Walmart Tanks?

[GT3050]

I want to start a cichlid tank, but I live in Canada and fish tanks are quite expensive here. At my LFS a 50 Gallon Hagen Tank (I think AllGlass makes Hagen Tanks?) with hood and stand costs about $500 and that's without filters, heaters, gravel, decortations etc. However, at My local Walmart they have a 55 Gallon tank with hood, heater, filter etc. for about $300. I know that the filter and heater aren't that great, but I have a friend with an AC 500 so it's not that big of a deal. I have also been looking in the classified ads for quite some time, but there are no deals to be found. Most tanks are only slightly cheaper than new so it makes more sense just to buy a new tank. I was just wondering if anyone knows who makes Walmart's Tanks, or if anyone has had any experience with them. Are they good? Should I just save more and get the Hagen?

[ArkyLady]

I got my 55 gal from Wal-Mart. It was manufactured by Regeant or something like that I believe, but they're probably all different.

I haven't had any problems with it whatsoever, but the glass looks thinner to me than some other 55 gal tanks I've seen at the LFS. Might be my imagination though.

I'd check out the glass thicknesses if you're looking at some of the more destructive cichlids. I decided against keeping an Oscar in this tank because of their destructive behavior, but he would have probably been fine and I'm just paranoid :)

[nvision]

walmart tanks work fine. i bought a 10g tank from them after dropping my tank during a cleaning routine (don't ask). walmart was awesome for opening till 11pm, so i got a replacement in time.

for just 8.95, it was the cheapest price i could find locally. the only drawback is their somewhat sloppy application of silicone, which is not very neat and uniform. if you can overlook that, it's good to go. otherwise, petsmart has the same capacity tanks for 9.99 with neater silicone sealant. personally, for a buck more, i would opt for petsmart. hth.

[RENEGADE]

there was some talk about walmart tanks. do a search for "walmart" in the upper right

[Sumpin'fishy]

I have bought a 10 gallon (package)tank from Walmart for about $30. It seems to be about the same quality as My 55 gallon that I bought from PetsMart ($99). 10 gallons are now selling with hood/light for $25, or without hood/light for $8.99 at PetsMart.

I personally found both my 10 gallon and the 55 gallon to be "lacking" in the quality department. Globs of silicone around the seams (mostly on bottom and less seen areas) which can cause problems when applying a piece of plexi to the bottom of the tank (hard to get it flat!). The brand from Walmart is Regent, which is a low quality version from Hagen....just like Penguins, but without the bio-wheel technology. They even use the same filter pads!

My personal opinion is to buy the cheaper brands up to 55 gallons (which are only about $99), but whenever you go up to 75 gallons, I'd go with a "real" name brand (Oceanic, AGA, etc.). Just look at how much you are investing then!

[DarthV]

Originally posted by Sumpin'fishy
I personally found both my 10 gallon and the 55 gallon to be "lacking" in the quality department. Globs of silicone around the seams (mostly on bottom and less seen areas) which can cause problems when applying a piece of plexi to the bottom of the tank (hard to get it flat!). The brand from Walmart is Regent, which is a low quality version from Hagen....just like Penguins, but without the bio-wheel technology. They even use the same filter pads!

My personal opinion is to buy the cheaper brands up to 55 gallons (which are only about $99), but whenever you go up to 75 gallons, I'd go with a "real" name brand (Oceanic, AGA, etc.). Just look at how much you are investing then!

Unfortunately, a lot of us that are north of the border do not have as many options for aquarium supplies. A 55gal setup at the LFS will run over 500$ just for the tank, hood and stand. I went with the Walmart 20gal kit (bought it pretty cheap) and the tank seems pretty solid, but you are right about the sloppy application of silicone. Now that I am looking at getting a larger tank up and running, the Walmart 55g is the best price by far. I still might spring for a little more $ and have a stand built and go with a 72gal. I'd kill for the deals you can get in the states.

[ChilDawg]

I think that Regent makes all or almost all of Wal-Mart's tanks. They're pretty good, but I would check the silicone to make sure that it had a pretty good seal before I put the tank anywhere where leakage would be a problem.

[scott]

Is there a city in America that is close to you that you can drive to to get one? If you could save a couple hundred dollars it might be worth the gas and a two hour drive.

Just wanted to add I am not sure what the exchange rate is so I do not know what 500 Canadian is but I got my 55 at Petsmart. I saw a scratched up stand and got it for cheap. The whole thing with gravel, heater, filters etc was $330. That includes stand and hood and tank of course.

[ChilDawg]

Originally posted by scott
I do not know what 500 Canadian is but I got my 55 at Petsmart. I saw a scratched up stand and got it for cheap. The whole thing with gravel, heater, filters etc was $330.

$500 CAN--->$343.05 US

Buy in the States if these deals exist near you...there is little difference in price, and the craftsmanship is much better. (Though you should follow my previous advice if this isn't possible...just check the silicone.)

[gutterguppy]

I believe that Regent is actually a marketing division of marineland, hence why you can use the Regent filter pads in Penguin filters. Marineland owns perfecto, which makes it likely that walmart tanks are perfecto.

I do know for sure that perfecto manufactures tanks for PetSMart. It wouldn't surprise me if they are in other chains as house brands.

[DarthV]

Unfortunately for me, I'm an hour away from the border to Maine, and well I have a feeling that there won't be any good deals in any of the border towns. Probably a 3hr drive to Bangor, and with gas prices and having to pay 15% duty at the border on top of the exhange, it doesn't come out to be a good deal. I think I'll be either :

1. Getting a stand built (should be under $100CAD) and buying a 72gal tank ($270CAD) and a 48x18 hood + lights (~ $150CAD) - both from a LFS.

2. Getting the Walmart 55gal + hood/lights + stand for $300CAD.

Both choices have their merits. Either way, I'll be adding a Fluval 304 and probably a prefiltered AC300 and an Ebo heater (or 2).


GT3050,

If you are near a Petcetera store, the Fluval 304 is on sale for $99CAD. I'm getting a friend in Calgary to buy and ship one to me.

[Dabbler II]

Hey GT where in Canada are you? I have seen full "starter kits" for a 55 around $250-$300 cnd. And for a stand you could go to Big Al's (http://www.bigalsonline.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?inCUR=CAN) they have both a US and a CDN site.:D

[Sumpin'fishy]

Yes, Gutterguppy, I'm supprised nobody else noticed my mistake....Regent is subsidiary of Marineland, not Hagen! I have the Nutrafin (Hagen) CO2 system on my brain right now.....my mistake. That is why I said they are the same as Penguin (also Marineland) cause they are almost exactly the same housing and propellers! I have a 10 gallong Regent tank "kit" which came with the Regent "Mini" HOB filter. I also bought a Penguin 125 HOB filter and the only difference is the bio-wheel and modified hood to fit the bio-wheel (and size of coarse!) I'm sure the Penguin "Mini" is identical!

Anyways for sylicone experiences with these Walmart tanks, I have a leak between the top plastic trim and the left side glass. It only leakes when I have the water level touching the rim, or when I used to use a Air Stone on that side of the tank. I only noticed it when the calcium deposits started showing, and now I cannot completely clean it off! I rarely have problems with it leaking now, but it still should have been made better!

[fishlips]

I have a 29g from wmart. I 've had it 1 1/2 years and paid $93.00 for tank ,filter, hood , light and heater. They have had 55's with stands for $199.00. A 55, is normally $159.00 with same goodies as my 29g.

[hineigger]

Well its a lude point after all the replies,

But I get alot from Walmart. My original 29g, my gf's 10g and alot of supplies come from Walmart. Its all good stuff as long as you stay away from the actual fish :)

[paradigmcubed]

My wal-mart had a 75 gallon on clearance with the stand and stuff for $160, apparently they haven't been able to sell it...

[GT3050]

Well Tanks very much for all of the replies! I am aware that Petcetera has Fluval 304's on for $100 cdn, but I haven't bought one because I'm still not sure if I should buy the 55g walmart tank, or just save up for the hagen one. My other option is the 33 gallon hagen kit which costs a little bit less than the 55 gallon walmart kit. Thanks again.

[Sumpin'fishy]

Go for the Walmart 55, but get good quality tanks if you go any higher. 55's just aren't that big of an investment (I know this is all relative, but they are pretty cheap and tanks any larger start getting pretty pricey!

[valerie]

where in Canada are you from? I'm from edmonton and I got my new 90gal w/glass top for 325$.I built a stand for 70$(my dad built it out of metal at work), built my lights for 30$ and got the filters on sale(AC500&AC300 for 100$ after the coupon).

If i were you i wouldn't go with the walmart, I don't trust there tanks that are bigger(55gal). Check around your area for a fish club. I know our club jsut had an auction and there were lots of tanks.They are also selling some tanks now that they bought jsut for the club.Check it out in your area.

[Lisasha3]

Just some info -
I've been using Walmart tanks for over 12 years now. I always get the kit, because you can't beat the price! Right now I have a 29 Gallon that's about 10 years old (and still going strong with original filter - you just need to do the maintenance on it). I also have a 55 gallon that's 5+ years and 2 Ten gallons from Walmart. All have been just fine. No leaks, no flaws, etc.
The only thing that I have noticed with some of the tanks I've had is the size of the filter they include. Like someone said - it isn't a very good brand. I did have to add a small additional filter to my 10 gallons and I did buy a 29 gallon starter for a friend of mine recently that had a smaller filter then what I had originally gotten in my 29gallon. All I did was call the filter company and told them that the filter included in the 29 gallon kit was not powerful enough to do the job, told them my tank was cloudy and it just would not clean up and they simply sent me a new, more powerful filter at no cost. That might not work for everyone, but it's worth the try. All the filter manufacturing info is in with the kit.
If that doesn't work - even buying a second filter or a more powerful one to replace the one in the kit I think still is going to be cheaper then your local pet store. The only thing you can't get at Walmart are the odd shaped tanks - bowfront, hex, etc.
Hope this info helps!
Lisa

[Hebdizzle]

lisasha3.... has Walmart even been around for 12 years? I didn't think so.... but you learn things everyday.

aaron

[nvision]

yeah those bow-fronts are sweet.

sumpin'fishy, if you don't mind handling sharp objects, a razor blade would make a quick fix to your calcium deposit on glass.

[Sumpin'fishy]

Thanks for the idea, nvision. I think I'll give the razor blade a try. What have I got to lose?.......except maybe a thumb!:p

[Lisasha3]

Yeah Aaron - Where have you been? Walmart's been around since late 60's. If were a dedicated Walmart shopper (with enough money spent to have stock in the place) you'd know that...haha

[GT3050]

Ok. Thanks a lot everybody. Hmmmm. I am not sure if it'll be worth getting the 55 over a 33 as they are the same width. A for the stand, I can build one pretty much for free as I have a few connections to a local lumber mill. I dunno though. I might just get the a 33g hagen starter and save a bit of money. (the kits cost about the same, but I would have to change the heater and mabye the filter). From what I've heard walmart tanks are generally ok, but I'd still have to swap out the heater and filter. This would cost me $125-$225 here in Canada. Thanks for the input though; more is always welcome if anyone has input on what tank I should be buying. Thanks a bunch!

[DarthV]

GT,

Petcetera now has 48gal 48x12x18 tanks on sale for $99. I wish we had a store near here!

[somefinnfishy]

Where do you live?I can be in international falls MN in 4 hrs with a $400 perfecto 55 lids lights EMP 400 ebo jagger heater nice new wood stand.;)

[GT3050]

Thanks DarthV. I have a petcetera 10 minutes from my house :) I'm assuming that the 48 gallon is just the tank on it's own without lights or hood. I haven't gotten the petcetera flyer in the paper yet, but I called them and they said that it should be out in the next couple of days; I'll have to look into it for sure. Does anyone know how to build a good hood with lights for a tank?

[GT3050]

Oh I live in Kamloops, B.C. Canada. I don't know of any perfecto stores in my area. They might only be in the U.S.

[GT3050]

and do you know how much a hood with lights would cost for that 48 gallon?

[DarthV]

Not sure. I only checked their online flyer to see what deals they had coming up in May. I think I'm going to get rid of some unused musical equipment and use that to fund a 72gal :)

[mrsdorothy]

Wal-mart tanks are good for beginners. I have 2 of them and have not had any problems with them. If you want an upgrade on anything that comes in the kit, they will offer advise and suggestions on what they think will be the best replacements and they will send them to you at no cost. They even replaced a broken heater and upgraded them from 200 watts to 300 watts. Just call the 1-800#. They are manufactured and distributed by marineland.

[Tyler718]

Originally posted by mrsdorothy
[B}......They are manufactured and distributed by marineland. [/B]

Aren't the Wal-mart tanks supplied by Regent? I didn't know Marineland made them. Are you sure about that? I'm just curious.

Dave

[Lisasha3]

Tyler,
You're both right. The tanks are "pieced" together with filter and heater from different manufacturer. The tank itself is a different manufacturer also. That's why when you open it everything is boxed seperately and you end up with a thousand 1-800 #'s you can call for help/problems/replacements.

By the way - since there are a lot of you in Canada it seems. I'm a huge aquarium/fish freak - have 8 tanks in the house now (9 if you count my brothers - need to teach him a little about the "babysitting" involved with fishtanks. Getting his tank started for him - the right way this time - first time around was a disaster!)
Anyways - I will be in Burnaby?? Sidney?? British Columbia in June on business. Any good pet stores up there??? Obviously not for fish - poor little guys - wouldn't want to put them through such a horrid trip.
I'm just always looking for new stuff.
Thanks!
Lisa

[Tyler718]

Originally posted by Lisasha3
Tyler,
You're both right. The tanks are "pieced" together with filter and heater from different manufacturer. The tank itself is a different manufacturer also. That's why when you open it everything is boxed seperately and you end up with a thousand 1-800 #'s you can call for help/problems/replacements.

Now that you mention it you are right. I have bought a 29 and a 55 from Walmart. I had to go back and look in some old paper work. They came with Whisper filters (both long gone). I just forgot.

Dave