Equipment for planted tanks, PROs and CONs

[WyldFya]

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
****

 

[HarleyK]

Great idea

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Ebo-Jager: Diffuser
$1.19
PRO: Great diffusion rate, easy mounting.
CON: Small
****

 

[Brilliant]

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

 

[WyldFya]

You should split the eheim canisters up, they are two completely different filters.