PetSmart filters? what's your opinion

[tallchik77]

Okay we all know that at Petsmart the service of the people that work there isn't always "amazing" and their knowledge is "eh" at best, but I wanted to get some opinions on PetSmart products...mostly TopFin filters. I currently use a TopFin power filter 60 for my 55 gallon. This is my first tank, I've had it for about a year and a friend recommended it to me. This filter has worked awesome so far. A little on the noisy side but I can deal with it. It has a LIFETIME WARRANTY!!! Gotta love that, right? I have sand in my tank and it does do a number on the filter cartridges but they are cheap so it doesn't bother me so much. So, what filters do you guys use and what are your opinions.

 

[The_Desacrator]

I use Topfins in both my tanks and I think they are pretty great. My eel somehow manage to jump inside the filter bag so I had to rip it open and buy a new cartridge. But other than that they are pretty good in my honest opinion. The only way they could have improved was if they had installed some way to prevent fish from jumping into the filter(it getting stuck, which i found today, has happened about 3 times)

 

[BigJim]

Lifetime warranties are all they're cracked up to be. I'd rather buy something good rather than something cheap with a lifetime guarantee that I need to replace constantly. Just a word of warning.

I have no experience with TopFins, but it's hard to beat AquaClears. They don't use cartridges, so they can hold more media and be more flexible with the types of media you're using. You can also swap impellers from different models to further customize the ACs.

 

[tallchik77]

huh, good point bigjim. I'm relatively new to the aquarium world. i've only had my tank running for a year. i'm setting up a 20 gal so I will be looking at other filtration options. I will keep that in mind. I decided last night that I'm going to add a sponge filter, possibly as a prefilter.

 

[BigJim]

I've learned the hard way. I replace 7 "lifetime" Advanced Auto starters on my Falcon in 6 months. I got stranded a few times and I had to get the bellhousing welded because the starter parts blew holes in it. Bought a better starter from somewhere else and had no problems. Now if it's good quality and has a lifetime guarantee, you're golden. I love Craftsman tools for this reason.

 

[Icthyological Person]

Frankly, I don't trust PetSmart. I don't much fish experience there, I went there for reptiles, which were all sickly looking and they had a terrible selection, but I do know that about 50% of their fish were dead

 

[tallchik77]

ugh, i will NEVER buy a fish from petsmart EVER again. the last time I did, 3 of them died within 2-3 days and then a couple of the fish i already had died. VERY irritating

 

[Dary421]

I was at petsmart last week trying to buy a small powerhead , circulation pump to aid me in mixing up my salt,,......the " fish guy" never heard of them,....and looked at me like I just landed from the moon.
They do have good buys on dog and cat food though.

 

[Tdukes22]

I've learned the hard way. I replace 7 "lifetime" Advanced Auto starters on my Falcon in 6 months. I got stranded a few times and I had to get the bellhousing welded because the starter parts blew holes in it. Bought a better starter from somewhere else and had no problems. Now if it's good quality and has a lifetime guarantee, you're golden. I love Craftsman tools for this reason.

They aren't that bad well were I live I bought most of my fish from there but where can u go to buy and trade in fish cuz I have a Pleco that I really don't want because it's going to become huge and I'm new to this and don't want nothing bad to happen to him

 

[tallchik77]

you can take your pleco to an LFS. they like that kind of stuff. too bad you can't keep him because they are really cool. if you have a small tank, look at getting a bristle nose or a rubber lip pleco. i love my rubber lip because he looks so prehistoric

 

[Icthyological Person]

ugh, i will NEVER buy a fish from petsmart EVER again. the last time I did, 3 of them died within 2-3 days and then a couple of the fish i already had died. VERY irritating

I'm sorry for your loss. They should change petsmart to petstupid, cause that's what it is

 

[tallchik77]

hahahahaha i would of raised a stink about it but I live out in the middle of nowheres ville and didn't want to drag my kiddos back into town. I did call them, however, and told them they should check their tanks. i'm SOOOO sure they jumped all over that lol

 

[Tdukes22]

you can take your pleco to an LFS. they like that kind of stuff. too bad you can't keep him because they are really cool. if you have a small tank, look at getting a bristle nose or a rubber lip pleco. i love my rubber lip because he looks so prehistoric

What is a LFS yea he's not bad very shy but I don't want him until I get my 100g or bigger cuz I want him to have tons of space. And I might look into getting a smaller Pleco but what other major fish store is there besides petco

 

[tallchik77]

you need to look for a local fish store, i.e. LFS. depending on where you live you might have to drive to find a good one. just google it and see what you can come up with. best thing to do when you find one, or a few, is spend time in them looking around, on a few occasions, so you can get a feel for how knowledgeable they are and what kind of conditions they keep their fish in. 100gal would be a good size for a common pleco

 

[Tdukes22]

Yea cuz I have him alone in my 14 n he's doing fine but I just wish he stayed that small