Good price?

[gottabemyway]

Is this 55 gal tank for $350 a good price? Also, would it be everything I need for a SW setup other than substrate and decos?

Kit includes: 55-gallon Eclipse Show Glass aquarium with lighted canopy, Emperor 400 Filtration System, 200-watt aquarium heater, digital thermometer, hydrometer, fasTest Master Test Kit, saltwater conditioner, Instant Ocean Synthetic Aquarium Salt and complete instruction book. 48-1/4" x 12-3/4" x 21" high

This doesn't include stand.

 

[dgodwin]

It really depends on what you want to do, but generally the kit's never include the right accessories in my opinion.

The lighting isn't strong enough for most corals. I would look into some power compacts.

Instead of the emperor filter, I would go with a CPR bak pak skimmer (or something similar). In the long run, having the skimmer is better than a power filter.

I also prefer tanks that have more depth instead of height.

 

[wayne at home]

Agreed , chuck the emporer, get a skimmer and a couple of powerheads instead. Ask if they do a deal on live rock - you need to read up on substrate and deco before you spend your hard earned cash

 

[jean1940]

i got a used tank along with all of the goodies. enough light to make it into a reef tank, along with a good skimmer & power heads, fish, the same water that he had in it (which i did a 1/4 water change) and some other small stuff. only problem was- he had live rock in it (which he kept) and when i got to really looking at the tank once everything had settled down- i noticed these nasty bristle worms EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! so now i am fighting to get them away- far far away....... i got my tank for $200- but with all of this hassle of these nasty things- it may be MONTHS before i can make it into a reef tank!!!!! do take wayne's advise- ask lots and lots of ??? before you go too far. i have found having the internet has been such a big help. you can get some great info. there is a good chart on compatible fish on several of the sites. i lie the drs foster & smith site- they seem to have everything even if just to get acquainted with some of the cool stuff available. good luck. salt water fish are so much cooler than fresh water fish. they actually have personalities!!!!!!

 

[gottabemyway]

first off....i am doing a fish only tank the only thing i've decided are green chromis and false percula clowns are my fish of choice.
So is the lighting and filtration enough if i don't have coral?

second this is a new tank,which coincidently is on the dr foster and smith web site, so i don't have to worry about anything living in it .

 

[wayne at home]

Wellthe lighting is fine, but I would not be happy with the filtration - you can make it work, but it will be (much) higher maintenance, much more unstable and in many peoples not so realistic/attractive. This sounds possible, like an 80's setup, but far from ideal. I'm surprised the good Drs are selling this.
Also live rock makes keeping browsing organisms much happier as they can snack on anything onit if necassary. Your fish choices are very good, but lets say youwan t to add a dwarf angel - fantastic hardy fish that are so much easier toeep alive in a naturally filtered tank.
Keep reading everything modern you can. Is ther a good shop nearby -see if they'll help, or talk to more people locally with tanks, but I have a feeling N Dakota is not overly blessed with resources. Look at wetwebmedia.comand ask what they think

 

[wayne at home]

I just looked at the good Drs 5 step guide to keeping a reef. Very strange, it does mention a skimmer though their marine kits don't. Live roxk isn't just for reefs, so read that and see what you think

 

[JasonF]

Well, I just paid what would be $540 for a 90g tank.. The skimmer was $150, the salt is $70, my test kit is $35 and the heater was $30.... Sooo, your price sounds pretty good from where I am sitting, in the Rip off UK !!

I have been told a skimmer is an absolute must now for SW tanks.. Get as big a one as you can get for the tank...

 

[gottabemyway]

Thanks for the info guys, I don't think I'm gonna go with it. I'd rather just get the tank and get what I need rather than pick and choose out of the stuff that comes with it. I want good filtration system for it, especially since I'm a newbie to SW, so I want to make it as easy as possible for myself while i'm learning.

thanks again!

 

[wayne at home]

Actually your prices don't sound so bad Jason. I've looked around shops in the US on business trips, and never thought they were as cheap as I'd imagined. At least you won't need to buy most of those things again.

 

[JasonF]

Originally posted by wayne at home
Actually your prices don't sound so bad Jason. I've looked around shops in the US on business trips, and never thought they were as cheap as I'd imagined. At least you won't need to buy most of those things again.

That is true enough, though now and again I may be tempted to upgrade........

I also have heard some amazing tank prices in the UK, so I guess it pays to shop around more than I did when I got the stuff.....

Cheers

Jas

 

[ClarkiCavalier]

I paid $250 for the same exact thing (all new.) You will also need a protein skimmer. I recommend a Prizm. You should use a mixture of arognite (crushed coral,) and live sand on the bottom. I just mixed it together but you can also just put the sand on top of the arognite. The arognite will act as a perfect PH buffer and the live sand will bring you beneficial bacteria. On top of that, the lighted canopy will night give you enough light. Like I said, I got the same thing and it caused brown algea to grow (a fugly algea that grows on everything due to lack of light.) Fill your Emperor's media cartridges with a carbon/amonia dedtox crystal mixture to ensure higher survival rate durring the nitrogen cycle. The instruction book is no substitue for real reading and probably isn't worth the tiem anyway. You need to do heavy research.