The house that Guppy built

Finally breaking down and building a Guppy tank for the wife. She has been wanting one for such a long time. I bought her a couple guppies a while back and had them in a 5g down with the other tanks. But she never goes down to the basement and can't enjoy them.

So...without further adieu....

Start with one vintage hexagon tank (36g).


We'll setup no tank before it's time....


Clean and sterilize the vintage substrate. Ok...it's not so vintage. It's only been sitting idle for about 2 years now.


I'll try to snap a couple of shots of the two boys that will be the first inhabitants of the tank shortly.

Once gravel has thoroughly been sterilized, I'll let it cool and then add to the tank and fill.

And off we go!

Looks nice. Should come together well. I started with a 15 g hex and now have a 55g so be careful!
bastet56

I love the tank! She's going to love it! I have 4 tanks of guppies and 2 of endlers :)

nice your wife enjoying your hobby along with you... CONGRATZ.

I have always loved hex tanks. Looking forward to more pictures :)

Julie

Great job. So much fun.

This one will now make 11. MTS at it's best. LOL. And the shrimp rack isn't even done yet. LOL. Have a few more tanks for that one coming in. But this thread is all about the Guppies. Woohoo!

I've never been much one for live bearers. But this is her tank so she can do with as she wants. I'm just here for support...and labor. ;o)

Hex tanks are great for plants seeing it has a small surface volume plants help with O2.

I love guppies - it must be a girl thing because I rarely see guys who really like guppies.
So how many is she planning on putting in her tank? Any plants? Are you guys planning on saving the fry or letting natural selection do its thing?

I like guppies. Got a tank full of them on the back counter!

Well of course the gravel is vintage, how long you think its been around lol Great way to get her hooked in

And the fill.....



Definately need more gravel.

I like that hex it looks nice. I must say I like guppies for some reason. I always end up having atleast one tank with guppies in it.

Have some more gravel boiling .... errrr ... sterilizing. Here's something funny. This gravel has been sitting in a bucket for a couple of years. Needless to say...there is still some water in the bottom of the bucket! Guess that shows you how good basements are eh? Wonder if there "was" any good bacteria on it? Not that it mattered since I cleaned it and sterilizing it anyway. But still have enough maybe to fill a 10g. LOL.

Its looking good!!!!

Other thing (plecos are known for this) besides BB have survived over 2 years in attics and garages.

Name it 'Guppy palacade'

It looks good so far!

Tank is all filled. Two inches of nice brown river gravel on the bottom. Will be moving over a seeded filter today. I will have to stop by and pick up a heater today though.

One thing that I don't like about this tank is the lighting. It is a small 14w bulb. This light isn't going to do much for plant growth unfortunately. Wonder what I will be able to do to get better lighting? Normally I would go open top, but since tank is in the bedroom and she want very minimal noise, I will leave the top on this one. Just have to find a better light that will fit on the existing top.

What type of top? Glass or black plastic hood?

It's a black plastic style. Perfecto light which I didn't measure but might be around 12".

those are hard to retro fit but possible. Time to build a hex hood!

yeah...that'll have to be something down the road it would appear.

Just checked the light and it is a 16" fixture.