# What are some of the aquarium items you bought from the Dollar Store?



## lybrian1

everyone here has done it or has considered it but i want to know what have you bought from the dollar store. anything aquarium related..

please share, no judgements here 
please also mention what you used it for.

things i have bought:

scrubbers - filter media 6/$1
course sponge (thin ones) - great filter media 10/$1
terracotta pots - breeding surface $0.50-2
picture frame - used the glass for hood on 10g tank $2

thats it. 

currently looking for a cheap DIY divider


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## Al-Losaurus

good idea for the picture frame. i needed a lid for my small grow out tank and ended up cutting an old shady piece of plexi it seems all scratched up and not very clear but lets light through. next time i go to the dollar store i am buying a frame to make a better lid lol thank you


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## lybrian1

Al-Losaurus said:


> good idea for the picture frame. i needed a lid for my small grow out tank and ended up cutting an old shady piece of plexi it seems all scratched up and not very clear but lets light through. next time i go to the dollar store i am buying a frame to make a better lid lol thank you


make sure you measure it before you get there. i actually found one that sits perfectly on the top part of my tank. (it sits in the plastic part where the lid is suppose to sit). it is a bit shorter than my tank but i could get 2 and make it slide.

anyways please be careful as the glass are thin and are quite sharp at the corners. if you have a glass cutter you can get the thinker frames for the same price and cut them to size, they are also larger too. the biggest one i found at dollarama was about 12" by 18" and 2mm thick. also if you have a glass cutter you should cut some glass for me


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## BillD

Dollarama has aquarium plants (not the silk plants for crafts, but weighted aquarium plants). Also have used plastic scrubbers for filter media and scrubbing. Suction cups for heaters. Plastic clothes pegs combined with suction cup for veggie holder. Ceramic pots for plants and caves. Soil for pots.


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## gucci17

strainers for cleaning media
tubs for stripping fry
spray bottle for glass cleaning
turkey blaster for misc.
milk container for water transfering


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## fishclubgirl

Rocks and decorative sand for my smaller tanks and jar shows. Can make some really cool nano tanks for a couple of dollars!! Also containers for bettas, jar shows, transporting fish and live cultures.


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## lybrian1

i would also like to add turkey baster.

i need a strainer but cant find a good one at dollarama
as for suction cups they only have the ones with metal on them and i dont think its aquarium safe.
for plants i seen those but they have a toxic scent from them


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## ryno1974

Scrub brushes for cleaing rocks and glass
Plastic plants / foliage for making fake plants (not the ones with wire in them)
Timers
Small(cheap) power bars
Small terra cotta pots


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## 50seven

Extra shells for your hermit crabs
Yeah, I got the turkey baster too
Small bags of gravel for substrate in a 1 Gal.
Plug in thing that gives you 6 outlets instead of 2

and, the most important things:
Kit-Kat Chunky and Coca-Cola Classic for aquarium maintenance person, om nom nom...


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## lybrian1

50seven said:


> Extra shells for your hermit crabs
> Yeah, I got the turkey baster too
> Small bags of gravel for substrate in a 1 Gal.
> Plug in thing that gives you 6 outlets instead of 2
> 
> and, the most important things:
> Kit-Kat Chunky and Coca-Cola Classic for aquarium maintenance person, om nom nom...


what gravel/substrate are there from the dollar store?


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## 50seven

They have a bunch bags of small and medium sized gravel/ rocks in the craft section. Some are painted, some are natural colours. Selection varies by store.


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## lybrian1

50seven said:


> They have a bunch bags of small and medium sized gravel/ rocks in the craft section. Some are painted, some are natural colours. Selection varies by store.


i havent seen it but how much do you get for a dollar?


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## Cowboy

i picked up the scrubbers 6 for a buck as well for my sump and filters. They have a ok selection of Bristol board for a quick easy background.


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## coldmantis

lybrian1 said:


> what gravel/substrate are there from the dollar store?


they have gravel and sand, all kinds of colours including black and white. dont' buy it, it's toxic and will kill fish and shrimp trust me I know lost 20+ shrimp and 30 guppy fry, their river stones are fine though.


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## characinfan

Nylons to contain filter media


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## lybrian1

characinfan said:


> Nylons to contain filter media


which one do you buy?


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## characinfan

lybrian1 said:


> which one do you buy?


Whatever's cheap!


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## lybrian1

characinfan said:


> Whatever's cheap!


i mean how do you know what is nylon?
ive used the laundry bag, not sure if it is nylon but it seems to work. 
do you sew them into small bags?


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## characinfan

lybrian1 said:


> i mean how do you know what is nylon?
> ive used the laundry bag, not sure if it is nylon but it seems to work.
> do you sew them into small bags?


Stockings usually have a label on them saying what they're made of.
I do sew them into little bags. If you have a sewing machine or serger, it's really fast to do lots of them at once. Otherwise it's easy enough to do it manually.

--> It's important to rinse them well before using them, in case there is some kind of residue on them from the factory or from storage.


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## lybrian1

anyone have any ideas on how i can make a cheap tank divider for a 30g tank?
i was thinking of using some plastic sheet and suction cups


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## Greg_o

Another turkey baster mention here, I use it to suck out planaria

Spray bottles for ferts

Clothes pins to mark water buckets - ro, tap, 50/50 etc

Pretty nice shaped glass bowl for future wabikusa project

Power cords, splitters etc


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## BettaBeats

Im really interested in the Dollarama picture frame glass being used as a cheap glass cover.

I will have to head to College Park this week and see what I can find. I also need to pick up a turkey baster.
Excellent thread!


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## lybrian1

yeah we are all cheap


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## bob123

A cheap tank divider I found at Michael's hobby stores. It's the white plastic sheets they use for needle point. Depending on the size of fish, light egg crating will work (Rona,Home Depot,Electrical supply store.


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## lybrian1

how much are they at the hobby store?
i was considering using light diffuser but it is $10 each. too much for a divider in my opinion.


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## Holidays

I got some halloween decoration from the dollar store and wall mart:










White pleather (vinyl) background from fabricland (it actually looks really good):


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## lybrian1

agreed it looks great, I have small discus now when they turn big like yours i'm going to get them a big tank like that


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## jimmyjam

I use potato chip bag clips (two on each side of my tank) for a light/canopy holder over my 20 gallon and 15 gallon. It places the light about 3-4 inches above the open top. Thats my best DIY =p

Also used

thread and fishing line to tie moss and plants
mesh to tie down riccia
bristol board for background

I bet we can somehow wire the push button battery operated LCD light for plant used somehow.. just need to figure that one out.. any lighting experts wanna give it a try and holla back?


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## lybrian1

jimmyjam said:


> I use potato chip bag clips (two on each side of my tank) for a light/canopy holder over my 20 gallon and 15 gallon. It places the light about 3-4 inches above the open top. Thats my best DIY =p
> 
> Also used
> 
> thread and fishing line to tie moss and plants
> mesh to tie down riccia
> bristol board for background
> 
> I bet we can somehow wire the push button battery operated LCD light for plant used somehow.. just need to figure that one out.. any lighting experts wanna give it a try and holla back?


Do you mean LED light for the plants? if so ive already made one. well just a crappy prototype and i scraped the idea before actually installing it on the tank. but i did the wiring, and had a push button switch to turn it on.


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## j3tang

jimmyjam said:


> I use potato chip bag clips (two on each side of my tank) for a light/canopy holder over my 20 gallon and 15 gallon. It places the light about 3-4 inches above the open top. Thats my best DIY =p


How did you go about doing that?
I'm kinda interested ... mind sharing a pic or elaborating on the description?


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## ozi

timmer - $2 (at first it was kinda nosey, but after a couple of weeks of running in time its been silent and working good for the past 6 months)
energy-saving bulbs - $1-2
large river pebbles
sea shells
plus all the other accesories one needs for the hobby (baster, strainer, etc)


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