# Aquascape Cheap !!



## Yzfr6 (Apr 28, 2006)

all, I stopped by Aquarium Adventure in Mason today and they are moving down the street so until September 17th all aquariums, dirftwood and rocks are on sale. The best deal is the rocks, they are a dollar a pound and have a decent variety to choose from.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

i'm going there first thing tomorrow morning!!!


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## Pyro (Nov 20, 2005)

I might have to check them out this weekend. I hope they aren't moving any farther way. I was just considering a new piece of driftwood for the tank.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

They are moving down the street on Fields Ertel. Apparently they will be taking up part of the old Sprawl-Mart. Whatever they are doing, I would suggest everybody get what they can while the getting is good because I don't foresee them being able to stop the bleeding (stop losing money) by just moving locations....


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## Yzfr6 (Apr 28, 2006)

I Also forgot to list that they have 75 percent off on all their fish. I picked up three gold crystal discus that were regularly 89.99 for 22.05 a piece. You can't find those prices on the internet. They have one blue and a red discus left but I also picked up 10 Otto's for 75 cents a piece. What a steal. 
:fencing:


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## ctmpwrdcamry (May 23, 2005)

Are they moving to a smaller store? That was a great looking store.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

My cousin called me yesterday with a big surprise - he had a 50gal Oceanic magically appear on their latest shippment. So, I hurried to AA this afternoon (ran into Scott while I was there) and snatched up a ton of zebra rock and something that looks similar to Okho (ohko?) stone. Sorry, but I think I picked out the best stuff... I also picked up 10 otos, which are acclimating as I type. The girl that works there said they have had those for over a month, so they should do very well!


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## Pyro (Nov 20, 2005)

Troy McClure said:


> My cousin called me yesterday with a big surprise - he had a 50gal Oceanic magically appear on their latest shippment. So, I hurried to AA this afternoon (ran into Scott while I was there) and snatched up a ton of zebra rock and something that looks similar to Okho (ohko?) stone. Sorry, but I think I picked out the best stuff... I also picked up 10 otos, which are acclimating as I type. The girl that works there said they have had those for over a month, so they should do very well!


I got lost on Montgomery road getting there, so I just kind of cruised home. Missed Mason-Montogmery road, but do they still have much of a selection there for aquascaping stuff?


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## Pyro (Nov 20, 2005)

Went there about an hour ago...got $3 worth of river rocks (3 lbs) which I think will look better than my regular rocks.

75% all Fish/Plants too...some of their plants looked rather dead, but I picked up some Bacopa Somethingorother, and Green Wendii. I was looking at Anubias Nana, but there's was rather small and kind of a yellowish shade of green...even for $2, it looked kind of dead. I was thinking about buying a rubber-nosed (or lipped or something) pleco for like $1.60, but the clown pleco I have does enough damage to the plants already


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

I was thinking about the rubber-nose plecos, too. I had one when I first started a planted tank and really liked them because they won't hurt the plants. If you want some, get them now. It's a bit of a drive for me so I think I'll just wait until my cousin gets some in.

I wasn't impressed with any of the driftwood they had, but maybe they'll get something better once they move.


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## Pyro (Nov 20, 2005)

Troy McClure said:


> I was thinking about the rubber-nose plecos, too. I had one when I first started a planted tank and really liked them because they won't hurt the plants. If you want some, get them now. It's a bit of a drive for me so I think I'll just wait until my cousin gets some in.
> 
> I wasn't impressed with any of the driftwood they had, but maybe they'll get something better once they move.


I liked some of the driftwood in the back...but none of that stuff was on sale, and $23 for a decent chunk of driftwood is a bit more than a High School student can spend  
It's not a real bad drive for me although traffic in that area is always a little bit dodgy. They only had about 2 left, and one of the little guys looked a little banged up (usually their fish look good though) so I decided to pass on new fish until I get my plant/aquascape/CO2 situation worked out.

The clown pleco and the angel fish are about to shoot me for continually re-aquascaping, and the danios just sit there merrily swimming anyway...I think they'd just continue swimming even if a bomb hit 

I'm in the process of re-scaping and adding new rocks. Hygro has (again) taken over my tank.


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## Paywan (May 21, 2006)

Went to AA a couple hours ago. Bought up some plants (75% off, how could I not?) and am setting up a 20 long right now to hold them  The plant selection there is getting pretty slim, but I got some wendti, some corkscrew val, dwarf sag., ludwigia, and bacopa. Pretty much bought anything that looked halfway decent that I thought I could make rooom for. Also got some river rocks - $1 a pound is a great deal imo! All told I spent $20. I'm very happy with that!

They've still got some tanks that I may go back for tomorrow. Pretty much all the stands they have left have canopies with them and they seem to want an arm and a leg for them. But now I'm kind of wishing I'd gotten one of their 75g tanks (only a couple left). I can always get a stand for it later/somewhere else. $99 for a 75g tank is a good deal. Not 75% off good like the livestock that's left, but still a good deal.

Anyway, if you haven't been yet, don't expect a lot to choose from by the time you get there! Selection is already pretty slim.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Pyro said:


> I'm in the process of re-scaping and adding new rocks. Hygro has (again) taken over my tank.


I think Jim (Molurus73) may be interested in some Hygro. What type do you have? If you have extras bring it to the September meeting! I may be interested in a few stems myself  If you can't make our September meeting, I'd bet some of the folks over at GCAS will more than likely want some.

Don't forget to post some pics of your tank once you get done rescaping!


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Troy McClure said:


> I was thinking about the rubber-nose plecos, too. I had one when I first started a planted tank and really liked them because they won't hurt the plants. If you want some, get them now. It's a bit of a drive for me so I think I'll just wait until my cousin gets some in.


I don't know how good of a deal you get from your cousin, but I think both Rob and Wayne have Ancistrus breeding. I assume by Rubber-nose plecos you mean the Ancistrus species


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

a friend of mine works for the store here in columbus and from what i hear the store is closing because the land owner wants to make it a fashion mall. i guess fish stores and fashion dont mix


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Six said:


> a friend of mine works for the store here in columbus and from what i hear the store is closing because the land owner wants to make it a fashion mall. i guess fish stores and fashion dont mix


Amano could make it work. He would release an ADA line of clothing that enhances the viewing pleasure of planted aquaria...


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## Pyro (Nov 20, 2005)

AA will actually be a much closer drive for me now...although it sucks that they're downsizing. I always liked looking around, although besides the sale, everything they had their was so crazily expensive...which is kind of understandable considering the cost and having to compete with internet superstores like bigals, thatfishplace, drsfostersmith etc.

Now there will be a PetSmart, a Jack's, and AA within about 2 miles of each other. Talk about competition


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Unfortunately, I don't think AA will last. While I love their store, their awesome selection, and beautiful display tanks, their overhead and markups are outrageous. Cincinnati is such a tight-ass market that anybody like AA doesn't stand a chance of making money. In markets like NYC and Columbus, yeah, it'll work...but the Cincinnati market is nothing but pennypinchers. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but you set yourself up for getting stuck with only the mega-giant "pet" stores, a handful of smaller local shops, and little to no specialty shops.

I'm tired. Sorry for the rant.


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## Pyro (Nov 20, 2005)

MatPat said:


> I think Jim (Molurus73) may be interested in some Hygro. What type do you have? If you have extras bring it to the September meeting! I may be interested in a few stems myself  If you can't make our September meeting, I'd bet some of the folks over at GCAS will more than likely want some.
> 
> Don't forget to post some pics of your tank once you get done rescaping!


Hey, sorry I didn't even notice the question  I most likely won't be at the Septmember meeting due to a ton of work and mandatory family functions that I'd be flogged for not attending. The hygro was mostly 'evil' stuff that had been eaten by snails, tattered leaves, or was a bit unhealthy because of my lack of fertilizing before getting CO2. The hygro is Hygrophila Polysperma...regular and 'Sunset'. The Sunset is really nice, and it grows insanely fast, so I should have a ton more healthy stuff pretty soon. I'll make sure to bring some the next time to the meeting. 

As for aquarium pictures. I finally got the plants I liked in a good position and I was somewhat happy with the aquascape...unfourtanatly, the snails liked my new bacopa too :sad:

Along with that, my 50% Eco-Complete/50% aquarium gravel mix has one fundamental flaw - PetSmart cheapness. The 'blackness' of the aquarium gravel has actually started to wear off, and it appears to be sending my kH/gH off the charts. Getting rid of it and replacing it with 100% eco-complete will be a royal pain in the arse...not to mention a bit pricy for a High School student...it'd be about $25 from Big Als, although the gravel is starting to lose it's aesthetics because of the non-blackness. So my options are either to ignore it, or do a complete overhaul.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Pyro said:


> Along with that, my 50% Eco-Complete/50% aquarium gravel mix has one fundamental flaw - PetSmart cheapness. The 'blackness' of the aquarium gravel has actually started to wear off, and it appears to be sending my kH/gH off the charts. Getting rid of it and replacing it with 100% eco-complete will be a royal pain in the arse...not to mention a bit pricy for a High School student...it'd be about $25 from Big Als, although the gravel is starting to lose it's aesthetics because of the non-blackness. So my options are either to ignore it, or do a complete overhaul.


The gravel from PetSmart has been reported to raise the KH by a few people on this site. One that comes to mind is TrenaC. She had a very similar issue with the coating coming off and her KH skyrocketing.

I have my old substrate from my 75g (Eco Complete/Tahitian Moon Sand mix) that may be available. Right now, Allen wants it but if he decides he does not want it you are more than welcome to it. No charge as I would be happy to get rid of it. I know you are short on cash, but I also have two 50lb bags of 3M's Black Color Quartz Sand I am not using and would be willing to let go for $25 each. 150lbs was plenty for my 75g but I don't recall what size tank you have


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## Pyro (Nov 20, 2005)

MatPat said:


> The gravel from PetSmart has been reported to raise the KH by a few people on this site. One that comes to mind is TrenaC. She had a very similar issue with the coating coming off and her KH skyrocketing.
> 
> I have my old substrate from my 75g (Eco Complete/Tahitian Moon Sand mix) that may be available. Right now, Allen wants it but if he decides he does not want it you are more than welcome to it. No charge as I would be happy to get rid of it. I know you are short on cash, but I also have two 50lb bags of 3M's Black Color Quartz Sand I am not using and would be willing to let go for $25 each. 150lbs was plenty for my 75g but I don't recall what size tank you have


I have a 29 gallon  I'd probably only need 1 bag of eco-complete, so I could definatly afford it, just ripping out all the gravel/getting the fish into a bucket and completly replanting...again...gives me a headache just thinking about it. ALL THAT WATER


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

Pyro I had the same problem with mine. Estes is the brand name I believe. A lot of my "black" gravel is now grey/tan.

Won't purchase that again.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Well, I was right in saying AA won't last. It is unconfirmed at this point, but the word coming from some fairly high industry people is that AA couldn't make it here so they are pulling out completely. I'm going to try and bleed them dry...


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## Pyro (Nov 20, 2005)

That's interesting Troy. When I went there last week, the gentleman working there was saying they were moving to Fields Ertel near Walmart like you said before. I guess that may have changed, but that's really kind of a shame. Their displays were always very nice, but the prices were always so high. A bag of eco there was $44. I almost started laughing. I understand they have a ton of overhead, but when Jack's/PetSmart down on Fields Ertel are actually _closer_ and much cheaper, it's hard to justify buying stuff from them just to help them stay in business, especially in the times when I've been there they were never exactly overally helpful.

The only thing I'm dissapointed about, is I think AA had the best plant selection in the area. Yeah, some of their plants looked a little bit grim, and they didn't have a huge selection...but compared to Jack's/PetSmart...

Although besides shipping charges, I've REALLY had good luck with hobbysists here on APC.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Pyro said:


> Although besides shipping charges, I've REALLY had good luck with hobbysists here on APC.


Getting your plants from hobbyists is always best in my opinion. Plants are almost always healthier and if you get them from a hobbyist in the Cinci area or from a club meeting there won't be any shipping charges. For my money, I'd rather pay the extra $4 for USPS shipping and receive healthy hobbyist grown plants


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Pyro said:


> That's interesting Troy. When I went there last week, the gentleman working there was saying they were moving to Fields Ertel near Walmart like you said before. I guess that may have changed, but that's really kind of a shame. Their displays were always very nice, but the prices were always so high. A bag of eco there was $44. I almost started laughing. I understand they have a ton of overhead, but when Jack's/PetSmart down on Fields Ertel are actually _closer_ and much cheaper, it's hard to justify buying stuff from them just to help them stay in business, especially in the times when I've been there they were never exactly overally helpful.
> 
> The only thing I'm dissapointed about, is I think AA had the best plant selection in the area. Yeah, some of their plants looked a little bit grim, and they didn't have a huge selection...but compared to Jack's/PetSmart...
> 
> Although besides shipping charges, I've REALLY had good luck with hobbysists here on APC.


You're right about the tremendous overhead AA was dealing with. They are probably still paying off the fixtures (display tanks) and have to buy a good portion of their stock on credit instead of cash. With the plants being carried locally, I would be very VERY surprised if that EVER happens. There is no market for it. Just because a handful of people like us want some of the nicer plants doesn't mean the stores are going to suddenly start ordering them in, setting up high maintenance tanks, and hiring or training somebody to take care of them. There is no money in it. There's more money is pink doggie strollers and sunglasses than there is in live aquatic plants.


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