75 gallon freshwater tank with fish, stand, light, Aquaclear 300 & 200,
heater, gravel, ornaments - $200 (someone was moving)

New, unused 55 gal and 30 gal drums so that I could move the fish and
all the water and gravel about 100 miles - $45 from the manufacturer (I
picked them up from the plant) Taking the water and gravel (bio) meant
that I did not have to cycle the tank (and find somewhere to put an 11"
Oscar)

Spongebob Squarepants ornament for my 3 year old son to look at - $7

Python gravel cleaner/water changer - $35

New impeller for @#$*% noisy Aquaclear 300 - $8

New filtration system because the Aquaclears are too noisy, don't mech
or bio filter well enough and to be able to push the tank back to the
wall:
Rainbow Lifegard Quiet One 3000 Pump - $50
Rainbow Lifegard AF-94T Mechanical Module - $42
Rainbow Lifegard AF-93T Chemical Module - $29
Rainbow Lifegard AF-92T Heater Module - $29
Seastorm 100 Fluidized Bed Filter - $20 (eBay)
Eheim air diffuser - $6
Air pump - $15
Assorted plumbing - $40


All told - about $500


----------------------------------------------------------
"Will you please shut up!" "You shut up. I am zee author,
you are zee audience. I outrank you." -- The Producers

"Christopher" wrote:

I can start off with carbon, I purchased like 5kilos of carbon from drs.
foster and smith online before I read up on the fact that I shouldn't be
using it at all. I've noticed that after a month of no carbon there is a
slight odor to my tank, but only if I put my nose on the water line, and
even then its not that detectable. That was a good deal of money wasted.

Don't kick yourself too hard over the carbon. While generally it seems
that most experienced aquarists consider it unnecessary for regular
use, it can come in handy to remove chemicals from your tank, should
you ever have to medicate for example.

But I'll grant that five kilos is *plenty*

I also spent a good deal of money on a UV steralizer, inline heater/chiller,
and pump to run the setup, total price about $600, I'm not sure if it is
worth it yet, but it would be nice to have the peace of mind that if my room
gets to 80F my fish won't fry due to the extra heat from the lights.

A chiller is certainly nice to have if you don't have reliable air
conditioning, or if you've got cool water fish.

The UV sterilizer is one of those things that keeps problems from
occurring in the first place, rather than fixing them, so you'll never
have an "ah-ha!" moment where you know it was worth the price. Figure
anything that kills pathogens and algae spores and such is a Good
Thing. I know if I ever put together a serious filtration system, a UV
sterilizer will definitely be a part of it.



--
www.ericschreiber.com

I've recently purchased a used 80 gallon tank for $500 (Canadian)
The seller paid $1200 18 months ago from the LFS (Pet's Unlimited)
Included everything but the fish.
Fluval 303
lots of gravel, rocks
large piece of driftwood which I chucked out
heater
nice fake plants with anchors
This week I purchase the fish from a breeder for $1/fish
I bought a "rebuild" kit for the fluval for $30
I'll post a pic link once it's stocked.
Regards,
Rob


"Christopher" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
I I have a tank for about 6-7 months now and have spent about 4k on it,
I'm
wondering if this is normal or have I been buying too many toys/expensive
stuff for it that is unnecessary? I have a 125gallon tank with a 20gallon
tank underneath it to raise shrimp in. (both tanks acryllic). Can you
guys
list what types of tanks you have and the stuff you have put on them and
the
aproximate amount of money you have spent on them? I don't think
maintaining the tank will be that expensive, probably on the order of
$200-$300 a year (mostly due to bulb replacement 7x20watt, foods,
expensive
fertilizers). I'm more interested in the 'setup' costs associated with a
tank, I'm not sure if I've been buying this stuff at way more than I
should
be paying. Please reply with your info, I'll post a detailed itemization
later.