My coworkers all shared stories of large feasts and family gatherings for the holidays. Me? I found a used tank that fit perfectly on a metal stand I found on the side of the road - my Christmas miracle.

This will be my largest one yet - 40 gallon (long) - and I'm so excited to make it a thriving community tank and centerpiece to brighten up this weird little half-entry, half-hallway room at the top of the stairs. The window is north facing, and we're up north, so I'm not worried about algae, but I am excited to absolutely *slam* this window with emersed plants. Please ignore the dying rabbit foot fern, my green thumb is for aquatic plants only - she'll be going in this tank soon. Once we're ready to set up it'll be centered to the window, and I'll be whacking in some 2x4 struts in the middle juuuuust in case. The stand is some kind of industrial/commercial office cabinet someone ripped the doors off of, and it has a solid laminated top with heavy steel struts and legs, as well as leveling feet, but you can never be too careful. 

My stocking dream is a small school (10-12) of red neon blue eye rainbowfish, a school (15-20) of tinwini danios, amanos, neos, and cories. I really like the idea of some gouramis as centerpiece fish, but we'll see how the first few schools go. I really love the rainbowfish.

I'm not sure what kind of filter yet - I haven't done anything but sponge and my roommate's HOB, but I feel like this would be a great setup for a slow moving stream with lily pipes and a canister? I know it's going to take months to get going, but I'm so excited. Please don't ask how many sketches I did instead of sleeping the first night we brought it home...

And so it begins...