Betta Tank Setup

I have been coveting a new fish tank for nearly a month. Its the EcoPico 5.5 Gallon Desktop LED Aquarium, currently going for $99 plus $12 shipping on Amazon. While it looks fantastically cool, it is $111. I have been wondering how much tank I could set up for $111 for awhile, and now is the time to find out.

Here's what I like about it: the cube pleases me. The all glass sides are nice (plastic or any other non-glass material eventually gets cloudy in my extremely high UV light environment). I also like the size: Just big enough for a betta and one cleaner fish, and with the LED light (small, low heat, high light) I might even be able to keep a live plant alive. However, again... the price.

In terms of kits around $112, I can get a 6 gallon nano cube (complete with very powerful lights to grow cool plants) for about $130. Or a complete Marineland BioWheel 10 Kit with LED light. The other comparable tank is the Fluval Edge 6 Gallon Aquarium Set that goes for $112 on Amazon. There are also a whole pack of five or so gallon kits that come in around $70 or so. And, frankly most of them have covers. While I love this EcoPico tank, with the cover open a betta fish would have an easy time jumping out. And bettas like to do that.

So I went to my local pet store and priced tanks. They had a 29 gallon high tank for $40, and a 10 gallon standard tank for a measly $12. Here's a tally broken out:

10 gallon tank

$12

AquaClear 20 Power Filter for up to 20 gallon tanks

$18 on Amazon

Incandescent Strip-Light - 20"

$20

All-Glass Versa-Top 20 Hinged Aquarium Cover

$20

TOTAL

$70

Of course, that does not include a bunch of things that you would need for your tank setup. Like these:

Aqueon Pro 50 Submersible Aquarium Heater

$18 on Amazon

Seachem Prime 500ml for a water conditioner

$12

two 5 pound bags of gravel, $15 each

$30

9 plants, like 3 of the Vibran-Sea Narrow Eel Grass Silk-Style Aquarium Plant, Medium 9-10 tall, Green ($5.99 each), Vibran-Sea So. Amercian Rift Cluster Silk-Style Aquarium Plant, Large 13-14 tall, Plum ($8.99 each), and two PETCO Silk Ciliata Midground Aquarium Plant ($3.99 each).

(3 x $5.99) + (2 x $8.99) + (2 x $3.99) = $17.97 + $17.98 + $7.98 = $43.93 (wow! way to break the bank on plants)

2 kinds of fish food, like the New Life Spectrum Betta Formula ($6.99) and the Tetra BettaMin Flakes, 0.81 Ounces ($3.96)

$11

preventative medication: Betta Revive Medication - 0.08 oz. - 2.5 mL

$5.23

Marina Aquarius Thermometer, 72-86 Degrees Fahrenheit

$3.95

NEW TOTAL =
$70 + $124.11 = $194.11 for a complete setup for a 10 gallon aquarium

Wow. That is more than I expected. If you just gulped at dropping $200 on a ten gallon tank, and would rather go back to a simple betta bowl, see the page I wrote about betta fish "essentials" for how to set up a betta bowl, not a full tank. That can be kept below $40, including the betta fish.

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