OK.... LFS sounds good?

[chris r.]

I went to my LFS today to look into starting my new 75 gallon tank. I asked him what I would need to start and he said: A Tidepool 2 Sump $200, two Mag drive 5's for $90 apeice, a top fathom protein skimmer for $200, the tank, glass top, and lightstrip for $345 (I'm biulding my stand and canopy), PLumbing services and drilling for $50, sand for $60, purified water at .89 a gallon so... $66.75 and an installation fee of $50....
All for a total of $1,151.75.... without Live rock, or a heater, or a powerhead or two
This seems a little pricey to me, anyone agree?
And I think I could skip the Tidepool 2 a use my old 10 gal. for my sump and divide it up with some acrylic work.

 

[byrself]

yeah dude, i think you could save some dough here and there. i would buy as little as possible from the lfs, because you are going to find it much cheaper elsewhere. what lfs did you go to?? i got a pretty good idea though. either marks or aquatic life huh? you could find some cheap equipment prices at <a href="http://www.bigalsonline.com." target="_blank">www.bigalsonline.com.</a> just a start for you to compare some pricing between lfs and elsewhere. i bought a maxijet powerhead from lfs, for 30 bucks (impulse buy!) and big al's had it for 17.99. being that you still have to buy alot of stuff, i would shop around a bit. at least get your tank and have it drilled if you are going that route, and then get everything else on order. i think you could skip the biowheel for a 10g homemade sump. i plan to do the same with a 40g long that's soon to come. the biowheel is nice though, but can be substituted very easily. oh well, just my opinion. <img src="graemlins//urrr.gif" border="0" alt="[urrr]" />

 

[chris r.]

Yeah I went to Mark's.... where's aqautic life, Ive never heard of it.

 

[q]

What are the 2 mag 5's for. Run a mag 9 for a return and adjust flow with a ball valve. Use max jet power heads for more water movenet in the tank.
I get water at a local grocery store for .29 a gal. .89 is really high.
If you are making your own canopy I would get 2 250W MH and be done with it. You could do it for the same price as what they are selling thier lights for. PFO ballast, spider light reflector, and bulbs. That easy Adding actinic later would be easy if you decieded you wanted to.
What kind of sand?
Price is relative. I spent 350 on my skimmer.

 

[wamp]

First off. I would recomend you set a budget you want to spend. By that I mean, Itemize your spending. How much on skimmer? Lights? Sump? Livestock? Than set a time frame on the setup. The main thing is to budget and if you can not affford the right part wait until you can. You will save yourself alot of time and money if you plan way ahead.. Trust me and I think others will agree that if you wait until you can afford what you really want you will be much happier and have a better tank in the long run..
Good Luck!

 

[chris r.]

The mags, 1 for the return, and 1 for the skimmer.... but I belive I found them onlione for $55 dollars apiece.... lemme go look it up again

 

[chris r.]

okay its at <a href="http://www.petsmart.com/fish/shopping/water_pumps/products/product_770.shtml" target="_blank">Mag Drive Pumps</a>

 

[byrself]

aquatic life is on tiger bend, past woodlawn and before antioch. it's been a while since i've been there, but i didn't care much for what they had. just make sure you know what you are buying and check your prices. it is better to wait and get the stuff you want than rush to buy stuff you might regret down the road. i'd rather spend my money on stuff that lives rather than on cheap plastic. just my op. i would also say that you have to approach this like buying a car, research first and be stubborn if you have to! there's way too many options to rush.

 

[mlm]

i Don't know what type of LFS ou have in BR but in New Orleans we have Coral Conection which has an enormous selection of coral plus tons of LIve rock and LIve sand from the keys. Its actually in Kenner so it would only be about an hour drive from Baton Rouge. They have a web site <a href="http://www.coralconnection.com" target="_blank">www.coralconnection.com</a>

 

[byrself]

my roomate went there a while back, and said they wouldn't let him buy any live rock? i wanted to go check it out, also i heard of another. can't remember the name of it. i found it in fama magazine. i'll research it for you.....

 

[chris r.]

Thanks guys

 

[kdlbem]

My nephew just bought a 90 gal with lids and cheapo striplight for 225 bucks a month ago. Just a little price comparison for ya. You can get all that stuff cheaper.
HTH,
B

 

[heavenly damsel]

Look in the classified ads of your local paper...aquariums are for sale all the time. Also try <a href="http://www.reefs.org," target="_blank">www.reefs.org,</a> they have a discussion board with a marketplace section...can find things in your area. Main thing is to be patient. I started with a 55 gallon, wasn't looking for a larger tank but...I was looking for a new digital camera to take pictures of my tank...a camera salesman sold me his 105 gallon tank, stand, lights and RIO 2100 for $300. I bought a camera somewhere else, but the tank I couldn't pass up, it was already drilled with an overflow.