New Interest In Aquarium

[tlnibert]

I've renewed my interest in fish keeping. I have a 75 gal tank that's been set up for 8 years. I'm getting my daughter a tank for Christmas.
Has the under gravel filter fallen from favor??
Where should I buy my supplies My local pet store has very high prices.

Tom

 

[chrisdoesntmiss]

The undergravel has lost its appeal i am afraid. It has been replaced by the external canister filter. The hold a much larger volume of media and, being external allow more space inside the aquarium. Also the growth of aquarium plants has really taken off, requiring an external filter and the undergravel restricts the roots growth.

Most internet suppliers do much better prices than that of most shops.

Chris

P.S. Welcome back to the hobby

 

[CrashingWaves]

I would suggest trying to get a deal on Aquabid or possibly even Ebay if you'd like to take a little bit of a risk for a good price. But if you're more of a secure shopper I'd suggest buying supplies online. Usually if you buy a lot of things all at once on a particular site you'll get some kind of deal. But anyway, welcome to the forum

God Bless,
Joshua

 

[Cichlid7]

If you already have an undergravel filter then there is really no need to change it.
The only reasons to splash your cash would be either if you plan on keeping larger fish, producing a correspondingly large amount of waste, or if you intend on planting the aquarium with unpotted plants.
2 of my tanks are still set up using undergravel filtration (with powerheads) and do very well. Infact I have a tanganyikan cichlid tank set up and have successfully bred tropheus moorii moliro in that tank. These fish are fairly critical of poor water quality so its not a bad endorsement!
Welcome back to the hobby!
Regards,
Ad.