Best Starter Tank??

The hagen kit costs $243.88 cdn, and comes with a 33 gallon hagen aquarium (36x13x18), a fluorescent hood, a heater, an AC 300, and a few extras like a thermometer, net, food etc. The walmart kit costs $269.97 cdn and comes with a 55 gallon aquarium (48x13x22), I'm not sure of who makes it, I've been told that it's either mad by All Glass Aquariums, or Marineland. The kit also comes with a fluorescent hood, a filter by marine land (a penguin 330 without the bio-wheel), a heater and extras like the thermometer, net food etc.
 
Don't waste your time and money with anything less than a standard 75 gallon tank. Anything smaller is a precursor to an upgrade.

You need the 18" front to back space if you want to keep foot long cichlids. The standard 55 is only 13" front to back. It's a big tank for small fish. The 75 is a small tank for big fish. Does that make sense?
 
GT,

The walmart tank is made by marineland, or I am assuming so since they also sell Pefecto stands and the aqua-tech filters are rebanded marineland equipment.

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. The price difference between a 55 and a 72 is HUGE here. I think I have the extra money to go with the 72g, but I don't know if I want to pay close to 2x the cost of the 55. The 72g is about $280CAD and a hood for it will be close to $200CAD with lights. Add in a stand and it gets very picey very quickly. If I do go with the walmart route, I'll just get the $299CAD tank + lights/hood + stand kit and buy the filter and other stuff from a LFS.
 
of those 2 choices, the 55 is the way to go...though i liked nick's description: a 55 as a big tank for small fish, a 75 as a small tank for large fish...the maximum size fish one could keep in a 55 is probably about 10 inches, maybe slightly bigger, since 55 are 13 inches wide, ie fish need to be able to turn around.

a 55 is a good starting tank if you have the space and want those kinds of fish...of course for your average person starting out, i've always though a 29 or 30 was a good starter...large enough to avoid wild swings in parameters, small enough where you didn't make a huge committment if you lose interest...

but then again, i'd advise a community tank first, but i guess that's not for everybody.
 
IMHO and personal experience, by the biggest tank that you can afford. As time goes by you'll want something bigger and it'll give you more options of what you can keep in it. Also, with a larger tank if you run into problems it won't be as catatrophic (sp?) than with a smaller tank. I would go with the 55.

Hope this helps some,

Dave
 
There are 72 gallon rectanguar tanks. They messure 48x18x20.
 
have you ruled out the options on looking for a used tank? used 55s sell cheap by me.
 
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