The Dumpster Tank

**nikelodeon79** · 02-01-2012, 05:42 PM

Some of you might be wondering why I call this tank "The Dumpster Tank." Well... because I went dumpster diving for it!

I had my eye on this tank for awhile.. it belonged to a family friend and the fish inside weren't going to last too much longer, and the person wasn't planning on restocking. I offered to buy it once it was no longer in use.

Well... the family friend apparently was angry with me over something because rather than sell the tank to me, she threw it in the dumpster. Her kids told me about it, so I drove to the dumpster and pulled the tank out! The top was sadly smashed (which is an issue because it is nearly impossible to find a top for this tank), but the tank and stand were in relatively good shape.

The Dumpster Tank!

The Dumpster Tank has been set up for several years. First, it was a betta sorority. Then, it became home to a pair of Betta Albimarginata and corydoras. I finally decided to re-scape after neglecting the plants for far too long.

Initial rescape:

After deciding to steal some vals for my mbuna tank:

I may still remove the rest of the vals after the plants grow up a bit... I am not sure I like how it looks.

Stock in this tank will be:
Pair of Betta albimarginata
Corydoras panda (at least 6)
Corydoras leucomeals (at least 6)
Checkered Barbs (at least 6)

I may also add neon tetras if I have room.

More pics to come! (BTW I will be adding a black background soon).

**nikelodeon79** · 02-01-2012, 06:23 PM

Left side of the tank:

Middle of the tank (I adore this piece of driftwood):

Right side of the tank:

**nikelodeon79** · 02-01-2012, 06:24 PM

Corydoras!

Leucomelas:

I promise there's a panda in there SOMEWHERE:

My cories are less than happy right now, and I suspect it's because it's too bright. I put an Indian almond leaf in there, so hopefully that will make the water a bit darker and more to their liking. I can't wait for the plants to grow in!

**nikelodeon79** · 02-01-2012, 06:26 PM

The male Albi is SUPER washed out, and again, it's due to the brightness/light substrate. Once the plants grow in, he should darken up:

Here's the female. She's a sassy little thing:

**bignellm** · 02-01-2012, 07:22 PM

Well, free doesn't suck--even better for someone to get their come uppings about being angry. Anger clouds the mind your grasshopper--

About the top, you might be able to get a top made for it, from a company that makes Acrylic tanks. Call round and see if they could make one from the foot print of the tank :) A shaped piece of cardboard or tracing the broken top onto one would make a nice blueprint.

Awesome tank though :)

**Goes to 11!** · 02-01-2012, 08:11 PM

Nice NIc!

I am not usually too appreciative of tanks shaped this way but I see the potential in what you have done here & I look forward to seeing it when the plants grow in.

LOVE the price.

**nikelodeon79** · 02-01-2012, 08:29 PM

Originally Posted by bignellm

Well, free doesn't suck--even better for someone to get their come uppings about being angry. Anger clouds the mind your grasshopper--

The best part is, I'm sure the kids told their mom that I took the tank from the dumpster (they were with me at the time), so she knows that not only did I get the tank, but she lost out on making any $$$ off of it! Ha!

About the top, you might be able to get a top made for it, from a company that makes Acrylic tanks.

I actually never thought about that! I did use a piece of hard plastic for awhile (when it was a betta sorority) but it warped. After I took the female bettas out, I decided to leave it topless.

I forgot to add in my "already had" list of materials a T5HO light fixture 78w of light) I got off ebay for $35.00. It was more of a requirement since the tank didn't have a top, I needed a light that mounted on the tank.

Originally Posted by 850R

Nice NIc!

I am not usually too appreciative of tanks shaped this way but I see the potential in what you have done here & I look forward to seeing it when the plants grow in.

LOVE the price.

It is a VERY odd size. It is super skinny, and as a result stocking options are limited. When I was remembering the tank sitting in the lady's living room, I was thinking it was at least a 60g, but when I saw it again (after buying two 55g tanks) I realized there was no way it was even close to 60g. It took awhile for me to figure out how to calculate the gallonage, but when I did I was surprised it was only around 26g. It seems larger than that.

**sailor** · 02-01-2012, 09:00 PM

Take a tracing of the top and take it to a glass shop like speedy auto glass etc,
They can cut a lid very cheaply.

**nikelodeon79** · 02-10-2012, 01:45 PM

What is everyone's thoughts about the right side of the tank? To me it looks a bit unbalanced... and I'll likely remove the vals and possibly some of the chainswords and relocate those to another, lower light tank, since I have a ton of crazy difficult high light plants coming in.

I really, really wish I'd gone with a better substrate... the playsand is super shallow and I wish I had some sort of a plant-friendly substrate underneath, but I just don't know that I have the ambition to rip up all the plants, take out all the stock and redo the substrate. Doesn't sound fun at all!

**Lady Hobbs** · 02-10-2012, 04:55 PM

You could try adding some Flourish Black Sand Planting substrate on top. Or any of the planted tank substrates for that matter. Tanks don't get vacummed when planted so it should stay buried.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Seachem_L...FWPCPG-vi.html

Or you could just bite the bullet and get in there and just redo it all removing the sand. But you're right. Substrate does need to be deeper for plants. 3-4 inches. The roots would appreciate the nutrient rich substrate rather than the sand but mixing it up looks not very good.

If you do top it off with something else, pull the sand away from the side of the glass so you aren't seeing two levels of substrate when looking at it from the front or sides.