Tips for reducing costs of fishkeeping...

[snake513]

craft store plants is a big one i saved at least 30 bucks on plants...get your own driftwood out out the creek

 

[ddyerfamily]

My fishroom is self contained. The heat from the tanks heats the room. I
do use heaters in every tank, but the room is warm enough to don't come
on very often. When I started going bigger, I only had a 30k a year income
to do it on, and I have 4 kids. I bought used tanks, used gravel, whatever
else I could find cheap. I resealed old tanks, I made my own lids, and to
this day I don't bother buying aquarium strip lights. I use cheap Walmart or
home depot undercabinet flor strips. I have some older strip light that used
the incandescent bulbs, I put in the little flour screw ins now. I save alot
on power that way. I painted my main fishroom glosswhite, so I don't need
a whole lot of light to make it bright. I made all of my own stands out of
wood, I made all of my own ponds out of other materials my partners
business has access to. I buy cheap slate, clean it up and cut to size,
make my own 'furniture'. I buy large packs of everything, food and
chemicals. As far as fish go, I shop around but I try not to be too cheap,
because you get what you pay for. I buy from breeders when I can, or
stores I know and trust. Buying good stock is not cheap, but they are
more likely to do well. One of your best investments, is knowledge. If
you get the basics down and you know what you need and how to run
the tanks and look after the fish, then when you get around to the buying
the fish part your investment is protected. Saving money is easy, but you
have to know what you are doing to make it work well.

 

[soulFish]

yup, used tanks for sure. I saved more than 50% retail cost.

100 Gallon = $150
210 Gallon = $300

Another one thing I did, was make a custom glass lid. Go to a glass shop, measure it out and have them cut the glass. The glass lids for my 100 gallon cost me $35, and on my 7' 210 Gallon tank it cost $58. MUCH cheaper than a prefab kit.

 

[Pufferpunk]

As I was just feeding my fish I remembered: I always have friends & relatives save the shrip tails in a cop, as they are eating shrimp cocktail. Although raw is always better than fresh, my puffers love it & I remove the shell off for all my other fish & break off smaller pieces for smaller fish. Around the Holidays I have enough free food to last me until springtime!

 

[BichirAddict]

The lighting idea is what I will be lighting my 55 with an shoplight with 2 40 T12 watt bulbs. Does anyone know what a T12 bulb is and is it at all related with a T5 bulb.

 

[benzjamin13]

Great tips guys!

 

[Kdcarey]

yes if you eat alot of fish save a little for your fish(instead of for the dog)
i also take shrimp when im at a buffet and take a few home

 

[SemperFish]

I agree with kootenayrays about buyying the good stuff. Somethings you are just better off forking out the money to get the quality gear. Some areas you can pinch pennies so that you can afford the high end stuff where it counts. Pay for the good stuff and youll only cry once.

 

[Newt]

As I was just feeding my fish I remembered: I always have friends & relatives save the shrip tails in a cop, as they are eating shrimp cocktail. Although raw is always better than fresh, my puffers love it & I remove the shell off for all my other fish & break off smaller pieces for smaller fish. Around the Holidays I have enough free food to last me until springtime!

I bet your relatives and friends think you are nuts for taking home all those shrimp tails. Non-fishkeepers just don't understand.

 

[Bud8Fan]

The lighting idea is what I will be lighting my 55 with an shoplight with 2 40 T12 watt bulbs. Does anyone know what a T12 bulb is and is it at all related with a T5 bulb.

The smaller the T number the more energy efficient the bulb is. But they also get more expensive the smaller the T number.