Project 50l fishtank

I previously did a course of blogposts, with a title like "Project Fishtank", and I'd like to start a similar series now.  Just to get thoughts out on virtual paper.  My apologies if these posts are extremely boring...

I've unpacked the fishtank, washed it out with warm water and set it up temporarily on my chest of drawers (previously water-damaged, so not a problem if it gets watermarked again), filled it up and it's currently proving itself able to withstand the pressure of 50l of water.  I wanted to check it before putting in hours of hard work, and also before putting it onto the buffet table, to be sure there wouldn't be any problems with it leaking.  If a heater or filter doesn't work, that's fine, but if the thing springs a leak, then we've got trouble!

We need to go to the local hardware store (hopefully tomorrow), to buy a piece of wood and ask for it to be cut the right shape for us, to varnish and use as a base for the fishtank.  I'd rather a piece of wood get pressed and splashed on than the buffet, plus it'll act as a vibration buffer for when the cupboard doors and drawers are used.  I'd put foamalite under the tank but it doesn't seem particularly strong, and the bottom of this tank has a 'rim' which makes deep lines in the foamalite too, which probably would make it a bit less stable.

Once we have the base, I'll relocate the tank to the buffet, set the whole thing up with heater, filter, thermometer and water, and while that's doing its thing, I'll wash the gravel.  I've already been soaking the driftwood for the past few hours, I still need to boil them to get most of the tannins out.  Then they will go in, with the gravel, and once that's all settled, the pH and temperature will probably need a bit of tweaking.  The water conditions I'm aiming for are 25C and a pH of 6.6.  It's pretty acidic, but the fish I'm hoping to get do fine with that pH.

The tank will need to run for about a week like that, before fish and plants can be welcomed.  Apparently it's better to buy one kind of fish at a time, so that they can have a chance to adjust.  I guess it also avoids the problem of losing 20 fish at once if something were to go wrong.

I really am so excited and wish I could just set the entire fishtank up in one go.  But, I must be patient, and I must be thorough and careful.  I'll have plenty of time to admire and enjoy the fishtank once it's all set up ^.^

Ooh, newsflash:  my birthday cross-stitch, the Spirit Horses pillow, is being shipped tomorrow.  I cannot wait for that either!!  I think while the fishtank is running itself in for that week, I'm going to stitch as much as I can on Wedding Blessing.

Watch this space for photos.