Habitat - Indoor :: I just acquired a 50gallon tank!

[Raphulk]

some of you had seen that I recently had to return my Florida Softies back to their original owners because of my own space issues, but lucky for me their owner had something to give back. He gave me a used 50 gallon tank with 1 marineland emporer filter (for free!). This is great for many reasons, but mostly because i didnt have to spend any money for a slight upgrade AND ill be able to save up for a filter now instead of later!

since i just had my wisdom teeth pulled out, i am unable to do many actions such as heavy lifting and fast movement. so unfortunately i cant start working on the tank until im well into my recovery. so ill keep everyone updated with pictures and such with how the NEW 50 gallon tank is going.

FOR NOW, i would love to hear everyone's suggestions on a couple of areas:

how to clean the tank (should be easy, only freshwater was in it)
how to clean the filter
what i should use to cover the top, because it doesnt have a hood
would sand work well with the marineland emporer filter?


thanks, ill keep everyone posted!

[Chrisbarnett]

just rinse it out well, do a 10:1 bleach solution if your paranoid.

Cleaning the emperor is very easy. just clean like any other filter. throw away and buy new media for the filter.

I would use a screen, or egg crate screen, cut to fit.

Yes, sand will be fine with the emperor. just keep the intake 4" above the substrate and your good to go!

Sweet deal BTW.

[zoologist]

i too have a 50 gallon and built a sweet ATBA for under 20 bucks.

if you want i'll PM you the instructions. that way you can fill the tank up to the tippy-top and put a screen/egg crate/whatever over the other side of the tank.


am i correct in saying it has a support bar down the middle of the tank?

[Raphulk]

i too have a 50 gallon and built a sweet ATBA for under 20 bucks.

if you want i'll PM you the instructions. that way you can fill the tank up to the tippy-top and put a screen/egg crate/whatever over the other side of the tank.


am i correct in saying it has a support bar down the middle of the tank?

correct-a mundo! support down the middle.

[Daniel3507]

im with chris and jessy on the eggcrate screen. its the easiest way and its cheap too

[Raphulk]

haha eggcrate, turtle owners best friend.

does anyone have a marineland 400 emporer filter that they currently use?

i heard they are ok, but they are mostly used for fish and hard to get started but not hard to keep maintaining.

[Chrisbarnett]

Yes, my mom has a Emperor 400 running on her 55 gal in conjunction with a penguin 350 for a 13" fish. I have quite a bit of experience with them if you need help. Not trying to sound like an expert, but I have worked with it for a while.

They are pretty good, they are a pain to prime, but just keep dumping pitchers of water in the back until it primes. After it primes, it will make a lot of squirting noises, and then settle out. I turn the filter on and off a few times, pausing for a bit in between to let bubbles rise. then when you plug it in, it will make more noises and then quiet down.

If you have any more questions about it, feel free to ask.

[Raphulk]

YIKES. i couldnt even understand that, when i attempt to get it going after i clean, ill be sure to consult those mini instructions. until then, youve helped a lot chris! thanks

[Chrisbarnett]

Haha its just to get air bubbles out so it quiets down sooner. You dont have to unplug and replug, but it helps.

No prob.

[Raphulk]

well I FINALLY received the stand today.
it was just a matter of time because there was no space in the car to bring it home last time, and the person i got it from lives about an hour away.


so this weekend i will truly be working on the new setup. getting all the things i want to get now that i know im going to get started!

[Raphulk]

i was able to finish the entire setup of the tank this past weekend

ill be sure to post pictures asap.

its almost like i dreamed it

[joeybsmooth]

What is ATBA?

[chrisinva]

A= Above
T=Tank
B=Basking
A=Area

[joeybsmooth]

chrisinva I can not help but to read all your post in the voice of Antoine Merriweather.