200 litre tank recommendations…

[Oli]

Hi guys,

So I’m looking to upgrade to something around the 200 litre mark in order to get some of the larger species of fish. I have never owned above 60 litres so have a couple questions on brands/prices/filtration etc. As it stands, I have been looking at the Fluval Roma 200. I have seen this for around £450 on completeaquatics.co.uk and it comes with a stand, heater, filtration and lighting. I have also looked at the AquaEl Opti Set 200. I have seen this for around £350 on swelluk.com but only includes the stand. If anyone is familiar with these brands or can recommend something better, I’d love to hear. I am also quite clueless on filtration. I have always used aquariums that have their own kind of built in filtration systems and am unfamiliar with canisters, externals, internals etc. What would you recommend for a tank this size and are they complicated to use? Finally, like I said, I am looking to upgrade in order to keep bigger fish. Any stocking recommendations on larger types that would be suitable for a tank this size?
Thanks!

 

[AquaBarb]

I cant comment on the AquaEl tanks but the fluval roma's are really good tanks. I loved my 200. The Juwel Rio range is another to look into.

You could use the internal filter what comes with them without any issues or if you prefer more space in the tank you could opt for a cainster. I used a fluval 405 on mine but they have been updated now. My 405 is still going strong so they are good filters.

As for fish you will have plenty of options with the upgrade so it just depends on what fish you already have in your 60ltr and what type of water hardness your have

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, most tetras, barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

You can keep small fish in big tanks too.