If you had 300$

[Douglas4701]

I am shopping for a new aquarium. I am considering acrylic. I have studied the difference between glass and acrylic but would like to get some thoughts from those of you who do.

I am shopping for a 36 inch long 15 to 18 wide. I am wondering what you good people would go for in the case that you had 300 dollars. I plan to take this process slow and am aware of the other cost onvolved such as filters, rocks, heaters and etc. I have those cost budgeted. If you would like to help me on this shout net, then please advise. Thanks

 

[xwesx1978]

300 would set up the nano reef that I want , acrylic is nice but I think the cost out ways its benefits , give me a good old tempered glass aquarium and im happy

 

[Jconner3]

You should get a 40 gallon breeder, I'm pretty sure the dimensions are 36x18. I think petco is having a dollar per gallon sale so it's the perfect time to get one

 

[chrismiller21]

Hunt around on Craigslist first. If you can get a used tank, go that route. The 1 dollar per gallon thing is good, but you get just the tank. You then need a hood, light, filter, heater, stand, etc. You will wrap half your cash up with just a tank and lid/light combo alone. I have picked up 3 75 gallon complete tanks with stands and each cost me less than $125. I added LED lighting and new filters by my choice and still came in less than $300 each. And my most resent CL purchase got me a complete 75 with stand and also 8 other smaller tanks. I have been selling those so my 3rd tank so far has cost me $40 bucks and I still have a few smaller tanks to sell. And go glass. Good luck.

 

[terryeckel]

i bought a 16 gallon bow front a few monthe ago for 125.00. it came from petsmart and included everything except gravel and decorations.

 

[vaquero]

Hunt around on Craigslist first. If you can get a used tank, go that route. The 1 dollar per gallon thing is good, but you get just the tank. You then need a hood, light, filter, heater, stand, etc. You will wrap half your cash up with just a tank and lid/light combo alone. I have picked up 3 75 gallon complete tanks with stands and each cost me less than $125. I added LED lighting and new filters by my choice and still came in less than $300 each. And my most resent CL purchase got me a complete 75 with stand and also 8 other smaller tanks. I have been selling those so my 3rd tank so far has cost me $40 bucks and I still have a few smaller tanks to sell. And go glass. Good luck.

Petco's sale is for 10-20-40 gallon tanks only here in Washington. Don't know if it's the same in all states. I wanted a good deal on a 55 gallon but couldn't get it. So I went to PetSmart and bought a 55 gallon starter set for 199.00. Not bad but I had to change out a few things to make it what I wanted, but still a good deal.

 

[chrismiller21]

Petco's sale is for 10-20-40 gallon tanks only here in Washington. Don't know if it's the same in all states. I wanted a good deal on a 55 gallon but couldn't get it. So I went to PetSmart and bought a 55 gallon starter set for 199.00. Not bad but I had to change out a few things to make it what I wanted, but still a good deal.

Indy is up to 55. Did it come with a stand? Our Petsmart has either the tank kit with no stand or a tank/lid and stand combo with nothing else. Personally I hate kits. The lights suck, the filter sucks and you can drop another $200 to upgrade.

 

[Fishfreak1]

For $300 I would buy 5 sheets of glass and some silicone and make a 100 gallon tank out of starphire glass and some tempered and plate glass. And then I would still have $ left over to make my own sump

 

[Douglas4701]

I can see the differences between glass and acrylic and the costs. I may go with glass. I am going to check a few more places. I like the idea that acrylic is 17 times stronger than glass and is supposed to keep temp changes from happening suddenly... Is this a rational thought?

 

[Fishfreak1]

It's 17 times stronger but 4x easier to scratch acrylic then glass. Lets say u used your shirt and some cleaning product and cleaned the acrylic, then you would have so much scratches that you would've wished you went with glass

 

[emerald76]

Go on craigslist and buy 17 tanks and filters and hoods and tons of media and gravel and fluorite for $300 like I did

 

[Samzter]

Go on craigslist and buy 17 tanks and filters and hoods and tons of media and gravel and fluorite for $300 like I did

One tank one day- in 48 hours = 17 more tanks lol.

 

[Laser]

I never have luck with craigslist, but that doesn't mean you won't. I personally like Petco's 1 per gallon sale and Pet Supplies Plus matched them and did the same sale. As someone pointed out the kits don't let you choose what you are getting and it's likely you will eventually spend more in the long run if you get a kit. Once you have the tank, however you decide to get it, I would definitely search online at Amazon, bigals pets, and drs foster and smith. You can get some nice deals that beat store prices most of the time.

 

[Douglas4701]

I'm now considering a 46 bowfront glass from marineland as it comes with a 36 inch long led light and hood at petsmart. Thoughts?

 

[Douglas4701]

Also Craigslist doesn't hit me right. Everything I've found ask me to drain it for them or looks seventy years old.

 

[Laser]

I started off with the marineland LED hoods and ending up getting something else. They just aren't bright enough. There were dead spots in the water where light didn't reach and they are definitely not strong enough if you want live plants.

 

[Douglas4701]

How big was your led hood. The one that comes with this tank is 36 inches and some change.

 

[Laser]

How big was your led hood. The one that comes with this tank is 36 inches and some change.

I had a few of them. The worst was a 30 inch LED hood with a single LED light bar over a 37. However, the two 24 inch LED hoods over the 55 was a slight improvement, but it still had "dead" zones where you could tell not enough light was getting there. A single 24 inch LED hood over a 20 high was sufficient, but in the end it broke. The brackets that hold the LED hoods that come with the marineland kits are very cheap. I can't recommend against them enough.

Edit: The bowfront one is probably different though. I don't have any experience with those.

 

[Douglas4701]

 

[Laser]

Looks good!