Budget

[Snoop_Dog]

I'm looking to set up a small tropical fish tank with some entry level fish and wonder what sort of budget I should allow myself to get everything I need, fish included?

Thanks

 

[Truck]

£100

you can get a nice 60 - 80 litre tank for about £60 with built in filter and lights.

then you will need a heater 100watts. around 10-15 pounds

then you will need dechlorinator. and concentrated amonia. for a fish less cycle or you can do a fish in cycle. about £5 for both#

tub of high quality tropical flake. buy a small pot for begging as they may not take the food meaning you have to buy more and less is wasted. and a blister of bloodworms is good.

then you will need about 12kg of substrate depending on the aquarium. if its some thing with a 60cm by 30cm then you will need 12kg enough for a covering of 5cm. i always use roman gravel which is £1.25 a kilo.

and for fish a few hardy beginners fish could be zebra danios, white cloud mountain minnows(my favourite(there a tight shoaler)), there about £1 each
and you need about 6 to start with.

and a selection of fake or real plants are good. some hardier plants first. and maybe a few ornaments or rocks. (not essential but always good)

so i would say around £100-£120 pounds to get you started. and then a few pounds a month for maintance

hope this helps. and if there is anything ive forgotten im sure other members will add to this list

 

[Jallen]

£100

you can get a nice 60 - 80 litre tank for about £60 with built in filter and lights.

then you will need a heater 100watts. around 10-15 pounds

then you will need dechlorinator. and concentrated amonia. for a fish less cycle or you can do a fish in cycle. about £5 for both#

tub of high quality tropical flake. buy a small pot for begging as they may not take the food meaning you have to buy more and less is wasted. and a blister of bloodworms is good.

then you will need about 12kg of substrate depending on the aquarium. if its some thing with a 60cm by 30cm then you will need 12kg enough for a covering of 5cm. i always use roman gravel which is £1.25 a kilo.

and for fish a few hardy beginners fish could be zebra danios, white cloud mountain minnows(my favourite(there a tight shoaler)), there about £1 each
and you need about 6 to start with.

and a selection of fake or real plants are good. some hardier plants first. and maybe a few ornaments or rocks. (not essential but always good)

so i would say around £100-£120 pounds to get you started. and then a few pounds a month for maintance

hope this helps. and if there is anything ive forgotten im sure other members will add to this list

A Local LFS was shutting down so I got a 56 Litre tank, a cabinet / stand, gravel, pump, light (hooded tank), 4 nice round stones, food, anti-chlorine, bacteria helper solution, and a little plastic plant.

All for £50

 

[Schmill]

Wow!

 

[keenonfish]

I am persoanlly looking at buying second hand... Can't see any problems and you often see complete setups on ebay for pretty reasonable prices... I think!

 

[millie1]

my tankw as less than £100 (200 litre) it was just the filter and everything else that cost a lot!!!

the filter a lone was almost 80 quid.....

can be done fo less....
try ebay

 

[Mystil]

You have got to be aware...Fish keeping is not cheap to begin with what with the heating, filter etc..but they are worth it.

But you can find bargains. I would think around £100-£150 would set you up for a bigish tank (200 liter) and less money for a smaller one. But make sure you try to price it up before hand as millie said...new heaters, filters and all the other odd bits does increase the cost.

I wish when I started that I had followed one small peice of advice from the members here...Get the biggest tank you can afford....They become quite addictive.

Good luck. Have a look in your local papers and vets..they might have tank adverts.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

agree with above, there's savings to be made by shopping around on ebay and such like.

if you have a read of the link in my sig 'step by step guide to setting up an aquarium' this includes a shopping list of things to make sure you have and some things the fish shop will try to sell you that you don't need! Also loads of other useful info about setting the tank up, water quality, fish choices etc etc so v good place to start your research.

 

[flash22]

What ever you decied as a budget write it down then double it. all the small bits soon add up

 

[Bojangles]

Pets@Home have a 60ltr tank with 100w heater and filter for £79 (thats if you are in the UK)

 

[quantumnerd]

I got my 29 gal (basically 30 gal what difference does a gallon make) tank at petcetera for 120 bucks on sale!

It came with tank, hood, light, undergravel filter, gang valve, airline tubing, and a air pump.

All I needed was fish (minimal cost), water contitioner, food, gravel, and decorations!

Somehow, that got me out another hundred bucks =P.

Castles are expensive here!

 

[millie1]

They become quite addictive.

thats an understatement haha!!!!!

Pets@Home have a 60ltr tank with 100w heater and filter for £79 (thats if you are in the UK)

pets at home are pretty good - i almost spend £300 on a lovely tank/stand/filter etc.... to be honest it was a good deal - and add it up - sometimes i can cost more buying stuff separate .... (in my opinion)