BikBok Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 thinking about buying an AR850 . Any thoughts about this tank? Am able to get it for a really good price. What size heater would I need? .. it's about 160L I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos & Siran Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 we got one to replace our Sunsun which we really didn't like. Much better product, easier to keep clean, much nicer to look at. Prolly my only complaint would be the noise of the filter head, we don't really notice it during the day but I wake up early in the morning and it's all I can hear. We have a 200watt heater , but a 150 would prolly be OK, the rule of thumb is generally 1watt per ltr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 we got one to replace our Sunsun which we really didn't like. Much better product, easier to keep clean, much nicer to look at. wow, i have the exact opposite opinion. We have a 200watt heater , but a 150 would prolly be OK, the rule of thumb is generally 1watt per ltr. the 1 watt per litre generally applies, if you are getting a jager then the rated litres are quite different. A 150w jager is 200-300L & a 300w is 600-1000L. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted April 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 wow, i have the exact opposite opinion. the 1 watt per litre generally applies, if you are getting a jager then the rated litres are quite different. A 150w jager is 200-300L & a 300w is 600-1000L. smidey are you saying you like the sunsun better? the AR850 .. if I'm one of the lucky 10, is $449 incl cabinet. It will be a huge improvement on my AR380 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 Go for it. I have an AR850. Only thing I don't like is the noisy filter system. It seemed pretty quiet when new, but as it aged it seemed to get noisier. Recently purchased a CF1200 for it. Much better I have I think a 200 watt heater in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 smidey are you saying you like the sunsun better? the AR850 .. if I'm one of the lucky 10, is $449 incl cabinet. It will be a huge improvement on my AR380 yes totally. the tanks themselves are very much the same but the hood & cabinet are better. the reasons: aluminium hood instead of plastic & has gaps for canister plumbing etc which the AR's didn't used to have but may/may not have now. the cabinet has foil wrapped panels instead of the melamine panels which swell after a short time. i had a ar620T & sunsun at the same time, the sunsun i have had for almost 4 years now i guess & it still looks like new, the ar620 i got rid of because it looked terrible & broke twice. I had to amke a custom hood for the 620 when i wanted to put a canister on it to. the one major issue with the sunsun's are the light tubes availabilty but the people selling them should have spares. i bought spare tubes from the seller when i needed them. they have t5 tubes which aren't easy to get the plant growth types but that doesn't worry me at all as i have africans. i will always buy a sunsun over aqua one even if i have to pay more by but thats just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 One of my tanks is an AR850. I have a 200watt heater and have modified the hood so I can run a Fluval 405 canister on it. The cabinet looks like new after 2 years. I don't have any complaints about it (other than it is too small). (Pardon the forest, it is due a serious pruning. :roll:) I like the lighting on it as I can run a range of spectrums that enable good plant growth. It is heavily stocked (although in the pic they are all in the tunnel snarfing up some worms that I put in there). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 Beautiful tank jen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 Beautiful tank jen! +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 Cheers Milena! Edit: and Sam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N1CK Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 Nice tank lots of green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted April 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 here's what I want to do.. I want to put the AR850 into the spot where my ar380 is currently and then just use that one as a spare. the Ar380 is only about 35-38L and I'll try and use as much as the water as I can but that still leaves a heck of a lot of new water for the fishies to get used to. I'll use some of the existing noodles and gravel, and the sponge, that should help get the filter going but any other suggestions to make the transition go smoothly. What plan of attack should i take. I am not looking forward to catching the kuhli! There are 3 kuhli, three guppies, 1 platy and a young female betta to transfer. Yes I need the bigger tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 That will be no problem at all. Just don't add any new fish right away - theoretically the bioload will be the same and the existing media will deal with the fish as it always has. After a week or so, all the new media will be seeded and you can gradually increase the number of fish over time. To catch the loach, just remove nearly all of the water and it won't have anywhere to go! 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 the AR850 .. if I'm one of the lucky 10, is $449 incl cabinet. It will be a huge improvement on my AR380 Going tomorrow I'm guessing? We might be there too, cat needs some new food. I'd keep the 380 until the 850 has been running for a week or two, then move the fish and seeded media at the same time. Fish should be fine 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted April 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 Going tomorrow I'm guessing? We might be there too, cat needs some new food. I'd keep the 380 until the 850 has been running for a week or two, then move the fish and seeded media at the same time. Fish should be fine 8) You just stay away from that ar850 Sam lol.. Problem is I want to put the 850 where the 380 sits currently, so will have to do it on one go. Not really anywhere else to put it. Might see you tomorrow. We need some cat food too and some fishy supplies. I saw the betta veiltails there last week, looked like they were having hard time with the current in the tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 You just stay away from that ar850 Sam lol.. I showed it to Mum, she asked if it was marine and was impressed with the price reduction. Still a no though, she said it wouldn't go with my DIY tanks :roll: Not too impressed by the fish there, wide selection of plants though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted April 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 Well we got one.. the staff were very organised and handed out dockets to people waiting outside so we could secure a tank (or kennel - the other major sale item) We got the floor model so came with gravel (yay) and the cabinet already made up which saves us some time. They did forget to give us the manual but i'll download one. It's a little different to the AR380 set up. Met Moya there .. she was lots of help... Hi moya! I manged to move along the Ar380 , and put the AR850 in it's place so can have both tanks going while the 850 settles down. Today I will be washing it all down, rinsing the gravel and get it set up. I got a jager 150W heater so hopefully that will do the trick. Will need to get some more plants in time too. Was tempted by the glosso but I have Kuhli! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzyJeff Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 :bounce: Yaye a bigger tank... man have you been patient! While you still have the small tank running you could thro the noodles from the bigger one into a net bag (or clean stocking) and put in small tank to start the seeding - If you leave them in there a week or so bacteria will start to build up on the noodles (6 weeks would be better but I don't think you have THAT much patience!! Also, if you can find it, TLC Smart Start will work really well in the bigger bodies of water, if not JBL FilterStart. So haw many tanks are you up to now? Is that 3? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted April 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 All I've got at the moment is Stress Zyme.. I need to go to another store to buy some TLC or JBL. Now where the heck do I run the cable for the heater??? There's room for it at the intake end but It really should be at the other end by the outlet. We are retiring the little AR380 and will keep it as a spare.. so I'll have the AR850, the hexy Midi and my splish splash quarantine/fry tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted April 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 hey I also notice there are three separate switches for the 3 bulbs.. 2 x 25W and 1 x 20W What are the reasons/situations I would use the different lighting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos & Siran Posted April 10, 2010 Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 perhaps so you can have a blue light for at night time, and turn the day time lights off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted April 10, 2010 Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 you have 3 tubes in an ar 850. one should be a very weird 6800 plant pro that is a dull and dim pink colour. the other 1 is a powerglo (18000K powerglo) and one is a 10000K white tube. some aquaones have 2 powerglos, and this is what i usually recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted April 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 the lights are: 2 x 8000 superlight and 1 x 15000 tri-power which is all gibberish to me.. guess I have some more learning to do. For now, I'll just put my indian fern in and a new plant I bought today (don't know what it is lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted April 10, 2010 Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 Ah, you were one of the people lined up at 8am they were talking about? :lol: Great that you got the tank quickly, was super crowded by 11 and smelt like dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted April 10, 2010 Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 the lights are: 2 x 8000 superlight and 1 x 15000 tri-power... That combination is what Amano uses. Seems to work for me as well, but I am no light guru. :roll: Btw, congrats on your new tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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