oldpunk's 50g low tech journal(56K)

[oldpunk78]

so i finally couldn't stand having this tank just sitting out in the garage any more and decided to do something with it.

* tank - 46g(i think - if any one knows what it's actually called, let me know), 36 x 15 x 20. still in the clean up stages. the stand and the tank both need some work. it has a built in wet/dry filter which i'm not sure if i'll be using or not, but at least it's good for hiding everything. i'm still a little wary of trying to scape it(because of the whole over flow box thing) but i think i've come up with something.

here are a couple of pics of where i'm at so far:




it's not going to black or primer gray. i've decided on a textured charcoal. will probably have it finished up this week.

here's a shot of the overflow:



this is probably why it's been out in the garage for so long now, lol.

lighting - i had a pretty tough time trying to come up with a lighting solution for this project(still a newbie i guess). i wanted to hang what ever i decided on, but couldn't really find a whole lot. it looked like i could use one t5ho bulb or three t-8 bulbs or two t5no bulbs (didn't want to go power compact). i liked the single t5ho solution the best, unfortunately i could only find the hagen glo fixture and didn't want to pay the 100+ dollars for it. so my next choice was the coralife 36" t5no dual bulb strip light. i thought that it might look sorta okie hanging over my tank so that was out. i'm just going to make my own t5no 2 bulb fixture.

found this at the home depot:




i haven't quite figured out how i'm gonna do it yet, but i think it will better than than just a square strip light.

at first, i was just going to use pool filter sand(or something similar), but then i realized i had all the stuff sitting around to make mineralized topsoil. i guess the crypts will thank me later.

where i'm at with it:



man there's a lot of wood in there.

i guess that's it for now, thanks for looking!

* edit - after doing some research i have come to the conclusion that my tank is referred to as a 50g - so i will just go with that.(even though i did the math and know that's not really what it is. )

[Axelrodi202]

I thought 46 Gallon Tanks were bowfronts.

[oldpunk78]

15x20x36=10800 cubic inches, right? that = 46.75 gallons right?

did i do that wrong? lol

i thought 46g's where bowfronts too. i suppose it could be a 40 tall.

[speedie408]

Can't wait to see your progress oldpunk. Will this be your first mineralized topsoil project?

[oldpunk78]

Can't wait to see your progress oldpunk. Will this be your first mineralized topsoil project?

me too! and yes, it will.

[Coltonorr]

Sweet!
MS is great

[Trallen44]

Looks like a great new project! I am interested in seeing this one come together. Maybe the 29 can get a little extra grow time. LOL

[Dollface]

Looks like a custom acrylic tank, I don't think there are any 'proper' sizes for those :S

Also, I guess it's a little late for this but there's a hydroponics store near lowes (by safeway) that has t5ho strip lights. They only had them in 48" iirc but you might be able to order 36" lights. I actualy need to pick up another strip light from them.

[oldpunk78]

Looks like a custom acrylic tank, I don't think there are any 'proper' sizes for those :S

Also, I guess it's a little late for this but there's a hydroponics store near lowes (by safeway) that has t5ho strip lights. They only had them in 48" iirc but you might be able to order 36" lights. I actualy need to pick up another strip light from them.

the other day, i scoured the online hydroponic stores and didn't see a single three foot fixture. maybe they can order them though. never the less, i think i will be able to create a nice t5no fixture out of what i found at the home depot. plus i bet i will only have to spend about about 40 bucks total on it(sigh, i wasn't counting the cost of new bulbs though. hopefully i can find those locally.)

[oldpunk78]

Originally Posted by Trallen44

Looks like a great new project! I am interested in seeing this one come together. Maybe the 29 can get a little extra grow time. LOL

lol, i have already put off changing the water 'till tomorrow.

[Dollface]

Originally Posted by oldpunk78

the other day, i scoured the online hydroponic stores and didn't see a single three foot fixture. maybe they can order them though. never the less, i think i will be able to create a nice t5no fixture out of what i found at the home depot. plus i bet i will only have to spend about about 40 bucks total on it(sigh, i wasn't counting the cost of new bulbs though. hopefully i can find those locally.)

Oh weird, I just looked up the brand of my strip lights and they only have 24" and 48", HMMMM. I would still ask though.

My 48" fixtures were 36$ each, with bulbs. so that's not bad.

[oldpunk78]

Originally Posted by Coltonorr

Sweet!
MS is great

i hope so!

Originally Posted by Dollface

Oh weird, I just looked up the brand of my strip lights and they only have 24" and 48", HMMMM. I would still ask though.

My 48" fixtures were 36$ each, with bulbs. so that's not bad.

ya, the price was definitely right with the hydroponic fixtures but i didn't want a 4' fixture. i'll have to stop by there and ask before i tear into the other one i got.

EDIT - dollface, the only 3' t5 fixture you can get from bare roots is TEK.

[oldpunk78]

i made some progress today. finished up the stand (tank still needs more work though) and finished making the MTS.



i hope i did this right.




it will probably take me most of the week to finish up the light and hanging bars. i also have to find something locally to cap the MTS with. all most there, woo-hoo!

[oldpunk78]

oh, here's what i'm working on for my lighting. it's going to be a 2x21w T5NO 3' shop light with a single reflector from a 96w pc bulb. i will paint the exterior to match the stand. should be the same or better as the output on the comparable coralife fixture (lol, and will cost a couple of dollars more - w/o shipping). that should give me about 1wpg of t5no light that i will be able to raise up and down.

[Coltonorr]

Looking forward to watching this progress!!
are you mixing your MS with sand?