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Squirt got an upgrade!

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 3:40 pm
by Chrisbarnett
So I scored a 55gal acrylic tank with stand, XP1, Marineland penguin 350, XL gravel Vac, an expensive fake molded rock, and a heater(which upon inspection was broken :? I replaced it with a new one.) I scored it all for $250. Pretty good deal.

Ended up putting a lot of work into modifying the stand a bit so the tank would fit better. You can see the border is cut lower so that the front of the tank comes forward, making it flush with the back of the stand. It ended up perfectly.I also replaced all filter media, and cleaned the filter extremely well. It took a long time to fit the hoses for the filter, and adjust the depth and angle I wanted the intake and output to be. But everything was worth it in the end.

I have sand as a substrate(nothing else would do after making the switch in the 30gal), the same soap dish resting dock as before, Marineland visi-therm stealth heater, Filstar XP1, and a new basking dock.

I thought he was going to take a while to get used to the new dock, but no way he was basking like a champ this morning. :D

Oh, I do plan on putting some plants in there, but I ruined all the ones I had from the other tank a while ago. I decided to try and clean/disinfect them by putting them in boiling water in a pot on the stove, But they all friggin melted and got ruined. :oops: lesson learned.

Anyway, I'll finally put pictures, thanks for reading the lengthy post.
BEFORE: Image
AFTER:
Image
The after picture is taken with my blackberry, it doesn't really do the tank justice.

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:07 pm
by RESnTX
Looks good so far! Love the shape of the new tank. I really like how natural the sand looks.

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 4:27 pm
by Take-One
I like it! Whenever Yertle gets a upgrade I think I'm gonna use sand.

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:33 pm
by BullDog
Very nice!
I see it's a bowfront, but is it one of those type that has no seams and it's just one piece of bent glass? :shock: Either way, it looks fantastic! :)

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:53 pm
by Chrisbarnett
Thanks!
Well it's not really a bowfront, it has an interesting shape. It does have seams in the back on both edges, and on the bottom. The front area is bent acrylic though. This pic should give a better idea of the shape. Image

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:37 pm
by BullDog
Ooooohhhh! Aaaahhhhh! ;)

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:35 pm
by Chrisbarnett
:lol:

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:36 pm
by steve
Very nice tank! Is the acrylic top glued into place?

And you have an Axolotl? Have you posted pics of it before?

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:41 pm
by Chrisbarnett
Yes it is.

Yeah I have one, I can't recall if I ever have posted pics... I'm not sure if it was this or another board. I'll post some pictures in a little while down in the people talk forum.

PostPosted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:00 am
by zoologist
nice job chris! i'm glad you ended up going for it!

now you just needa work on an over the tank basking area and your tank will be heaven!

PostPosted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:10 am
by Chrisbarnett
Thanks!

yeah, an ATB is an idea for the future. It will be a while though until I have the plan figured out and working on building it.