# 55gallon, Budget of $200. Possible???



## freakmonkey1423 (Jan 21, 2007)

Here is the current situation I am faced with. My birthday was back in February and my mom told me she wanted to get me a tank for my birthday. My housing status wouldn't support a large planted tank at the time so I never got the tank or anything. This weekend, my mom found a used 55 gallon for $34 and it came with a python so I told her to get it. Well, I asked her what my budget was for the rest of the tank, filter, light, substrate. She said $200. I said is that your final or lowball? She confirmed it was firm. So, I don't have much cash of my own. College, food, or fish tanks, these are my choices for right now, so I am going to try to stick to the $200. 

Here is what I have already:
Plenty of fish and plants in smaller tanks
2 diy co2 systems
1 bag of flourite
She said she would pay for materials for my dad and I to build a stand. He has a shop in the garage and a mechanical engineering degree, plus hes pretty handy.

So that leaves me with the need for hardscape material, more substrate, light, filter, more co2...
What are my options here?
I am thinking it would work to set it up in front of a window, use an inexpensive pet store hood/light with an upgraded reflector. I am unsure of the saftey issues involved with a tank this size upstairs though, will it be a big deal as long as the stand has a large footprint? 
I think the rest will follow as el natural, cheap soil, gravel, some rocks, collected driftwood, collected plants from the local river as supplement. (still looking into the legality of removing plants from the San Marcos River)
The rest of the money would be spent on the biggest filter possible.
Any suggestions on doing it all cheap?
Thanks!


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## MiSo (Nov 4, 2005)

for a cheap setup, i would do:

ehiem 2215 from somewhere like bigalsonline.com or drsfostersmith.com
which ever one is cheaper. this is going to be the most expensive of the parts needed.
i started my tank with a cheap $60 jebo canister but that failed after a couple months. 
spend the money on a good canister. ehiem's rock. 

i would go with a bag of SS charcoal. i haven't tried it but many people like it because of the color and price. you can get this from a local lesco dealer. lesco's site says it's $16.37 for a 50 lb bag. enough for a 55 gallon tank.

for cheap lighting solution, you can go with shop lights. 
they're $8 a piece at walmart (i was there yesterday). bulbs are cheap also. dont remember how much but they're pretty cheap.

if you're thinking about building a hood for your tank, then you have a few more options with lighting.
cannibalizing shop lights to fit into the hood or going with a diy retrofit from another place like ahsupply. but the latter will probably push your budget over the limit. you might be able to put together a lighting system piece by piece if you dont mind searching for the parts; ballast, reflectors, end caps, bulbs, wires, etc...


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

If you're planning on going "EN" then you should easily be able to fit it into your budget:

Filter (60-80 bucks online - The Rena XP filters seem to be a more economical alternative to the Eheims and from the reviews are pretty reliable)
Heater (20 bucks online)
Lighting (10-20 bucks with the shoplights, which is all you'll need for the soil-based tanks).
substrate: Soilmaster select (16 bucks at lesco).


Make sure you set up with plenty of plants to begin with.

Sounds like a fun project


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

Filter.....either Rena xp3 which needs media or an eheim classic 2217 which comes packed with media
Lighting....couple of shop lights for super cheap or somethig from AHSupply
Heater....I see mention of SanMarcos river so I will assume you are in Tx...I don't really use heaters in my tanks but have them just in case.


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## freakmonkey1423 (Jan 21, 2007)

Thanks for all the help. Sounds like my cheap greams may become a reality.  Yes I am in Texas, from Houston actually, living in San Marcos for school. Sounds like I can pull any plants from the river except the endangered wild rice, our river is the only place on earth it lives! I am getting excited about this tank. My mom sent me a picture of it and it looks to be in good shape, just a little dirty. I am trying to get my little brother to leak test it but hes a high school senior and aparently has better things to do.


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## DWIZUM (Jun 8, 2006)

+1 on the Rena filters, if you decide to go the canister route.

Honestly, if I were on a budget, I'd skip the canister and just use a powerhead with a sponge over the intake. In a heavily planted tank, it's debatable if you need anything more than a bit of flow, IMHO - big pricey canisters are overkill. The $50 - $100 you'd save with a powerhead vs. a canister could be very quickly spent elsewhere (CO2? better lights?).


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

I agree with Dwizum here. again +1 on the Rena XP canister filters. BUT, this being said. It also matters what type of tank setup your going for. If you want a Natural Planted Tank (El Natural) then these are done with no liquid/dry ferts, no co2, low light, soil base, topped by an inert cap (such as Soil Master Select (SMS)).

If your going this low light low tech setup, then the thing you should relize is that having a bunch of bio media in your filter will be unbenificial. This is because the bactera that will conlinize all the bio media, the sponges and what not, will out compete most of your plants for the limited nutrience in the tank. Nutrience in these tanks come from the soil, being leached up through the SMS. After saying that, i must say, if i plant my stem plants deep enough to be close to the soil, i'll get massive roots, and quick growth.

BUT, another thing to relize, you can start there, and then work your way up to a high tech if you want. I have 4 x 32 watt T8 bulbs (i want to get a different bulb or two to increase the CRI), CO2 injection (not sure on PPM i gotta get my KH standard today) and PPS-PRO ferts.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Via Aqua filter (like Eheim, ~ half the price) ~$60.
AH-Supply 2x96W PC retro fit kits (~$60 ea), or 3x55W, if they'll fit
Anywhere else 2x6700K 96W PC bulbs (~$30 ea) or 3x55W, ~$20 ea (guessing on this price)

Swiming pool filter sand 50# ~$12, any hardware store. Mix w/ the flourite after rinsing.

That's $240, shipped. Build a canopy to go w/ the stand - leave a large portion of the back of it open or just make the top louvered (plank, space, plank...) as 96W PCs get hot. Add another DIY, or switch the 2 you have to gallon sized jugs, feed their output to the filter input.

Next b-day, Pressurized CO2.

That's how I'd approach it (but I really loke lots of fish too, powerheads & sponges OK if bioload is lower).


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

I'd go with a custom-built 4' T8 x 4. Use a glass cover so you can position the light as close as possible to the water. Bulbs and electronic starters will cost about $40 @ home depot.

Aquaclear 70 power filter ($30). It's very reliable and easy to clean.

Ebo or Visitherm 150w Stealth heater ($20).

Fabco NV55 Needle valve ($20)
http://www.fabco-air.com/distributors.html
http://www.fabco-air.com/pdf/Sec_12.pdf

Regulator ($41)
http://www.beveragefactory.com/draftbeer/regulator/double/342.shtml

5lb CO2 tank ($60)
http://www.beveragefactory.com/C5.shtml

Final cost is around $211 but you'll need to add about $30 for shipping and misc brass connectors for the CO2 injection system.


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## ihooklow (Sep 20, 2006)

Bag of el cheapo potting soil (no additives, etc.)... $8 Cap with your Flourite (much more attractive)
Shop lights... $10
Daylight bulbs... $15 (available at Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Lowes, etc.)
Used powerhead... $5 (Just need a little circulation. Check craigslist, recycler, etc...)
DIY CO2 setup... $15 (Get champagne yeast from your local brewers supply)
Light timer... $5

$150 leftover for plants and, more importantly, beer...Priceless.


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## ihooklow (Sep 20, 2006)

If you are patient and keep your eye on craigslist, recycler, APC, PT, etc. (join your local clubs, too - so many helpful people) and you could even do a high light, pressurized CO2 system for under $200.

Shouldn't be a problem. Patience, however, is paramount. You will have to know exactly what you want, know the best alternatives, and wait for them to become available.

I did my original 29-gallon for under $175, including tank and stand. It took me a year, but I did it. I have now put twice that into it, but it was up and running (planted) for $175.00


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## snowhillbilly (Mar 29, 2006)

I have a couple HOB filters big enuff for that tank Ill take a couple of bucks and shipping and there yours. Since your not going with injected CO2 why not use HOB filters. I also agree though if you want to buy a filter a nice internal jet would be great as long as the bio load isnt huge. Let me know if you want those filters or filter. Spend more money on lighting is my advice. Dont forget plants and ferts are going to set you back also in this build.


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## freakmonkey1423 (Jan 21, 2007)

Thank you all for all the input. I still have a while before I set it up and I have been scanning craigs list for filters and I even found a free hood that might work. It is kind of ugly though. Paint is cheap though. I tore my 10 gallon tank's scape and turned it into a pearl grass and dwarf hair grass farm. My crypts are in another ten and are growing faster in it by themselves. It should take about 3 weeks to fill the farm tank with pearl grass. Once it is full I am going to clip half of it and take it to the pet store for credit. I figured this would help costs too, my lfs owner is eager to get some new plants in.


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## boink (Nov 29, 2006)

To make a well built stand you can do it for about 70 dollars. ~50 for a 3/4 inch birch 4'x8' and assuming your dad has screws and a kreg jig. leaving you 20 dollars for hardware/finish


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