I'm looking at buying an AR-380 (34L) tank as my first aquarium.

Just been told by a reliable LFS that they don't sell them cause the lights kept burning out.

Anyone have any opinions?

This LFS sells Juwel tanks. They're beautiful tanks but their smallest is unfortunately just a tiny bit too wide for the spot I'm trying to fill! (Shame too cause they're running some excellent deals on TM right now!!!)

Send a PM to TM on this forum as he custom builds tanks in ChCh. Does an excellent job too (and cheaper)

i have had a ar980 for about 18months now with now problems at all.

I have have and had about 8 or 9 aqua one tanks and i have never had to change a bulb, i recommend them!!!!

Hey, I have a 380 and a 850 I found that the 380 bulbs tend to burn out fairly quickly. I would say the biggest disadvantage with the 380 is the fact that you have to buy Aqua one parts (lights, filters, etc.) and they tend to be more expensive.

Having said that, they are a good beginners tank. As long as you don't mind spending a few extra dollars.

Cheers.

Ok...seems they're up to my 'beginners' adventure!

Corms, How quickly is 'quickly'? And what does a replacement bulb cost if you don't mind me asking?

The advantage of a kitset tank is to save having to work out what filters are good and what flow rates I need and how much lighting etc etc.

Tanks are going for $110 on TM so that's seems pretty reasonable I think.

About the filter.. I had a look at a setup in the shop. The filter cartridges look like just a layer of filter wool with carbon bits in them. Could I just buy a packet of filter wool and cut what I need to size? Looked like I could just trim off the filterwool that's on top of an original cartridge when it's past it, and just lay some new filter wool on it. Does that sound crazy? I'm all for a budget solution where it doesn't compromise anything!!

The biomedia shouldn't need replacing and the sponge should last quite a while I guess with careful periodic rinsing.

Since I'm on the topic...I've read that carbon is a little unneccessary unless you are trying to remove medications or chemicals and that it does very little to remove organic waste. (I have a pond and had some sick fish so I did some reading a while back!) What's the opinion here? Do you guys use carbon in coldwater tanks?

Thanks for the tip Caryl, I'm hoping this will be my first of many tanks and will certianly get in touch with TM (TM the member not TradeMe!) if all goes well with this one! I already have trouble dragging myself away from my pond fish. I could watch them all day !! OH and I'm green with envy at your pond!!! How about an update on that thread?

I've got two Aqua One AR380's and an AR850. Had one of the AR380's for 3 years, never had problems with any of them and never had to change any bulbs. Haven't yet had to replace any broken or worn out equipment either.

If you're gonna have a planted tank, its good to change the bulbs every 6-8 months... and the aqua one/jebo all in one tanks, have their own bulbs which you need to order which can be a huge pain.

When I got my big all-in-one thank, I thought it would be the bee's knees, but in the end I kinda regretted it, cos the filter clogged up easily, and the lights weren't strong enough, so i ended up adding an external filter and more lights to it. So it ended up being way more expensive than if I bought the parts separately.