[Dementia]

Am working on some price checking before I start purchasing items to put together a larger tank.

I currently have an ancient (pretty sure it was "mine" of sorts when I was in elementary school -note I'm coming up on my 10 year HS reunion lol, then my Grandmother had it for years, then my aunt used it to house her small ponds fish in the winter) 20g long tank at my disposal but sadly the hood has gone MIA over the years and I'd feel more comfortable purchasing a new filter instead of using the old one. Oh, due to having a crafty urge to make our own caves I have sealant to reinforce the poor ancient tank.

So I'd dig some opinions and possible linkage to some good 20g filters, heater, and possibly a hood or hood and light substitutes. I'd really like to find hood that's not going to cost an arm and a leg since I have an adorable little mutant kitty that wouldn't hesitate to swipe herself some sushi out of a topless tank.

But with all that said I may have to start purchasing pieces for it separately and work on obtaining it all a bit slower then my id appreciates. If not, I was debating on a 10g kit from the dreaded walmart.

Thanks!

 

[Bombalurina]

Not being in America I can't comment on prices or brands, but I can say that I recommend making your own lid out of something like plastic cardboard, or even getting one custom made. Plastic cardboard is cheap, looks smart, very light (so no foul if you drop it!) and you can make it fit your tank perfectly, with just the right size holes for those annoying wires. I'm going to get some soon - for the moment, clingfilm is doing the job just fine and dandy.

 

[Sheldon31]

Hagen are the best filters imho. I have a Hagen Fluval 3 plus internal for my 20g long. Not sure if they still sell them though as I've tried to do price checking on them. I also have a 3 plus and a hagen Elite stingray 5. All have excellent filtration and the replacement sponges are not a bad price.

Hoodwise, I have one of the metal ones. They can be very expensive to replace as I've found out when looking myself when pricing up so making one would probably be a cheaper and just as good alternative.

Heaters range in prices but I like the AquaOne brand or again, Hagen. I have a 200watt in my 20gal and it's very reliable. You'll be best off with one with a thermostat because temps range from room to room.

Other than that the rest is all optional extras. Nets, plants, decor, substrate, bucket, syphon. Syphons are essential for larger tanks like these because it can be a real pain doing it with jugs.

Don't get a kit have fun with this project tank. Imagine how rewarding it'll be when you finish!

 

[Dementia]

It will most definitely be a project! I think I am going to go with fixing this one up. The outside rim area is pretty ugly currently so I'll have to find a way to doctor that up as well. I do enjoy a project, I'll just have to enlist some outside help.

I def need a good heater because I like to keep my room "freezing" (as some would say, I think they are wimps). I have only one place to put the tank which is my dresser so another portion of this project will be finding a place for all my stuff to relocate to. /ponders

Thanks for the input.

 

[MyRainbowBettaFish]

I have heard aqua clear filters work wonders!

 

[Tikibirds]

I have Aquenon quiet flow filters but I have also heard aqua clear is good. I think the marineland penguin filters are also supposed to be good because they have a biowheel that you never change and that's where most of the bacteria live.

For heaters, I search ebay as the local selection was lacking and expensive. I have a variety of older models and nnew ones. They all work well EXCEPT the Tetra preset ones. I have a 50 watt which should be able to heat a 20 gallon tank but it can barely keep 2 gallons at 74. Also Amazon.com is a good place to look for decor and heaters but I like ebay. Several sellers in Asia have decor for cheap and some have no shipping.

 

[Dementia]

Hmm never thought about ebay, I need to set up a paypal account. I typically use amazon for everything since my kindle account is hooked up to prime and I dig the 2 day shipping on most things. My cousin and I went into craft mode and made our own caves recently and I'd like to attempt to make more random things but there are some that are pretty awesome and I know I can't make them, like the awesome dragon or Buddha statues!

On the heater note I have looked at a lot and def want one I can adjust. My old 3g tank had one of the mini preset tetras and when I went to use it again it would have fried the poor guy (i watched the temp for several days before even thinking about putting a fish in the tank). I hate them, really need to get my moms 20g a new heater so it's not the tetra one that came with that kit.