Getting back into the Hobby

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HaydensFish

Active Member
Hi everyone! I'm getting back into the hobby after taking down all my aquariums to go to college. Now I'm a PhD student at UW and am finally planning to stay in one place for a while, so I can set up my fish tanks again. Funny enough, my research uses zebra danios as a model, so I'm thinking about fish at work and at home! Previously, I focused on breeding corydoras, but I'm looking to try new stuff!. Right now, I've got a 10 gallon full of cherry shrimp and a plant holding tub with some excess plants I got at the GSAS auction last weekend and some cherry barbs. I wanted to try breeding some clown killis along with the cherry shrimp since I heard they could colony breed, but now that shrimplets have started appearing, I don't want to see them get eaten. I guess it's time for more tanks haha.

I found this place through the GSAS site and joined to connect with other fishkeepers and have a record of my aquariums. shrimps.jpg
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sir_keith

sir_keith

Legendary Member
Contributing Member Level III
Welcome! I, too, stopped keeping fishes whilst in college, but picked it up again in graduate school. That was a long time ago, but now going strong! Lots of good folk here, and it's nice to have a local board. :)
 
lloyd378

lloyd378

Administrator
Staff member
Contributing Member Level III
Welcome! I’m glad you found us.

What size tank are looking into for a second tank? Many of us have extra tanks for sale or to gift. I know I always enjoy giving back.
 
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HaydensFish

Active Member
Thanks for the welcome! I'm looking for something in the 30-40 gallon range. I saw that Petco has a 50% off tanks sale right now which is pretty tempting.
 
DMD123

DMD123

Administrator
Staff member
Contributing Member Level III
HaydensFish said:
Thanks for the welcome! I'm looking for something in the 30-40 gallon range. I saw that Petco has a 50% off tanks sale right now which is pretty tempting.
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The Petco sales do make it tempting. With the last sale I had needed a QT/hospital tank and I picked up a 20H. But was tempted to go bigger, lol. But I already have enough tanks. I love the footprint on the 40B at 36x18 and the Aqueon’s dont have the center brace to get in the way.
 
sir_keith

sir_keith

Legendary Member
Contributing Member Level III
Two summers ago I did a fish room upgrade in which I replaced four 55g tanks with 75's. Picked up the 75's during a Petco sale for $99 each. Quite a good deal, and the tanks are great, with nice solid covers.
 
H

HaydensFish

Active Member
clownie said:
I just paid $71 (with tax) for a 40 breeder from Petco. Pretty sweet deal.
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Thinking of heading over today to pick one up, but suddenly getting anxious about leaks now that I'm in a rental lol. I've had plenty of tanks before with no issues and the landlord's fine with it, just thinking of being on the hook for damage worries me.
 
DMD123

DMD123

Administrator
Staff member
Contributing Member Level III
Thats always a worry having fish tanks, the dreaded leaker. I would recommend taking the time to examine the tank carefully before you purchase. Ive seen cracked frames on these tanks on many occasions. I have seen inconsistent construction also. An example was when I had purchased 2 tanks from different Petco stores. These were 75 gallon and they both had different glass thickness. Almost as if they were using up spare glass to create tanks, lol. And of course water test in an area where a leaker would not be an issue, maybe outdoor area?
 
lloyd378

lloyd378

Administrator
Staff member
Contributing Member Level III
HaydensFish said:
Thinking of heading over today to pick one up, but suddenly getting anxious about leaks now that I'm in a rental lol. I've had plenty of tanks before with no issues and the landlord's fine with it, just thinking of being on the hook for damage worries me.
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Maybe look for an acrylic?

That’s what I use in my classroom. I just don’t want to risk a tank getting bumped or knocked into and a seal breaking loose.
 
H

HaydensFish

Active Member
I ended up going for it! :) I looked pretty closely at the seams for no bubbles or inconsistencies and compared them against a few others they had in the store. This one had the best seals and I'm planning to test it in the garage for a few days to make sure there's nothing wrong. Also planning to get a moisture/water alarm. If anyone has any other suggestions/precautions, I'm happy to hear them.

Worrying about leaking aside, I'm super excited about the tank!
 

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sir_keith

sir_keith

Legendary Member
Contributing Member Level III
I have had quite a number of Aqueon tanks from Petco over the years, and have never had any issues with them whatsoever.
 
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