MVE: Most Valuable Equipment

[Melody]

Blaine gave me this idea with his mention of Seachem's Ammonia Monitor. I think it would be very helpful to the experienced and novice alike to know about our most valuable fishkeeping equipment, fave brands, etc. It might take some time for those of you who have lots so feel free to start your list and edit it to add details or whatever.

I might just make this a sticky so all of you people who like to wander off topic have to behave yourselves :WhoMe: {Yes, I do talk to myself like that a lot}.:offtopic: OK fine, I'll behave myself....lol.

My MVE:

Seachem's Ammonia Alert.
Nutrafin Test Kit.
Brine Shrimp Net for catching fry.
Oversize net for chasing fish into when trying to catch them.
Aquaclear Filters.
Box Filters.
Python gravel vac.
Mini gravel vac for small tanks.
Buckets & Dollar Store pitchers.
Air tight containers for storing bulk food.
Food Processor.
DigiCam
Tufa & Texas Holey Rock for Ph/Kh/Ca and its an awesome rock to gather beneficial bacteria & transfer to other tanks for cycling.
Brooding/Spawning tanks - Much easier to net one or two fish than it is to net a bunch of fry, and there's less hungry mouths waiting to get them before I do.
Quarantine/Hospital Tank(s).
Bleach
My computer!I'll add more as I think of them.:smile: What is your MVE?

[CACAdmin]

My MVE pretty much consists of most of what's on your list Melody but add to it:


4 cup Dollar Store Plastic Measuring cup - for transferring netted fish - add water and it floats in the tank hung on the rim of the tank (especially great when netting a bunch of fry.)
Long Tongs for planting or trimming plants.
Digital Camera
Library card

[Melody]

Any fave brands?

[CACAdmin]

Brand's - I too use Seachem's Ammonia Monitor.

A few more items to add to my MVE list:

Marineland Penguin HOB filters
AP Melafix
Jungle Quick Dip 5-in-1 Test strips
30 foot hose for filling tank
small plastic sprinkler attachment for hose to add aeration and reduce flow when refilling tank.
large plastic garbage bags to cover carpet & catch drips when doing water changes.
2 step ladderEdit: #1 on the list: my newly purchased Python :D

[hp10BII]

Great topic, this would require some thought as to all the junk I've bought which I thought useful but junkpiled useless.

In addition to what's been said:

those extension arms that can pick up or snip off plant matter without getting your own arms wet.
Fluval 2 and 3 Internal filter foam sleeves, great as pre-filters for your AquaClears HOB's, I use them in most of my tanks.
Eheim Ecco canister filter, very efficient design, easy to change and clean out. Price was right because I bought used.
Plain paper towels ie. Viva to wipe down your tanks, a AquaClear sponge works as well.
Sponge filters, Hydro Sponges, so easy to clean.
Mag 7 pump, 700 gallons of water pumping power, baby! Drain most of a 75 gallon in 5 minutes. Helps when you're washing out a tank and you want to drain it fast or crucial when you're doing daily water changes.
I like to lay down bath towels for water changes, afterwards you can use the same towel to wipe your glass and stand dry. Handy to dry your hands too because it's right there!
A little face towel beside the tank at all times. Keeps water spots away when you can wipe up asap.
A straightened out coat hanger and those filter cleaning brushes. Gets those hoses spic and span clean.
My 32 gallon Rubbermaid Brute trash can on casters - water change on the go!
q-tips and household brushes for cleaning/scrubbingOn the bubble, so not sure yet:

Eheim Professional II filters, super quiet, but super expensive. A pain to service and clean because it's heavy when full especially when it's in an awkward position and priming can be finicky sometimes.
Those algae magnets, it's just as easy to use a scraper and freaks out less fish.
My battery powered fish feeder. Never been used (it's tormenting CAC!) :laugh:I'm sure there's more out there. I'll add to this when I remember them.

[blainep]

About the only things I use that aren't already listed would be :

Seachem for pretty much any/all chemicals and conditioners that I use. I don't know if they are the best there is, but they seem to work well.

5 gallon buckets from Home Depot, about $5.00 each. I use them for everything from water changes to moving fish. Anything I need a bucket for.

[Edgezilla]

Fertilator from APC. Makes feeding plants a whole lot easier
Quick cure by aquarium products.
workhorse ballast - Cheap way to get high power light over the tank without killing the wallet

[thegrandpoohbah]

My #1 pick would be the Rena Filstar XP series canister filters. THe best bang for the buck canister filter on the market hands down. Easy to use. Easy to maintain. And they do a great job of cleaning the water.

[mykiss]

Mine would be the wet/dry carpet cleaner.

It does a great job sucking up that water that overflowed the tank that you left running while doing something else.

[Jonesy]

I've waited for too long watching this thread to use this line...lol;)


My most valuable equipment would have to be the tanks.........


Just my opinion...without out the tanks you're kinda SOL are you not??:laugh:

[Melody]

I am surrounded by BRATTS! :twitcy:

[crazeycat]

Will his right if you didn't have the tanks you would'nt have all the other favs, mine are the flaval canister filters, the long tongs, the 5.00 dollar bucket , python vac ,can't think of anything more . Will ad more later.
crazeycat
:smile: :yes: :laugh:
just thought of my most fav thing of all my fish. They are great to watch and you find out who allways digs up the plants, but they are still your favs.

[Melody]

:bump-5: Let's see if any of our bratty new members have anything to add ;) .

[nathan u]

MVE thats a tough one.
well for brand names a lot of my filters are are aquaclear and regent's I recommend both.
12$ 10g
Sponge filters
walmart brand submersible heaters, cheaper than petstores.
Peatmoss - Once I get my killies this will be invaluable.
thats it off the top of my head.
and DIY python once I actually build it.

[Melody]

If you can, we'd love some pictures of your DIY Python in progress. It would look perfect on a wall in the DIY section ;) .

I found peat pellets better than peat moss - I could control how much I put into the box filter. Once I knew how many pellets it took to get the parameters I needed, it was a simple matter to count the same ones each time to keep them that way. :D

[nathan u]

actually the peat moss is for spawning south american annuals although peat pellets would be great for lowering my ph 8.0 and softening my water would be helpfull.
thanks for the tip
oh and another MVE
Shop light fixtures.
and 4' flourescents full spectrum-day spectrum

[Melody]

Annuals - now those take a dedication I just can't fathom...lol...have fun with them!

[Danzig]

My #1 pick would be the Rena Filstar XP series canister filters. THe best bang for the buck canister filter on the market hands down. Easy to use. Easy to maintain. And they do a great job of cleaning the water.


I totally agree.

[KnaveTO]

I know I am resurecting an old topic but I am curious as to who finds what product line better than others when it comes to foods, additives, water tests and the like

For Ferts the Flourish line hands down is the best that I have found

For Foods I am still tossed up between New life Spectrum and Omega One

For Water Tests... well that is one of the reasons I am resurrecting this thread, I want something a tad more accurate that reads in ppm rather than degrees for KH/GH

As for my MVE's that is relatively easy
Python with faucet attachement... makes water changes a breeze!
Filters - Rena XP-series hands down... all my tanks have one
Heaters - Stealth Series... they are black and made of plastics so no breakage and they have an auto-shut off switch when the water gets too low (just in case you forget to unplug it when changing the water)

[Canadian]

well I would have to say my top 4 most expensive is..

-Siphon
-Automatic feeder
-Anchor tank decor & rock tank decor.. along with 5 plants
-2 Filters... (no idea what kind it is, to lazy to check)

[Pamelajo]

For Ferts the Flourish line hands down is the best that I have found I have some pmdd and homemade root tabs and have flourish but not sure which I like better. I do like the home made roots tabs, but have never tried any others before

New life Spectrum and Omega OneOnly tried OMega One but really like it.

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals


Python with faucet attachement.Phython with out faucet drain. I drain out doors in the summer and in the winter I have been using the laundry tub in the basement. Hubby put a door in one of the vents and I just remove the grate and feed the hose down so not wasted water. The basement tanks are drained into the sump. Filters - Rena XP-series hands down... all my tanks have oneAqua clear on all, it is all I have ever used and I can fix them myself.
Heaters - Stealth Series... I have some different ones. Not sure which I like best.

[Katalyst]

-Water change drip system (when we finish it) will cause me a lot less stress when I go away next year, for the tanks in the basement anyways.

-My pythons and pumps. Similar to Pam I hate wasting water so I have a pump that I attach to a hose. First I gravel vac the 150 and the 90 then I pump the water outside to the lawn/garden. For the winter I just pump it into the laundry tub.

-Seachems Prime

-Melafix/Primafix

-Potassium Permanagate for a fungus bath or for sterilization

-Peroxide

Food

-Goldfish connections Metro Meds & Medi gold medicated food. I have it in the house always
-Goldfish Connections Krill
-Golden Pearl fry food
-Tetramin Tropical Tablets-my pleco/cories will eat only this now and turn their noses up at algea wafers...spoiled brats!
-Julian Sprungs Sea Veggies
-Instant BBS from Ocean Nutrition
-Salt (I always keep some on hand)

My step bench my husband made me so I can gravel vac all of my taks.

My sponge filters I have extra one's going in several tanks this way I have seeded filters for a hospitial tank situation or a impulse buy.

[James]

Besides most of what is listed above, Quilt Batting:better known as Polyester Fiber. The bottom tray of the Fluval filters is loaded with it, rest of trays are filled with bio media.

Prefer Nutrafin Test Kits
Prefer Fluval Filters

Other than that, I am not experienced enough to really tell which things work better.

James

[Melody]

Only tried OMega One but really like it.

Much better choice for your population, in my opinion. Most of your fish need higher vegie content than a glorified Cichlid food will give you, which I found out the hard way with my similar population. Their 'Super Vegie' Kelp flakes has Kelp as the first ingredient, which is refreshing for a vegie food. Dainichi's vegie foods are good too. Remind me for our next trade and I'll send some Dainichi down for you to try if you haven't already.

I can add an MVP, if that counts - my 13 year old. He does a lot of my waterchanges. 20 bux well spent...lol...and he earns it. I figure its a good way to teach him that not all jobs are going to be pleasant and money doesn't always come easily. Since he's bigger than me now, he's reached a stage where he is a big help.:smile:

[hp10BII]

For Water Tests... well that is one of the reasons I am resurrecting this thread, I want something a tad more accurate that reads in ppm rather than degrees for KH/GH



I don't bother testing for KH/GH anymore. I used crushed coral w/aragonite in most of my tanks, as long as there's still some in the filter and with regular water changes, the KH/pH stays stable for me. GH is a measure of Calcium/magnesium but I think a more accurate measurement are Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) that will pick up whatever additives you throw into the water. I use a combo TDS/thermometer meter for that and I consider it MVE, very accurate, fast and measures in ppm.

[PPulcher]

I've been considering a TDS meter as well. What brand is the one you are using?

[hp10BII]

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=ro-aftdsh

:yes:

[CACAdmin]

:bump-5: OK... let's get some input from our newer members on what you consider your most valuable equipement is.

[KnaveTO]

Well I am not one of the newer members here but am going to update my MVE list

Tests
Portable Digital pH Meter - no more liquid drops!!!!
Portable Digital TDS Meter - as above !

Food (both are top end high quality food distributors)
Omega One
New Life Spectrum

Heaters
Still a Stealth Heter Lover!

Filters
This is getting harder and harder as I get more tanks I find that a different filter is needed for the different types of tanks
Canister - Still Rena!
HOB - Eheim
Powerhead - Aquaclear or

Lighting
Coralife T5 and Power compact systems

Tanks
Miracles Aquariums

Substrate
Seachem Flourite Black Sand

Over all the MVE is definately my Python Water Change System!

[GaryofMontreal]

Products that changed the hobby for me:
a python water changer;
IKEA hang-down, plug in lamps to suspend over tanks with energy saver fluorescents;
a homemade brine shrimp hatchery;
Brine Shrimp Direct 85% hatch eggs;
decapsulated brine shrimp eggs as a fry food;
my Jehmco linear piston air pump;
ebo-jaeger heaters (durable and trustworthy);
every good aquarium book or magazine I ever bought or borrowed;
my debit card....
-Gary

[Katalyst]

My new 16 gallon wet/dry vac. More the wet part then the dry! lol