First be warned this will be a lot of jabber as have so much to say

As many of you know I have had some problems with my tanks in the past one broke and had to find a quick replacement which is my 26gl tank that has guppies, my betta (mr magoo), black neons. However because of the size ive found it very restraining in size which is damn annoying. So I started to look for a cheap but larger upgrade, my largest tank is a 33gl fluval tank i personally find it lovely and didnt thing i would go any bigger, well yet anyway.

But after some painless searching i have finally bought a new tank

I managed to acquire a 42gallon tank (159 litres to us englishmen lol)
100cm x 30cm x 53cm

I paid £36 for a setup with pretty much everything included although no lighting, which gives me room to play around with will probably just start with a basic T8 lighting then when money lets me i will hopefully upgrade this to a nice T5 fixture (probably over the next 6 months as money is tight with so many bills at the moment )

Well I found it on ebay and thankfully its the same town as me so will ask my friend with a van to help pick it up in the next day or two.

I havent seen it in person yet but heres a couple of pictures to show what it looks like and what is included

The tank front view:



The contents included:



As you can see its nothing special just a standard tank but i reckon the potential will pay off in the end. So in the price i got the tank, lid, heater, two pumps (i can only work out the stingray?? one), ocean rock, plastic plants, stones for bottom, breeding box, and the food as seen in photo. Oh and the stand its on in the photo, apparently thats what they were using for it, im feeling get some nice wood spruce the look of it up and also the strength (ill get my friend over and see what he thinks as he is good at building things).

For the price i think its a steal (well over here anyway ive seen a couple of you in the states getting some gorgeous tanks for next to nothing prices on her, i am jealous haha). I made sure i put my bid in the last 45seconds of auction ;)

Well anyway thats as far as i get. Im stumped as to what i have planned for it. Im tempted to do the 'beaslbob'? build and use heavy planting (possibly with some minor filtration). The only thing i cant find is the peat moss people use in tanks (anyone know stores in the UK that sell it?).Play sand is at the supermarket so thats easy and ill use standard gravel for the top base. Planting wise still unsure on. Fish wise also unsure on am thinking of getting some other types such as different cichlids and move my bolivians into there as well. But thats yet to work out.


Anyway thought i would share this with you all especially you holly as i know how intrigued you get with your popcorn eating and seeing new tank setups.

When i pick it up and get it home and give it a good clean i shall upload a new photo for you all to peruse at

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

First of all, congrats on the new tank! It's really nice and looks HUGE!!

Secondly:


LOL! Now, normally I have no problem understanding you, but either you were really excited about the tank and typing fast, or you had a stroke...... I'm hoping it was excitement! Lol!!!

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

It does look rather large

Oh i do apologise, its just some southern english slang. What i mean is the stand its on in the picture looks quite plain. So im planning to get some decent wood and create a structure around it, creating a cabinet to make the stand look a bit more decent and also to create extra strength to the stand itself

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

Very nice!Hey so since your English,if I say



MAIDEN!!!!

Do you know what Im talking about?

Anyhow back to the tank.What type of breeder box is that?I bet you will get some use out of it with the guppies.

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"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

When i read maiden i se so many different meanings to the word. I see maiden name, maiden as in a woman as well as iron maiden lol. Any of those what you are thinking of?

Im guessing it is just a bog standard plastic floating breeder box, but im unsure i'll find out when i pick it up. Ive already got a one floating breeder box never use it though as i prefer to let nature take its course with the fry as i would rather not be over run haha.

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

Haha,no actually I meant Dr.Who.A few seasons back,the Dr and I think Donna were meeting Agatha Christie.And he kept hollering MAIDEN!!!! Hahaha.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Ooh i was never into Dr. Who, so yeah wouldnt have a clue lol.

Oh and Holly you dont realise how hard it is to dial down my slang, but after working in the summer camps out in Pennsylvania ive realised how little of our slang is understood. It took me my first year learning to use sneakers, soda, pants amongst other things and avoiding using english terminology

But yeah i cant wait to get my hands on this tank, my colleague from work is going to be buying my 26gl of me for the same price i paid for the 42gl

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

I have finally got my new tank So happy with it, it looks nice, and so much bigger than i pictured

This is just a picture i took when i got it home




Since then ive scrubbed it up a bit, painted the wooden board thats on the stand white to make it more neutral instead of the chip board effect color lol. Tomorrow im going to start putting it together or seeing what i need anyway

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

When I went back and read what you said, it made more sense. Lol, maybe I just read it too fast.

And, you'd have to use even different words here in Canada. We don't say 'sneakers' we say 'shoes' or 'running shoes' or 'runners.' And we don't say 'soda' we say 'pop'. Lol. Pants is still pretty much pants.... some older people say 'slacks'.

It's funny how we have different words for things, lol.

Keep up with the pics! Can't wait to see what you do with the tank!

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

Haha well i feel less bad now

We use trainers or shoes not sneakers. We say pop as well as just fizzy, but we use the brand name more than anything so coca cola would be prime example lol no othr name not soda, not pop just coke. Pants over here means your underwear in general lol, we use joggers, tracksuit bottoms, trousers (slacks for work clothes).

I do find it fascinating how words have completely different meanings depending which country you are from.


Oh you know me i do like to keep these sort of threads full of photos and updates.

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

Pop is more of a generic thing.... "Do you have any pop?" But we say the brand name if we want to be specific, "Got any coke? Sprite? Dr. Pepper?"

For underwear, we say underwear or boxers, briefs (for men) or for girls, panties.... I hate that word!! LOL, it just sounds dirty to me for some reason! My husband says I'm weird.

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

yeah i just use brand names, for underwear we have pants, briefs, boxers for men, and knickers, thong or g-string (absolutely hate that term though lol) for girls. The list of different words we use could go on, even in the UK depending where you live varies on the words, northerners use slightly different dialect/slang compared to us down in the south east (we dont even understand what they mean sometimes and we are from the same country lol)


Anyway lets not take this to much off topic haha

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

(We have the same name for girls underwear too, lol.)

Anyway, back to the tank...... any idea what you're doing for a background? Black, blue, foliage?

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

The tank came with a reversible backing either plain blue or under water scene, but i will be planting this tank quite a bit so will be sticking with the plain blue. Not sure on substrate, was thinkin just the play sand and gravel as i weirdly dont have anywhere nearby that sells suitable peat moss. Planthin will probably be random as im not sure what i want yet

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That's cool. I thought about just sand, but heard it can get stagnant and cause lethal gas pockets unless you stir it up.

Actually, the same can happen with gravel. I'm kinda' wondering if I need to stir up my 20g gravel, since it's 3-4 inches in some places, and I haven't done any gravel vacuuming because it's cycling. (Don't want to put everyone in and then have them die from gas pockets.) Maybe I'll poke around the gravel a bit tomorrow.

Do you use white sand or a more beige/brown? Both are cool. I've seen some people do gravel on the sides, with a 'stream bottom' of sand in the center. It makes it look like you have a dry river bed in the middle of the tank. Kinda' neat effect. (May be hard to keep the 2 substrates separated though.)

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

Scanning through this thread and my eyes lock onto the word panties and I forget what the thread is even about....damn, I'm a pervert.

Thats a good idea, ive used white sand upto now. Once you mentioned keeping the substrate seperate ive been thinking what i could use. Large stones buried in the substrate creating a sort of wall is my first though how i could do it. I like your idea lol will have to see now

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

I know someone who bought actual lawn borders,and used those to make a wall with.It looked really good too.

Also,That breeder box is cool.Ive been wanting one:

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"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

ooh cool. If its a wooden border wouldnt it rot? Also most are treated with chemicals for weathering?

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

I think its more a stone?

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"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"