The Bargain Guide - Worldwide

[leannethenewbie]

So.... I, like most, want to ensure I have the best for my fish and tank. However, why should I have to pay a load for it when I could shop around for the items I need... BUT I don't have the time

Well... here's your answer

Share your bargains - shops or websites you bought items from.

Maybe you received excellent customer service, or a website offers discounts in bulk buying, or free postage...

We live in difficult financial times, but we shouldn't have to have less quality!


Leanne's UK Bargains:

API Master Test kit : E-bay! Exactly what you get in the shops and some distributors offer free postage... make sure you check their feedback though!

Glass Pipette/Dropper : 53p from Boots !!

Ammonia: Check in your local hardware/cleaning shops - not nesc Homebase/Boots - and you may save yourself some pennies. (Making sure it is unsecented/perfumed)

Air pumps and tank decorations: It might sound a bit weird, but charity shops always have weird and wonderful stuff in... worth a look! I found a lovely bridge decoration for a fish tank for 50p yesterday !!!


Anyone else got any recommendations?

 

[Gvilleguy]

I put a thread for my suggestion in the aquarium pic section, but I will also mention it here: use inexpensive, colored posterboards for a tank backdrop. I paid 99 cents US. It hides the tubes and cords, adds color without distracting, and is much less expensive than backdrops sold at your LFS.

 

[Channti]

I put a thread for my suggestion in the aquarium pic section, but I will also mention it here: use inexpensive, colored posterboards for a tank backdrop. I paid 99 cents US. It hides the tubes and cords, adds color without distracting, and is much less expensive than backdrops sold at your LFS.

I had/have a tank that would frequently get wet at the back during water changes. Instead of using the 99 cent posterboard like I do on my other tanks, I bought a $2.00 plastic/cardboard 3-ring binder (the really cheap ones!), and then cut the rings off so I had just the front and back cover. They're covered in that Vinyl stuff, so the water runs off of it without waterstaining the posterboard, and it works great as a background, trimmed to size and the edges sealed in packing tape. Worked great on my 5 gallon. Might apply the same concept to my 10 gallon when I redo it.

 

[OldMan47]

Thanks for the tips Leanne.
All of us have limits of one form or another on our expenditures. At the moment, I am employed and doing fine but within the next year I expect to become one of those "retirees" that is living on a fixed income. If I have calculated things right, I will be fine, but who knows what will happen to my retirement investments in the longer term. I may end up selling fish to support my ability to eat regularly.

 

[Channti]

I've fallen in love with kijiji.ca (for Canadians), and CraigsList for finding deals on filters, tanks, etc. I found a 46 gallon bow-front tank + stand + assorted accessories (mainly ornaments and a TON of gravel) that retails for about $700 with the stand, for $75.

 

[OldMan47]

I love Craigs list for that very reason Channti. I have acquired several nice purchases on Craig's list while living in the US. It seems that when you reach a dead end with your fish being unavailable, someone else is out there, who gives you a starting point that you never imagined.