Aquarium Question

[The Juice]

I have been looking around and Pricing 55gal Aquariums and so Far the Cheapest I have Found it at was Wal-Mart $158.88 comes with Net,FishGuide,Digital Thermometer,FishFood,Water Conditioner,AquaTech 30-60 PowerFilter with EZ change Cartridges,Deluxe Flourescent Light Hoods lamps included and 200 Watt Heater. When I went to PetStores (One specialized in Aquariums the people there told me that Wal-Mart Tanks are Crap not very good Quality and that the heater would clonk out after 2 years. But their Aquarium Packages where more Expensive between $169.99 - $269.99. But with less stuff than Wal-Mart
What I want to know is, Is Wal-Marts Aquariums really that Bad, Isn't just about all aquariums the same? Does anyone own or owned a Wal-Mart 55Gal Aquarium? Also How many Oscars per 55Gal Tank?

 

[Deliverme314]

It depends on teh manufacturer... if you know the name brands of the tank and equip it might help...

 

[LPacker79]

Also How many Oscars per 55Gal Tank?

Only one Oscar in a 55 gallon, and many would tell you even that would be too small. A 55 gallon tank is the absolute smallest for one Oscar.

 

[The Juice]

It depends on teh manufacturer... if you know the name brands of the tank and equip it might help...

Yeah that would be a good idea, But I won't be able to find out the name of the manufacturer until monday I'll be in Kentucky Fri-Mon

 

[The Juice]

Only one Oscar in a 55 gallon, and many would tell you even that would be too small. A 55 gallon tank is the absolute smallest for one Oscar.

Thats what I thought but I wanted to make sure.

 

[moricollins]

If it's a Walmart filter it's a regent aqua-tech filter, it's a pretty decent filter.

I don't know what kind of tank they stock though.

Mori

 

[Deliverme314]

I agree with the LPacker said. You need at least a four foot tank for adult oscars and I would say twenty gallons per oscar and heavy filtration. If you had say a 90 gallon (48x18x24) you could do five if you had an emperor 400 hanging filter as well as an eheim or fluval under the tank that was rated for at least 90 gallons. They are quite messy...

 

[mouse]

i only have a 10 gallon tank from walmart, and because i had a few too many fish i ended up adding a undergravel filter system. but everything seems fine.
i'd say go with walmarts, and later on (if and when)when needed buy replacement filters or heaters from the petstore.
dianne

 

[Wade]

There are differences in aquariums. Cheaper brands usually have a slightly greenish tint to the glass. This is generally not noticiable to most people, and probably matters most to marine enthusiasts who what to be able to see every bit of color in their reef tank. It would probably not be visible in an oscar tank. I think the regeant filters are made by marineland, and are just a cheaper wal-mart verson of their magnum and emperor lines they sell in regular pet stores. They look EXACTLY like them.

The aquarium itself isn't marked up much in most stores, the price difference between wal mart and an independent store on the bare tank itself is probably not much. The freight costs of aquariums (especially larger ones) is so high that if they were sold with standard retail markup they'd be twice a smuch as they are, but the stores know no one would by them so they end up selling the tanks almost at cost and depend on the markup on the rest of the supplies to turn the profit.

Hence the kits. By putting all this stuff together, you end up buying more stuff than you might otherwise be inclined to do. Does it include lots of decorations? much of these will be useless with oscars as they will tear up and move most decorations. The kit MIGHT be a good idea, but be sure to check on the specifics on the filter. Whats the GPH of the filter? Does the "30-60" indicate the recomended tank size for that filter? If so, it looks like that filter is the bare minimum needed for that tank. This is probably fine if you're going for a community of a few, relatively small fish, but if you're going for oscars you may want to get the tank and the filter seperately, as IMO you'll want a bigger filter. When oscars eat, there's a lot of leftovers and you really need a high volume filter to keep up. And the heater, is it a good, sturdy submersible or one of those clamp-on jobs? Oscars will often strike at the power light in many heaters, sometimes hard enough to cause it to smack against the tank wall and crack the heater.

All things to consider. The kit may not seem like such a good deal if you end up replacing half of it 6 months down the road. Does wal-mart even sell that tank without the kit? I bet they don't, not enough profit margin for them!

Wade

 

[Darwinsdad]

The tanks are wal-mart are built to last. I recently had the pleasure of taing two of them apart to make one tank from the two. Even after spending about an hour doing nothing but cutting silicon and such they still would not come apart. I wound up needing to break the two panes of glass to be romoved to get them ready for the next phase of construction. They are well glued and sealed. I would trust the quality of the tank compleatly. The guy telling you they are junk just wanted to pressure you into buying from them.

 

[cryptly]

Wal-Mart tanks are alright. I got a 20 gallon for goldfish, and only had to replace the filter, it just didn't cut it for the messy fish.

 

[The Juice]

The name of the company who makes them is called Aqua-Culture