cjohns, I'm sure you've already passed on the deal, but $350 for the tank, stand, and filters is a just a little high. It isn't highway robbery IMO, but you could do better. I think the seller believed that his/her tank being less than 9 months old still had most of its original value. He/she doesn't realize that in the aquarium world, equipment depreciates very quickly. And being that they pulled the CO2 injection system and light off the table probably means they found a separate buyer for those items as you can recoop better money for them compared to used tank and filters. ($450 for the entire set up wouldn't have been too bad, as you could have likely sold the light and CO2 set up easily for over $100.) "A dollar per gallon" is only true up to a certain size--at least for new tanks. On the interwebz, you can and will find people giving away tanks of all sizes. Just need to wait, as the deals are out there. Those of us who have been keeping fish a long time inevitably need to get rid of tanks--of all sizes. It is hard to tell in your pictures, but my guess would be that the stand is constructed of laminated particle board or plywood. Not ideal in wet environments. While it looks good now, over the years it won't even be worth burning. They should pay you to take it!
Aqueon products seem to be a little higher end for my taste. Nothing wrong with them, just seem to pass themselves off as the Cadillac of tanks, stands, hoods, etc. They do a lot of business in bowfronts and corner tanks. If that's what you want, go for it. Nothing beats a used AGA in my taste. Let us know what you come up with.
New project opinions needed.
Started by
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, Feb 12 2014 06:13 PM
37 replies to this topic
#22
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Posted 17 February 2014 - 09:20 PM
Yes I have passed on that setup. Im just checking craigs list daily to see what comes up. Thanks for input.
#23
Guest_tomterp_*
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Posted 03 March 2014 - 06:49 PM
I don't see the point of canister filters. ... And by the way I don't use CO2 or T5HO and I grow lots of plants, so really they're just a thing you sink money into with no benefit. Like the canister filter.
Canister filters offer several advantages, it depends on your situation whether or not they make sense.
1- Lower maintenance. Hang on back filters require FAR more frequent cleanings than do canisters. My Fluval 305 I clean about once a year, my Eheim I open up once a year or so, and can see nothing to clean. Amazingly efficient at breaking down biologicals.
2- Noise - hang on back filters make more noise, as the water cascades into the tank. If you change your water weekly perhaps this isn't an issue, but for those of us who suffer rapid evaporation, inevitably the noise starts in a few days and not all spouses/S.O's are fully appreciative.
3- Profile - the HOB take up more room, requiring the tank to be further from the wall. The canister tubing has a narrower profile, allowing the tank to be closer to the wall, leaving more space for whatever.
Sure there's a bit difference in price but there's value in the canister. But my Eheim was on my Christmas list (thanks Bro), and the Fluval was included along with a 55g tank and standard lighting at a Potomac Valley Aquarium Society auction for $40 all in. Those are frequently available used, and parts are widely available so no reason if you like the other advantages not to go canister.
#24
Guest_cjohns_*
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Posted 09 March 2014 - 09:21 PM
Well I just picked up a 72 gallon bow front yesterday and feeled it with creek rock today.
#25
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Posted 11 March 2014 - 04:07 AM
Tank is set up with store bought bacteria and some feeders. Should I take my filter from my other tank and put it in my new setup to help the cycling process? What are the most realistic artificial plants to use?
#26
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 11 March 2014 - 07:14 AM
Yes, using a filter from an established tank is a good way to get a new system up and stable a little faster.
Why do you want to use artificial plants? These are so hard to keep clean. And they don't "do" anything. Live ones look better, grow, filter, etc. and they are not that difficult if you stick with some of the easier low light things like java fern (not a fern) or even some micro swords (mine is growing like crazy with just a shop light).
Why do you want to use artificial plants? These are so hard to keep clean. And they don't "do" anything. Live ones look better, grow, filter, etc. and they are not that difficult if you stick with some of the easier low light things like java fern (not a fern) or even some micro swords (mine is growing like crazy with just a shop light).
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#27
mattknepley
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Posted 11 March 2014 - 07:34 AM
I'll second the java fern, but make sure it has firm, consistent contact to a largish rock or piece of wood, etc. Many people buy them pre-attached or tie them down to something. I'll also throw in a vote for my fave, java moss. Even I can't kill it, plant-inclined fish love it, and you can actually manipulate it to get some interesting looks out of it...
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."
#28
Guest_Erica Lyons_*
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Posted 11 March 2014 - 09:50 AM
API Quick Start?Tank is set up with store bought bacteria...
If you were within the expiration date on the bottle, you don't have to worry about filters from other fish tanks or feeders or any of that.
Check out this graph:
http://www.theaquari..._Nitrogen_Cycle
(Those levels can be taken with a grain of salt; ammonia's 72 hour LC50 [concentration to kill half the population in 72 hours] is 0.5 ppm, so it doesn't have to get up to 10. Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm....a lc50 scallops I think the people making the graph just eyeballed the y axis, but they got the main point.)
Now compare with this graph:
http://www.apifishca...ience_Sheet.pdf
The API Quick Start provides enough beneficial bacteria to instantly convert ammonia to nitrite then nitrate, skipping the normal 40 day cycling time. Now you just do water changes like normal (frequently enough to keep nitrate below 30 ppm or whatever concentration is safe for your fish species).
#29
Guest_cjohns_*
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Posted 11 March 2014 - 01:13 PM
Thanks for all the advice! Great info Erica. I have never grew plants before so ill need a helping hand getting started. All thats in the tank right now is creek rock. Do I need to add clay to support roots? My light is just a single blub that came with the setup.
#30
Guest_Erica Lyons_*
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Posted 11 March 2014 - 01:40 PM
You can put the little bit of clay for the plants in a terra cotta pot and bury it in your gravel. That way it'll both blend in with your existing rockwork and give the plants something to dig their roots into.
What length, wattage, and type of bulb is that? (For example, T8 fluorescent? T5? LED?)
What length, wattage, and type of bulb is that? (For example, T8 fluorescent? T5? LED?)
#31
Guest_cjohns_*
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Posted 11 March 2014 - 02:46 PM
I will check tonight when I get home.
#32
Guest_Yeahson421_*
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Posted 11 March 2014 - 10:47 PM
I would add sand to fill the gaps between the rocks, otherwise that will become a nitrate factory.
#33
Guest_cjohns_*
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Posted 12 March 2014 - 04:03 AM
Its a T8 32 watts 48"
Edited by cjohns, 12 March 2014 - 04:04 AM.
#34
Guest_cjohns_*
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Posted 12 March 2014 - 04:06 AM
I would add sand to fill the gaps between the rocks, otherwise that will become a nitrate factory.
10-4 I did not think about that. Thanks
#35
Guest_Erica Lyons_*
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Posted 12 March 2014 - 09:26 AM
A single bulb, two, three, or four?Its a T8 32 watts 48"
This is actually the same bulb type that I have, except the fixtures I use are two four foot long 32 watt T8 lithonia shop lights from Home Depot ($20 per fixture). The bulbs I use are Philips Daylight Deluxe, and there are two bulbs per lithonia shop light fixture.
Here is a link to the bulb specifications. They are 2750 lumens each: http://www.homedepot...22949/203466585
For my 55 gallon and my 75 gallon tanks, I use four daylight deluxe bulbs over them on a timer for 3 hours before I leave for work and 5 hours when I get home. The plants grow great and the timer solved the cladophora algae problem (cladophora algae used to grow, but since using a timer, it doesn't).
#37
Guest_BenCantrell_*
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Posted 13 March 2014 - 08:03 AM
Single blub
That's the sound a fish makes before it dies.
#38
Guest_cjohns_*
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Posted 13 March 2014 - 09:59 PM
HAHAHAHA!.......bulb*That's the sound a fish makes before it dies.
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