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I was given an old but waterworthy 5 gal over the holiday. It has nothing with it, so I would have to buy a filter, heather, light, etc. I have a piece of plexi that I can cut to fit for a lid.

Looking around though, I'm beginning to wonder if it's actually cheeper to buy a kit with all the parts included, than to buy the individual parts. I would have thought that the tank would be the better part of the total cost, but it looks like I'm wrong.

I haven't started from scratch, or even close for over 15 years. Just upgraded or replaced the occasional bit of equipment. So, what do you think about old tanks and buying the bits, compared to buying an all inclusive "starter kit"?

I vote! Do you?

Starter kits typically come with lower-quality equipment than you would buy for the tank when putting it together. Of the 10-gallon starter kit I got 13 years ago, the hood and glass tank are the only parts I still have. The heater and filter broke within a year or two (replacements I bought for those items have lasted much longer). Buying the parts individually is more expensive, but it will save you having to buy replacement equipment over the next few years.

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Totally agree with Superlion

When you buy individually you get to chose what quality of product you want. A 5 gallon tank is very small and will need much less heat than other tanks. The smaller 25watt heater may be harder to find. You'll also want to consider how much filtration the tank gets. Too much and the fish will be stressed swimming against the current, too little and you might have a nightmare on your hands.

Also take some time to consider what lighting requirements your tank will have. If you're thinking of going with a heavily planted with CO2 (DIY would be easy with that sized tank ) then you may want a lighting fixture that you can get the amount of wattage you need.


I've never bought one of the starter kits, I've seen them plenty of times and wondered if anyone ever fed their fish that brand of food, and why they included two different sized nets, and exactly how long is that filter going to last. But if your store offers a decent kit, and you don't mind the possibility that you'll have to replace something in a year or two, then the kit might be for you.


^_^

I was looking at several starter kits myself and some were a lot better than others the cheaper one were mainly at the supermarkets etc where a few of the better ones were at a good LFS.

The cheapies had basically junk in it, it looked nice in the boxes or dry displays. A few of the better ones naturally a lot dearer were set up and running.

The comparison in cost was also very noticeable the better quality ones were often double the price of the cheapies.

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Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

anyone ever herd the saying a good tradesman,cant afford to buy cheep tools,its the same here but with fishtanksyou mite get it cheeper on the day and have the extra cash in your pocket,but when you have to keep on replacing the cheeper items over and over again,then it the long run it becomes more expensive,there for you better off spending the exrta at the start to save cash over time...that what i think anyway

As a Tradie & Trade teacher that would be the last thing you would ever do buy cheap tools. I could easily say that I still would have most of my tools of trade many bought 1954-60. That is possibly why I always consider quality before cost.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

yeah me too,ive stiil got the first hammer i bought when i started my appretiship,years and years ago,also im still using most of the fish stuff that i started out with many moons agoi pretty much learned this from my dad,so it just stuck with me with just about evrything i buy now,and its served me well,and saved me heaps of $$$$$
so pay the extra now,it WILL save you money in the long run....
if you want quality,you have to pay for it
and thats not just with tools and fishtanks,it just applys to everything you buy

i have often pondered the same thing as you twilight...

and i have learned...

light fixtures are usually the first thing to look at... the only kits i have ever seen with slightly useful lighting were the eclipse/marineland kits... these are the all in one hood ones... the filters on these are also very good if maintained properly...

if it were me though, i would go buy a clip light and a high wattage daylight compact fourescent bulb... a tetra 10g internal or HOB filter (these are about 10$USD at most LFS... and at walmart too...) and a heater for a 5g wont be that expensive and the top of the line one couldn't be over 20$...

i personally under heat my tanks because a heater will keep the tank as warm as it needs to be and in a home the temp never drops lower than is comfortable to the owner...

i have used the internal tetra 10g filters in amny tanks and they work great! they only cost 10$ and they come with one of their cartriges which you can re use by rinsing the carbon off and replacing new carbon... or buying more cartriges... up to you, but you are looking at an additional 50$...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

My wife bought me a 10g kit for Christmas. I didn't much care for the "stick up" cartridge filter that came with it, too many bubbles and foam and splashing. This 'kit' came with a vitamin block that dissolves, some conditioner, flakes and that's it. I ended up replacing the filter and going out to purchase a hood with a ballast (make sure you get one that's not sealed closed so you can change the light bulb) and of course gravel, a heater and a thermometer.

When I bought my 20g set up this past spring, I did the same thing. I bought all good quality components because all the kits looked like junk. Even the sales person directed me away from the kits lol.

Thanks for all the responses. I am a picky sort, so I expect you're all right that I would be unhappy with a kit. I too still have most of the original equipment that I bought years ago, and that was probably because I went with quality over initial savings. That was why I started with a smaller tank (30 gal) for my main, and then a collection of smaller tanks.

I am a low-tech kinda girl, but I do prefer live plants, so a cheep or incandescent light won't cut it. Prices are higher in Canada, but perhaps I'll start doing a bit of on-line shopping. Filters here, even the cheepies, start at about $30, and heaters at about $25, from what I've seen so far in the stores. A decent light fixture starts at about $50. So, $100 minimum to set up a 5 gal could turn this into a long term project.

I vote! Do you?

For the lighting, take a walk around your local chain hardware store.

I was able to buy dual light fixtures for two of my tanks for about $25 each. Then it was a matter of the bulbs. Daylight 6700Kelvin bulbs are much cheaper at the hardware store than your LFS. Plus, I liked the clean color they gave rather than the pinks and reds and blues you sometimes get with aquarium bulbs.

One plan I had was to get a vanity light from the bathroom lighting section of Home depot. One of the ones that has screw in lightbulbs all around it, then replace those with compact fluorescent bulbs with the rating I mentioned above and you could easily get more than enough light even on a larger sized tank. For just a small 5 gallon one screw in compact fluorescent should give you the 5wpg you need for high light plants. Just make sure you're supplying a CO2 source .

^_^

superlion you beat me to it i was going to say that
ya starter kit equipment isent good but it works for your first tank (which i dont think it is your first tank)

its so much better spend some more cash and get some good long lasting equipment

33 gallon 7 neon tetras-5 platys-3 bleeding heart tetras-2 corys-1 rainbow shark-2 L83 gibby plecos

well there you have it,i think we can say that we all aggree,quality is better than qanutity

Hi,

If you already plan to spend $100 plus on the equipment, I'd suggest to upgrade to a 10G (a new one cost you 9.99 + tax ). Surprisingly, you may find that everything fits for the 10G tank will be more / less the same price as your 5G, or even cheaper. A 10G tank is also easier to maintain than a 5G one.

You can use your old 5G tank as hospital tank or something..

I agree completely.... at the 5 to 10 gallon range, a careful shopper should be able to very nicely outfit either for the 100 dollar mark.
Also, be patient, and keep your ears open for free stuff. I got my 55 and my 20 tall that way, both complete set ups with great equipment!
Dan

55G -5x Bosemani, 3x Emerald Cory,3x Red Rainbow, 3x Turquoise Rainbow. 20G-Empty. 10G -4x Danio 3x Cory Fry 1 Gold Mystery Snail. 10G- 1x CAE, 2x Tetra 1x ADF

I've had three of the so called starter kits, and I think it depends on what you get, really. Some are better than others. one of them was my 29g(my first tank) and I still have, after several years every piece of original equipment that came with it and all functioning well. Not so of the other two (a 10 and a 5). The first thing to be replaced on them was the filter, which was a cheapo followed by the heaters, they worked for a while but couldn't wait for the opportunity to upgrade.

I have a little old 3 gal hex that was my mom's that I use for a qt/hospital tank, actually. I have been noticing that it's easier to find parts for a 10 though. Still, I now have my heart set on a sweat little nano tank. So, time for a field-trip to the Canadian Tire and Rona to look at compact light fixtures.

I vote! Do you?

Yea I agree on the kits, Some are better than others. I got a Topfin kit three years ago for christmas. (Its what got me back in the hobby after a long absence.) And after three years everything is still running great. So I would recommend that brand myself. But for my Nano tank I did the piecemeal thing. and got everything for 40 dollars US. Red sea Nano filter and extra filter material was about $20 USD, its one you might want to look for up in Canada, it has an adjustable flow so you can have it going slow or fast your choice, an Elite 25 watt heater.

Good luck

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