55g Work in Progress, w/pictures new aquascape and sump

I've heard good things about putting the return section in the middle like you have there. If I ever get a new sump, I am going to try that style.

Are you going to keep any macros in there?

 

No, the Macroalgae will be in the fuge.

 

Yeah, that's what I meant, bud. Are you going to keep any certain ones or stick with good ole cheato? You could also do some mangroves, that would be cool. I had a chance to buy ten for $10 and I wish I had bought them. I will get some one of these days.

 

I was considering mangroves. I just dont know how much about the upkeep.

 

From what I understand, you just need to pull the dying leaves off.

 

I was keeping mangroves in my 29 gallon and honestly they really didn't seem to help much. They need a fairly deep sandbed. You need to keep up with the leaves and some stalks seemed to grow some sort of film on them that I couldn't identify. Those particular stalks ended up dying. I was also told to keep the tops that were out of the water moist. I hear you need quite a few to actually make a difference in water quality. Hope this helps.

 

I will be doing a bunch of reasearch in the next few days.

 

I have been neglecting my duties as an aquarist. I have put off completing my tank stand for far to long. I think my problem arises when I start researching the different type of equipment I need in this build. I decided the other day that it was time to suck it up and finish the stand. I will just have to worry about the other equipment later.

Well, two days ago I picked up two cabinet doors for $15 each, and trim to go around the whole thing for $60. Today I went to work and got all the trim on and most of the sanding done. Tomorrow, I will finish up the sanding and I will buy the paint for it. Does anyone have any suggestions on what type of paint I should use?

 

I finally completed the build of my stand. We are now in the process of painting it. I am so excited to finally be at this stage. Here are the pics so far.

 

I have another update w/ pics. I finally got my stand completely done. I cut the holes in the back for all my piping needs and also fished up all the painting. Yesterday was a big day for me... I drained 20g out of the tank and moved some furniture around in order to move my tank in my living room. I have a hidden agenda for the placement of my tank. The room behind the tank is going to be my water room, my wife is not aware of that yet, lol. Anyways, my oldest son and I moved the tank to the new stand without anything going wrong. I am happy of the results, what do you guys think?