New 3ft tank Ideas

Hi All,

I am looking at setting up a new tank after years of absence from this hobby. Budget is constrained but I am looking at getting a 3ft tank.

I will have to build it up over a couple of months
I am looking at getting the tank and stand for now and the possibly the substrate that I am planning on getting pool filter sand from Builders
So far I have a price on the tank R480 and stand R450

Then next month I will get the lid and possibly filter. and start cycling the tank. Then heater and fish with decor.

Heater will be 150w standard glass tube and I am still trying to decide on the filter, any ideas what would be the best, ideally I would have liked a canister filter, but that is out of the budget for now. Possibly a power filter?

Any idea where best to get everything from in the Durban area.

Tank and stand are from a company called SKS Aquatics


Cannot wait to get it running.

 

Good luck. Sounds good

 

Welcome bud

You can do really cool setup with a 3ft.

If u not in a rush then maybe save a little and do a nice hang on back filter else there are some nice internal power filters on the market.

Pool filter sand does work well

 

lights are cheaper now than before so now the possibility of keeping plants can be within reach.
as for soil, get a bag of potting soil and cap and you're good to go

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Also if budget is a constraint, you can try this website:
https://www.banggood.com/index.php?zf=22125968

I have purchased many small items from them for my tank, basically things that are hard to get in SA or things you simply cannot get in SA. Their delivery is great and usually you get your orders within 10 days from order. Just make sure that any items you purchase have the "SOUTH AFRICA DIRECT MAIL OPTION 7-15 Days"

Just make sure you know your prices because some items are not necessarily cheaper can be more expensive. Their are for example lots of LED lighting options that are very cheap, that can be used for a tank, that would cost double in SA.

Good Luck!

 

Wow thanks guys.

I am just waiting now for the tank builder to send me an official quote so I can pay the deposit. Hopefully he said I will get the quote tomorrow. then about 1.5weeks to build. Going to try take a look at some things tomorrow to get an idea of prices. I wont bI have been thinking about theme rushing and will take it slow to get the tank set up correctly before adding fish. Guess I will have to keep looking at me sons fish tank.

I am famililiar with Banggood and the other chinese stores. and have been looking at ideas. I also want to do some automation, possibly looking at controlling the lights and pump and possibly temperature with an arduino. so that will be fun. Just need to find the time.

 

Try the Sonoff products also available from Banggood, I bought a ton of them from them, they work very well for controlling lights, pumps etc..... and you can custom flash them as well. Currently I control all the lights with them and whats nice is that you can setup times and schedules for lights to come on an off at different times. They are so cheap I am even busy with another setup that I am going to install some lighting that I am experimenting with and will have one on each light. The idea is to try and mimic the movement of the sun during anyone 12 hour period, so basically turning on and off different lights as it goes from morning to evening.

This hobby is so cool, with all the amazing tech gadgets that are available out their and all you need to add these days is your imagination.....

 

I have a 3 feet and ill tell you this. It gets small quick. But its still very nice tank size. So if you have the space available, buy he biggest tank u can afford. Did you consider second hand? Lots of 4feet and 5feet available on Gumtree etc. Get the bigger tank, with he budget for your tank and stand. Then do a DIY stand and lid. Trust me you will be looking for a bigger tank very soon and its so hard to get ur money u spent on smaller tanks.

Also 3 feet is standard size, why are you getting a tank builder. Most pet shops sell this size tanks. Or are u looking for something more "premium".

Well PFS is R90 from builders for 40kg, you can probably do 3 x 3ft tanks . For filtration the hang on back filters work well. But the Sobo internal filters are very affordable, all you do is change up the media and u good to go. Enjoy ur build.

 

Do a post for us please

 

On the sonoff devices?

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