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Topic: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)  (Read 1181 times)

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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #15 on: April 11, 2018, 02:13:24 PM »
Yeah, some people do seem to go the really expensive route with tanks. I try to keep it basic and simple. There are some kinds of fish that are pretty hardy, so we go with them. Some plants, a basic filtration system, regular water changes, and some of our fish have lasted years.  It really is amazing how much you can spend though - especially if you go the salt-water route. That is way, way above both my expertise and my budget!

What I may do is build one. My dad built a tank, when I was a kid, and I still have one of the old "everything you want to know about fishkeeping" books from the 1940s.  It actually is not difficult to do. Just have to make sure it's properly reinforced or things could, well, explode (for want of a better term!). We recycled a small table someone threw out here, just after we moved in. Had to get a new glass top cut to size for it, and the glass was really cheap (surprisingly so). Might go old-school and build a wooden frame and use nice, plate-glass inserts. The Daughter has always wanted a tall tank - there are some fish that prefer to be near the surface, some mid-way, and then there are the bottom feeders. She has always wanted to have one with like drift-wood in it, and heavily planted, with small schools of Neons and some coreys for the bottom, that kind of thing.  Shouldn't be too hard to make like a 20 gallon tank that is taller than usual, and perhaps not as deep front to back.  :)  How to do it and still surprise her with it is going to be the trick.


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #16 on: April 11, 2018, 02:38:11 PM »

Don't get me wrong Nan, I love your aquarium AND the sign.  It fits you well. 

I'd think it wouldn't be hard to get a free aquarium.  A friend of mine was gifted an aquarium 5X the size of yours just because the owner was tired of it.  She'd give it to you for free but you'd have to come down south to get it.



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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #17 on: April 11, 2018, 02:40:13 PM »
If you say so.  ;D

Hmmm, now how far south are we talking? I can get to the border for free....


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #18 on: April 11, 2018, 03:18:30 PM »
All the way to Richmond


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #19 on: April 11, 2018, 03:30:05 PM »
Cute tank Nan, thanks!  :)

When I was little, I used to love going to the museum with my dad. They had little tanks in the walls full of tiny, shiny, brightly coloured fish that just mesmerised me!  :D


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #20 on: April 11, 2018, 03:31:59 PM »
All the way to Richmond

Whoops, a bit toooo far.  ;D


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #21 on: April 11, 2018, 05:16:36 PM »
If you want to come up to the Higlands, we have a great 20 gallon sitting in our garage just needing a good clean out. It has an integrated stand and everything. Cost =£0 
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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #22 on: April 11, 2018, 05:26:25 PM »
If you want to come up to the Higlands, we have a great 20 gallon sitting in our garage just needing a good clean out. It has an integrated stand and everything. Cost =£0

ooooooo. Not sure how I could get the stand home on the bus/train. Are you guys near a bus route?


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #23 on: April 12, 2018, 03:14:37 PM »
I used to have 3 saltwater tanks. They are amazing and once established are far easier to maintain than fresh. My first was just a 20 gallon.

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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #24 on: April 12, 2018, 03:31:45 PM »
Really? They always seemed terribly complicated to me!


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #25 on: April 12, 2018, 03:37:17 PM »
I used to have 3 saltwater tanks. They are amazing and once established are far easier to maintain than fresh. My first was just a 20 gallon.

Ooooh, you didn't have seahorses did you? I always wanted seahorses... :D


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #26 on: April 12, 2018, 03:40:23 PM »
Really? They always seemed terribly complicated to me!
Really!!! I’ve had fish only and reef tanks. They can be a bit more costly to set up depending on what you want to do, but the fish etc. are quite affordable even here in the UK.


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #27 on: April 12, 2018, 03:43:52 PM »
Ooooh, you didn't have seahorses did you? I always wanted seahorses... :D
I really wanted seahorses, although I did have a pipe fish. Seahorses are amazingly beautiful but pretty much have to be kept in a tank by themselves. Of course that means they would do well in a smaller tank too. I really wanted an octopus, but they have short lifespans and again have to pretty much be the only live animal in the tank as everything else is food! I get too attached to not have animals around for very long.


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #28 on: April 12, 2018, 04:08:05 PM »
They are gorgeous. I couldn't go to Vegas without spending ages at the seahorse bar in Cesars!  :D

I just assumed that octopuses lived a long time, that would have been cool though!


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Re: OMG, not snails! (aquarium)
« Reply #29 on: April 19, 2018, 12:50:48 PM »
Really!!! I’ve had fish only and reef tanks. They can be a bit more costly to set up depending on what you want to do, but the fish etc. are quite affordable even here in the UK.


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Hmmm. Fish here generally do seem to be at a good price. Except for ghost shrimp. They are like ten cents each in the States. They are 3 for 8 pounds 99 here!  (What the heck?)

You didn't have to have like a protein skimmer, uber-pump, and special water, and special filters and all for the saltwater tank?


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