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+--- Thread: Aquariums! ? (/showthread.php?tid=28190)
Aquariums! ? - CJsNvrUrly - 02-17-2007
As a teen, I had one ten and one twenty gallon fish tank (freshwater). Now that I'm "older," I want to get a tank again (at least 20 gallon) and am wondering where the best deals are. I have a Betta in a one gallon tank and came home tonight with a 1.5 Tetra tank set up (which is very cute) and two small goldfish...but I want more! (tropical)
There is a 28 gallon set up at Petsmart for $120 with accessories included, but I'd have to get a stand, too, for another $100. I'd love to get a corner bow front tank, but the one Petsmart had on display was just under $400 for tank, stand, and lighted cover and no accessories were included. It was a little too big for the corner I had in mind, too.
Where can I go for aquarium deals?
Re: Aquariums! ? - deckeda - 02-17-2007
Hey CJ,
My wife found a 20? gallon tank, rocks. fake plant, heater setup on craigslist for $50. With a workable table to put it on. And lid with light. It had an older-style filter mechanism (the flat kind that goes on the very bottom of the tank, below the rocks) but we bought a newer style.
Anyway, my point is, fish tanks are the type of thing you can find used if patient.
Re: Aquariums! ? - OWC Jamie - 02-17-2007
Yard sales.
Local classified. (people who tried and couldn't keep them alive practically give their stuff away sometimes) especially where parents are getting rid of their moved out college kid stuff.
Yard sales.
I used to find broken/leaking ones for free and repair them. (many, many moons ago when I had youth, time and patience)
Re: Aquariums! ? - BigGuynRusty - 02-17-2007
The bigger, the better, also easier.
My smallest tank was a 50.
BGnR
Re: Aquariums! ? - ArtP - 02-17-2007
Definitely try Craigslist if you know what you are looking for and local classifieds.
You may want to base your price on the Aquarium, Lighting, and Stand, don't depend too much on the filters, gravel, plants, and accessories. Usually if they are selling it, the owner hasn't taken care of it too well.
Clean out the used tank with plain water and maybe some Aquarium Salt or Kosher Salt and maybe Vinegar for tough stains. Don't use soap or household cleaners (maybe Lime remover if white stains are present) RINSE WELL!
Usually, eBay can be a good place to get decent deals on Power Filters or the Petsmarts type places usually have decent deals.
Some online places for the goodies and accessories are:
Enjoy...
I have been doing Fish for almost 30 years, I just like Macs more...
Re: Aquariums! ? - Jack D. - 02-17-2007
Check out That Fish Place http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/product/expandCategory.web?options.parentCategoryKey=245
This is the worlds largest aquarium supply house. I went to the retail store in Lancaster PA and they have over 900 aquariums full of fish and plants for you to choose from. Prices were very much better than Wally-mart etc.
Re: Aquariums! ? - davemchine - 02-17-2007
If you want to treat it like a hobby a 28 gallon tank is really a good size. Large enough to get a good variety of fish but small enough that maintenance isn't too bad. All of my tanks came from penny style papers and were bought very cheaply and upgraded as I could afford to. I'll recommend a few things.
1) get far more filtration than you think you need. The tank will look better, the fish will be happier, and there won't be crap all over the bottom. I ran dual filters.
2) get far more rock than you think you need, I like about 3 inches.
3) all that extra rock will let you put in live plants which the fish will really respond to. Try putting in a live plant and a fake plant and see where the fish go.
4) buy a dual bulb hood and put plant lights in it. On my 28 I had a dual bulb hood plus a single, so I had 3x the normal amount of light, my plants grew like crazy.
5) when you start the tank put the junk fish in at first and be patient for a few weeks. They will probably die while the water becomes what they want. Even after that take it easy on the exotics, they tend not to last.
I didn't do all of this at one time as it is kind of expensive. Half the fun is doing it one step at a time anyway. Good luck and post some pics of whatever you get. I'll try to find mine also.
Dave
Re: Aquariums! ? - ho'ard - 02-17-2007
BGr is right. Anything smaller than a 45 is not worth the effort IMO.
What city are you in? Many local clubs have become e-savvy and have their own online classifieds-- that's your ticket for the best deals (and how I unloaded my 120, my 60s, my 55s, etc. etc. when I moved to a smaller place and decided it was time for a break from the hobby).
If you're buying new your best deal will be at one of the national chains, however the quality of the "kit" and often of the tank itself will be lesser than what you will get from the "real" aquarium store. Most e-tailers won't ship a tank larger than 30 gal or so, and shipping on a nice wooden stand like you seem to be wanting will be prohibitive.
You're not going to like this but I would recommend you find the best-reputed independent LFS in your area and support them, because the prices are fixed for the most part.
That's if you can't find used (always better).
Re: Aquariums! ? - CJsNvrUrly - 02-17-2007
davemchine - yes, yes, all good information! I remember learning all that...the hard way!
I'm ready to get back into it (as a hobbyist). I just thought maybe there might be a good site that I could save a few bucks on the "hardware" while I got my tank established.
Re: Aquariums! ? - ho'ard - 02-17-2007
I've bought all my supplies exclusively from these folks for years now:
http://keyword.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=pet+supplies+dr.&page=1&offset=1&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D57f8a34f78c27227%26clickedItemRank%3D1%26userQuery%3Dpet%2Bsupplies%2Bdr.%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.drsfostersmith.com%252F%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DNSCPResultsT%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drsfostersmith.com%2F
Marineland filters and Jåger heaters will always be the gold standard for me.