[sportrider1296]

Hello all, I just bought a brand new 50 gallon tank this weekend from a old guy on the other side of town. I had been in his garage for some time and never been used. The stickers were still on it! I has a complete top with a lighting hood. Hood has 2 ft. bulbs. I bought this whold set-up for $100 bucks!, wow

I was going to build my own tank, so I checked on the price of 1/4 glass. It was $5 bucks a square foot, crap. If you do the math on this size tank, it takes 30 square feet of glass. Thats 150 bucks plus tax. So I got a complete tank with woodgrain trime, fully sealed top, and a lighting hood for 100 dollars. Thats 50 bucks cheaper than just buying the glass.

Here are some pics of my tanks and hood, still dirty from his garage. The stand under the tank is what I custom built this weekend to support it. It took seven 8 foot 2x4's. The part that the tank sits on has five braces in the center and under the tanks is 3/4 inch high density board. All in all it cost under 30 bucks to build this stand including the nails. I'm going to finish it wil 3/4 oak plywood to match the tank. It is $42 bucks a sheet and all I need is one. So a grand total on the stand $30 for the structure frame, $42 for the oak plywood, and around $10 for stain and clear. Total for stand $82 bucks.

So now I have my set up for this summers project: 50 gallon tank and oak stand for $182

If anyone wants more info on the build let me know and I will send them to ya.

Ideas anyone? I will start with around 40 # of live rock on a deep sand bed. I not sure about fish yet. I want fish, inverst, other things

[ryddo]

had been in his garage for some time and never been used.

The first thing that I would do is take the tank outside and fill it. Since the tank sat for such a long time you will want to make sure that the seems do not leak. When a tank sits dry the sealant tends to dry out and leaks might occur.

Ideas anyone? I will start with around 40 # of live rock on a deep sand bed.

You want to make sure you have about 1 - 1.5 pounds per gallon of LR for a stable reef.

Besides that, good luck!

[johnny gray]

The first thing that I would do is take the tank outside and fill it. Since the tank sat for such a long time you will want to make sure that the seems do not leak
change the top plate on your stand it will get wet swell and then crumple support the out side corners of your stand and take out the 2 center 2x4 so you can get a sump in there

[sportrider1296]

thanks for all the input guys, If I seal the top plate with a good latex paint, do you still think I will have a problem. Would a 10 gallon sump be to small for my setup?

[ANGRY JOHN]

a ten gallon sump would be fine. on my 60 gallon i had a few years ago before i got a real job and had any money i used a square five gallon bucket. rubbermaid containers work to if keeping costs down is important. besides that leaves more money to spend on quality livestock.