan for this, this was literally the worse case scenario. So for 4 months straight I had this thing sitting in my garage taking up space, I called every carpenter within 100 miles of me and no one would take the job.. The closes I got was a guy that said it was done for and he would have to build me a new one, I was fine with that but even then he never showed up! I was becoming disappointed more and more every day. And of course the fact that it was taking up space I had to walk by everyday drove me insane.

The Masked Shadow · Jan 6, 2022

Well, thats good...besides the stand part.

jayo · Jan 6, 2022

Step 3!
The rebuild!

One day i'm scrolling thru Instagram and see a follower of mines doing home renovations! I stop and click on his page, WOW this guy does some nice work. Now keep in mind there are no photos of him on his page at this time. I shoot him a message and ask where he is located. He tells me in his within the Atlanta area and would be more then happy to come by and take a look at it. Excited? YES! Certain? NO! Well fast forward a week or 2 later he comes by, what do you know, he is an old friend of mine who use to hang out at the local car meets. We hadn't seen each other in years and it was great to see a person I've known for so long after being quartined for months! We chatted and he decided it was a job he'd be willing to tackle.

(Disclaimer) I still need to get in process photos from him but I will and post them, however for the sake of suspense here is the finished project. ALSO before you guys flame me for the canisters note that this is on a second floor den and my sump experience is 0! I did however fill each canister with over 6 pounds of Bio Home ultimate as well as Marine pure. The tank was drilled at some point in its life and a overflow box was added so the silicone from the tank was not in contact with the box. I used a piece of 3/4 glass and silicone to seal off the holes.

jayo · Jan 6, 2022

Step 4!
Finished Product!

So without further dragging this thread out, here it is. It's been one hell of a journey but worth every minute of it. Once things kinda settled for a minute the family and I took a trip to Seacrest Florida for a much needed vacation. While walking the beach the Wife and I spotted this driftwood and brought it home. I think it fit well and added some live plants to it, the fish did not seem to bother it at first however it is being mangled on one side. No biggie, just wanted to add some flare to it.

I soaked the wood for over a month however due to it's size I had to rotate it up and down every other day. I'm still dealing with tannings even with 500 gallons of carbon and UV lights but again, all good. It will clear up sooner or later. I'll get some more pics this weekend when I do my water change, never got one with the canopy on it. Enjoy!