moneysaving ideas

christopher1260

christopher1260

Expert Novice
Nov 2, 2002
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Athens, OH
community.webshots.com
i was just wondering if anyone had any tips or ideas for saving money when setting up an aquarium. personally, the high cost of accessories was the thing that kept me from upgrading for a long time. for example: i use a shop light ($7) and two 40 watt 4' aquarium bulbs ($5 each) from Lowe's instead of $75 for a twin tube on bigalsonline. i think this thread could be very helpful for all of us, especially beginners like me. i am looking forward to hearing about your creativeness and making my tank better at the best cost possible. chris
 
DIY Breeder Net for under $2.00

Here is one of my old posts...

This was one of my first successful DIY Projects...so i thought i would share...i needed a breeder net because my 2 month old fry ate my newborn fry...

i bought some plastic grid from walmart, it was 8"x11" and cost $.24 each...i bought 3

then i needed some fishing line, it cost about $1.18. And about an hour worth of labor $50.00

Total Cost about $1.90

Here is what i did...first i measured the grid and decided how big of a net i wanted...then i cut it with regular scissors.

it then took the fishing line and tied it together at the corners.

when it was all tied and looked like a box, i threaded some more line throught the holes that were near the seams of the box. Then i added some string to the top to hold it upright in the tank, and i'm holding it in the tank using duct tape on the outside.

i still need to refine that holding method because sometimes the duct tape fails...other than that, its awesome.

my other breeder net is about 1/3 the size and cost about $20.00
 
YA! i just got that shoplight from lowe's and the bulbs too.
crazy how they jack up prices just becouse it says "AQUARIUM" on it.

another one i read was to copy that Python clean vacuum.

you can go to your walmart or Big K or what ever, and get a Waterbed fill kit, i think they said like $5 it has the same
fill/drain part that the python has. then you get a hose 25' -50' what ever, and conect it to your old gravle vacuum.

I'll try to find the post and get it here.

we should get as many of the DIY "Copycat" - "Cheaper"
ideas in one place! it would be good for all of the new "DIY'ers"

I'll start looking around, and listing what i have done so far.

( i just got done with my 300gal Plywood tank.)

scottie
cichlid_guy
 
Here's a simple one.

Want a decent substrate? Rocks? Slate? Check out your local landscaping supply place. For 15 bucks (CDN) I bought enough rocks to decorate a 66 and a 70 gallon tank. Slate was slightly more expensive, 15 bucks got me 30 pounds worth.

-Richer
 
As we all now, the hoby can be an expensive one. Here are some cost cuts that I used:

A length of hose, with the bottom of a coke bottle silasticed to one end, as the gravel cleaner.

The old ice cream container with fly-screen and styrafoam as a fry grow out thing.

This one takes time but if you buy some good lights you can make that money back (sorta) by not buying as many plants as you would have.

It was much cheaper to make the hood and stand myself, that saved like a few hundred bucks.


Well nothing revolutionary but every dollar counts.
 
another one is saving on gravel.

you go to lowe's etc... and get natural pea gravel.
its about $2.50 a 50lb bag.
a 5lb bag at a lfs is $2.50 !!!!

i saved $113 getting 250lbs the gravel for my 300gal at lowe's

scottie
 
Originally posted by cichlid_guy
another one is saving on gravel.

you go to lowe's etc... and get natural pea gravel.
its about $2.50 a 50lb bag.
a 5lb bag at a lfs is $2.50 !!!!

i saved $113 getting 250lbs the gravel for my 300gal at lowe's

scottie
Click to expand...


what is a "lowe's" is it like a local hardware type store? equivilent to our "home depot's" ??

just curious where to look, because that sounds like an awesome money saving idea!
 
Lowe's is a competitor of Home Depot. They are very similar stores and, at least around here, you often see a Lowe's in the vicinity of a Home Depot.
 
OK, i can't find that post i read, and i can't remember what forum it was in.

it kind of gose like this:

you go to like walmart, big K, ... etc
and find a Waterbed refill kit (i think they said like $5)
it has the fill/drain part in it. you hook it to your sink, and with a valve you can ether fill or drain you tank.

then you get a hose (like $7 at like a doller store)
(some think it might not be good to use hose but thats how i have been doing it all this time) and if you have a old gravel vacuum. you can cut the end off the hose and clamp it on the old gravel vacuum.

I'll kep looking for the post. I'm sure it was a little better said then what i just said!! :)

scottie
 
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