Price Guide

I've just spent the past 2 hours of my life (ok, well, of my work life) attempting to put together an aquarium/terrairium price guide, but damn are stores ever secretive about their prices! I know these stores carry aquariums! Why don't they list them and their prices on their website! So frustrating!

Anyway, finally I called one of the local, non-chain shops that specializes in fish (and attempts to specialize in reptiles, but to avoid getting into another "pet stores are the devil" rant, I won't touch on that) and got their prices on the most common tank sizes. In order to do a proper comparison, though, I need more data (MORE!) and short of calling every pet store I know of (which would be a pain in the butt, as well as drawing suspicion with how many times I'll have to say 'aquarium' on the phone in a financial office) I come here, the one stop spot for all things reptile... ish.

So~ if you would oblige me, please let me know:

1) What size is your aquarium
2) Where did you buy it? If it's a local store, private, non-chain store, just list it as local. I don't need a map X3 If you got it used, "used" will be fine.
3) How much was it?
4) When did you buy it (if not recently)

Hopefully I can get an accurate guide of which is cheaper, used or new, and where... (I have a hard time choking down that someone bought a 5gal for $120, as claimed on Craigslist).

Thank you!

Nicky

I work at Petsmart, sooo. I can help you out there.
However, we do not have a good variety of tanks. At all.

We have a 20 gal long here at home for Razual, it was $29.99
We got the screen lid separate (another $18).

In the Reptile Section at work, we have the specifically reptile tanks, which only differ in that they have a "locking lid" for a huge extra price.
Our 20 gal longs are $69.99, if I remember correctly.
The 40 gals are $99.99.

Back over in Fish, we carry a 40 gal breeder, which I think is 119 (or 189??), I can't remember and it is a huge difference, hmm.
But. I work Thursday and Friday night, so I can look for specifics if you want!

(The biggest tank we carry is one 75 gal in Fish, it's not very well proportioned for a beardie; it has good length and height, but the width seems kind of skinny.)

I bought a 75g tank (4 ft x 18 inches) at Petsmart about 3 years ago now, and it cost me $280-300 at the time. That included the flourescent light bar and glass canopy lid (some stores sell those separately). I was buying it because my old aquarium (the one randal lives in now) had sprung a leak.

I have gotten a few good deals..
55 gallon aquarium - free from freecycle
40 gallon long, with the locking lid (which was a must!) for $80 I think.. from petco
75 gallon long, from mom & pop pet store for $150, with dual sliding screen top lids

We also got this really strange skinny but tall tank, we keep it on its side, though. It has a screen top plus doors on both sides.. we got it on craigs list for like $40, I think.. it also included a large heat lamp. The snake stays in this..

Just remember, prices will likely vary, even from the big box stores, depending on geography...

I paid $129 for my 40g Breeder at a retail pet store.
They wanted $149, which brings me to my point... as long as you're polite about it...EVERYTHING is negotiable!!! Seriously...
Even major retail chains will usually flex on prices 80% of the time.

(I still got rooked on the price, but I feel better knowing I didn't pay what was on the sticker.. :lol: )

I bought a used 40 gal critter tank with lid for $35.00 and turned around and sold it for $40.00 after I cleaned it and decided I didn't like it. Went to Petco and bought a 40GB fish tank (better quality then the critter tank) for $99.00.

I have gotten great deals on craigslist for tanks. Two 40 gallon breeders with lids for $50 each. They look brand new. One even had new reptile carpet included. Three 55 gallon tanks with screen lids for $50 each. All look brand new. So far, craigslist has been the way to go for me.

Ok - First I bought a 20 gallon Long from Petsmart, then I found a 55 gallon long (48"Lx13"Wx20"H) on craigslist for $10. Then as I was claning it up I decided I needed to reseal it - so I went to the local Aquarium shop to get silocone seal, and they had a 50 gallon wide (36"Lx18"Wx19"H) and she sold it to me for $10. So I am here to say --- if you look hard enough you can find anything for a cheap price.

I made the enclosures.

I just did all that you are doing. Pain in the behind. I could not find anything worth while on Craigslist. Everyone thought their tank was lined in gold and asked for payment accordingly.

I ended up buying a 65 gallon (4'x18"x17" - l x w x h) new from http://www.glasscages.com I paid $231, or $236, which included the delivery to an aquarium store about 20 minutes from my home. This is a cage that has the sliding front doors. That price also includes the plain screen top.

I could have bought a new 40 gallon breeder tank (no sliding doors) for $120 from a local shop, but they were unable to find a hinged screen for me. We did buy a 20 gallon long at this same store for a baby tank and paid $20 plus $17 for a screen top with a hole in it, plus a few bucks for locking thingies.

Petsmart carries a 40 gallon breeder with a sliding screen top for $119 in our area.

Good luck on your search.