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Mental logic of buying aquarium equipment


Patrick_G
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How many of you have this problem? I’ll agonize over a a few extra extra bucks for whatever new piece of gear I need, or go the diy route to save another few, but then walk out of the store with $100 (or more!) in plants or fish and feel totally great about it. 

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On 8/24/2021 at 3:01 PM, Guppysnail said:

My lid has been broken for a month. Twice I went to get it and only it 18$ and it was sold out the other was more expensive 34$ so I wouldn’t buy it. Both times the bill was close to $100 with things I didn’t plan to buy. 

B7FD477A-502E-497D-95C8-ED71E236C4FA.jpeg

That is just pure awesome...😆

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On 8/24/2021 at 1:58 PM, Griznatch said:

Guilty.... My weakness is those little 5.99 cultured plants in the plastic tubes at petco/petsmart. I'll walk out with 4 or 5 of those, but will agonize over shipping costs for an online order, or why it costs almost 30 dollars for fast food....

Which tube plants have you been successful with? I’ve had bad luck so far including a large $7.95 one that had a rotten rhizome. It was like pulling teeth to get an exchange. 

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On 8/24/2021 at 5:30 PM, Patrick_G said:

Which tube plants have you been successful with? I’ve had bad luck so far including a large $7.95 one that had a rotten rhizome. It was like pulling teeth to get an exchange. 

Water fern all different anubias all different swords different Java fern. I like the emerge grown tubes because they never melt on me

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And this right here, is how I know I’ve found my people!  I’ve bought mostly used tanks, only a couple new ones, used HOB filters (just say no, the impeller is almost always iffy on them), but $30.00 for a really cool Buce or Crypt, ummm, OK!

I just spent $60.00 for a couple sticks!  But they’re going to look sooooo good in my angel tank that’s probably at least a month away from getting set up, let alone having fish in it.  $60.00 for 2 pieces of driftwood!  But the shape and branching fits my mind’s eye vision of what I want, so . . . . . 

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Not me I’m very impulsive and obsessive about almost everything I do. I know it’s bad but when I’m focused on something it’s laser beam and nothing else matters. Then I get the plants and fish as well. Usually my wife try’s to cut me off and I convince her the new babies or her favorite fish needs this new tank and all the extras.

was that wrong?

lol I’m just kidding…no I’m not, it’s horrible, I’m horrible I need help😜

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On 8/24/2021 at 9:04 PM, Atitagain said:

Not me I’m very impulsive and obsessive about almost everything I do. I know it’s bad but when I’m focused on something it’s laser beam and nothing else matters. Then I get the plants and fish as well. Usually my wife try’s to cut me off and I convince her the new babies or her favorite fish needs this new tank and all the extras.

was that wrong?

lol I’m just kidding…no I’m not, it’s horrible, I’m horrible I need help😜

My mind is always going, going, going, to the point that I have trouble sleeping.  I’m often so much in my head that I have trouble getting out of my easy chair until I have a fairly solid plan.  I’m often planning 2-3 tanks or more, ahead.

Once I get started, I can wing it as I go along, but I’m not comfortable starting sometimes until I at least have a reasonably solid plan started.  To the point where I sometimes sketch things out, or make lists.

My shrimp tanks are getting on my nerves since they’re not working as well as I want and they look a mess.  My idea was to try out a bunch of different plants in them to see what grows well for me.  And I spread the assortment of plants out among all 4 tanks.  Then I did a few differences to see what happened.  So they all look like a bit of a hot mess jungle now.  No rhyme or reason to them.

They bug me enough that I’m just maintaining, not doing much fixing.  I had to stop fiddling for a bit, so I’ll focus on resetting the 29 G, then the 46 G (which will be more fun), then I’ll reset the 10 G shrimp tanks with brand new substrate, let them cycle, and move the shrimp leaving behind the excess scuds.  Moving only select plants and mosses after VERY THOROUGH rinsing.

The current shrimp tanks I hope to make into laser cory grow out tanks after judicious plant sales/thinning (assuming I can get my hands on the laser cories I want!).  They’ll enjoy the scuds and will clean them out thoroughly for me.

See, I can’t help myself.  Stream of consciousness keyboarding!  🤷🏻‍♀️

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On 8/24/2021 at 9:27 PM, Odd Duck said:

My mind is always going, going, going, to the point that I have trouble sleeping.  I’m often so much in my head that I have trouble getting out of my easy chair until I have a fairly solid plan.  I’m often planning 2-3 tanks or more, ahead.

Once I get started, I can wing it as I go along, but I’m not comfortable starting sometimes until I at least have a reasonably solid plan started.  To the point where I sometimes sketch things out, or make lists.

My shrimp tanks are getting on my nerves since they’re not working as well as I want and they look a mess.  My idea was to try out a bunch of different plants in them to see what grows well for me.  And I spread the assortment of plants out among all 4 tanks.  Then I did a few differences to see what happened.  So they all look like a bit of a hot mess jungle now.  No rhyme or reason to them.

They bug me enough that I’m just maintaining, not doing much fixing.  I had to stop fiddling for a bit, so I’ll focus on resetting the 29 G, then the 46 G (which will be more fun), then I’ll reset the 10 G shrimp tanks with brand new substrate, let them cycle, and move the shrimp leaving behind the excess scuds.  Moving only select plants and mosses after VERY THOROUGH rinsing.

The current shrimp tanks I hope to make into laser cory grow out tanks after judicious plant sales/thinning (assuming I can get my hands on the laser cories I want!).  They’ll enjoy the scuds and will clean them out thoroughly for me.

See, I can’t help myself.  Stream of consciousness keyboarding!  🤷🏻‍♀️

im much the same way. once an idea pop's into my head, the brain works it until something comes of it. many a sleepless night has been spent figuring things out.

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@Odd Duck @lefty o I feel not so alone anymore reading those posts haha I am the exact same, what I have learned to do is just write down all my thoughts before bed so I can get some sleep. Even then it still ends up failing at times haha My insomnia was at its worst while I was in school and I would wake up in the middle of the night solving complex math problems in my head 😂 

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On 8/25/2021 at 5:51 AM, Jeff king said:

The AC in my van doesn’t work but I’m like if I start buying plants now for a tank I’m gonna set up next year I’ll save money. 

you have windows that can be rolled down, and winter is just around the corner!

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My thrifty German says I am crazy to buy a $100. light to grow a $8.00 plant.  After talking to my Irish half, my practical German says I have $100. in my pocket and can't DIY a fish.  Buy the fish/plants and blame it on the Irish side of the family.

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I'm a first-generation non-smoker, so I can rationalize literally any purchase by saying "Well, I'm not spending $50 a week on cigarettes, so..." and off I go! 

I'm also good at comparing fish expenses to mammalian expenses. Not to be Debbie Downer, but once you've paid for geriatric pets' dental surgeries and a couple years of medications for your dog in liver failure, there isn't much in the fish store that seems pricey.

 

 

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