angel
FORUM BEGINNER
My Husband's A Birdbrain
Posts: 40
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Post by angel on Nov 9, 2009 6:36:45 GMT -6
It won't die on you, though. I was planning on ordering a few more of them. They're reliable and fairly clutz-proof. What size did you buy?
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allierw
FORUM PARTICIPANT
Posts: 382
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Post by allierw on Nov 9, 2009 9:37:30 GMT -6
I only use Visi-therm stealth heaters in my tanks. Won't break, shut off automatically, and heat pretty accurately. Cheap at Big Al's, too.
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Post by jeremyh81 on Nov 9, 2009 11:55:10 GMT -6
I got the 100-watt version. Said it was for 17-26 gallons. Should I have gone smaller?
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angel
FORUM BEGINNER
My Husband's A Birdbrain
Posts: 40
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Post by angel on Nov 9, 2009 13:23:27 GMT -6
No I think that's the best thing. I was just curious.
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jhayes6405
FORUM PARTICIPANT
sand washer extraordinaire
Posts: 79
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Post by jhayes6405 on Nov 9, 2009 16:05:53 GMT -6
I went ahead and got one from the new PetSmart @ 100 Oaks. After looking at BigAl's site, the price was about the same for a 100-watt Hydor Theo counting shipping. As for online shops, I like PetSolutions.com. They have the best prices I've ever found. I got a HOT Mag 250 w/ Biowheel for $84 shipped where Critter was asking $111 before tax! Unless you are hurting for money, I would support your LFS. In this economy, they probably need it. In my current sorry excuse for a town, there are no quality fish, so I am kinda forced online. Also, you don't have to worry about shipping problems; broken merchandise, open empty boxes, both of which have happened to me. |
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Post by jon carman on Nov 9, 2009 17:04:31 GMT -6
I agree with supporting LFS to the point of them not ripping you off. They need to meet us in the middle on prices. I can go to the critter and get a eheim for $225+ tax, when I can get the same thing online for $145 and no tax with little shipping charge. If they don't get more competitive they will be a thing of the past. I don't know how the higher ups in petsmart sleep at night with how they have there heaters priced, nor do I really consider them a local fish store. I have been looking into starting one for a while, but dry goods online are cheaper than most retail stores can get wholesale, and to pay rent you really have to flip some fish.
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Post by jeremyh81 on Nov 9, 2009 19:23:00 GMT -6
Very true. I think the biggest selling point for a LFS is that livestock is readily available and at a major discount considering the shipping cost involved in ordering fish online. Also, you can be sure that the fish you're buying is tolerant of the local water supply, and little conditioning for pH and hardness is needed (at least with the tropicals).
Critter and Fins in Franklin are the only local, "mom and pop" shops that I know of. Hence the lack of shopping areas for me. All of my fish and most dry goods have been bought from Critter. It's just down the road from me.
I always do research before deciding on where to get my dry goods. For replacement filter media, substrate, backgrounds, etc., I tend to go local (mostly PetSmart/PetCo), but try to stay in Davidson County because of the lower sales tax - something I always account for because of my tight budget.
Now that I have a major 55 gallon planted aquarium project coming up (thanks again to Jason for the excellent deal!), I'm going to save up and pay a little extra to get the right items from the small LFS'es in the area.
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jhayes6405
FORUM PARTICIPANT
sand washer extraordinaire
Posts: 79
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Post by jhayes6405 on Nov 9, 2009 20:12:35 GMT -6
I agree John, I will go online all day before I get the crap that petsmart is selling. Sometimes I have no choice to go there. But, there is no mom and pop here. Only corporate evil doers with low fish keeping standards. So, it's easy for me to sit here and say 'support your LFS' when I'm not even doing it right now. If there was one I would though.
BTW, is Wet Pets in Bellevue still around?
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Aug 14, 2013 6:59:33 GMT -6
Aug 14, 2013 6:59:33 GMT -6