Money Saving Thread

[fish-r-fancy]

I was thinking earlier today about how expensive fish keeping can really be and thought that it would be a good idea to start a thread where everybody can list the things that they've come across to save them money. Here's what I've came up with:

for a tank-rubbermaid tub,plastic bin,kiddie pool

for a background-black garbage bag,piece of fabric,any extra pool filter lining that you may have,a piece of a popped pool raft,an excersise mat

for substrate-play sand,pool filter sand,gravel from a garden center

for a heater guard-I put my heaters in an extra piece of tubing from a canister filter

Please add your own ideas about what you've come across!

 

[J4MES]

transport heater-bottle of hot water.

J4MES

 

[sketchy]

ebay...

 

[Tolak]

Build your own stands & racks. Make your own tops from light diffuser panels. Make your own sponge filters. Put all the tanks on one room to retain heat. Cut a heat register into the main trunk to heat that room. Run all the filters off of one large air pump to save electricity. Buy consumables online, and in bulk if they don't have an expiration date. Buy fish at auctions. Build everything you can yourself.

 

[Orbit887]

Make your own sponge filters.

Might sound a stupid question, but out of what? Where'd you buy that sort of foam, a hardware store ?

 

[Tolak]

Pvc pipe & large pond sponges. I make 3 filters from one sponge. One will provide the bio filtration for a 20 or 29. Two work well in a 55.

I also build filters to keep the bottom of tanks clean using a powerhead, 1 liter bottle, piece of tubing, and a sponge pre-filter. These keep the bottom of bare tanks spotless, saving time. Time is money, especially when you have many tanks.

 

[doresy]

buy your stage 1 white filter media from the POND department. Large bag of for £2.99 about 3" thick. Can be divided into thin layers and cut into squared to fit. RE-new yours for many months. Just remember to RINSE before fitting as it gets a little dusty when dividing.

echo "sketchy" eBay

 

[CFC]

I make my own melafix from tea tree oil and R/O water and use a pond dechlorinator for water changes, a litre bottle lasts me 18 months and only costs about £20.

 

[WILDER]

Pond declorinator meant to be alot cheaper.

 

[severum boy]

Yep, pond decorinator is the best way to save money, as is buying any form of pond medication or the like. Get a few friends to help pay for some fungal treatment and share it around where nessisary.

 

[prankster705]

as CFC mentioned... pond dechlor rules... bought me a .5 liter bottle and it will last for another 10 years lol

 

[WILDER]

Don't bother with them juwel white filter pads to expensive, a big bag of matting is far cheaper I agree.

 

[mlawson]

Most of the things I do are already mentioned, buy light units from house stores and breed your own fish.

 

[doresy]

Don't bother with them juwel white filter pads to expensive, a big bag of matting is far cheaper I agree.

Yup, it seems to me that if a company can get a very small amount of anything into a pack they feel they can charge the earth for it. What is more sad is that people will pay for it.......Vote with your feet and look around for big packs that are not so decoratively packaged. After all, many do the same thing when do the family shopping!

 

[Castellop123]

... )