Advice Please Re What Aquarium To Buy

[wooks63]

Hi,

I'm currently decorating my living room and have decided that, as part of the makeover, I'd like a new tropical fish setup. I currently have a small corner tank in another room, about 60l in capacity.

For the space I want to put the new aquarium, I'd like a standard rectangular tank, around 80cm wide. My budget for the tank, cabinet and filter is around £500 - £600. Obviously, if I can get a decent setup for less that would be good. If there's an alternative setup which slightly exceeds this budget, then I'd need a good reason why I should pay the extra (mainly to justify the expense to my other half!).

I've started looking online and like the look of the Aqua One Style 850, with it's curved corners, but am not sure about the filter in the roof (although I guess I can always not use it and go for a regular external). Also, is it actually glass, or acrylic? If it's acrylic, how does this fair as far as scratching goes?

Are there any other makes which don't have joins at the corners? Or do I just get a decent 'regular' aquarium?

Thanks.

 

[KittyKat]

I've started looking online and like the look of the Aqua One Style 850, with it's curved corners, but am not sure about the filter in the roof (although I guess I can always not use it and go for a regular external). Also, is it actually glass, or acrylic? If it's acrylic, how does this fair as far as scratching goes?

I have a couple of the 980s (100cm long version instead of 80cm) which I am very, very happy with. I absolutely love the curved corners. Yes, the tank is glass.. I know, I was surprised too!

The tank is fine as it comes for an average community. I used original equipment for years without problems.

I did eventually add external filters (Eheim's 3e range), which are easier to clean. But seriously? The standard equipment is fine for an average community. I also added a reflector in the form of kitchen foil, but do use only two of the three bulbs (can't be asked to change the middle one).

If you want to see photos of the set-up, click on the Flickr link in my signature. If you want to know more about the setup itself and the stocking, send me a PM or email as the list is in a place forum rules don't allow me to link to.

I have been keeping fish for a long time and have had all sort of shape and sized aquariums, but this is still my favorite commonly available display-community tank. Definitely a thumbs up from me.

Please do fish-less cycle or run filters in parallel for the first 6 weeks.

 

[Warehouse]

Hi Wooks, welcome to the forum.

I very recently purchased a Fluval Roma 125 tank from Maidenhead Aquatics. It's exactly 80cms wide and comes with a cabinet, (4 styles of cabinet). I also swapped the internal type filter for an Aquamanta EX200 external filter which sits in the cabinet. The tank came with a good heater as well. The whole lot including gravel cost £350-ish, (they did me a good a deal for swapping the internal filter for the external one). Since then I've purchased a different substrate, (sand), an internal thermometer and a decent water testing kit, and I'm still under the £400 mark.

If you take a look at my log here, you'll see exactly how it looks in our room. No fish or plants yet as I'm currently in the middle of my tank cycle.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Buy second hand & save yourself a bundle.

Bargain Tanks

 

[SLIM]

I got a fluval Vicenza 260L

Its great, check out my pics below in the link

For £500 you get the tank which is rectangle with a bow front, cabinet, heater, fluval 305 external filter
(the pipes of which actually come up through the bottom of the tank rather than up the back) lighting with tubes which turns themselves on and off, gravel, net, water conditioner and fish food. Basically everythin but the fish.
Very good deal and a very nice tank.
Oh the doors on the cabinet are reversable too so you can change the colour very easily

Got it from Seapets

Jus like to add, the picture is very deseaving, its a very large tank!

 

[KittyKat]

Oh, and while on the subject of prices.. I paid 100 pounds for one of my AquaOne AquaStyle 980s including an external filter, fish (which I then sold for 60 pounds) and delivery from Ebay.

 

[Tizer]

I paid £160 for my Juwel Rio 240 Litre off eBay, with a 305 filter and bits, obviously 2nd hand but its been a good buy and im pleased with that i got. The 2nd hand market has amazingly good deals for tanks. My advice would be to get as big as you can for the space you have. 99% of the people on here want bigger tanks, i cant remember the last time i read about someone moaning wishing the tank was smaller

 

[markandhisfish]

what about a 36x24x18 from nd aquatics? £379 for tank/cabinet . youd need to get your own filter etc but thats easily doable with a bidget of 500to 600. and youl get a better quality tank than any youl find in the shops

 

[wooks63]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Have had a quick browse on ND Aquatics site and the tanks do look good - I particularly like the large choice of veneers you have.

I've got plenty of time as we've only just started the decorating and there's an awful lot to do. However, looking for a new aquarium gives me the added incentive to get the decorating done!!!

Aqua Tom - call me fussy, but I really don't like the idea of a second hand tank. Knowing how all my previous tanks have aquired small scratches over the years, I'd rather start off with a pristine tank. Also I'm guessing that there'd be no guarantee with a second hand tank.

I think I'm going to have to try and find stockists near me so I can actually see some tanks 'in the flesh' (in the glass??? ).

 

[Aqua Tom]

I think I'm going to have to try and find stockists near me so I can actually see some tanks 'in the flesh' (in the glass??? ).

where are you?

 

[wooks63]

where are you?

I'm near Ilford, Essex. I usually go to Tranquility Aquatics in Seven Kings for my fish, but they don't have the biggest range of aquariums. I do occasionally go to Amwell Aquatics which is Epping way, and I seem to recall they have quite a good selection. We also go to Colchester Zoo quite a bit, and this involves going past Seapets, so I might stop off there.

 

[Aqua Tom]

I am in Harlow so I use Amwell Aquatics quite a lot. They do have a big selection of tanks there. i also buy a lot of food & hardawre from them.

 

[wooks63]

I am in Harlow so I use Amwell Aquatics quite a lot. They do have a big selection of tanks there. i also buy a lot of food & hardawre from them.

A trip to Amwell Aquatics it is then!

 

[wooks63]

OK, another question - Bow fronted or flat?

Bow fronted look good, but don't they distort your view of fish?

Also, has anyone got any experience of Aquatlantis Ambiance aquariums? I really like the look of them, and may even be able to stretch to the 101cm wide cabinet instead of 80cm. Not sure about the internal filters they come with, but guess that buying an external should be no problem.

 

[waterdrop]

I had always had many decades of normal rectangular tanks in my previous spell in the hobby but thought that the more recent bowfronts looked cool and had always wanted to try one. My son now has one and it is our family display tank. I now like them less than I had anticipated. The bow front marries the glass with the water to create a true convex lens. What happens is that it magnifies what you are looking at and in so doing it makes the tank appear very shallow, front to back, effectively reducing the appearance of depth! I find myself looking at the side of the tank to reassure myself that the tank really is deeper front to back than it appears.

I also thought the fish would some out in the bow area and I'd be able to study them more closely but (and this is mostly an aspect of my setup and circulation, so not necessarily a comment on the bow) in fact the spraybar output going from back to front is concentrated into a center downdraft by the bowfront.

~~waterdrop~~