Equipment for planted tanks, PROs and CONs

WyldFya

Baryancistrus demantoides
MFK Member
Dec 23, 2005
20,791
67
132
Moscow, ID
If you have particular experience with equipment related to planted tanks, please post the make and model, and a review on how well it worked. List any pros or cons about it, a website that you have purchased them from, and price and a star rating out of 5 (5 being the best). Please follow this model.


Azoo co2 regulator w/ solenoid
71.99This co2 reg worked moderately well, and was fairly well designed.
PRO: cost is user friendly, and good construction
CON: No instructions in english were included. It did not have an adjustment knob to reduce or increase the pressure coming out of the reg.
www.drsfosterandsmith.com
***


Blueline co2 regulator w/ solenoid and bubble counter
N/A
This is a very good co2 regulator combo set.
PRO: Fairly standard design for co2 regs sets.Great construction, easy to read and use.
CON: Harder to find
NOT PURCHASED FROM A WEBSITE
****


Hagen CO2 reactor kit
19.99
Decent for a beginning intro to co2 for a small planted tank. Pretty decent design, very similar to a DIY design.
PRO: Cheap cost relatively speaking, and ease of use. Good diffusion ladder.
CON: expensive for the design. Not able to do an aquarium larger than 30 gallons effectively.
www.drsfosterandsmith.com
***

Aqualine bubble counter
26.99
I wouldn't recommend this bubble counter for the price I paid.
PRO: Inline design enables it to be placed anywhere on the line, without attaching to the reg/solenoid setup directly.
CON: Cheap construction, and weak seal.
www.drsfosterandsmith.com
*


Milwaukee MA957/SMS122 Reg setup and pH contoller
$180
Good basic setup.
PRO: Low cost, good quality.
CON: None
Purchased online
*****

Double Membrane Diffusor
29.99
I wouldn't recommend this at all.
PRO: Innovative design, and construction
CON: Didn't work well unless it was placed PERFECTLY and was very precisely leveled.
www.drsfosterandsmith.com
*

Greg Watson Fertlizers
varying
A great fertlizer.
PRO: Customizable, for optimum control over levels of nutrients in aquarium. Very affordable.
CON: If you don't know what you are doing there is a bit of a learning curve.
www.gregwatson.com
*****

Coralife Deluxe Lunar CF
Dependent on size. 260W normal list price $249.99
Great lights, especially the revamped design.
PRO: Newer model has better fan placement, and great reflection.
CON: Gets very hot. Had to replace the bulbs from the start
NOT PURCHASED ONLINE
****
 
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HarleyK

Canister Man
Staff member
Global Moderator
MFK Member
Aug 17, 2005
6,915
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USA
Great idea :thumbsup:

Coralife Freshwater Aqualight 36'' 2x96 Watt
US$ 191.87
Great light for tall tanks (I use two on my 72x24x29 tank), attractive design
PRO: lots of light, cheaper than metal halide lighting
CON: uses fans to cool because of the high heat output. Fans are very noisy. Casing is poorly put together and not entirely resistant to the generated heat.
www.petblvd.com
*****
 

Fish Etc

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 5, 2006
138
0
0
West Covina, SOCAL
JBJ Regulator w/ Solenoid and Bubble Counter
$85
Pro: Easy to use just Plug and Play
Cons: Sometimes there is a leak on a bubble counter (to avoid it just screw the buble counter slowly and not very tight)
*****
www.aquatic-store.com


Rhinox Diffuser

$22 + Shipping
Pro: Creates a small mist of Co2, its a good diffuser
Cons: The design of suction cup is odd, it needs to be placed at the back corner.
*****
www.aquaticmagic.com


Coralife 130watts
Pro: Nice reflector and really high quality Product
Cons: The fan is getting noisy
****
www.bigalsonline.com


USA Current Satellite 65 watts
Pro:I love the reflector of this one than coralife and it has extra Moonlight
Cons:You need to change the bulb to Dual Daylight or 6700k-10,000k Bulb.
****
www.bigalsonline.com


Hagen Co2 System

$25
Pro:It has a Nice diffuser method (Ladder)
Cons: You need to mix a new one every 2 weeks for Best Result (not for a really busy person)
***
www.bigalsonline.com


AP Test Kits

$25
Pros: Really nice and Accurate
Cons: Some Test Tubes is leaking
***
www.bigalsonline.com

Seachem Flourite

$21 each Bag + Shipping
Pros: Its really makes my plant Thriving (Best for Begginers cause it will not chage your wter chemistry)
Cons: You Need to rinse it though.
*****
Local Fish Store (Fish Etc)


Eco Complete

$22 Each Bag + Shiping
Pros: It Comes with benificial Bacteria and Nutrient, its so soft to plant it, the black color is a nice contrast on plants and no need to rinse it.
Cons: The still Bad Bags around there that contains very high Phospate. (If your tank is really cloudy after you put the eco and it didn't clear u after 1 week, contact Carib Sea fo Replacement, Dont forget to check your phospate level)
*****
www.drfostersmith.com


ADA Aquasoil Amazonia

$26 + Shipping
Pros: The Best of the Best, Design for best growth of plants, Perfect for small Foreground planta like HC and Glosso
Cons: It will lowers you PH for like a month, so water changing it twice a week is recommended.
Cons: I dont see any cons for now
*****
www.adgshop.com


AP Rena XP2
$80
Pros: Very Sufficient filtration and Really Quite
Cons: didn't see anything
*****
 

WyldFya

Baryancistrus demantoides
MFK Member
Dec 23, 2005
20,791
67
132
Moscow, ID
THat's great to get some good reviews on things already. Don't forget to list a star rating *, **, ***, ****, or *****, and a website if you have purchased them online.
 

WyldFya

Baryancistrus demantoides
MFK Member
Dec 23, 2005
20,791
67
132
Moscow, ID
Seachem Nitrite/Nitrate Test Kit
AWESOME TEST KIT!
PRO: can test nitrite, and then add a drop for the nitrate test, and with one sample test both.
CON: Difficult to get.
*****
LFS
 

evercl92

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 17, 2006
512
0
0
Columbus, OH
www.2slowracing.com
Coralife 4x65wt Delux Series lighting
$225 new on Ebay
Pro: Super lighting, alot of light for the amount of space. Different bulbs available, depending on what you want to do. Fantastic at growing live plants
Cons: I've read that the fans can go out, after about a year, and can get kinda noisy. Unit runs hot to the touch, even with fans on. Pretty much cooks any plants that reach above the water's surface.
*****

JBJ Regulator w/ Solenoid and Bubble Counter
$85
Pro: Solenoid makes it automatic, no real involvment day to day
Cons: none that I see
*****

Greg Watson Fertlizers
price depends on what you order
Pro: I don't know that you could get cheaper ferts, especially if you have a big / multiple tanks. easy to measure, easy to dose
Con: Takes some getting used to
*****
www.gregwatson.com

Eco Complete
$22 Each Bag + Shipping
Pros: black color, nutrient rich, no rinsing needed
Cons: Varying particle size, and some of them can be took light to weigh down plant roots
*****
www.drfostersmith.com

Jungle Labs CO2 diffuser
$13
Pros: easy to use, decent diffusion, especially for a smaller (<30gal tank)
Cons: need to add reactor daily, fizz tablets can get expensive
***
linky

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap water filter
$33, replacement cartridges $18
Pros: easy to use, entry level DI/RO filter, hooks to your faucet
Cons: Replacement Cartridges expensive, makes 25-125 gal of DI water, depending on how hard your tap water is. (my GH runs about 17, and I was able to make about 40 gal DI water)
**
Linky
 

WyldFya

Baryancistrus demantoides
MFK Member
Dec 23, 2005
20,791
67
132
Moscow, ID
Kent Marine: Deion 200R
$199.99
PRO: Great DI filter to clean water to 0.00 TDS. Rechargable medias.
CON: If you have extreme water params coming out of your tap, you will exhaust media very quickly.
****
NOT recommended | Recommended
 

WyldFya

Baryancistrus demantoides
MFK Member
Dec 23, 2005
20,791
67
132
Moscow, ID
Ebo-Jager: Diffuser
$1.19
PRO: Great diffusion rate, easy mounting.
CON: Small
****
 

Brilliant

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 10, 2006
6
0
0
Gone
Eheim Pro Series Filters (2028, 2080)
$189-$350 + Shipping
Pros: Superior engineering, easy to prime, easy to overhaul
Cons: None
*****
http://www.eheim.com/external.htm


Current USA SunPod HQI
$280-$399 + Shipping
Pros: Sleek design, superb light output, low noise, low heat
Cons: OEM bulbs are 14000k some prefer lower color temps, fixed bulb positions on multiple bulb fixtures
*****
http://www.current-usa.com/


Rex Grigg CO2 Regulator
$137 Shipped
Pros: Quality built product, custom configurations available, set it and forget it
Cons: None
*****
http://www.rexgrigg.com/sale.html
 
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