Joined
·
65 Posts
I've been a plant lover for as long as I can remember, and setting up a planted tank has been a life long dream. But now it seems to be getting scary.
Right now I'm in the process of buying a CO2 system (process being I'm waiting until I man up enough to spend the ~350$), and I remembered the good saying about having 3-6 watts per gallon in the tank. Well, I've got a cheap 2 bulb hood that came with the tank that I bought, and unless I stumble into Area 51 and steal some of their 150 watt bulbs I think I'm looking at another 300 for something like this: http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticL...xtures-AquaticLife-AK01035-FILTFIT54U-vi.html (The 48 inch option if it's not on there)
I don't want to be cheap. I want an aquarium that will make me cry tears perfectly calibrated for aquarium use. But I'm 24 and in college (I'll be a professional student for a while, stupid degrees in medicine take forever) with a part time job. Sure, I live with my parents (I know, I know) and I don't have to pay for anything, but 600$ seems a bit... Much.
Anyway, to make a long post longer, I'm just interested in knowing my options. Even though I know you're all probably going to tell me that four bulbs on a 75 should be the standard, 8 if possible... So....... Yeah. I assume I'll be ~650$ in credit debt for a month or two for this.
Sheesh, I knew it was going to be pricey. But I didn't know that CO2 and lights would cost more than the tank itself + fish + plants + canister filter (need another one as well) + heater, then multiplied by three. >.<''
Right now I'm in the process of buying a CO2 system (process being I'm waiting until I man up enough to spend the ~350$), and I remembered the good saying about having 3-6 watts per gallon in the tank. Well, I've got a cheap 2 bulb hood that came with the tank that I bought, and unless I stumble into Area 51 and steal some of their 150 watt bulbs I think I'm looking at another 300 for something like this: http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticL...xtures-AquaticLife-AK01035-FILTFIT54U-vi.html (The 48 inch option if it's not on there)
I don't want to be cheap. I want an aquarium that will make me cry tears perfectly calibrated for aquarium use. But I'm 24 and in college (I'll be a professional student for a while, stupid degrees in medicine take forever) with a part time job. Sure, I live with my parents (I know, I know) and I don't have to pay for anything, but 600$ seems a bit... Much.
Anyway, to make a long post longer, I'm just interested in knowing my options. Even though I know you're all probably going to tell me that four bulbs on a 75 should be the standard, 8 if possible... So....... Yeah. I assume I'll be ~650$ in credit debt for a month or two for this.
Sheesh, I knew it was going to be pricey. But I didn't know that CO2 and lights would cost more than the tank itself + fish + plants + canister filter (need another one as well) + heater, then multiplied by three. >.<''