Aquarium Enthusiasts?

[telemaster]

Hey gang,
I've had an aquarium of some kind off and on for about eight years. When I had one setup, I was lucky enough to have a fantastic local fish shop. I didn't realize how lucky I was until recently.

I can't seem to find a good store (one that has the fish I'm looking for at reasonable prices) anywhere local. This gave me the idea to look online for a distributor, but the shipping costs seem outrageous.

Has anyone out there found an aquarium forum or online store that can hold a candle to HBT and the likes of Midwest or AHB respectively?

 

[Aleforge]

No but the last time I tried to keep one my daughter dumped a handful of pennies into it. Needless to say, the fish did not enjoy the spare change!

 

[beergears]

... I could steal the thread and mention that I "inherited" a good size pond (1000 gals??) with a Koi fish population, and I have no clue about taking care of them!

(leaves, amnonia build-up, oxygen depletion, when to start feeding... %head spinning%...)

 

[telemaster]

... I could steal the thread and mention that I "inherited" a good size pond (1000 gals??) with a Koi fish population, and I have no clue about taking care of them!

(leaves, amnonia build-up, oxygen depletion, when to start feeding... %head spinning%...)

Here's a good place to start. Most of my experience is with indoor fish keeping. However, I have dug and installed a few koi ponds, but don't know much about the care. All I know is it must be at least 4ft deep to not freeze solid in the winter, and filtration is a must or it becomes stagnant and ultimately will suffocate the fish.


Really, no one knows of a good online aquarium site?

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Really, no one knows of a good online aquarium site?

Not to the standard that HBT is for beer, no. I've built ponds in 3 of my houses. I currently have a 6000 gallon koi pond. Keeping aquariums is a part of that. I gave up looking for good sites/forums a couple of years ago. There are plenty of sites, but they all seemed a bit spotty to me in regards of experience and usefulness of the contributors. It's a b it of a buggar.

 

[Aleforge]

How hard is an outdoor pond to take care of?

 

[jgln]

I have a 125g with a 30g sump for a 155g saltwater system with fish and live corals.

I think Reef Central is a top notch site for information on the topic, easily up there with this site. Yeah, go ahead and jump on me but I think keeping a successful saltwater reef tank is a bit more of a challenge than brewing beer and some of the guys on that site are real experts in the hobby.

 

[telemaster]

Yeah, go ahead and jump on me but I think keeping a successful saltwater reef tank is a bit more of a challenge than brewing beer and some of the guys on that site are real experts in the hobby.

I would have to agree, and I've never even attempted to setup a reef tank. Not until I have at least a 55 gallon tank and the resources to start the venture. AKA... long long time. :cross:

 

[spitfire]

I used to have a 55 gallon Cichlid tank in my old office. When I left, I let them have the tank. I also have a 30 gallon tank I setup at home but had problems with it an never set it back up. They are nice to have I just don't have time to care for them anymore.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

How hard is an outdoor pond to take care of?

It's not hard, but even if planned well there is plenty of maintenance involved. Especially during spring and fall. You can also spend a lot of cash, and it can be a bit of a job balancing cost v. what you actually want. For instance, My pond filters through 5 55 gallon drums, 3 of which are filled with lava stone. I got the drums free, but the parts for plumbing all that? Ouch!! Then there is the pump, liner.....the list goes on..... I must have spent $1000 on mine over the years, probably more than that by a margin I don't even want to ponder.

It doesn't look like 6000Gal. But it's 5 feet deep for koi.

 

[jgln]

I would have to agree, and I've never even attempted to setup a reef tank. Not until I have at least a 55 gallon tank and the resources to start the venture. AKA... long long time. :cross:

And much more expensive too. I stopped keeping receipts after they totaled over 5k and that was before I upgraded to the 125g.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I'd love to have a 100g tank with a school of Tetras or fancy guppies but, I just never have the cash to get started. Brewing just always came across as more palateable.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I'd love to have a 100g tank with a school of Tetras or fancy guppies but, I just never have the cash to get started. Brewing just always came across as more palateable.

Guppies are just way too easy. Great for doing cheaply though!

 

[jspence1]

This is a good forum Its a UK forum but its got good people and good information.

John

 

[Aleforge]

It's not hard, but even if planned well there is plenty of maintenance involved. Especially during spring and fall. You can also spend a lot of cash, and it can be a bit of a job balancing cost v. what you actually want. For instance, My pond filters through 5 55 gallon drums, 3 of which are filled with lava stone. I got the drums free, but the parts for plumbing all that? Ouch!! Then there is the pump, liner.....the list goes on..... I must have spent $1000 on mine over the years, probably more than that by a margin I don't even want to ponder.

I think I remember seeing your pond in a thread awhile ago, its very nice! I could imagine it makes it very relaxing to sit outside during the lazy summer months. Honestly thought 1,000+ on something as complex as what you have doesn't sound that bad. But I guess I don't know jack about them enough to make that assumption.

 

[yermej]

The Freshwater Aquarium is a good group and you could probably ask them about online suppliers. They do focus mainly on freshwater aquariums/fish, but there are people there with salt water and pond experience. I know some of them have recommended AquaBid.com in the past.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Honestly thought 1,000+ on something as complex as what you have doesn't sound that bad. But I guess I don't know jack about them enough to make that assumption.

yeah, a grand ain't bad at all, but I'm a cheap bastard, and am very critical on my spending. You'd be surprised how much free stuff I actually used.

 

[telemaster]

This is a good forum Its a UK forum but its got good people and good information.

John

I think I remember seeing your pond in a thread awhile ago, its very nice! I could imagine it makes it very relaxing to sit outside during the lazy summer months. Honestly thought 1,000+ on something as complex as what you have doesn't sound that bad. But I guess I don't know jack about them enough to make that assumption.

Thank you much. Wow! Aquabid has some great deals on rare fishies! w00t!

 

[Laurel]

I had a 75 gallon Lake Malawi Mbuna tank that I got rid of about 7 month ago before we bought our house.

 

[Aleforge]

Growing up my parents had a tank about that size and it was such a pain to clean. Its been 15-20 years, but have they gotten any easier? It seems like they always had to empty part of it, scrub it all down and so on every other week. Ugh.

I really am liking the pond idea however, I am going to try to push for something this season as we need to do some heavy landscaping to make our barren land more interesting!

 

[Kittyfeet]

Another awesome site for anything aquarium related is Wetwebmedia, Aquarium, Pond, Marine and Freshwater Fish, reef tanks, and Aquatics Information
It helped me out a lot when I had my two 55 gal freshwater tanks set up. There are answers to general questions, types of fish, diseases, anything you can think of, there's probably an answer to your question on that page.

And if anyone is into aquascaping, check out this link:
2008 AGA Aquascaping Contest
There's some awesome tank pics there to inspire you.

 

[bad coffee]

I'm a reef keeper. Right now I have a 58 gallon that I built. I started with freshwater when I was 10, but once I saw a reef tank, there was no going back.

how far are you from from Lancaster?

Aquarium Supplies, Pet Supplies and Pond Supplies by That Fish Place - That Pet Place I know of people from NYC that drive to the store.

I think Pet Supplies | Dog & Cat Supplies, Pet Meds | DrsFosterSmith.com Pet Products also are close to you in maryland. I might be wrong about it though.

B

 

[bad coffee]

Also, if you're close to Penn State, you can go see a 500 gallon reef at the student center.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/aquarium.htm

Check for local fish clubs. There's lots of us fish geeks around, and we usually get together and talk fish.

B