jrmakawoody
New Member
Looking for some ideas to put up the most cost effective aquarium set-up. Where did you find your supplies? How much was spent? How does it look finished?
Low budget set up
- Thread starter jrmakawoody
- Start date
A
Anonymous
Guest
Rocks; outdoor landscape businesses usually have bins of broken up smaller rocks of all kinds that are discounted.
Some of my decor and equipment I found on Craigslist.org. I recently found off chance a 20+ pound of bog wood for free
Tis the season for seasonal sales at LFS.
Some of my decor and equipment I found on Craigslist.org. I recently found off chance a 20+ pound of bog wood for free
Tis the season for seasonal sales at LFS.
I look for tanks on Craigslist along with filters. I will always buy my heaters new however and usually get this stuff online from places like http://www.petmountain.com
I have used a lot of rocks from the great outdoors. I look for unusual shapes , textures or colors and best part is they are free.
I have used a lot of rocks from the great outdoors. I look for unusual shapes , textures or colors and best part is they are free.
i found this tank and stand on craiglist 150$
refinished it all up new lumber and staining 60$
filters came from DMD here for 100$ (also included a nice 300w heater and uv sterilizer)
rocks came from a local guy who imports them 70$ ( a STEAL for this stuff)
sand came to around 55$ (mix of crushed coral argonite and sugar sized argonite)
total of hardware was 435$ give or take a cpl dollars w/ stock it came to like 600$ managed to luck out and snag three species i was after for free from another guy on here. all this took multiple months to pull off so dont just hope to get this done before xmas. it takes a little while but MAN is it worth it
PS: dont get the sugar sized stuff it dusts up something fierce. took 10 FULL water changes before i got it down and even after that a bunch more just sucking up the top layer. and even after all that its still an issue. even washed the heck outta it
refinished it all up new lumber and staining 60$
filters came from DMD here for 100$ (also included a nice 300w heater and uv sterilizer)
rocks came from a local guy who imports them 70$ ( a STEAL for this stuff)
sand came to around 55$ (mix of crushed coral argonite and sugar sized argonite)
total of hardware was 435$ give or take a cpl dollars w/ stock it came to like 600$ managed to luck out and snag three species i was after for free from another guy on here. all this took multiple months to pull off so dont just hope to get this done before xmas. it takes a little while but MAN is it worth it
PS: dont get the sugar sized stuff it dusts up something fierce. took 10 FULL water changes before i got it down and even after that a bunch more just sucking up the top layer. and even after all that its still an issue. even washed the heck outta it
its old but it still has mostly the same look. rock constantly changes of course. actually in the process of growing out a few species, acei, white top hara, and my brevis sp. minuta. i may try to line breed the brevis tho my female has this awesome jaguar pattern going on. too little space and too much to do . also need to remove this group of C. Moori (blue dolphins) and a cpl of random tangs i have in there.
. also need to remove this group of C. Moori (blue dolphins) and a cpl of random tangs i have in there.
I see tons of low budget stuff on craigslist all the time. I am tempted so often to buy set ups and clean them up and resell but just dont have the time for it. You just need to keep checking every day and multiple times a day for deals.
jrmakawoody
New Member
I'm waiting for petcos dollar per gallon sale. I bought a pretty stout filing cabinet from goodwill for $5. A 20 gallon tall is going to fit perfectly in top.
jrmakawoody
New Member
I will definitely check that out thanks for the tip!
jrmakawoody
New Member
I will post pics when I do get everything set up. Right now I just have a tank that "won't" hold water, a bag of fluorite gravel, a small patch of dwarf hair grass, an aqueon (not sure if its a 20 or a 30, it came with the critter cage) filter, and a nice piece of driftwood (recently acquired). Soaking the driftwood now, to let all the tannins leech out and to make sure that its nice and waterlogged. Also, obtained an "aquarium stand" (aka file cabinet) from goodwill for $5. My fat butt can put all my weight on top so I know it will hold the weight of a 20 gallon. I plan on attaching some Anubias and java moss to the driftwood. I will probably also get some java fern and amazon sword for behind the driftwood. As for fish, my wife has requested guppies. I'll throw in some Cory cats too. However, I need to get a tank and a good light first.
I watch craigslist a lot of times and pick up cheap or free tanks and clean them up and rehome them for my time and recoup some cash, I recently drove from Olympia to port Angeles for a 29 gallon tank and fish just for the fish, and I thought I had the tank sold to a friend, so now I'm in the process of cleaning it up and getting t sold to recoup the money in gas and purchase price, but it is a very good way to get stuff cheap, my 72 gallon bowfront with stand was a freebie off Craigslist, I love the tank and will never part with it
Addicted2CAs
Member
http://www.wafishbox.com/t5866-235gal-build-for-under-600
I ended up with $630 into that setup, not including fish. I also have a 160 that is 6'x18"x30" that came with a fluval 305 and wet/dry that cost me $400 all said and done. The trick is patience! Like previous posters have said watch craigslist and your local stores and you will eventually score. Keeping an eye out on here is also helpfull.
I ended up with $630 into that setup, not including fish. I also have a 160 that is 6'x18"x30" that came with a fluval 305 and wet/dry that cost me $400 all said and done. The trick is patience! Like previous posters have said watch craigslist and your local stores and you will eventually score. Keeping an eye out on here is also helpfull.