Good or Bad? Pet's Mart Top Fin 55 Gal. Starter Kit

[mikemou]

Hello!
I'm getting ready to buy this starter kit from pets mart because it's on sale now($170-), but I have some doubts. I hope to get some advice from here or to hear anyone who has good/bad experience with it!
Well, in general, is this a good buy? I'm new to this hobby(had a small tank when I was a kid) and recently wanting to have a big tank in my living room as a decoration piece. I stumbled into this product last weekend and thought it's a great package. It's got everything, really, even a book telling you how to start from scratch and it's tropical fish ready(heater). But is it one of those deals that's too good to be true???
Desperately needs help!!!
Thanks!
MM

 

[William]

My general experiance with kits is that you'll end up replacing the filter and heater before to long, and if you want to keep live plants you'll have to replace the lighting.


Basicly, if you want a basic tank, with a few fish, and no live plants. It should be fine I would guess.

If you want more fish, larger fish, or live plants, its cheaper just to buy the tank, and order everything else online.


Like heaters, the example most forfront in my mind [ I just came back from PetSmart and looked at Bigalsonline.com ]. 300watt heater is 28dollars at PetSmart, 13 dollars at bigals for the same heater.

Same with other things, The freshwater test kit at PetSmart is 30, its 10 at big als.

same with filters to.

and if your doing live plants you'll have to build/buy a light set, for a 55 you'd need about 160watts of light.

 

[ferret]

I vote no.

You can buy the same tank with light and all, but no filter, for $99. You can buy the heater for $20 or less, their stick on temperture guage for $5, and a good filter for less than $50. So you're back at $170, but now you get to pick the hardware.

The included equipment is very generic in nature and not top-quality

 

[mikemou]

shopping list?

yes, i do very much want more fish and live plants!
so, based on what i've gathered here, instead of buying the kit, i do the followings:
in store:
55 gal tank w/light
stand
on-line/in store (maybe i'll buy them in store this time around just to learn how to properly install/operate them)
heater
stick on temperture guage
filter
freshwater test kit

anything else???

may i ask for brand/model suggestions?
you guys're very helpful, thanks much!
BTW, is there an existing thread that tells newbies how to start from nothing? i can't seem to find such thread

MM

 

[freshwatergal]

IMO, I would stay away from the stick on tem gauge. It can give you a false reading, as it may possibly read the room temp as well.

Most people would probably suggest a filter with a bio-wheel as it helps out with the beneficial bacteria. Brand is up to you as there are many out there.

 

[William]

There is only one brand that has the biowheel, thats Marineland.

They have the Penguin and the Emporer class of filters.


I'm not sure what filter to put on a 55, I'm thinking a Penguin 330 would be good tho I'm not sure.

 

[mikemou]

to sum it up, for the 55 gal planted tank, i need:
light - 160 watt
heater - 300 watt
filter (w/bio-wheel) - ???(Penguin 330 is 330 watt???)
freshwater test kit

i'm thinking to build my own stand...

thanks everyone!

 

[Sati]

The 330 stand in the Penguin stands for 330 GPH (gallons per hour). You can check out the product on Marinelands site here:
http://www.marineland.com/products/consumer/con_penguinfilters.asp

 

[mikemou]

uh... more questions...
do i want submersible or non-submersible heater? Is this submersible a good buy?
MARINELAND DUAL TEMP 300 WATT HEATER Price: $18.99

i also found a Marineland Penguin BIO-Wheel Power Filter- 330 for $20.49.

i'm excited!

thanks!

 

[Sati]

Submersible is ideal. Ebo-jager is the best brand of heater according to most folks. I'm waiting for my first 2 Ebo heaters to come in the mail. I have a Visi-therm that's pretty nice as well. Cheaping out on the heater is the worst possible thing to do. I friend a bunch of fish years ago for that reason.

Here are two great places to shop online if you're interested:
http://www.bigalsonline.com
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Shop.cfm?Ne=4&N=2004

 

[jsoong]

Buy the submersible, cost more but works better & you don't have to replace as often.

Prices you quote are really good compared to Canadian prices (even counting exchange) - don't know about US, but in town Big Al's sells Penguin at $80 (US $60) & submersible heater at $40 (US $30).

 

[mikemou]

Well, I've found great deals on everything else but the tank. I can't seem to find a 55 gal w/light for under $100, in fact, not even for under $130. Where else might I find good deals on tanks besides PetCo and PetsMart and Wal-Mart???
Thanks!

 

[newlywed]

I just bought a 55 gallon tank with lights at PetSmart for $99.99. Call them and ask if they have any.

The light will not be any good for growing plants, but some of the fake ones look pretty good!

HTH

 

[LAGlocker]

I will chime in on the filter. I like the canister filters. If you really want something with a bio-wheel, marineland makes the magnums, which you can hook a bio wheel to. I have one of the hot magnums on one of my tanks, and I love it.

 

[Menagerie]

More options! Another place to look for great deals is eBay. I just bought four brand new Ebo-jager heaters and even with shipping to Canada it was worth it.
My fiancé really likes the canister filters; we currently have a Fluval and a ViaAqua.

What fish do you plan on putting in your tank?

 

[mikemou]

Stupid questions coming.....
What is a canister filter? and a Bio-Wheel filter? Would a canister filter better for my 55 Gal FW tank? Or maybe a bio-wheel filter difficult for a newbie to handle?

Menagerie, I haven't thought about the fish yet..., but I know I would love to see my fish swimming together in groups, and active... any suggestions?

In fact, I'm planning to go SW once I get a handle of things.... My ultimate goals: SEAHORSES and SHRIMPFISH(?)