Too good to be true

[phpKerouac]

I know most people will recommend dropping lots of $$$ on a good aquarium, however i saw a 55 gallon at walmart for $100 - a whole bunch on clearance actually, that have EVERYTHING - tank - lid - light - rocks - some fake plants - filter - bubbah wall ( i think ) - the works.

anyone have any experience with this setup? faulty filter, hood replacement?

I think the brand was "aqua" aquacollege i dont know. . .it wasn't eclipse.

:)

thoughts?

[aquariumfishguy]

I would say, if you find a good deal, go for it! You can tell by looking at the products if it seems like good quality. I would never buy fish from walmart, but I see nothing against buying a product from them.

[Slappy*McFish]

Buy it. The whole idea of spending lots of $$$ on your tank, simply just means, if you can afford better, then buy better. This applies to anything in life. If you can afford better filtration, then you would be foolish not to. If you have an idea of the type of setup you want, then research the best possible equipment you'll need to create and maintain that set-up, and buy the best your budget will allow. But ofcourse, always look for the best deals;)..as you don't want to pay more for an item that you can get elsewhere for much less.

[andruboz]

that kit is usually $160 without the rocks and plants. if its clearance at my local store, i'll pick one up..

the filter is a Regent that in my opinion is more suited for a 29g tank. i replaced mine with an emperor 400 from big als. but the regent still works- just being used elsewhere.

you also may end up replacing the heater and the light bulbs if you want a little more performance/quality.

but its still a good deal.

[Dragon_Lord_Tia]

i got a 6ft for $60:D :D :D :D :D

[Matak]

I agree. Buy it. Even if the equipment is sub-grade or sub-standard, it will definately do until you can afford to replace it one item at a time.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Originally posted by Matak
I agree. Buy it. Even if the equipment is sub-grade or sub-standard, it will definately do until you can afford to replace it one item at a time.

That seems to be what a lot of people do. They buy a kit from a store and buy fish like the next day. The fish die, they bring them back and then more fish die. Then they come hear, learn about cycling and upgrade their equipment from like a penguin mini on a 55g tank to an Emperor 400 or better.

[Slappy*McFish]

^lol..true, true

[vance]

hey i bought one. it cost 139$.filter that came with it is just okay.heater sucks. but thats allright i got a submergable one. lights and hood are just fine. i thought it was good deal.

[Matak]

True enough NJDF, but phpKerouac has the advantage of good advice before starting his tank right here at AC :)

[NJ Devils Fan]

phpKerouac is smart. ;)

[riffless]

their business practices alone make it so I won't step foot in those stores... if you're looking for a good deal, check out thrift stores or look for sales at your LFS... sorry to be so PC, but huge companies like walmart shut down local mom and pop stores by selling huge quantities of items below cost... if you trust your lfs to provide you with quality fish, then why not support them with all your business? just a thought

[latazyo]

my experiences with walmart tanks are nothing but positive

good pick up

[phpKerouac]

each and every one of you rock in your own special way.

thanks for the advice, info, and anecdotal insight!

[Matak]

Your opinion doesn't stand alone riffless. I won't buy everyday fish stuff from Walmart, because in spite of their homey feel good warm and fuzzy ads, the bottom line is their only interest.

[pinballqueen]

Well, I've never bought a "bad" tank from Walmart, and unfortunately that is my only cost-effective place to purchase... however, when I bought my 55, I bought from the pet store because I had the money to. I've got a houseful of 10's and 5.5's from Walmart though. If you can put your morality aside and shop there (as I do, for everything from cosmetics to clothes to groceries... what can I say? I'm cheap...), it's probably not a bad deal, and they do have an excellent return policy if something happens to be wrong with the tank right off the bat. I would definitely test the tank first with just water to make sure.

Incidentally, the filter in those packages is crap. You'll want to upgrade before long. Use all that money you save from not spending $300 at the pet store on the glass to get good hardware. Just my opinion :D

[NJ Devils Fan]

I hate big chain stores. I will never buy anything from the PetDump, I mean Petco by me ever again. I have been boycotting it for about 2 years now and I plan to forever boycott. All the one's I have been to are absolute dumps that have people who don't know what they are talking about and have like 2 registers open while 40 people stand online. When I was at one way down the street in the other city, I asked a guy what the name of a certain plant was, and he told me that all they had were potted and non potted. I was like, "wtf am I doing here" and got some frozen food and just left. That is the only reason I go to that petco, because it is the only local store with frozen food.

[Matak]

Originally posted by pinballqueen
If you can put your morality aside and shop there Is it "morality" to care about the welfare of the fish? Besides, I didn't say I don't buy clothes there, just fish products.

[Dtman]

Guess what? your local lfs only interest is their bottom line too. Thats why you get raped on lighting, filters......Of course that is how you stay in business, and I dont blame them a bit.
You just dont see them dipping out all the dead fish before they open in the morning.

[aquariumfishguy]

Well touch you~~~:p

Not all of us are made of money and walmart has very good things there. I won't buy my fish from walmart, but that is a whole other issue. It is really stupid to buy the same thing at a LFS for double the price just so you can say "well I bought such & such from _________"....WHO cares?!?! :eek:

Lets get economical here people. If this person can find a good deal, I say GO FOR IT! :D ;)

[TKOS]

I have 2 places to buy fish. A crappy LFS that charges double what fish are worth and then crams their stock into a few tanks ($2 for baby guppies?). Then I have WalMart that leaves dead fish in their tanks and gives bad advice. Well I am on a budget and I don't want to pay $10 for a betta that I can get for under 5 at WalMart. The worse thing about my WalMart is the bad advice so I can get around that by learning here. I can't get around the budget thing.

And the fact is that all stores want to make money. No need to get that down on WalMart cause they are successful. That LFS near you wishes they were just as successful.

[paradigmcubed]

Is this sale local or are a lot of wal-marts doing this?

[andruboz]

they arent doing it in texas. still $159 here.

must only be in stores where the 55 gallon kits havent rolled over [been bought and restocked] in a year or so.

clear out most of the old and then set a new lower stocking level. to minimize inventory/ tax liability. maximize efficiency and all that jazz.

[bettaman]

Originally posted by riffless
their business practices alone make it so I won't step foot in those stores... if you're looking for a good deal, check out thrift stores or look for sales at your LFS... sorry to be so PC, but huge companies like walmart shut down local mom and pop stores by selling huge quantities of items below cost... if you trust your lfs to provide you with quality fish, then why not support them with all your business? just a thought

It may be unfair practice but that's just what big business is about. It's the nature of the beast. Profit is the only concern, like any other business.

[Matak]

Originally posted by bettaman


It may be unfair practice but that's just what big business is about. It's the nature of the beast. Profit is the only concern, like any other business. But don't you find that some of the smaller fish shops care about their customers and livestock more than others? Don't they deserve our business? I gag when I see Walmart commercials with their warm and fuzzy "we care" crap. We have also heard the horror stories about some of the larger pet store chains. Truly, the bottom line is the only line to them.