How Do You Afford...

[dgwebster]

Being a new member, I look at alot of profiles right now, admiring everyones tank lists.

But everywhere I look, I see Juwel this, Juwel that. How does everyone here afford these tanks, when a personal setup (which I find more rewarding to setup and create personally) costs a fraction

How much would you say the value of your tanks is?

Me? the single 2 footer I have is less than 100 quid.
The 4 footer im hoping to be buying come spring when the extension is built will cost around £100-£150 again. Much less than an equivalent Juwel tank...

 

[Joviella]

Plastic money........lol.
Buy now......pay later.

In all seriousness....I have had nearly all of the juwel range as I found them to be very nice to look at in the living room.However we are in the process now of needing a big tank(8'x2.5'x2') which juwel don't do......so we will have to create this one ourselves.

 

[dgwebster]

It was actually your profile that finally prompted this thread chali!!!!!!

I have been in trouble with the plastic money and overdrafts and loans before, never again.

Why is it they through so much credit at 18 year old (not working) students??? It took me years to get out of that hole.

If they offer a credit card to a student, it should be limited to £200 and registered so you can only get one.

 

[Weaver]

Ive 5 tanks which cost something like
2ft-£20
3ft -nothing
4ft-nothing
2nd 2ft-very little
2nd 4ft-living room showpiece tank-£200=half price
Havent done badly

 

[grumpymole]

i agree dgwebster i made my two tanks--55 and 80 uk gallons both cost well under £500 however just to compare beetween custom built and store tanks (although partly beacause i am bored of my other two tanks) I am currently looking for a small 20g + tank in shops.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Honestly, most of my tanks have been gifts or stuff that people are either giving away or throwing out. The rest of it is usually my older brothers stuff that he no longer wanted when he bought newer stuff.

 

[Joviella]

I cut up the plastic dgwebster.....Its the only way forward.
You can get great bargains on fishtanks (even juwel) if you look around and buy secondhand. The problem with juwels,in my experience is that they are better with added external filters which add more to the cost.

 

[dgwebster]

So am I the only one scavanging building sites for glass cuts not required to build my own?

A local shop also charges:

48x18x15 £49.99
48x18x15 thicker glass, £120.

You still have to add a hood, lighting, filter etc, but well below the charges of of professional tank.

Though to be fair, I also have access to a workshop to make my own ornamental stands.

Was thinking of making myself a nice 18x18x36 for some angels if i can scavenge enough glass. will probably make it in a corner piece though, kind of like cutting a hexagon into 4 quarters.

 

[Fella]

Second hand is the way forward.

 

[morgan]

I have just bought a Juwel Rio300, cost £412. I bought a ready made set up because I am not technically minded and actually I have no interest in doing technical stuff. Having said that I do like reading about things that other people have made themselves. I find it interesting and I admire them for doing it, because I know I couldn't!

 

[rdd1952]

My 29 gallon was a starter kit, about $95, plus plants and fish of course. The 75 gallon was the expensive one because I decided it would be the focal point of the room and I wanted to do it right. Counting lights, filters, etc., I probably have about $900 in it plus another $120 for Eco Complete and Tahitian Moon sand and $100 in plants. Total a little over $1100. Oh yeah, the fish. I probably have about $75 in fish. Does that really make sense? Spend $1100 for a set up to put $75 worth of fish in? My betta tanks only run about $30 each.

 

[cane76]

i brought my juwel vision 450 brand new for £599.99 rrp £799.99 at the time i didnt realise i could get something similar for a 3rd of that price 2nd hand maybe even cheaper.oh well im loaded anyway

 

[Ethos]

Alright, on my 10G's I spent about $75 each complete set-up, minus the fish.
By far the most I've spent on a tank was my 55G which I've almost spend $500 on. Fish are expansive. Include sickness death, beat deaths....I've already had 3 fish that were about @20 each die.
I now have 10 cichlids ranging from $9 - $24.
The cheapest fish I've got are a couple of walmart betta 'saves'.
Ovther than that, my cheapest cichlid was $4 half off. It was a good deal. Now I've just spent $35 on a breeding pair of bettas off aquabid...
My betta stuff is very varied.
Some of my bettas I've spent abouty $10 on everything, some bettas I've spent over $40 on.
I estimate I've spent over $700 on fish + supplies, and I'm still in middle school. I don't know how I do it. I use to be a paper boy, and I had $200 sasved up from that, and my parents got me the 55G for my birthday if I payed for the fish...
Wow. I just realized how much money I've put into fishkeeping. And to think I've never had more than $200 at one time....lol..

 

[OohFeeshy]

It actually seems like quite a lot of the 2nd hand tanks are good brands like Juwel... I think that most people seeling complete setups are people who wanted a tank as a piece of furniature and then got bored. The Juwel tanks are readily available, fairly nice looking complete kits- which is what most first time owners seem to got for.

 

[Tolak]

Buy used equipment, built your own equipment as much as possible. If you need to buy something new, buy online, just watch the shipping costs. Find a local aquatics club, members give other members awesome deals.

I got 10 used 20 highs from a club member quite a while ago, $14 each, a few used 10's for $4 each. Built racks for around $40. Started breeding angels to pay for other supplies I can't build or find difficult to find used. Sold a few of the 20's, upgraded a few tanks, sold more fish, built more racks. My cheapness has really snowballed.

Best deals are found at auctions, the last one I got a 30 gallon for $3, a few months before I got a 28 gallon Petco tank for $3.

Tolak