sponge filters

[Jim]

but what about at night when i turn off the lights and when the heat is off?

Its cold in the basement.

I forgot about heaters untill this morning and i thought i would just look arround for prices and brands.

[sarahbella]

since i run my 5.5 in my office i just keep the light on all the time.  Its one 15w bulb so it doesnt cost a fortune.  im not sure if it affects the fish adversely by not having a dark period but my fry are doing well.  I guess this might not be an option..

So you are going to have a 4' light just on the top??  Is it a single tube or double??   I cant wait to see how it turns out.  I may do something similar, i have a few 4' flouro fixtures laying around and a frame thats perfect for a few 5g tanks.

[Jim]

I havent choosen a piticular light strip qite yet.

Are you going to use it for breeding or just looks?

[sarahbella]

I havent choosen a piticular light strip qite yet.

Are you going to use it for breeding or just looks?

I have no idea what i will use it for right now, more than likely just grow out tanks for all my bettas.  Im not worried how my breeding or growing out tanks look at all.  I piece them together from left over and used parts.  i dont care if they're ghetto, they work for what i need em for lol...   I snagged a $1 heater and a $1 AC filter at the last auction and also received an empty 5gal tank for free off the freecycle and thats my latest fry tank lol...  Ones in my office, no one comes in here, the other two are are in games room with my 2 20s for the time being just because i needed them and that space was convenient.  Its looking a bit messy around my tank area for the time being but essentially i only want my 2 20's upstairs where they are and i want to hide my  10 and 5's away in the laundry room beside the furnace.  Im hoping to get some inspiration from your setup  i have the stand and the lights, i just need the motivation lol.

You may have a problem with lighting the bottom tanks in your setup if you are only going to be using the one strip.  The single light isn't going to penetrate that deep.... not a big deal if you dont plan to have any plants down there.   If you plan to have plants in your top tanks you will definitely want to go with the double tube light fixture.  You really cant go wrong.  You can pick em up cheap at the home depot then wire a plug and switch onto it so its portable and you can move it to a different place.  Thats what ive done with all of my 4 footers so i can set em up and tear em down when i need to...

[Jim]

Good to know sarahbella!

I was going to get two 4 footers for my tanks and i'm not planning on having any live plants or even fake!...maby a bit for refuge.

I also don't care what its going to look like. I'm painting the backs blue and i will not have any substrate.

The tanks will most likely be bought seccond hand.

Jim

[alexsodamncoolyo]

sponges are like 2 dollars at dollarama

[blueturq]

sponges are like 2 dollars at dollarama

Wow, well isn't that ironic! :lol:

If you are talking about kitchen sponges, then no it wouldn't work for a filter, as they aren't porous.

[Jim]

sponges are like 2 dollars at dollarama

Those are the wrong type of sponges :lol:

[Jim]

Can anyone recomend a cheap dependable heater for these sized tanks?

What about Elite? Aqua-Tech?

THANKS
Jim

[mseguin]

I like the submersible ones for small tanks, and you can get the Marineland imitations at Wal Mart for around 20$.

[Jim]

ok great thanks mseguin.