Woot, the 220 Has Landed

**toddnbecka** · 09-18-2011, 05:30 PM

I picked up a monster of a used tank last night, 7'x2' and one heavy bugger to handle. Very solidly built stand and canopy, glass tops, 3' and 4' light strips, and an FX5 filter. All that cost me $550, with another $150 for gas and help moving it. I'm going to take down a 55 that's currently braced with a bar clamp since the center brace gave out and the 40 "tall" beside it to make room for the big one.
Then I just have to figure out what to put into it. Move the 4 severums, 5 silver dollars, and assorted other fish from the 125 over? Either way I have a nice-size tank open for new critters.

**Lady Hobbs** · 09-18-2011, 05:35 PM

Oh Todd!!!!!! Awesome find. I am so jealous right now. Congratulations.

**Crispy** · 09-18-2011, 07:37 PM

awesome pickup! now that's a good size tank!

**Lady Hobbs** · 09-18-2011, 07:41 PM

Todd, that filter cost about $370! So you got the tank for about $180. Your killin' me!

**krystalsohun** · 09-18-2011, 07:58 PM

Why cant I ever find something like that.

Awesome find!!

**Cliff** · 09-18-2011, 08:00 PM

Great find.

I'm jealous

**toddnbecka** · 09-18-2011, 08:01 PM

You can usually find the FX5 for around $200 online, (seller did pay full lfs price though) but it's still a great deal no matter how you break it down. I'll need a bigger heater though, the 300w that came with won't be enough in the basement over the winter. Been considering simply heating the basement, probably cost less than running individual heaters in so many 75/+ gallon tanks. Not to mention eliminating the dangers of failing heaters; no matter which brand you buy they're a gamble all around. Water changes aren't going to be much fun. Not going to be filling this one with mopani wood like the 125 either, maybe a couple larger chunks and mostly rocks. One round of making mopani tea for a couple months was enough. I finally broke down and bought some Purigen to clear up the last of the tint from the 125 after using quite a lot of carbon since it was set up.
Will be a while before I get it moved and set up, plenty of time to sort out the options.

**toddnbecka** · 10-09-2011, 05:14 AM

After the CCA meeting in Silver Spring I stopped at the PetCo in Hagerstown on the way back home. Picked up 3 20# bags of black sand, then hit the lfs and picked up 2 50# bags of the fine grade gravel I used in my other tanks. Roughly the same size as pool filter sand, but not sieved to the same uniform particle size. Most likely going to need more of the gravel. Paid almost $60 for 60 lbs of black sand and $25 for 100 lbs of gravel. I want to darken the color of the substrate a bit, and since rocks always end up at least half buried I'm thinking (hoping) a fair amount of the black sand will stay on or near the top layer of the substrate. The gravel will certainly fall faster when it's siphoned, so we shall see how it works out.
It occured to me that it would be wise to make sure the tank didn't develop any leaks in the process of moving/resetting it before putting in the substrate, so here's the first pics of the tank filling with water:

I did put styrofoam sheets between the stand and the tank. My basement floor is horribly uneven, and even as solidly as the stand is built I simply don't like that much weight on a glass bottom w/out a cushion to even out the stress. The long board on the front of the stand had to be knocked off to set the tank in place. It looked nicer before that, but the whole front could really use a makeover anyway.
The tanks further back are a 40 breeder and a 75. It would look better if the 220 was back there since it's 6" deeper, but I wasn't about to take down and move those tanks too. Bigger house in a couple more years, things will be arranged better. Will be putting an electric heater in the basement (will heat the whole basement rather than individual tanks) tomorrow or Monday, and collecting the dozen or so Stealth and Stealth Pro heaters to send back to Marineland for a refund. I still have a 250w Pro in the unopened package. Almost tempted to keep it, might be a collector's item one day.

I swapped a pair of Eheim 2215 canister filters for 3 Aquaclear 110's at the meeting. Not sure yet how I want to set up the filtration on this one. I also have the FX5 that came along with, and various sizes of aquaclear powerheads, even the monster 110 powerhead that pumps 900+ gph. Full sheet of poret foam, but it's not wide enough to simply fit into place all around on one end of the tank like the one in the 90. Also have 2 big Hydrosponge filters from the 55 and 40 that were taken down temporarily parked in the 40 and 75. The sponge filters alone would be good for seeding the new setup, but with 8 aquaclear 110's currently running on other tanks there's enough bioactive media available to stock the tank whenever. My only hangup with the aquaclear hob's is the pair of plagiostoma spiney eels I plan to add to the tank. If I use hob filters I'll have to figure out some way to cover the openings to keep the eels in the tank.
The glass tops have been soaked, scraped, and scrubbed. Still have some mineral deposits though, might have to pick up some muriatic acid to finish them off. Received some new 3/16" hinge for the glass sections Thursday, and had enough new backsplash strip on hand to replace the brittle and broken pieces. Not planning to use the matching canopy, more trouble than it's worth IMO.
As long as there aren't any leaks by tomorrow night I'll add the gravel and see how much area/depth it covers. Picked up some Val nana at the meeting, I should have enough light to grow that anyway.

**Trillianne** · 10-09-2011, 05:29 AM

What a great deal! Color me Green with Envy!

**toddnbecka** · 10-09-2011, 06:34 AM

Great deal, no doubt, but I've got close to $1000 in this already and probably don't even have enough gravel/sand to cover the bottom deeply enough for the Val's. All black sand, or mixed with Carib Sea cichlid substrate would be even better, but that's a lot of $$ for colored sand. Takes quite a bit to cover 14 square feet... The back of the glass is painted black though, so I'm thinking the black sand mixed with the lighter colored gravel will be dark enough.
Figure around $200 more in the Eheim 2215's I swapped for the aquaclears, and the fish I want ain't gonna be cheap either. I'm thinking Tanganykian featherfins, Cyp's, multi's, and the pair of spiney eels.
Color my paypal account a lot less green, at least until my super red BN that have finally matured enough to sex actually start spawning. Then I'll be listing proven breeding trios on aquabid to cover more of the expenses. The unsexed juvies I've sold in the meantime have covered most of it so far, but I've pretty well toasted my discretionary fish fund. I'm hoping the refund from Marineland for the pile of recalled heaters will cover the cost of the iHeater for the basement. Will be nice not to have to worry about a thermostat sticking, and a defective heater cooking hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of fish. Heating the whole basement should also cut down a little on heating the rest of the house this winter.