And now...I wait

[shawmutt]

Nothing like dropping another couple hundred dollars on the hobby . This is the most I have ever spent for a setup. Everything (I hope) is ordered, now all I have to do is wait for the stuff and sneak it in before my wife sees all of it and asks the dreaded question, "exactly how much did you spend this time?"

This should give me enough time to drink 4 liters of soda (for the co2) and transfer my monster cichlid to his new home.

Jeez, I still have to buy plants and fish .

Thanks, everyone (especially the ones living vicariously ), for all the help and putting up with my newbie questions. I'll keep everyone posted, especially with the DIY co2 construction.

Just an FYI, I know we're supposed to support lfs, but the eco-complete I bought online was way cheaper, even with all the extra shipping, than the stuff at petsmart.

 

[Mr Burns]

ahhhhh, the dreaded question! good thing i won't have to put up with that any time in the foreseeable future. good luck drinking 4 liters of pop :blah: i just had a grilled chicken sandwich with a coke...i feel sick to my stomach. over the past few months all the working out and change in diet has lowered my tolerance for sweets. i get nausiated after drinking a pop or eating some cookies, but i guess it's for the better. in only a month i've been able to drop 10lbs of fat and pack on a good amount muscle.

i'm debating on what i should turn my 29gal into once it become available. it's between saltwater and cichlids... do you have any pictures of your cichlids? also, i wouldn't exactly consider petsmart a lfs. when i think of lfs, i think of the independently owned shops, like the one i go to. i would hate to pay full price for eco-complete, but i've found that online prices are lower than the stores. i'm not sure if it has to do with overhead or the simple shipping charges. i get the stuff for about half the cost of anything i've seen online and no shipping charges!

do you have any idea what plants you're getting (sorry if you've alread mentioned this in another post.)

 

[shawmutt]

do you have any pictures of your cichlids?

My gallery has one of my last remaining cichlids, which was killed by the only one I have left . The one I have left is the same species. He will be going into a 10-gallon setup where he will be the only inhabitant. My gallery also has my two previous tank setups, an Amazon black water tank and a African rift tank.

do you have any idea what plants you're getting

I have an idea of the fish I'm getting--zebra danios, badis badis, and kuhlii loaches. I have to make a list of plants I want and then go around to a few lfs and see what they have. I'm definitely open to suggestions, but mainly I'm looking for plants native to India. With a 96W PC bulb (setup from ah supply) in a 30 gallon tank, I imagine I have many options.

 

[waffleman]

Just an FYI, I know we're supposed to support lfs, but the eco-complete I bought online was way cheaper, even with all the extra shipping, than the stuff at petsmart.

LFS means local, not nationwide. I generally stay away from that place. but once I had a good deal there when the people didn't know what they were selling. Just brown plants or green plants. I actually ended up with a big bushel of Alternanthera reineckii (nice red stuff after I got it in the tank) all this for 1.99.

Waffleman

 

[betowess]

Yeah, that one bushel turned into ten. I got my Alternanthera there too. LFS didn't carry it.

 

[malkore]

yeah, petsmart isn't a LFS...its really only 1 step up from a WalMart pet/fish dept.


To the person with a 29gallon...that's pretty small for a SW setup. I'd go with cichlids. In my 40gallon breeder I'll only be able to keep about 3-4 fish, so a 29 would really limit you and you probably wouldn't be happy with it over teh long haul.

and on the topic of SW..you think planted tanks get expensive? I can't believe how much I've had to drop on this 40gallon FOWLR ...someday reef. But it looks cool!

 

[shawmutt]

w00t! lights are here! lights are here! Awesome kit from ah supply (shameless plug there ). Can't believe I ordered it Thursday and it's here already. By the time I'm done building the light enclosure the other stuff should be here.

 

[shawmutt]

Got the lights hooked up and running (they're bright!). Enclosure was easy as pie--wiring too. Last time I checked my other stuff was in...hold on, I'm checking again...nope, it departed from Chicago. Should be here soon!

(yes, there is going to be a complete play-by-play )

 

[Guest]

Reminder Mr. Shawmutt!

PM me when ready for plants. I'd much rather see them go to a member of our fine community then out to my compost heap!!! Cain't beat the price neither!

 

[betowess]

Cool you got the new gear Shawmutt. Its fun getting some of the best aquaria gear. Now back to the Petsmart topic. I've actually had good success with fish from my "local" Petsmart. But some of the employees working there couldn't I.D. a male livebearer, let alone understand the difference between KH and GH. Yeah, their fish are on a common sump, but I have almost always gotten quite healthy fish from this paticular store, even though I prefer the LFS which is farther away for me.

 

[betowess]

Cool you got the new gear Shawmutt. Its fun getting some of the best aquaria gear. Now back to the Petsmart topic. I've actually had good success with fish from my "local" Petsmart. But some of the employees working there couldn't I.D. a male livebearer, let alone understand the difference between KH and GH. Yeah, their fish are on a common sump, but I have almost always gotten quite healthy fish from this paticular store, even though I prefer the LFS which is farther away for me.

 

[shawmutt]

PM me when ready for plants.

Absolutely...it will probably be next weekend, but I'll let you know as soon as I'm sure.

About petsmart...I'll probably be getting my danios from there, but it looks like the other fish I want are going to be a bit harder to get. I may actually have to mail order them too.

 

[shawmutt]

My packages just left Harrisburg!!!


OK, I'm going to stop--I'll start a new thread with pics once the tank's set up.

 

[medge00]

hey its ok! I get kinda excited waiting with you

 

[shawmutt]

The packages have arrived. I made a mistake with one part, and I have 25' of the wrong size pcv tubing, but the good news is the bubble counter/diffuser comes with 6' of co2 resistant tubing (looks and feels suspiciously like silicone ).

OK, time to work!