Question about getting a new tank

[Puriti]

Has any one ever had better luck getting everything cheaper by buying a kit with everything in it, or buying everything separately? o.o I was just curious. I was gonna do this when I went to petsmart next week but I wanted to know if anyone had any advice on it.

 

[EMTtony]

Both my 10 gal, and 20 gal came from Petsmart as a kit. I can't complain about them. Decent quality, warranty, and value. I looked at buying everything seperately from them and it turned out to be more expensive.

 

[Puriti]

Do you remember how much the 20 gal kit was? cuz that's the size my mom's allowing me to get and I wanna see how much money I need to save.

 

[Puriti]

I looked at the petsmart website and it just confused the heck outta me

 

[mr86mister]

if you were to buy everything seperatly it would be around 30-40$ more than if you were to buy a kit

i would buy a kit to start off with, get it established and if you feel the need to change things, you can save some money up and get a bigger filter or change the heater or w/e

but it IS cheaper to buy a kit than everything seperate

 

[Jchillin]

if you were to buy everything seperatly it would be around 30-40$ more than if you were to buy a kit...but it IS cheaper to buy a kit than everything seperate

If you're talking about tanks smaller than 30 gals, you are right. Tank kits above that size are inherently under equipped (minium tank efficiency items).

Keep this in mind Puriti when you decide to "upgrade"

 

[Puriti]

okay, thanks guys, cuz I wanna keep it as low a cost as i can and see how long it'll take me to get the money for it cuz I still gotta pay for car insurance cuz I go for my license this wednesday....I'ma faaaaaiiiiiiiilllllll @____@

 

[zacdl]

Basically it will work if you just want the basics without going over that 1" PG rule

If you are going to upgrade might as well buy seperate,

but if its just a basic tank a kit will do well and save you a little.

 

[Puriti]

I'm not upgrading I'm getting a new tank, I'm keeping that 10 gallon whether my mom likes it or not! Plus I wanna have a place for my male mollies to go cuz I feel bad leaving them in a small tank in cool water cuz I don't have another heater and it's not enough space for them to begin with. So hopefully they'll be getting a better home too.

 

[zacdl]

I ment if you upgrade lighting... filters... heater, etc.

 

[Guest]

definitely go for the kit, it will be cheaper for now and you can always change the stuff later on. I think you will love your 20 gallon!!!

 

[mr funktastic]

if u do want to buy a kit but dont want to worry about upgrading later on i.e. filter and heater because it is true that u do only get the minimum filtration from a kit, dont buy it from pet smart. i bought my 20 gallon kit from big als and it cost me 129.99 canadian. this included a penguin 125 biowheel filter and a 150 marinland shatter proof heater. and a decent lighting system. it was about 20 dollars more than the petsmart kit but i feel that it was alot better. i think that the pet smart kits are made by top fin. walmart kits are made by regent and big als kits were made by marine land. imo the 20 bucks is well worth the extra little saving. hth

 

[Guest]

that is a lot for a 20 gallon kit, a 29 gallon kit at my walmart is about $40 and a 55 gallon kit is about $95. I guess its worth it if you have the $ but for someone on a budget id go for the cheapest kit that comes with everything you need.

 

[greenmaji]

The 55gallon kit is going for $149.99 at the Walmart here. Im not sure of the price on the others..

 

[Guest]

well at the walmart here there are actually two kits one is a "Delux" kit, i think its about $120 right now, it has more stuff with it like gravel, fish food, fake plants.. etc. But the basic one comes with a HOB filter and a heater adn the hoods and thats it. I may be a bit off on the prices, i was just looking at them tonight when i bought my little 1 gallon tank (for a betta, don't worry) and i remember the 55 one was less than $100 and the Delux 55 was more.

anyway, my point was that i think she's on a budget and she should go for the cheaper kit because that way she will have what she needs for her fishies.

 

[greenmaji]

That would be cool.. but we dont have the cheap kit here..

 

[rubysoho]

I agree, and there are some very nice low-light tanks out there. Some of which are very creative and better than many high-light tanks I've seen.

 

[gheitman]

The first tank I had was a 29 gallon kit from Wal-Mart. I think it is a great way to start and you can always upgrade the lighting, heating or filtration later. Since I got the tank I have replaced the original heater with a pair of Tronic heaters and I also upgraded the filter by adding a BIO-Wheel. I haven't changed the lighting other than replacing the bulb with one that is better for plants. I've got a nice low-light, low-maintenance African biotope tank now with African ferns and various species of Anubias.

 

[Puriti]

T__T my mom won't let me buy from online stores... and I only saw that 10 gal kit at walmart >_< none of mine carry fish just minimal fish supplies @___@

 

[virus]

well can you do in store pick-up?