fish selections.... 10 gal, going to 55 gal soon.

[Frosty]

It's hard to tell just by looking at them Caleb, the one on my 30 is for planted tanks with more peaks in the red and green light spectrum, but it still looks like it has a blue cast to it. Honestly, the lights that come with aquariums aren't much good for anything but lighting the tank, if you want to keep plants in freshwater you'll definitely have to upgrade the lights. The fixture I have for my saltwater tank is a 6 bulb unit, 4' long. It goes for over $800 new! Luckily I found a good used one!

 

[Caleb]

$800 for a 6 bulb fixture? you can build you one for less then that. I really like the LED idea to reduce cost since I'm not planning on plants anytime soon.

 

[Frosty]

$800 for a 6 bulb fixture? you can build you one for less then that. I really like the LED idea to reduce cost since I'm not planning on plants anytime soon.

True, but I can keep just about anything I want, corals of all kinds, clams. It's an awesome light! This is just the two blue lights, I have 4 white ones too If you do decide to go with plants an upgrade won't cost to much, heck you might be able to keep plants with that one, it just depends on the par of the unit.

 

[Caleb]

True, but I can keep just about anything I want, corals of all kinds, clams. It's an awesome light! This is just the two blue lights, I have 4 white ones too If you do decide to go with plants an upgrade won't cost to much, heck you might be able to keep plants with that one, it just depends on the par of the unit.

Looks good...remember, this 55 gal is only temporary.

 

[Frosty]

Looks good...remember, this 55 gal is only temporary.

Yeah, temporary, that's it. You'll have the 200 going, the 10 in the bedroom and the 55 in the kitchen... No aquarium sits empty for long...

 

[LANShark42]

Oscars will eat any fish small enough to fit in their mouths. They grow to the size of the tank, so you only need a couple. I had one that would eat out of my hand. Got to where it would jump everytime I opened the lid When it started jumping out of the tank, I had to stop feeding him by hand. If he started picking on the other fish, my wife would yell at him and stomp her foot. He would immediately glide to the bottom of the tank and sulk. They have the most "personality" of any fish I've ever kept, fresh or salt water.

Angels are cool too, and better in a community tank. You can put 4-6 in a 55gal, along with other fish. They are graceful and elegant. I had a pair that would lay eggs almost every time I did a partial water change.

I really like the red-tailed black sharks 88GT mentioned. Another great addition to a community tank. Had one that lost an eye as a pup. Called hum Moshe. He lived a long and happy life.

 

[Caleb]

I really like the red-tailed black sharks 88GT mentioned. Another great addition to a community tank. Had one that lost an eye as a pup. Called hum Moshe. He lived a long and happy life.

I wanted one, but inland aquatic didn't have one in...so I got a rainbow shark, seems to have a personality about him. Now if I can get these stubborn hard water spots off the tank, I can get the thing to cycle.

 

[Frosty]

Did you check out inlands African cichlid tank while you were there?

 

[Caleb]

Did you check out inlands African cichlid tank while you were there?

I browsed a few tanks in the front room, didn't get to scope out the backroom entirely...I may also found a few other variety of cichlids I may want...

 

[Caleb]

Taking a look at rapid led's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rLFh3Q_FEA#t=18

Rapid LED

Looks really cool!

 

[Frosty]

I browsed a few tanks in the front room, didn't get to scope out the backroom entirely...I may also found a few other variety of cichlids I may want...

There's a lot to look at in there. The room with the finished displays is pretty cool, I like the huge tub in the back, there are several fish in it and they will come right up to you.

 

[LANShark42]

I gotta get out of this thread. It's making me want an aquarium again. It's been years since I had mine...

 

[MikeDVB]

I'm gonna get one in the new house. Should be closing Friday [waiting to hear what time].

 

[Frosty]

I gotta get out of this thread. It's making me want an aquarium again. It's been years since I had mine...

I'm gonna get one in the new house. Should be closing Friday [waiting to hear what time].

you guys know you want one... Then two, then three...

 

[LoriW]

I've always purchased my fish from Petsmart or Petco. They have a 14-day guarantee on their fish. And if the fish live that long but die shortly after, chances are it's your tank set-up, not the fish. They will also do a water chem analysis for free.

I've always been more knowledgeable than the staff too. They always treat me like this is my first time keeping fish. I just smile and nod and politely tell them I've been keeping fish for 15 years and this isn't my first rodeo.

Just to throw my 2 cents in...I work PT now (was FT for over 7 years) at Petco. It's gone to a 30 day return on freshwater fish...which is plenty of time for the fish to either kick the bucket or acclimate to the new tank (depending on the situation).

As far as the training...YES! THIS is huge! The training is unfortunately marginal and hit or miss depending on store. Keep that in mind when you talk to someone at the store (ANY store). The few of us who actually care about the fish are vastly outnumbered by people who are just going through the motions and selling fish. As far as them talking to you (or anyone) like it's your first tank after 15 years of having tanks...please keep in mind that we see all kinds of crazy amazing people who do all kinds of crazy amazing stuff and when it goes wrong it's OUR fault. 3 6" tin foils in an uncycled 10g tank? 15 fish at once for a 10g tank? A 6" Oscar and some platies in the same tank? Sure, why not? The good associates can pick up on who actually knows what they're doing pretty quick but it's incredibly easy to get jaded and shut down.

 

[Frosty]

Just to throw my 2 cents in...I work PT now (was FT for over 7 years) at Petco. It's gone to a 30 day return on freshwater fish...which is plenty of time for the fish to either kick the bucket or acclimate to the new tank (depending on the situation).

As far as the training...YES! THIS is huge! The training is unfortunately marginal and hit or miss depending on store. Keep that in mind when you talk to someone at the store (ANY store). The few of us who actually care about the fish are vastly outnumbered by people who are just going through the motions and selling fish. As far as them talking to you (or anyone) like it's your first tank after 15 years of having tanks...please keep in mind that we see all kinds of crazy amazing people who do all kinds of crazy amazing stuff and when it goes wrong it's OUR fault. 3 6" tin foils in an uncycled 10g tank? 15 fish at once for a 10g tank? A 6" Oscar and some platies in the same tank? Sure, why not? The good associates can pick up on who actually knows what they're doing pretty quick but it's incredibly easy to get jaded and shut down.

I love the woman at Petsmart that acts like she won't sell me fish until I tell her how many I have, what kind, and what size tank... I know she is just thinking about the welfare of the fish, but jeez! I bought a couple mollies for my 30, she asks what else is in it, so I tell her an angel fish and a clown loach. She proceeds to show me their classification showing angelfish as semi aggressive and mollies as community and says that they can't be mixed because the angel could eat the mollies??? Of course at this point my wife just walks away, and I'm like its a 3" angelfish, not a freakin' LARGEMOUTH BASS!

 

[Caleb]

New bulb(left) and old bulb(right):

 

[Frosty]

Wow the old ones must really be old, that's crazy!I told you to just buy new bulbs for it

 

[Caleb]

Wow the old ones must really be old, that's crazy!I told you to just buy new bulbs for it

I wonder what kelvins the old one was...get this, the old bulb goes in and out of fixture easily, the new bulb is a really tight fit.

I looked at LED solution at the store, I could totally come up with a DIY LED solution cheaper then the LFS.

I could return new bulb and go LED, or stick with new bulb.

 

[Frosty]

I wonder what kelvins the old one was...get this, the old bulb goes in and out of fixture easily, the new bulb is a really tight fit.

I looked at LED solution at the store, I could totally come up with a DIY LED solution cheaper then the LFS.

I could return new bulb and go LED, or stick with new bulb.

that bulb looks like a 25k bulb! I don't know, considering your only running 2 24" bulbs, LEDs might not save much money, your easiest option may just be to stick with what you have, unless of course your just feeling like building something?