Money Money Money!!!

[Walker_]

Money Money Money!!!

Ok so my new tank is up and running now; pretty much finished cycling; bio-loads are established, most of the plumbing issues have been resolved (I went a little overboard on this…) actually I went a little overboard on everything…
Now the issue is I have spent WAY too much money on this tank (starving university student and such…) and now I have to somehow justify all this expenditure to myself. SO!! what I would like to know is if anyone has any suggestions as to what would be high value/rare items that could be grown/raised that an LFS/anyone would usually be willing to buy/trade with… At the moment there isn’t anything fancy in the tank just some maintenance workers (plecos, shrimp, corries, ottos, flying foxes) to keep algae in check (If they have to move elsewhere so be it.) There is some sword and a few other plants that are doing AMAZING (I am actually getting surface agitation things are pearling so much.)

The lady at one of the LFS had suggested that with my hardware I should have gone salt and raised some of the more fancy corals (which she would have been more than happy to buy.) However I elected for fresh anyway.

So! Suggestions? What is something that has a high value and would thrive with the below listed equipment be it a fish, an invert, a plant, etc? Realistically this will NOT be a money making scam, I suspect NEVER to recover the costs and im cool with that because, HEY I like fish!; BUT I need something that I can be doing with the tank so when people ask me what the hell I was thinking I can tell them; “Oh yes well actually I sell ___ to the LFS, etc.. etc.. etc..” and the funny looks subside a bit…

For reference this is what I have:

- 90 gal,
- 4” of 100% fluorite red
- Home made bio filter with MASSIVE capacity (a sealed 40Gal PVC water tank filled with lava rock) on 2 little giant pumps.
- Diatom plumbed into the main system can be bypassed/backflushed/reprimed cleanly IE just turn a sequence of 14 valves either on or off (the tank is plumed directly into city water and sewage, so prolonged operation is a snap)
-Milwaukee reg/ PH controller on a 20lb bottle (100% efficiency with diffusion)
-2x400watt 10,000K Metal Halide Ushio bulbs running Electronic Ballasts

I pinched some hardware from a debunked experimental water treatment company that was in the same building where I work; so I will be adding a system to automatically perform water changes, back flushes, reprimes, and fertilizer introduction soon so I suspect that will allow me to keep very good tabs on water quality; I can also grab some ozone equipment and some RO equipment too if it would be beneficial for whatever suggestions people come up with…

So ideas??

 

[kyazh]

Jesus christ, thats amazingly overboard LOL. But I do admire your work, now those 800watts of lighting might be a little much, u might have an algea festival! I would love to see some pictures of ur tank and all the cool stuff that you have done!

 

[alex818]

Yeah that is a little too much light unless you plan on planting VERY heavily and using CO2

 

[TetraFreak]

the first thing you want to do is get that thing planted heavily!

perhaps some thing tall that eats the nutrients that algae needs to grow. Perhaps a large back wall of Anachairis.

Also, once you get it planted the way you want, you may want to maximize the tank by finding some fish that you really like to look at.

A few Clown(4 or 5) loaches for Bottom feeders,
Perhaps some Silver Dollars or Discus for centerpiece fish. Keep in mind that Discus can be picky about water quality though.

 

[Hannys_Papa]

Well you could try some rare species of plants - but much better would be shrimp (cherry or crystal - although these are bigtime expensive).
Now i am not in the business myself - but in a few other forums i see posts almost daily of guys with bigger tanks that have them being "shrimp only" and pump out hundreds of shrimp each month.
Considering the price of your equipment and how much it costs to run it i don't think you'll ever break even but it might help to get a little back.
Cherry shrimp are usually sold for about $1.50-$2 a piece.

BTW i think 2x400W is way too much light for that tank.

 

[mooman]

I will, as always, suggest apistogramma. A. cacatuoides if very prolific, and the most popular apisto because it colors up fast and looks the best in dealer tanks. They will usually be in demand, and they're pretty expensive. It is also a harem breeder, so one male and (in that tank) as many females as you want will turn out babies at a constant rate. You will have to stock appropriately however if you want to raise any fry. NO OTHER BOTTOM DWELLERS (or VERY FEW at least). Use pencil fish and hatchet fish as your schoolers (any other tetra or schooling fish will take a tole on your fry). You could still have one or two centerpiece fish (angels, gouramis) as well.

That being said, you will NEVER make much money at it, but it is fun. It's how I finally kept the monkey on my back fed (the monkey being my addiction to fish). You'll need at least one growout tank. A tank+heater+sponge filter is all it needs. You don't even need a light or cover if you don't want it.

If you're serious, see if you can buy a large number (like 6 or 8) juvi fish for cheap. Buy from a breeder, as LFS apisto tend to be culls from serious breeders. They'll grow fast. Gereration time in this fish is only 5-6 months.

Good luck.

 

[Rosemary]

I would suggest asking at the LFS(s) first to see what (if anything) they would be interested in buying and how much they would pay.

There are probably more profitable ways to spend your time than by attempting to make some money off of this tank. Figure out how much per hour you could make given what the LFS(s) are willing to pay; you might be better off with some other kind of part-time job.

And don't worry so much about what other people might think of the $$ you've spent caring for your fish. Take pride in providing your fish with such a good environment. It's the people who spend too little and sentence their fish to shorter more stressed out lives by confining them in too small a tank, etc. who should be embarrassed, not those who are generous in providing for their fishes' needs.