Brendanb5
New Member
Upgrading from my 32 gallon biocube to a 55 gallon tank I bought used on FB marketplace. It included a stand with hood and sump but it was used for freshwater so I needed to make a few adjustments.
The first thing I did was cut off some of the old silicone on the seams that had peeled off and grown algae between it and the glass and reapplied a fresh coat. I probably could’ve removed more but was too nervous I’d remove too much and am ultimately happy with the results. Next I painted the trim on the tank black as well as the back glass panels and the stand. I don’t think I’ll use the hood, was thinking about converting it into a controller cabinet, but no final decisions yet. After the silicone was cured and the paint was dry, I moved onto the sump. It had one built in set of baffles that had been modified by the previous owner, but I knew I wanted more than two sections in my sump because I wanted the option for a fuge so I ordered 4 pieces of 1 square foot acrylic off Amazon, cut them on a table saw and siliconed them into place. The silicone isn’t as pretty as in the display but it works. I let it cure for a day or two and then filled the tank and sump to check for leaks. I left them full for 2 days and after I saw no leaks I decided it was good and emptied the tank.
It was quite the project. There are two different scapes here, and the later is what I decided on. At the beginning of the month I added water and live sand, allowed the water to clear and temp to stabilize and then added Dr. Tim’s around a day after. A couple days after that I added my pair of clowns and then my Royal Gramma a week later. It’s been lights off up until yesterday when I added a bottle of coralline and I also tossed a hermit crab in to eat the leftovers.
The first thing I did was cut off some of the old silicone on the seams that had peeled off and grown algae between it and the glass and reapplied a fresh coat. I probably could’ve removed more but was too nervous I’d remove too much and am ultimately happy with the results. Next I painted the trim on the tank black as well as the back glass panels and the stand. I don’t think I’ll use the hood, was thinking about converting it into a controller cabinet, but no final decisions yet. After the silicone was cured and the paint was dry, I moved onto the sump. It had one built in set of baffles that had been modified by the previous owner, but I knew I wanted more than two sections in my sump because I wanted the option for a fuge so I ordered 4 pieces of 1 square foot acrylic off Amazon, cut them on a table saw and siliconed them into place. The silicone isn’t as pretty as in the display but it works. I let it cure for a day or two and then filled the tank and sump to check for leaks. I left them full for 2 days and after I saw no leaks I decided it was good and emptied the tank.
It was quite the project. There are two different scapes here, and the later is what I decided on. At the beginning of the month I added water and live sand, allowed the water to clear and temp to stabilize and then added Dr. Tim’s around a day after. A couple days after that I added my pair of clowns and then my Royal Gramma a week later. It’s been lights off up until yesterday when I added a bottle of coralline and I also tossed a hermit crab in to eat the leftovers.
