Tanks from Big Corp Stores

[mmohamma]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to start a new fresh water tank and I've done a lot of research in stores and chatting with fish friends and reading books. I can say with certainty that the technology has changes since I had a tank 30 years ago

I really want to have a successful tank, but I'm looking after my wallet as well or save it and use it more important aspects of the tank. There is a YUUUGE price different for a tank + stand from an aquarium stores than the ones that are sold in big corporate stores. Don't get me wrong! I'm not trying to promote corporate stores!! Majority of publications, and friends have told me to purchase fish from aquarium stores for many reasons that I'm need not to write about and they may be obvious for serious fish keepers on this forum. I've also got a lot of valuable tips from the staff of aquarium stores than the corp stores, and I truly want to support them by giving them business. However, the price difference for a 45 glass gallon tank + stand in the corp store is 60% cheaper than an aquarium store. This is around $400 of saving....

Is there a major difference in terms of safety or quality of the glass or quality of the stand that would make sense to drop the $$$ and get the more expensive stuff? or should I save my money and spend it on better filters, and a backup battery?

Any advice for this starter is greatly appreciated!

-maz

 

[The_Desacrator]

No difference in quality. Assuming its the same brand it should have the same quality. I have no problem buying my tanks from Petsmart.

 

[TMaier]

Petco $1 a gallon sale is awesome.


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[gilpi]

Petco $1 a gallon sale is awesome.


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Can't beat that. In my area the sale is on for a couple of more weeks.
Best bang for the buck I think are the 40 breeder and 55g.

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[Mebbid]

Since I moved to lansing I buy my tanks from a local fish store. Yes, the price is a little higher. However, they work with a semi local carpenter to make the stands so they are way higher in quality than the standard fare that you get from the big corp stores. So to break it down, it depends on the source of the stand.

Another LFS store I used to frequent made the comment that I'm not a big buyer of his aquarium equipment, however I buy tons of his live stock. That's because his equipment is priced too high to make sense. Yes, he wants to make money but you have to remain competitive.

 

[mmohamma]

Thank you all.

yes, it seems the glass tank is pretty much the same everywhere. The big differentiation is the quality of the stand. There are some stores that sell tanks with tempered glass, which adds a little bit to the price and weight. But the solid wood stands turn a regular tank to a piece of furniture.

This is an awesome forum

-maz

 

[acewiza]

Since I moved to lansing I buy my tanks from a local fish store. Yes, the price is a little higher. However, they work with a semi local carpenter to make the stands so they are way higher in quality than the standard fare that you get from the big corp stores. So to break it down, it depends on the source of the stand.

Very important point. Stands are at least as important as the tank itself, IMHO. A well-designed stand will make owning and using the aquarium enjoyable in the long run. I don't want to even think about what happens when a junk stand fails.