Tricks you can use to save on your fish tank hobby

Keeping and maintaining a fish tank is one of the more rewarding hobbies a person can have but let’s not kid anyone, here. It can get pricey in a hurry – especially when you’re starting from nothing. 

And while we’re all very conscientious about not wanting to cut corners, there’s nothing wrong with being creative and finding some ways to save some money. A little here and a little there can make a big difference, not just in your own wallet – but also with your tank as well as resources can be redirected to other areas you might want to improve. 

So today, we’re going to discuss a few money saving tips you can use to help save money on your fish tank. Let’s jump right in!

Getting more out of test strips

Making sure your aquarium is staying balanced chemically is a big part of the overall body of work you put into maintaining your tank. As such, using test strips to get various readings is essential. One trick you can use is to get a very sharp pair of scissors and cut the test strips down the middle so that both halves have all the necessary reagent pads. But cutting them in two – you still get accurate results. Do this with all your test strips and you can actually double the number of tests in a given bottle. 

Not only can this last you longer, but you could also use ti to test more frequently so that you can catch something if it’s off faster. 

The good, ole algae scraper

Believe it or not, while algae scrapers do the best job of doing what they say they do; do you know what else does? An old credit card or gift card! In fact, they’re more than a perfect algae scraper. They’re gentle enough to use on both glass and acrylic tanks and when one side wears down, you can flip it around and use the other edge. The one thing you DO want to be careful of – is that the cards do delaminate after a little while, so don’t use a driver’s license or something like that. But instead of blowing money on algae scrapes, just use those old gift cards.

Cheap rocks

Dragon stone, seiryu stone and other aquarium rocks can be a lot more expensive than people expect. It gets way worse if you have a big tank to fill. With this in mind, it’s not a bad idea to take a trip down to the local landscaping shop and ask them what they’ve got. Do some research online to see which kinds of stones are compatible with a fish tank and go shopping. They’re only around 10 cents a pound, so you might find yourself paying a ⅓ of what you would be otherwise. 

Thinking a little bit outside the box can certainly help save you time, but also help save you some money. We hope you found these tips helpful. If you need help finding the right filtration media for your tank – or have aquarium keeping questions in general, feel free to give us a all today. Until then – good luck!