I use timers on all of my lights, just keep cutting back (slowly) untill you can see your plants suffering, then you know the min. light required. Also in fish only I put the lights on when I'm home.
ECONOMY HOBBYING
- Thread starter oscartank
- Start date
I use Amquel Plus. Pet Solutions sells it in gallon jugs. Even including the US shipping charge, it's about a 60% savings over buying 8 oz. bottles locally. http://www.petsolutions.com/Amquel+I48033456+C48.aspx
Finding your own driftwood/rocks is a great way to save money while aquascaping. Also, a great way to recycle would be to cut your plastic plant pots (from buying flowers or other plants) in half for caves. Always, always, always comparison shop... that's another big tip... sometimes you can find something like a filter for $50 on one website and for $10 on another. And, I've found, checking with your friends and family is good too. You can get plenty of free stuff if you just ask around, since most people start with the hobby and lose intrest. (Also try yardsales, craigslist, kijiji, freecycle, eBay, and also check the curbs on trash day! lol)
Same here. For instance, I ordered 3 bags of Eco-Complete today, and found the shipping didn't increase if I bought small items. So now I'm going to get lots of coconut huts to grow java moss and riccia on, as well as a few brine shrimp nets. I've calculated that by the time I sell it all, I'll have made 30$ more than I spent total. And what's the Eco-Complete for? Growing tonnes of plants to sell
Deffinately. Yesterday I spent 15 cents a piece on gold briggs, and got some near-adult female apistos for 7$ each. Large bottles of water conditioner, driftwood, etc. were all going for a couple bucks a bottle.
I largely keep aquatic critters that attract me and that breed. I really tend to lose interest on stuff I can't breed without major toil and expense. And you know what? Between critters and plants, as well as guarrantees on things I have enough of and not overpricing, I've made more than I've spent on a few tanks and gotten to experience many kinds of amazing fish and inverts. Good luck OT, this is deffinately a useful thread. I think I'll have to steal the window plant growing idea
ceramic rings, leca and lava rock are great for bio and permanent.
for course sponges i buy sump sponge blocks for my filters and cut to fit. they last longer than the replacements you get for most filters.
for polishing you can use poly fiber fill or quilt batting from craft sections/stores.
for fine polishing you can use the crib quilt batting.
you can use floor buffing pads for course/medium filtration too.
a roll of tulle netting and some string will attach a lot of moss for the price of only a couple hair nets.
you can get more filtration out of a small filter/pump by adding more media on the outside pre-intake and running a hose to the other side of the tank to ensure all the water is slowly circulated.
for smaller tanks a cfl or 2 will do the job for planted tanks. for bigger tanks it's probably best to go with t5ho.
for course sponges i buy sump sponge blocks for my filters and cut to fit. they last longer than the replacements you get for most filters.
for polishing you can use poly fiber fill or quilt batting from craft sections/stores.
for fine polishing you can use the crib quilt batting.
you can use floor buffing pads for course/medium filtration too.
a roll of tulle netting and some string will attach a lot of moss for the price of only a couple hair nets.
you can get more filtration out of a small filter/pump by adding more media on the outside pre-intake and running a hose to the other side of the tank to ensure all the water is slowly circulated.
for smaller tanks a cfl or 2 will do the job for planted tanks. for bigger tanks it's probably best to go with t5ho.
Use purigen for filter media. I swear by the stuff, $8 works for 100 gallons for months, and you can regenerate it with bleach. Or, just use plants and a good sponge filter.
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
my number one tip for saving money in the hobby..... staying out of the lfs! lol!
fish club auctions are great for saving cash, as is joining a local forum/club. i had one of my local forum members give me plants from his tank not long ago for free simply because he didn't have room for all of them. i then paid it forward by giving away some plants from my tank to a couple other members of the same forum who were starting up planted tanks.
paying it forward is the way to go! and keeps karma happy too!
fish club auctions are great for saving cash, as is joining a local forum/club. i had one of my local forum members give me plants from his tank not long ago for free simply because he didn't have room for all of them. i then paid it forward by giving away some plants from my tank to a couple other members of the same forum who were starting up planted tanks.
paying it forward is the way to go! and keeps karma happy too!
for sand you can try pool filter sand(white), sinks quickly, or play sand("natural" or beigeish I guess) which requires more washing and sinks slightly slower. but don't let the washing of play sand scare you away if you like the color more, it probably requires 15-20 rinses but once it's rinsed, it's rinsed forever.
and i personally like barebottom tanks with spray painted black back and bottom panels. a can of spray paint costs 0.99 at home depot and it looks great, makes color of fish show out more, and easier to clean. you can always add some decorations and tie java ferns to it or you can have free floating java moss, guppy grass, whatever you want. however, if you're really into planted tanks...no substrate will really limit your options. i still think the spray painted black background is a great idea though, plants or no plants
and i personally like barebottom tanks with spray painted black back and bottom panels. a can of spray paint costs 0.99 at home depot and it looks great, makes color of fish show out more, and easier to clean. you can always add some decorations and tie java ferns to it or you can have free floating java moss, guppy grass, whatever you want. however, if you're really into planted tanks...no substrate will really limit your options. i still think the spray painted black background is a great idea though, plants or no plants
