55G restoration and build from ground up

[Maxxxboost]

Hello,

Here is my 55 Gallon tank restoration and build. I'd like to first thank two of my friends Tidy and Kesler for helping me.

Everything on this build was either donated, bought on sale or DIY'ed with RONA supplies. Up to date, i think i spent less than $100.

The 55G was given to me by Kesler after sitting in a garage for 9 years. I took the tank and cleaned it up with along with the removal of the old silicone.

I resiliconed ($8) the tank and let it sit inside the house for a week. It is good to let the silicone dry in a warm area but jezz did it ever smell.



Manzanita wood purchased at Aquariums West on a discount ($15)

Now the fun part, this is a custom DIY 2x4 stand. I'm almost finished the build but still have to make a top canopy for it and finish the details off. All together, the cost of this stand is at approx $50. Working in the garage with a mini table saw at 11pm is not the best thing to be doing, thanks Tidy, i don't think i can get straight cuts without it.






Don't mind the tires, i just needed them to weigh a corner down so i can level everything off so the tank sits nice and flat on the stand.




Here it is after the paint job out in the snow LOL. It's now or never.



Little brother with some water action


Tank all filled with water. This has been the second day with water in the tank. So far so good.

The tank is not finished yet, i have yet to install the doors on it (painted as well), but i will get to it later on when i move the stand into the house.

The filter i will be using will be a Eheim 2217. This was also given to me by Kesler. It was missing a bunch of stuff and was dirty. Moreover, we didn't know if it will work. But after a clean, new o-ring ($15), a homemade latch-clip and a home made spraybar and intake tube ($3), it is ready to roll. No leaks or anything.

The media i have are:
Eheim classic sponges
Scrubbies ($3)
Fluval bio-media ($6)
Fluval Carbon/Amonia mix




Substrate will be black Marineland gravel, the lights will be 2x aqua-glo tubes.


Stay tune. i will hopefully have it ready by the end of the month.

[Chronick]

very nice, well done

[2wheelsx2]

I really like the home made spray bar and intake. Nice work.

[target]

Nice looking so far.

[Maxxxboost]

Here is an update as of December 01, 2010


Still waiting for the wood the be water logged before i continue to add stuff.
This is going to be a Barb tank and so far there are 10 Gold barbs at the moment from the previous tank

[dabu]

awsome job man , I have 2 4 foot ones im doing that with . that looks real good though.

[Maxxxboost]

Just added 6 odessa barbs, and 2 SAE
Anyone selling some redlines for a decent price?

[gklaw]

Awesome job by a pro. Stand looks better than the pine stand from the stores.

[BubBleBee]

No kidding eh....do you do building for other's.... Wow HANDYMAN OVER THERE.....AWESOME JOB ON UR SETUP.....I've decided to sell the tank for 35 rather than reseal it I now have 70gl which I'll be setting up

[rave93]

wow that is amazing!
kudo's to you, ill have to attempt this one day if im gonna upgrade to a bigger tank!