For the past couple of weeks, I have been planning and working on a new aquarium project. The main goal of the project is that in the end, I should have a nice upgrade to the 29-gallon tank I currently have. However, this isn’t just as easy as buying a bigger tank…
What I have done so far
Right now, I am only a little bit into the project in its entirety but have made good progress. First, I had been keeping my eyes open for a cheap tank on different selling websites, primarily Facebook. A great deal fell into my lap for the perfect sized tank, and I was able to pick up a used 40 breeder for free (traded some old aquarium supplies).
The tank was super dirty, but after a quick test to see if it held water, I was able to give it a thorough cleaning with some bleach water and a scrubber. In the trading deal, I was also able to get a nice lid, worth about $30, along with a large siphon with a hose worth around $40. This came out to be an incredibly good trade for me, as I traded around $40 dollars worth of aquarium safe wood, and got around $130 of aquarium supplies. I am incredibly grateful for the generosity of the guy I traded with. The lid was also pretty dirty when I got it, so with some vinegar, I was able to get it pretty clean.
When I first got the tank, I also noticed that the trim around the top of the tank was pretty cracked up and knew that I would need to either replace it or remove it eventually. With this in mind, I decided I wanted to try a style of aquarium bracing called “euro-bracing”, which involved removing all the plastic trim from the tank and using silicon to attach two long strips of glass to where the trim used to be. This style of bracing is extremely effective, as well as being very visually appealing. I will be doing a separate blog post on my experience doing DIY euro-bracing in the near future. In preparation for this, I removed all of the trim from the top of the tank, which was actually a lot harder than I was expecting, and I ended up with a whole lot of random plastic pieces.
What I plan to do next
One thing I haven’t addressed yet is the problem of an aquarium stand. The stand I have now is store-bought, and it perfectly fits my 29-gallon tank, which is much smaller than the dimensions of a 40 breeder. Since aquarium stands tend to be very pricey ($100-$200), I decided that I wanted to try to build my own. This isn’t super hard to do, and it is a lot cheaper. When I added up all the supplies that I will need, the total was around $100. This is good because not only will I know that I can trust this stand 100%, but I will also get the valuable learning experience and be able to customize as much as I need. I will have a separate blog post highlighting the steps I took to build the stand and show the final product.
I also would like to completely reseal the tank, which involves removing most of the silicon that is already in the tank, and replacing it with fresh silicon. This part hopefully won’t be too difficult and will make me much more confident in the tank’s ability to hold water long term.
After that, I will need to install the euro-bracing, which also includes cutting the glass, which is something I haven’t ever done before. I am pretty excited to try this out, and I hope it works out well.
After all this is complete and the tank is ready for use, I will need to switch over the fish, filter, and heater, which might be a bit of a challenge due to cycling and that the new tank will go in the same spot that the old tank is currently located.
Challenges I will face
Other than the obvious challenge of learning all these new things, there are a few problems that I will have to figure out. First, the lid that I got with the tank was designed to be held up by the stock aquarium trim. Since I have removed that, I am hoping that I can figure out a way to design the euro-bracing that I can still use the lid, as it will greatly reduce evaporation, which makes it so that I don’t have to top off the tank nearly as much.
Another problem I am facing is how I am going to get the filter input/output hoses in and out of the tank with the euro-bracing. They were designed to only have to clear a 1/2 inch trim, and now I need to figure out a way to get them around/through a 3 inch trim. I think I plan on just cutting a small slot for them to go through, but I won’t know if this is actually possible until I get the glass and start working on it.
The last problem I might face is the lack of filtration, as I am adding 11 gallons to the system, but still using the same filter. I will probably have to buy another filter at some point, but until then, I am just going to have to see if my current filter can handle the extra load.
Final notes
In total, this project should cost around $200 to complete, and with me starting work again soon, this shouldn’t hit me too hard, and will be an extremely fun and satisfying process. I hope that I will be able to overcome any challenges I run in to, and that I will end up with a beautiful display tank. Wish me luck!
I am impressed with the deal you got. I am also impressed with all of your plans, although I find them a bit overwhelming. I look forward to seeing posts that show your progress. And- good luck!