I finally have my 500 gallon tank set-up. I found the tank on craigslist and after giving absolutely no thought or consideration about what I was getting myself into, I bought it. I feel like I have spent every free minute since I got it working on it and it took me the better part of a year to get water in it. If I could start over there are many things that I would do differently, but it is what it is…..
So with out further delay here is a brief photo journal.
Questions and comments are welcome!
2/10/08 – Borrowed a Flat Bed Truck to pick up the tank
I had to dismantle part of the fence next to the house and remove the sliding door in the back, but other than that everything went smooth.
After lots of cleaning and resealing I had a long run of unsuccessful test-fills. At this point I had not made a final decision on the plumbing so I used pipe plugs to plug up the holes in the bottom of the tank. The plastic wrapped around the tank was to keep visitors from getting their fingerprints all over the glass.
The plumbing was the easiest part of the project. I am currently renting but will hopefully be buying a house of my own and moving in the near future so I wanted the system to be modular and easy to disassemble and move.
If nothing else, it looks good on paper….
There were two more holes in the bottom of the tank than I needed, but rather than plug them I put bulkheads and ball-valves on them so I have the option to add more filtration or a UV later.
I made a false bottom with a sheet of polypropylene pegboard, covered with graphite window screen and supported on 100 ¾” PVC end caps. The false bottom is 1” above the true bottom.
If you look closely you can see the holes and slots in the pegboard that I used to hold the driftwood in place.
I got the driftwood from a local MFK member and I am very happy with it. I soaked it for a few weeks and it did lose some of its buoyancy but I am a busy man, I don’t have time to wait for it to sink on its own! So I fastened some aluminum screws to the bottom in strategic locations to match the aforementioned holes and slots in the pegboard.
I began looking for just the right gravel at the beginning of the project and found what I was looking for 6 months later. I wanted a smooth/round black gravel, but I did not want painted or epoxy coated gravel. What I ended up getting is a very dark grey and about 1% or less of it is some shade of brown. Gravel is 3-5mm. It’s not perfect, but it is real rock and no paint.
I decided to use metal halide lights to get the shimmer effect on the bottom of the tank. I initially decided on two 150 watt lights but at the time my vendor only had 250 watt units with the reflector style I wanted.
I got some fans to keep everything cool.
I don’t have any pics of the top being built. I had trouble remembering to eat or drink on days when I worked on the tank, let alone remembering to take pics. I am amazed that I have as many pictures as I do.
On the left of this picture you can see the 7’-6” plastic rain gutter that makes up my over the tank trickle filter.
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I started writing this thread at the beginning of september but never finished and posted it because I was having problems with little leaks that I couldnt solve at the time. I have since lost my train of thought so I just posted what I had written and i will make up the rest as I go.
There was several times in september that I thought about throwing in the towel on this one and starting fresh on a new tank in a few months. But every few days I re-motivated myself and solved all the problems that came my way.
I filled the tank for good and started cycling it the first weekend in October. I started moving fish in to their new home a week and a half later and continue doing so, 1 fish every 2 or 3 days.
I am doing a waterchange atm, but I will post up some full tank shots when its done.
If I could start over I definitely would have done this with a new tank. The tank was the cheapest of all the components and it shows.
So with out further delay here is a brief photo journal.
Questions and comments are welcome!
2/10/08 – Borrowed a Flat Bed Truck to pick up the tank
I had to dismantle part of the fence next to the house and remove the sliding door in the back, but other than that everything went smooth.
After lots of cleaning and resealing I had a long run of unsuccessful test-fills. At this point I had not made a final decision on the plumbing so I used pipe plugs to plug up the holes in the bottom of the tank. The plastic wrapped around the tank was to keep visitors from getting their fingerprints all over the glass.
The plumbing was the easiest part of the project. I am currently renting but will hopefully be buying a house of my own and moving in the near future so I wanted the system to be modular and easy to disassemble and move.
If nothing else, it looks good on paper….
There were two more holes in the bottom of the tank than I needed, but rather than plug them I put bulkheads and ball-valves on them so I have the option to add more filtration or a UV later.
I made a false bottom with a sheet of polypropylene pegboard, covered with graphite window screen and supported on 100 ¾” PVC end caps. The false bottom is 1” above the true bottom.
If you look closely you can see the holes and slots in the pegboard that I used to hold the driftwood in place.
I got the driftwood from a local MFK member and I am very happy with it. I soaked it for a few weeks and it did lose some of its buoyancy but I am a busy man, I don’t have time to wait for it to sink on its own! So I fastened some aluminum screws to the bottom in strategic locations to match the aforementioned holes and slots in the pegboard.
I began looking for just the right gravel at the beginning of the project and found what I was looking for 6 months later. I wanted a smooth/round black gravel, but I did not want painted or epoxy coated gravel. What I ended up getting is a very dark grey and about 1% or less of it is some shade of brown. Gravel is 3-5mm. It’s not perfect, but it is real rock and no paint.
I decided to use metal halide lights to get the shimmer effect on the bottom of the tank. I initially decided on two 150 watt lights but at the time my vendor only had 250 watt units with the reflector style I wanted.
I got some fans to keep everything cool.
I don’t have any pics of the top being built. I had trouble remembering to eat or drink on days when I worked on the tank, let alone remembering to take pics. I am amazed that I have as many pictures as I do.
On the left of this picture you can see the 7’-6” plastic rain gutter that makes up my over the tank trickle filter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I started writing this thread at the beginning of september but never finished and posted it because I was having problems with little leaks that I couldnt solve at the time. I have since lost my train of thought so I just posted what I had written and i will make up the rest as I go.
There was several times in september that I thought about throwing in the towel on this one and starting fresh on a new tank in a few months. But every few days I re-motivated myself and solved all the problems that came my way.
I filled the tank for good and started cycling it the first weekend in October. I started moving fish in to their new home a week and a half later and continue doing so, 1 fish every 2 or 3 days.
I am doing a waterchange atm, but I will post up some full tank shots when its done.
If I could start over I definitely would have done this with a new tank. The tank was the cheapest of all the components and it shows.
