new tanks - good and bad news

[L number Banana]

Oh my goodness, I've never seen a tank made of calcium before...I know what I'm doing for the next few weeks...
Here my new used 45 gal tanks, and maybe the other 3 40 gals in the picture if my friend doesn't want the extra work involved..
Don't leak and 50 cents per gal They're switching to geckos so I got some airpumps and 5 heaters too. I'll probably be passing along the undergravel filters - my plant roots would crush those closed in no time.



So, I've got all the biohazard-suit-required stuff and a chisel...just kidding. I've got CLR that I've been re-using for a while now and will rinse the hoo-haas out of them before any fish have access.

Anyone have any easier solutions?

[AlaskanCorydoras]

Straight ammonia with a hose. Keep in mind, Ammonia is the active ingredient for windex, and your biofilter will detoxify it, so it is really the only tank-safe cleaning solution.

[jerry58]

Hi L number Banana
This might help not tank but prob the same solution.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... le#p145342

Jerry

[L number Banana]

Thanks for the tips and the link - lots of good ideas there!
I'll start with the "weed killer" vinegar 65% and go from there

[Hitch]

check out this one. Worked like a charm for me.

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8365

[andywoolloo]

yeah I was just going to put i have used vinegar.

[Farid]

hi there,
i would go straight for HCl maybe 10% or so...if you should get any higher percentage...keep in mind if you mix any acids or chemicals

add water first then the chemical product

use protection glasses and gloves...to add the acid on the tanks you can use white syntetic filter cotton or a kitchen sponge.

do not use the a sponge with the green rough surface as these can scratch the glass

best is if you can do it outside as HCI's absorb is quite strong!...also keep a bucket of water near by just in case you need it...
i use to work quite a few times with HCI ....and 10% is not so wild but use is with respect

good luck

farid

[L number Banana]

Thanks Farid,
I use HCL for lapidary work and testing rocks so I have a lot of respect for safety with that stuff Thanks for giving a good description for those people who haven't used it before

This is what worked, the lazy woman solution...
65% vinegar solution (now sold as an organic weed killer) in a bathtub at about 2 inches. Set the tank in sideways, let sit overnight. Wipe off. If there's a big thick spot of calcium or scale, give the plastic a little bend - gentle!! and the solution gets under it and it pops off in one piece.

Clean as a whistle!

I'll do that with each side. Tank will be totally done in 5 more days. Only thing I have to figure out is the easiest way to get the vinegar back out of the bathtub so I can have a shower between tank baths...Sponge and squeeze, I guess.

I post a pic of the miracle tanks when they're done. What a relief, I thought I'd be doing it for days.

PS for AlaskanCorydoras : I'm going to try the straight ammonia on the second tank just to see what that does. I'll post the results.

Just read that thread Hitch, looks like someone else had the lazy idea first eh?

[Hitch]

lasy way of solving problem RULES!!

[L number Banana]

Yup. Maybe it just happens to be the wisest way too
BUT AlaskanCorydoras's idea is very much in the running too. I just tried a wee drizzle of straight household ammonia on the tank still in the porch (not nice to breath inside hence the wee drizzle) and poof it cracked that limescale like nobody's business. Lifted a whole chunk off in one piece.

I'm going to combine the two ideas (not the chemicals) and put a wicking cloth up over the sides with ammonia in one tank while I spritz/wipe the other tank. Outside of course
Wish it wasn't pouring rain right now otherwise I'd do them both this second.

Geez I wasn't expecting to have them ready so quick! Mile a minute planning - one p. pictus tank, one syno multi tank

Problem solved. New type thread:
Need a home made tank stand idea. I have 2 x 4's, 4 x 4's and plywood, need it low for viewing from my lazy-woman chair, very low, slung back with a wine table

*Why can't we have a female raise-the-eyebrows smiley? Hate wearing a beard...

Got any pics of your homemade tank stand anyone?

Hey Hitch, are you making sure those dragon eggs don't get any fungus on them? Good circulation etc

[L number Banana]

Oo, sparkly clean and my friend didn't want the others so I got the other three tanks as well!


The only thing that I couldn't get clean with the overnight soak was the glass pieces that make up the lid. They still look like they're made of stone...
Resorting to a razor blade scraper

[Bas Pels]

The above read as an advertisement for vinegar - including the incredible result

Wow, as good as new

[andywoolloo]

great job and a great size tank, the 40 and 50 gal breeders are my favs!

and you have a beautiful deck.

[Martin S]

Would have never believed they were the same tanks - great job!
Martin

[jerry58]

Hi
Thats unbelievable! Well done

Jerry

[Farid]

hi there,
looks very good i cant wait to see the running tanks

farid

[L number Banana]

Thanks for the cheers, I was a wee bit depressed when I first saw the tanks.
That was strong vinegar but as long as you have the time and an extra bathtub or vessel of some kind it should work with a longer soak. I used straight ammonia (outside!) on the plastic rim parts.

The funny part is that It didn't work with the glass pieces that cover the top. Some were used for marine fish, maybe that's somehow different?
Not to worry, no rush.
The other tanks have spots where they were drilled and then patched so they won't be quite as nice but that's what tank decor is for eh?

Andywoolloo:

you have a beautiful deck.

No, it could be a beautiful deck if I'd get all those roses planted, and the cutleaf maple, plumbago, weeping beech. Closings sales where I work
See that little rigid pond liner in the upper right? That's where my danios are vacationing this summer. They have their own fountain and water lilies.

Farid:

looks very good i cant wait to see the running tanks

Either can I!

[andywoolloo]

danios spending the summer outside!! how romantic! maybe they will spawn!!

[L number Banana]

Andywoolloo:

danios spending the summer outside!! how romantic! maybe they will spawn!!

They do and then they eat the eggs Maybe when I get around to planting, I should throw some pebbles in to give the little guys a chance. I've had the main pair for years now and only ever had one offspring survive even a few days but I never really tried to make any effort to protect the eggs. They usually fall to the bottom and if there's marbles or pebbles in the tank, you can save them and use the cory type salad box breeder.

And I think it must be romantic because their spawning is quite the thing to watch. They twirl around together waltz-like but fast, don't know how the male stays beside her, it's like they are glued belly to belly. Sometimes they twirl in a corner and it just looks like a blur. Maybe waltz is a bad analogy: Strauss on speed? No, it would be that classical bumble bee violin thing.

[andywoolloo]

cool, very descriptive!

[grokefish]

danios spending the summer outside!! how romantic! maybe they will spawn!!

My spotty doras and endlers sometimes spend the summer out doors.

Those tanks are loverly size, and a bargain clean up they really do look like new.

Go on give us a hint on what is going in them.

Matt

[L number Banana]

Thanks Matt

Here's the plans:
3 tanks of plants to pay for my catfish:
One with just mossballs, high flow to keep them rolling, high light to keep them growing. May have to buy more wine must (pressed grapes) to let the co2 get used by the moss balls. Spiral ferns seem to be happy in those conditions as well. They sell very well and are completely impossible to find here. Will be making some moss caves too. Madtoms if I can ever find them. Shipping from the US is completely out of the question at the moment. No heater so if I find any other cool water cats, they would go here.

One tank with lillies, have lots of lily babies. They rarely show up here and I bought mine originally for $10 each! Carpet grasses for aquascaping in there too. Shrimps to keep them company, no fish. Danios winter home maybe.

One tank with a lovely ash background and spiral vals. I'm doing this to have some fun with some very cool looking wood and to find out what the ash does to the water. I've read good and bad things but I'd like to know for sure with tested water. No fish until I know about the ash.

Special tank #1:

Synodontis multipunctata

x 5 and whatever else lives with them I'm hoping I can do this using my native limestone but will have to research just how hard the water can be. Page says, "Caves formed by piling up calciferous rocks and Vallisneria. Porous rock also has the advantage of providing the fry with interstices in which to hide." Porous rocks may be a challenge but I'll find something. Somewhat goth looking and can use tap water! Have halogen spots that can make the tank somewhat dim, lots of shadows and hidey-holes. No cichlids at the moment but I may change my mind Any other smallish fish that belongs in the same sort of area. Every idea in this tank is still open except that I will get my S.multis, somehow, somewhere someday

Special Tank #2:

Pimelodus pictus

x 5. Punk tank! Pink granite and black sand. Already have that part. Just need to find the fish in good enough shape when the tank is set up. Medium light but lots of hidey-holes. Lower PH with rain barrels/snow. This tank would welcome any fish that are smallish and come from pictus -places. Sand is currently being colonized in Frank the Syno's tank. Frank may move into the multi's tank since he's got African genes somewhere and will stay healthier there.
Don't tell anyone he's in there He's a misfit.

By internet calculation, the two tanks in the photo are 43 gallon. The skinnier plant tanks are 39+ gallons.
Any suggestions for either Catfish tank as far as small roommates go? Plants?

I'm building the tank stands later this week or next, depending on work schedule.

Warning: carefully planned tanks are subject to change, especially if any Sturisoma-type catfish should find it's way to my LFS

[Birger]

No c*****ds at the moment but I may change my mind

For your multipuntata tank you mention fry...so the best way is to have some mouthbrooding cichlids in there as the multi's are parasitic brooders.

I use 2 or 3 layers of river rock in my tangy tanks...easy to stack and creates lots of holes.

Birger

[L number Banana]

Birger:

For your multipuntata tank you mention fry...so the best way is to have some mouthbrooding c*****ds in there as the multi's are parasitic brooders.

Oops, did I mention fry somewhere? I guess it must have been in the back of my head That's why I mentioned the cichlids in the first place, I don't think I'm ready to tackle that yet. I'm still having water issues with my first real catfish community tank so I'm going slow to try to get a good handle on the basics of a filtered tank. It seems that every time I turn around, that tank is got some kind of water issue! No problems at all in the hoplo tank or the Syno Condo. Kind of scared to bite off more than I can chew with cichlids in there too.

The babies are insanely cute though...and in high demand

I use 2 or 3 layers of river rock in my tangy tanks...easy to stack and creates lots of holes.

Can you tell me how hard the water is? Like could limestone be used?

Oh! Just realized the mention of fry was from the quote from the species page. Not my words but you can bet I've thought about it.

[L number Banana]

The big tanks are good - now I need advice on any technique to polish pitting in the glass. The three smaller tanks cleaned up nicely except for the top 1.5 inches, the glass is actually etched away! It's not really a big deal since they're going to be for plants at this point but it still bugs me. One of them has the damage on the outside top edge??? Weird. I kept soaking and soaking and finally found a razor and a magnifying glass - completely etched away!

I have a Dremel and lots of polishing stuff. Most things I have are for polishing stone so I think they're too tough for glass. Any ideas? I may have to turn the top piece that's damaged into faux stained glass just so I don't have to see that foggy white line....

[Richard B]

Virtually any rock can be used with multis - limestone included

[MatsP]

Could you just cover the etched area with some trim, e.g. wood-effect laminate strips (or even just some plastic opaque tape, electrical tape or some such)?

Otherwise, I think stone polishing media would work for glass too. Try it on some innocuous glass first (e.g. a cover-panel) to see what works and doesn't work. You will need a very fine polishing compound for the final polish, to avoid visible scratches. It's probably quite hard work to get a good finish.

--
Mats

[L number Banana]

Virtually any rock can be used with multis - limestone included

Thanks Richard B, there's my fossil tank finally

MatsP:

Could you just cover the etched area with some trim

Very chic! I could match my room decor. Problem solved.