[ConquestTSI]

I've had this metal rimmed tank sitting around forever and I don't know how old it was when I bought it used. Its 13"x7.5"x9" which I think is roughly 4 gallons.

I'm thinking about making it into a planted tank for at my work office. The hood has a standard socket built in and it says its rated for 40 watts. The reflector could be pretty good with some polish.

Any suggestions on lighting and a filter that would work well for this tank? I'd prefer an external filter to maximize the space. Lower to medium light plants are fine.

Thanks
Mike

 

[danakin]

You sure that wasn't meant to keep rotisserie chicken warm?

I have never seen a tank with the metal edges like that. Do you remember where you got it?

 

[jinx©]

lol danakin...set it & forget it.

Actually I used to have quite a few similarly built tanks when i was younger. Alot of them even had slate bottoms.
The reflector may work fairly well with a screw in CF or spiral CF bulb. You could add another socket to the other end as well.(I'd replace the old socket as well myself)

 

[BiscuitSlayer]

I think it has a cool retro look to it. I am very interested in seeing how this thing looks after a good polishing. I'll bet it would look awesome after you hit it with a dremmel tool and some metal polish. The only thing that would suck is if it didn't hold the shine on the inside of the reflector.

Good luck with the tank and keep us posted. I am interested to see how this one comes out.

 

[stev0205]

this tank is awesome looking, just add another standard light socket and two screw in fluorescent bulbs. and a tom rapids mini canister

 

[lotekfish]

Whoa, that brought back some memories! Looks exactly like the tank my father and I set up when I was a kid in the early 70's. Same hood too- I even remember the steel logo sticker on it. I wonder if that's still around in an attic or basement somewhere. Maybe it's time to start a retro forum. Break out those bubbling pirate's chests!

 

[mott]

Old School yo!
That thing looks heavy!I remember tanks like these in the 70's

 

[jaidexl]

Very cool. I have access to a slate bottom/metal rim in my mother in law's backyard, I keep debating whether to polish it up or not. It's extra retro because the inside edge of the corner covers on either side have a bit of an angle to them instead of straight up, kind of like this \ __ /

I've never seen a metal hood before, too cool.

 

[spypet]

the inside edge of the corner covers on either side have a bit of an angle to them instead of straight up, kind of like this \ __ /

I've never seen a metal hood before.

that style is called Metaframe
a matching hood is harder to
find than the tanks themselves.

remember, don't reseal them with silicon.
just use a blow dryer to melt the tar from
the inside and allow it to reseal naturally.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/equipment/45190-refurbishing-metal-framed-tank.html

 

[fishscale]

I think those tanks look awesome, wish they came in huge sizes.

 

[spypet]

the more water pressure to hold in, the wider the frame.
it's just a novelty. I'd much rather have a seamless tank.
these frames are unusual, but they block a lot of views.

 

[jazzlvr123]

the more water pressure to hold in, the wider the frame.
it's just a novelty. I'd much rather have a seamless tank.
these frames are unusual, but they block a lot of views.

Yeah i agree the metal frames do nothing but distract the eye from the main focal point, the planted tank.

 

[Madfish]

To each there own. Some people like the looks of them and others dont. All I can say is go with what you like your the one looking at it all the time.

 

[theinjected1]

Pretty sweet tank. An aquarist "throw back". Looks like a picture frame for the tank. As far as the "blocked views", just take them into consiferation during layout. Keep the pics comingroud:

 

[ConquestTSI]

The tom rapids canister seems like a good choice.

I will try heating the tar to reseal the problem areas. Thanks for posting, I would have never thought of that! I might add some silicone to the inside just as a safeguard.

I borrowed a 15w spiral CF from around the house. Its pretty bright with just one, two would fit and be plenty of light.

The only problem I see is diameter. The bulb hits the top metal, which I don't think is a problem? The bigger issue is the bulb sticks down "beneath" the hood about 1/4" and would be VERY close to the water surface if the tank was filled to the edge of the metal rim. I estimate about 3/8" from the bulb to the waters surface and there is no barrier.

I'm going to shop around tommorow and see what is availalbe in straight tubes instead of these spiral ones. Anybody got a good lead on a good straight bulb, like walmart etc?

 

[Yoshi]

interesting.

 

[jaidexl]

There are various diameter alternatives for coils, also folded CF screw-ins. I'm sure you can find some if you look around at places like Home Depot and Ace hardware.

 

[jinx©]

Walmart has some folded CF screw-ins (13watt I think?) in the pet department that I've read some positive posts on.

 

[Contrast]

These coralife bulbs would probably work well.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+8068+9870&pcatid=9870

 

[swylie]

Indeed. WalMart has 13w bent (rather than spiral) screw-in compact fluorescent bulbs in the aquarium section. They look pretty similar to the coralife bulbs at Drs. Foster & Smith. I'm sure you could find others online.

Depending on how comfortable you are with electricity and DIY you could put a real CF bulb with separate ballast in there. I'm actually doing that right now with my 5g tank. I have an 18w twin-tube CF bulb that I'm going to hook up to a ballast I've extracted from a similar wattage generic spiral screw-in CFL.