penguin87 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 I'm hopefully about to truck on over (or SAAB on over) to the petstores around town to try to find everything for my set-up at reasonable prices. I've decided that the minibow 7 gives me the best value, but i may also try an eclipse 3 instead. but here's the list for what i plan to purchase for each system: Minibow 7 tank Minibow 7-$60 rio Powerhead-$15 AP master Test kit-$20 ebo jager Heater- $16 reef crystals Salt Mix-$15 (if i can find it) Live sand, 7-10 lbs.- $25 fiji Live rock, 10lbs.- $70 (hopefully less) seatest Hydrometer-$7 csl 32w Light kit- $54 (if i can find it) Total- $282 Eclipse System 3 Eclipse 3- $50 Test kit- $20 Salt Mix- $10 Live sand, 4 lbs.-$20 Live rock, 5lbs-$35 Hydrometer-$7 13w cp Light kit-$23 25w heater-$15 (whatever brand) Total- $166 tell me what ya think, yall. (sorry, that was hick-like. i live in the non-hick part of Kansas) Link to comment
penguin87 Posted June 28, 2003 Author Share Posted June 28, 2003 by cp i meant pc light.....yea Link to comment
coralreefengr Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 From all I've read about Rio powerheads, try to avoid them. I use only Maxi (or mini) Jet powerheads. I've heard you can run them dry (accidentally of course) and they still won't burn out. Ebo Jagers are great. I've got a few and haven't had any troubles. Salt mix is a hotly debated topic, but you probably won't have trouble. It's just easy to blame the salt mix when something goes wrong...and something will invariably go wrong. You would be well advised to use RO water as a minimum. Another thing that is easy to blame when things go wrong is the water. By using RO, you eliminate that variable. You'll also want a thermometer, unless I overlooked it, to monitor your temperature. The heater setting almost always needs tweeking and you'll want to know which direction to go. I wouldn't bother buying live sand unless it is from an established aquarium. If you check your local reef club, there are usually donate a scoop or two to help you get your sandbed critters going. $7/ lb for live rock seems a little on the high side. You will have die off regardless of where you buy your live rock, so shop around. Alternatively, you could buy dry (dead) rock and just seed it with live sand and a few pieces of live rock. Sorry to go on and on. There is just so much to share. I probably have more to say, but don't want to bombard you any more with additional information. CRE Link to comment
penguin87 Posted June 29, 2003 Author Share Posted June 29, 2003 i did end up going out and buying everything today. i found my live rock for 6.50lb. and got 8lbs. for now, so money saved there. no live sand yet. i was unable to find an ebo jager heater or rio powerhead, so i bought a penguin 550 and a proquatics 50w from petsmart. i use a proquatics heater in my 20g freshwater and have had no problems with it, so i figured it would be ok. i can always replace it after cycling gets done. i did buy a thermometer, and it has been a big help. i'm also keeping the stock lighting on the minibow 7 (which is what i got, better value) at least for the duration of the cycling, or after i move up from mushrooms and zoos. the lfs guy said it would be ok. it was a fun adventure, although i wish the penguin powerhead were smaller. i also wish there was more of a selection around town, but i didn't want to buy everything off the net because shipping seemed too much, and i didn't want to wait for everything to arrive. this may cause problems later, but i can rethink everything befor i buy my precious nemo and clown goby. thanks for your reply i just wish i could've gotten some feedback sooner. Link to comment
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