SOOOOO i scored big time on craigslist.... check out what i got

[candymancan]

So I was browsing craigslist for fish tanks, namly odd shaped ones like hexagons and stuff... as I wanted to get a bigger tank in my bedroom then my 27g hexagon... I love my hexagon its a great shape... but its too small for some of the fish I want to keep in my bedroom.. Im in my bedroom like 90% of the time im in the house because my desk is in here and so forth.

Anyway, I found a 44 Gallon Pentagon, the man said hell take any good offer.. So I offerd $100 for the tank and stand and said I didn't want the light filter or heater(because im sure he wanted more then $100 for the tank and stand alone let alone for it all)

Well he said he wanted to get rid of the tank.. His wife hated it, and he needs to get it out of his house and hell give me everything for 100$... Good deal right ?

I arrive at his house and he gives me EVERYTHING.. I got 4 Power heads... 3 Duel Air Pumps... 3 heaters... 2 150 watt normal heaters.. and 1 fancy looking one with a big dial on it that's separate and has what looks like a thermometer with a suction cup I m guessing to check the other side of the tanks temp ? I got a automatic feeder.. 8 LED lights.. these are separate lights with suctions cups on them that swivel in all directions... pretty cool if you ask me.. I also got a emperor bio wheel filter and 40 feet of tubing that plugs into the sink to fill and change the water..

Now for the big one.. The light is a QUAD T5 HIGH OUTPUT lamp... Its from the brand Orbit... Is Orbit any good ? Its got 2 legs to sit lifted above the tank, and it has a fan that turns on when the blue actinic light is turned on. Yes its a coral tank light... BUT it only has 2 Actinic lights.. The other 2 are normal daylight bulbs...

The bulbs are weird bulbs.. for me anyway.. They have only 1 plug in end.. and the duel bulbs are together in one unit.. not separate like regular t8's or t5's. Im assuming this means its going to difficult to order new lighting.. All 4 bulbs need replaced.. Obviously im not using 2 actinic lights (1 is blue the other is purple) Each duel light says its 65 watts.. So the fixture has a total of 130 watts of lighting... wow.. That crushes my other tanks

SOOO what do you guys think ? I scored big time didn't I ? The light fixture alone new is like $250... I bleached and scrubbed the heck out of everything the tank was NASTYYY

 

[sealife]

*Turns green*
Look at all the equipment!

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[sealife]

Is that a python water changer I see?
Wow...

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[candymancan]

Yep it is a python vacuum hose.. its like 50 feet I believe.. this guy spent some serious money on his stuff.. here is more pics... I got all the stuff in the pics.. and the light and tank and stand.. for $100... lol The tank granted is 10 years old... but the seals are in great shape and all the equipment works.. Do you guys know what kind of lights I need to get for this fixture ? Like I said it isn't a stand 2 sided t5 that you twist in.. It has 2 light together in one plug on only 1 side. Says they are 65 watts for each duel light

 

[Fresh2o]

From the description, those appear to be power compact bulbs. I don't know much about them.


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[limnologist]

is it weird that im slobbering after reading this post? haha

 

[Autumnsky]

AWESOME deal!!! Congrats!

 

[Mebbid]

Its all set to be a salt water tank... why not dive into the salty side?

 

[candymancan]

Well I could.. but I got the tank for my discus.. The tank is in my bedroom with my 27g hex... call me crazy yea yea I have 8 fish tanks... 4 smaller 4 large... 2 of the discus are in the 55g, the third is in my 27g hex... They are only 3 inches in size now.. But the 44g pentagon is the perfect size for them... Its about 30 inches long almost point to point and its so deep meaning front to back so I cant even reach the back bottom when im reaching in and im over 6 foot tall.. Plus its as tall as my hexagon..

It used to be a salt tank he had a wave maker, and protein skimmer as well.. But he went from salt to fresh water he had all big chichlids in it he said.. but its been sitting empty empty for 1-2 years now.. He got jeleous when I showed him pics of my tanks with real plants... he isn't very knowledgable when it comes to tanks... I could tell... he was just rich and bought everything possible lol.. Like really 4 powerheads lol, and 3 air pumps.. and not just a single airpump these are duel outlet pumps. 3 heaters, and so forth.

btw what do you guys make out of the heater in the pic the one that has that separate dial.. is that some fancy heater ? A lot of this stuff is pretty high quality stuff.. made by the german company Eheim.. Eheim makes some really nice stuff


I found the lighting, apparently the company isn't called "Orbit" anymore.. that's the fixture name... They are now called Current USA.. anyone ever hear of them ? These are the bulbs I have to buy for it.. and here is the fixture... man its an old fixture lol.. 2007 are some of these reviews im reading... But hey it works still right ? The bulbs aren't t5's they are called Sunpaq bulbs.. they look like t5's... but supposedly they are brighter

http://www.marineandreef.com/Current_USA_Compact_Fluorescent_Satellite_Orbit_Lamps_s/28.htm


http://www.marinedepot.com/30_inch_...urrent_USA-CU01021-FILTFIPCTH-CU01022-vi.html

so it seems the 65 watt bulb fixture combo I have are duel actinics and the other says daylight.. but its a 6700k bulb and a 10k bulb.. Im going to change that.. The only downside to this fixture is I cant pick my own combo of bulbs it has to be there preset ones and only their bulbs.. Like I cant put 2 pink and 2 6700k it has to be either 4 6700k or 2 6700 and 2 10k..

hmm I wonder.. are the pink actinic 420nm any good for plants or is that too low of a spectrum ? wish I had some spectrum charts on these bulbs

 

[Mebbid]

Sorry to say this, but I might as well before others do. But discus really need a 4 ft tank. 55g is the accepted minimum for them and a 30 inch width is really not going to be nearly enough for them.

Its the lateral swimming space that matters rather than vertical.

 

[candymancan]

That's cool im still putting them in it..

Its only 3 of them.. they will live just fine and they are only 2-3 inches big.. If they don't like the tank when they get adult sized in a year I can always put them in my 55g.

 

[Mebbid]

Well, have fun then.

 

[candymancan]

I will.. lol They are just babies anyway.. Im sure a 2 inch fish doesn't need 55-75 gallon rectangle tank... Heck breeders keep 5-7 adult sized discus in 20 gallon tanks...

Discus hans have you seen his shop ? All his discus he sells Do you think he puts them in 55-75g tanks when he grows them out ? He packs then in crammed 20-30g tanks.. and it takes a year for them to grow to adult size.. So im sure 3 will be fine in a 44g pentagon.

 

[aqua_holic]

That's cool im still putting them in it..

Its only 3 of them.. they will live just fine...

Nope, they probably won't. You should talk to people who have experience keeping discus before you dive in, to save yourself an expensive lesson. The problem you're not seeing is keeping so few of them. And yes they do need all that extra space to grow properly, because more volume means better water quality, which is paramount when growing them out. Discus hans also does at least one 100% water change a day.

 

[candymancan]

Well few of them is because of money issues... I started with 1 5 weeks ago, and then got a 2nd and a third Cant afford buying 5-6 69$ fish in one whack.

Also people screemed they are SOO hard to take care of.. require crazy insaine water changes.. they will die in high PH and yada yada... I've had the first one in my 27g hex for 6 weeks with nitrates in the 10-20 range.. and PH that's 7.8 and he eats like a big and I have noticed him getting bigger.. I don't think these fish are the fragile pieces of glass some people make them out to be.

The aggression split with numbers yes I noticed that which is why I put them in my 55g once I did that it went away

 

[aqua_holic]

6 weeks isn't nearly long enough for you to be flying any victory flags...

Good luck to you though.

 

[Brookster123]

That light is pretty specialized, thing probably inhales electric too. Think you'd be better off with a monster ray or cheap led if it's only a show tank.

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[limnologist]

I think he will be ablto keep the discus just fine. He just needs clean water.

 

[treemanone2003]

Oh this is one thread I shouldn't even step foot into.


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[RussSerio]

Mebbid's right. Could work for now, but they will be growing. Happy fish stay healthy easier.