How to make a 55 gallon tank stand (48X13X20)

48X13X20; are the measurments
done with the help of my husband and brother

What i bought:
• 3 2x4x10
• 4 2x4x8
• 16 corner angles
• 2" wood screws (DON'T use nails)
• 1/2" wood screws (for the angles)
• 1 can of wood paint
• 1 2" brush

What else will i need:
• circular saw
• drill
• sander
• pencil
• meassuretape
• the triangle to draw the lines (no idea what it's called right now)



(Please click all pictures to enlarge for a better view)

already precut:
• 5 pieces of 2x4x54
• 8 pieces of 2x4x34
• 8 pieces of 2x4x15












my husband sanding the rough edges



















measuring from the edge in on where the cross piece goes


















measuring exactly the difference on how far apart the piece has to come
















screwing on the pieces to the top first, which has 3 long pieces across









more screwing












an idea how it should look on the top, you see only 2 long pieces for the bottom










finally getting to the vertical pieces, which will be screwed on with the 2" screws first and then angles will be added with additional 1/2" screws










connecting the bottom and the top piece
















final screws











hooray, the stand is screwed together











now painting it, to match the rest of my furniture in the living room









done painting, and ready to go into the house






the stand in my living room and my tank put onto it. It looks awesome, I love it, and it matches my shelving on the right and the left :)
It took me about an hour to build, it's fun and easy it's heavy, but well worth to build yourself I only spend 60 bucks on materials :), which saved me a bunch of money instead of buying a stand I will add later on a shelf on the left, add a door and cover the right side with siding :)


What else I bought:
2 sheets of 1/16x24x48 cardboard
1 pack of 1/2" nails





covered the front to about the middle which is 24" high











added another 4" piece on the top










and added shelving right on top of it for all my accessories and stuff Ii need for a happy fishkeeping ;)







And here is what the final stand looks like with front boards and shelving, and that all for a total of 70 bucks







Try it yourself it's fun
eve

Now you're ready to set up your aquarium!

For Lighting information for your new aquarium (especially if you plan to keep high light needs freshwater plants or a Marine Reef Aquarium):
Aquarium Lighting

For Filters for your aquarium, consider these:
*Hydro Sponge Patented High Bio Capacity Filters
*API SuperClean or Smart HOB Aquarium Power Filters

And for Information about the use of UV Sterilizers for Aquarium Disease Prevention and Redox Balance:
*Aquarium UV Sterilization

Caring for your Betta

Caring for a betta at home or office
By Evelyn Buchmann

A Betta fish has certain needs to be healthy and happy just as any other fish you would care for. Just because you can buy them in these tiny cups, doesn’t mean that he really likes it to be in such a tight space where he can hardly even turn around.

Please read here the myth about a betta in a vase The Betta Myth

I have had my betta in a 1 gallon bowl for about 2 weeks when I purchased him, but he was so inactive that I decided to upgrade and got him a 5 gallon tank with filter, heater and live plants.

You should have seen the difference, he started to swim around and his colors started to thrive due to the regulated temperature and he shows of his beautiful fins as soon as somebody approaches the tank.

They don’t live in tiny rice paddles like everybody seems to believe, their natural habitat is huge as you will see in the following pic. http://www.cultureshocktherapy.com/pic/id/rice_paddy.jpg

For further reading about Betta Habitat, please see this article: Aquarium Answers; Betta Habitat


What you will need:

1 male or 1 female betta

*2.5 gallon tank with filter and heater is the bare minimum for 1 betta (a 5 gallon tank is of course even better)
*Gravel for the bottom (fine #1 sand if live plants will be kept, see the link below for plant care, substrates)
*Live plants (They love to rest on them)
*Thermometer
*Test Kit


-Set up your tank with conditioned water and everything else.
-The filter and heater need to be plugged in 24/7.
-You should have a temp of 78-82 degrees, since that’s where your betta will start to thrive and they will be comfortable.


Once your tanks have cycled, that means no ammonia or nitrite present; you can add your betta.
But don’t forget to acclimate him properly, by taking water out of the tank and filling it into the cup or bag, whichever he/she came in, put in about ¼ cup of tank water every 15 minutes, until you have reached double capacity of water in the cup then it was before, this will take care of the pH difference from your tank water to the pet store water.

Make sure you do weekly partial water changes of 25% with a small gravel siphon, and refill it with aged and conditioned water, at the same temperature.

3-5 female Bettas’

*10 gallon tank
*Filter
*Heater
*Thermometer
*Gravel for the bottom (fine #1 sand if live plants will be kept, see the link below for plant care, substrates)
*Lots of live plants
*Decorations without any sharp edges


Do the same thing as you would do it with the 2.5 gallon tank (setting up, cycling, floating the bag with fish, etc.) You will need to get at least 3 females thought (if you only get 2, one will dominate the other) they will choose a so called pecking order amongst them and will look like they’re fighting, but they don’t. Once they have chosen the rang order, the fighting will stop. You can also add 2-3 Cory cats into that setup, since they’re bottom dwellers, and you can have up to 5 females together in a 10 gallon tank.

1 male OR 1 female betta with tropical’s

Same setup and maintenance as the above 2.

Example setup in a 15 gallon tank:,

1 male or 1 female betta
2-3 Cory cats (bottom dwellers)
5 neon tetras (schooling fish)
3 platy’s (males only if you don’t want any fry)
5 rasboras (also schooling fish)


Conclusion:

You can’t keep male/female together unless they were properly conditioned for spawning

You can’t keep male/male together, or they will kill each other

But you can put females together with a minimum of 3 in at least a 10 gallon tank

And you also can put a female or a male with other tropicals, as long as the others don’t have long fins like a male guppy or a serpae tetra.

You can keep males/females together however if you have at least a 55 gallon tank, which is heavily planted and you have at least some experience on keeping fish


Feeding them;

You should feed your betta twice a day 3-4 pellets at each feeding, but change their diet up with frozen blood worms, Baby Brine Shrimp, Pellets and live Baby Brine shrimp, and also a thawed pea about once a week. Also fast your betta one day out of the week, which will keep constipation at bay

For further information about Betta Feeding and Fish Nutrition in general, please see this article: “Aquarium Fish Nutrition, all about”


Final Thoughts:

Please do yourself and your betta a big favor and get a tank instead of a stupid bowl. With proper care they can live up to 8 years.

Sure they can survive in a bowl, but let’s face it, are you willing to do partials every day, when you only need to do it once a week on a tank with a gravel siphon???? Well what ever you decide, happy fish keeping and have fun with your hobby. It gives lots of joy in ones life!


OTHER ARTICLES/ RESOURCES:

“Aquarium Size and Stunting, beginner to advanced aquarists”
“Over a Copper Moon Betta”
“Freshwater Aquarium Basics and Care”
Betta Profiles
Or for UV Bulb replacements for large scale breeders with their Bettas placed in systems with centralized filters with UV Sterilizers