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[APD] Re: A Nasty Shock



Andrew said,
>I just tried to work out how much my Amazonian biotope is going to
cost........This adds up to about £300!  I'm not sure my Mum is going to
agree to that...

Andrew, don't be so discouraged.  It is one thing to go out and buy all the
stuff you need and have a nice tank, but it is even more satisfying if you
piece it together over time and make some of the equipment yourself.  You
might just be able to buy the tank new, and get the rest used at garage
sales (do they have them where you are?).  Its great if you can get all the
plants and fish from the local ditches but even if you can't do this, you
can initially set the tank up more cheaply and things added later on.  If
you could get 2 angels and a little Val, the Val will take over the tank  in
a month.  It will look really nice.  You may only have to pay postage if
someone on the list from your country has the plants and can mail shoots to
you.  Wait with the driftwood.  You may find a piece of root or old
weathered wood that looks just as nice.  Skip the Fluval and get say an
Aquaclear 300 type of hang on filter.  They are cheaper and work well.  I
took some old Smith-Victor photoflood housings and took the tripod mount off
and added a cable clamp, sprayed them flat black, and now have two hanging
pendants.  You can use compact fluorescent screw in bulbs or halogens which
are inexpensive.  Build the stand with 2 x 4 lumber for $25 dollars.  It
will look as good as the ones in the pet store.  Use top soil as your bottom
substrate layer instead of laterite and gravel.  Forget the cover glass.

See my 30 gallon Brazos Bend biotope on my web site.  It won a ribbon in the
2001 AGA contest.  You'll see it was a cheap set up.  Then look at my
hardware projects page.  Many others on the list have found ways to save
money setting up nice aquariums.

Steve Pituch
http://users.ev1.net/~spituch/a.html

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