5g makeover

[TheresaM]

This 5g has been sitting somewhat neglected for a few months  😞  Finally decided to empty it, move it to the spouse's room, and set it up as a low tech betta tank. 

 

What's in the tank:

• ACO sponge filter
• Black sand and Aqueon Plant and Shrimp
• YukiHalu heater
• Hygger light
• dwarf sag
• frogbit

 

Plans:

• paint background
• java ferns
• betta
• driftwood
• some sort of rocks 

 

Already have the driftwood and a variety of rocks; ordered black acrylic paint and java ferns last night.  Place where the tank will live is a bit of a mess so I'll tackle that next. 

 

 

Edited November 4 by TheresaM

[Whitecloud09]

Following your journey @TheresaM!

[TheresaM]

Black acrylic paint from Amazon arrived today along with some really nice java ferns from Marcus Fish Tanks. They will go in my 10g for the time being.

 

Managed to turn the tank without too much issue, washed the back thoroughly. I have a few other tank-related chores to take care of but for this one painting will be the next step. First time I've tried it 🤞

 

 

[TheresaM]

Started the painting last night and finished today, 3 coats total. Quite happy with how it came out.

 

Wood has been soaking for quite a while. Need to decide placement. And definitely think I need more java ferns. 

 

 

[Odd Duck]

You’ll have to be very careful to keep the back dry with acrylic paint. It’s doesn’t always stick to glass very well if it’s getting any water, even spatter on it. Looks good, though, and your plans look promising!

[TheresaM]

1 hour ago, Odd Duck said:

You’ll have to be very careful to keep the back dry with acrylic paint. It’s doesn’t always stick to glass very well if it’s getting any water, even spatter on it. Looks good, though, and your plans look promising!

Yeah, I thought about that after the fact unfortunately 😐

[Minanora]

If it becomes a problem you can scrape it off with a utility knife blade and then go with a blackout window cling. I didn't have a background on my 75G tank.... then put the cling on without moving the tank away from the wall because of the weight. Sure, squishing water out from behind it made a mess on the floor but it dried just fine. 😛 Somehow it turned out pretty good! I think I spent $20~ on a roll that did my 75G, my sons 40 breeder and my 5.5G shrimp tank.

 

So far your revamp looks good! I'm excited to see the java and wood in there. What a fun project!

[TheresaM]

56 minutes ago, Minanora said:

If it becomes a problem you can scrape it off with a utility knife blade and then go with a blackout window cling. I didn't have a background on my 75G tank.... then put the cling on without moving the tank away from the wall because of the weight. Sure, squishing water out from behind it made a mess on the floor but it dried just fine. 😛 Somehow it turned out pretty good! I think I spent $20~ on a roll that did my 75G, my sons 40 breeder and my 5.5G shrimp tank.

 

So far your revamp looks good! I'm excited to see the java and wood in there. What a fun project!

I've used window cling on tanks in the past; had no idea they made blackout cling though!

 

Keeping fingers crossed with the paint. The tank is on a desk so at least there's easy access if I do have to change it. 

[TheresaM]

Got a lot more done last night than anticipated: scrubbed interior glass, emptied the tank, and moved it upstairs. Added water, started the filter & heater, dosed Stability & EG, gave the dwarf sag some root tabs, moved in the floaters. One definite problem is the tank's proximity to an outlet/power bar; need to get a new heater with a longer cord. Also placed an order with Buce for more java ferns and a few plants for the other tanks 🙃

 

 

[TheresaM]

Morning pic of the tank in its new location. Gets a good amount of sun which was why I wanted to paint the back. Will have to see if algae becomes an issue and adjust the light timer as well. 

 

(just dropped in the driftwood and java ferns temporarily, and please excuse the front glass mess 😬)

 

 

 

 

Edited November 8 by TheresaM

[Odd Duck]

16 hours ago, TheresaM said:

Yeah, I thought about that after the fact unfortunately 😐

As long as you keep it dry or dry it immediately after if it gets wet, it should last a good while. If it decides to go it shouldn’t be too bad to scrape off. I use opaque black window film on my tank backs but it will sometimes pee off at a corner and then it never sticks back down unless replaced.  If you use oil based paint or spray paint, it’s a real pain to scrape off if you change your mind about the backing color. So there’s good and bad about every option. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

[TheresaM]

Photo from this evening after finally cleaning the glass. New heater will end up behind or next to the sponge filter and hopefully not long after that the thermometer will be gone. 

[TheresaM]

Hygger heater arrived today, has a nice long 6.5' cord. Can see a bit of the temperature display but eventually that will be covered by plants. 

 

 

[TheresaM]

The rest of the java ferns arrived today. Planning to add some dwarf sag from my 20 long and the place the new plants.

 

Quite happy with the Hygger heater, has been keeping a consistent temp of 77°

 

Looks like we'll be betta shopping sometime this week 🙂

 

[TheresaM]

Pulled the dwarf sag from my 20 long, they went mainly in the back. Dosed another round of root tabs. All the java ferns ended up on the wood along with some bolbitis. Happy with how this is coming along so far....

 

 

Edited November 14 by TheresaM

[TheresaM]

Frogbit is already spreading so I put together a small feeding ring with black airline tubing. Also added some smooth pebbles for color. Popped in a stubborn tiger lotus bulb in the front right corner. Wasn't doing much in my 10g, maybe better luck in this one. 

[TheresaM]

Spouse picked up his betta 😀

 

 

[Whitecloud09]

Wow he looks really cool! Very interesting colors 😊.